Reading SECRET WARS #1 was like watching the final episode of your favorite TV show: you know things are ending and you're wondering what you're going to do with your time now that it's gone. But unlike those last 5 minutes, this is actually the beginning of something larger. Much, MUCH larger.
Writer Jonathan Hickman has been slowly putting all the pieces together in titles such as AVENGERS over the last couple years (like he enjoys doing) making sure all the dominoes line up before he pushes the first one over. And what a domino the first issue is.
***SPOILERS***DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS IN SECRET WARS #1***The battle lines are drawn as the heroes of two worlds: The Marvel Universe (EARTH-616) and the Ultimate Universe (EARTH-1610) are about to collide...I mean LITERALLY collide...and both sides know what losing the battle mean.
Death.
There are many subplots going on in this issue, and you might feel a little lost when you first read it...but if you stick with it like I did, a picture will begin to form around the idea of the story. I won't lie. There's lots of death in this issue and a few moments that you've probably wanted to see in some MARVEL COMICS for quite some time...like when KINGPIN throws an end of the world party and invites every one of his super-villain baddies...and then THE PUNISHER crashes the party. It's a "What would you do with your last day on Earth?" kind of issue, and the ones who are trying to save the last vestiges of humanity are acting like the true heroes they are. Reed Richards, Black Panther and many others create a life raft/vehicle that will insure humanity's survival. As the two planets begin to collide, the life raft begins to make its' big push when suddenly it is struck by a bolt of energy, causing part of it to break away. In a heart-shattering couple of pages, Reed Richards reaches out into space to rescue his wife and those broken away, and we watch in horror along with him as every member of the Fantastic Four and the children of the Future Foundation are destroyed.
Speaking back to the life raft, I don't know if anyone else noticed, but it looks very much like the strange structures that were seen in New York City around the same time as the original SECRET WARS when the characters were transported to Battleworld.
In the meantime, Doctor Doom, Doctor Strange and Molecule Man are coming face to face with what appears to be the BEYONDER. I'm not sure why because I haven't kept track of all the books leading into SECRET WARS, but the scene reminds me of when DOOM stole THE BEYONDER's power waaaaay back in the original SECRET WARS #10 from the 80's.
I have to say I'm pretty impressed with the issue over all, and I'm totally hooked. I will be making a trip to my LCS to get the next issue next week. If you're not a fan of summer events, you MIGHT still want to make the effort to pick this up...because it looks like MARVEL might be heading towards a relaunch of some kind like DC did with the NEW 52. Let's hope if that IS the end result that they've learned from DC's mistakes with the drastic changes over the last couple years.
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