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    Secret Wars #1 Review

    Stephen SchleicherBy Stephen SchleicherMay 10, 20152 Comments4 Mins Read

    It’s time to trade in one multiverse spanning event for another, but will Secret Wars from Marvel come out on top?

    secret-wars-1-112759SECRET WARS #1
    Writer: Jonathan Hickman
    Artist: Esad Ribic
    Colorist: Ive Svorcina
    Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos
    Editor: Tom Brevoort with Wil Moss
    Publisher: Marvel
    Cover Price:

    Previously in Secret Wars: So this isn’t really about the last Secret Wars… this is more about a universe coming to an end, as all universes must do. Since this series has little to no connection with the last Secret Wars, why don’t we skip this section and get right to it.

    THE MULTIVERSE IS DYING. ONLY TWO REMAIN. FIGHT!

    My biggest fear with Secret Wars was that it was going to turn into Marvel’s attempt at tweaking the nose of DC Comics’ Convergence series.  To help calm your fears, it might be a good idea to do a comparison between the two series.

    ConvergenceSecret Wars
    Multiple UniversesYESYES
    Heroes must fight each other in order to liveYESYES
    Megalomaniac Bad Guy YESNO
    "Well Known" Heroes Die On PanelYESYES
    Child EndangermentYESYES (The Richards Family dies)
    Tie-In issues that actually relate to main bookNOUndetermined at this point
    Readers need to know what has come before the first issueNONO
    Cast ListYES (The first page tells you what universe appears in the issue)YES (The first page tells you what characters from what universe appear in the issue)

    See, they are absolutely NOTHING alike.

    In Secret Wars #1, worlds are already colliding and at least one of the Earths (Earth-1610 aka the Ultimate Universe) knows what is going on, and at the end of the eight hour incursion, one of the worlds will be gone forever.  One positive outcome of having worlds fight one another is it gives the publisher a chance to totally do away with past continuity. It also gives them a chance to pick and choose the best parts of those worlds to keep around moving forward.  But as two worlds come to an end (The Marvel 616 and Ultimate Universe), one wonders what is going to happen next. Even Read Richards can’t save everyone, and as the issue fades to black, we are left believing in nothing.

    It’s a crazy story because it runs up against the ending of other books in the Marvel lineup, and without that kind of background, there is a bit of confusion going on. On the plus side, heroes are doing everything they can to save lives while stopping the incursion, and there are those “one last time” moments readers do want to see. On the down side, I was hoping we would see a bit more of a lead in to the Battleworld event, which will more than likely happen next issue, but the ending of this issue feels final, with no hook on why we should pick up the next issue.

    REED RICHARDS HAS A BEARD, WHILE REED RICHARDS DOES NOT

    Having read few Marvel comics over the last year, some of the changes to the 616 characters took a bit of getting used to. Reed Richards has a beard, the Hulk has a mohawk, and Cyclops.. well… Those changes keep everything in line as we jump back and forth between the different worlds, but for those who only know Nick Fury from the movies, and Richards as a young kid, it does complicate the overall story.  That isn’t the fault of Esad Ribic though, as his art  fills each panel with depth and detail I wish we could see in more books. The use of red and blue throughout tell us that even in the midst of destruction and death, we know who will make it out alive.  I’m hoping the rest of this event is as detailed as this issue.

    BOTTOM LINE: STILL BETTER THAN THE FIRST ISSUE OF CONVERGENCE

    Though there is a lot going on in this issue, it feels a lot easier to take in and understand than the smash-up that is that other comic event.  The story does leave a lot of questions as to what is going on and why it is happening, but if those questions are answered as the series progresses, this will seem like a good first segment before the break in the greater story. The art is fantastic, with some incredible coloring going on. Though there are a few questions in the story, this issue grabs you from the first panel and doesn’t leet go until the end.

    [taq_review]

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    Chris Eliopoulos Esad Ribic Ive Svorcina jonathan hickman Marvel Review Secret Wars Tom Brevoort
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    Previous ArticleRetro Review: X-Men #95 (October 1975)
    Next Article Convergence: The Question #2 Review
    Stephen Schleicher
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    Stephen Schleicher began his career writing for the Digital Media Online community of sites, including Digital Producer and Creative Mac covering all aspects of the digital content creation industry. He then moved on to consumer technology, and began the Coolness Roundup podcast. A writing fool, Stephen has freelanced for Sci-Fi Channel's Technology Blog, and Gizmodo. Still longing for the good ol' days, Stephen launched Major Spoilers in July 2006, because he is a glutton for punishment. You can follow him on Twitter @MajorSpoilers and tell him your darkest secrets...

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    2 Comments

    1. Oldcomicfan on May 10, 2015 5:36 pm

      This actually sounds interesting, while Convergence does not. Convergence sounds like something DC rushed into print in order to score off Marvel’s previously announced Secret Wars remake. That said, the original Secret Wars and Secret Wars II were so lame that I doubt I will buy into this, no matter how interesting it sounds.

      Reply
    2. Guillaume Bérubé on May 10, 2015 11:03 pm

      The beyonders (the race of the singular beyonder behind secret war an secret war 2) are behind the incursions and are trying to kill all life. This is about what this has to do with secret war.

      Reply

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