Blast from the Past: Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars

Writer: Don ChiavonWebsite: MarvelComicBooks.orgPermalink: http://bit.ly/z3IIw

From “The Blast From The Past” Series

Everybody remembers their first time; their first kiss, first love, first cliché, yadda yadda yadda. Well, in 1984, when I was the tender age of 10, I saw the cover of Marvel Super Heroes Secret War sitting on a newsstand or comic rack and I had my very first Geekgasm. Staring at the cover, all the major Marvel Heroes rushing towards me with my favorite Hero, Captain America, at the very forefront… well, I may have felt my knees buckle.

Whether it was with my own money or my parents’, I ended up buying that first issue, as well as the next 11 subsequent issues of Marvel’s first company-wide crossover. I honestly don’t know how I did it. I mean, I was only 10. I didn’t have money back then. There were no nearby comic shops I had access to, never mind eBay. But I managed to do it. I remember that I saw #3 sitting on the shelf at Big V, a local pharmacy. I went back a couple of days later to purchase it, and it was gone. I asked a woman who worked there if it

had been sold, or was maybe taken off the shelf and was in the back. I waited anxiously as she went to check, and was elated when she came back carrying the last remaining copy.

As it turns out, this year is the 25th Anniversary of Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars. In reading online reaction to the series, it’s easy to see that fan reaction was polarized. Most either loved it or hated it, with few opinions in between. Needless to say, I was one of the readers on the loved it side. In fact, this may very well be my very favorite mini-series ever.

Admittedly, the premise is kind of flimsy. A God-like Entity, the Beyonder, was able to observe Marvel’s earth through a hole in space. Intrigued by what he saw, he absconded with most of the Marvel U’s major heroes and villains. He set them against each other on a world… dubbed, appropriately enough, Battleworld, for his amusement. “Slay your enemies and all you desire shall be yours!” he told them, thus setting off an epic battle. The series, written by then Marvel Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter, featured gorgeous art by Mike Zeck and was a showcase for MANY senses-shattering moments Including: Spiderman THRASHING the X-Men when he found out that they were going to abandon the Heroes to ally with Magneto in Issue

#3; The Hulk holding up a mountain that the villains dropped on the heroes after they had been defeated and tried to escape in Issue #4; the “death” of the Wasp in Issue #7; And, most importantly, the debut of Spiderman’s iconic black costume. As Marvel fans know, the suit turned out to be an Alien Symbiote, and later became insanely popular Spiderman villain Venom.

The series was a smashing success. Each issue sold nearly 750,000 copies, and it spawned a dreadful sequel, Secret Wars II, in which the Beyonder comes to Earth and takes human form, dressing in a white leather jumpsuit and having a black perm. *sigh* I try to forget it ever happened. Secret Wars also inspired THE Marvel toy line of the ‘80s, which carried the same name as the comics. Each of the figures came with their own “secret shield”, which came with inserts you could place in the shield to show off changing images when you moved it back and forth. I had the Captain America, Iron Man, Wolverine, And Dr. Doom figures. There were also vehicles, playsets, coloring books, puffy stickers, etc. Check out http://www.toymania.com/archives/secretwars/ for an overview of both the comics, toys, and other products inspired by the series.

It’s hard to believe all that was 25 years ago. Being the collector that I am today, I have near mint copies of the series bagged and boarded and safely stashed away in a long box. It’s actually been a long time since I’ve read the series, and I think I’m due. Time to sit down in my jimmies with some Count Chocula and get to readin’. Guess I’ll be sending you Marvel Zombies another Blast from the Past when I’m done. Until then, I’ll see you at the comic shop.

Writer: Don ChiavonWebsite: MarvelComicBooks.orgPermalink: http://bit.ly/z3IIw