So it’s been 25 years since Marvel Comic’s Secret Wars Limited Series debuted.
For those who don’t know what that is, you really need to know only 3 things about it:
1) it was the first time a company put all of it’s major characters together in a company wide crossover that affected all storylines.
2) it was created because Mattel wanted a good "hook" to tie a toy line into, that used all the characters since Marvel had no current movies or TV shows on the air.
3) it really sucked.
Yeah, it was pretty bad. The art was rushed, the writing was abysmal, and the characters behaved very out of character. But, it did give us Spidey’s black costume (and therefore, also Venom) and a short-lived, yet beloved, toy line. And this year there have been tons of Secret Wars related articles, events, and merchandise. This is amazing because the series has pretty much been left alone since seeing publication back in 1984 (the less said about Secret Wars II, the better).
So what kind of things are out? Well, for starters, the new Secret Wars Omnibus is out, with an in-depth history of the toy line special feature by yours truly, with a photographic assist by our very own General Zod. Then you have the amazingly cool Hasbro Marvel Universe Secret Wars 2-Packs. So far we know that the first six are going to be Spider-Man & Thunderball, Wolverine & Human Torch, Captain America & Claw, Black Costume Spider-Man/Magneto, Iron Man/Spider-Woman, Hulk/Cyclops. Supposedly all of them will be out by the end of 2009. The Captain America and Wolverine are resculpted from the main line, so we can only hope that the other repeats like Hulk will be similarily streamlined.
There are homages with smaller lines, too, such as the Monogram Miniature Alliance Secret Wars 2-Pack, and the new Minimates first ever Fan’s Choice poll. And our very own Man of Action Chip Cataldo has been blogging about the crazy unseen SW bootlegs out of South America.As an added bonus, here’s a pic I recently found of my very first custom figures that I made back in 1990, which happened to be Secret Wars figure based (and a few Star Wars/ Indiana Jones efforts to extend the original line from 1985!) Note that I repainted Wolverine, but not shown are the black claws I painted silver. Oy.
And of course, we can’t forget our pals at the late, lamented Geek Week, who were ahead of the curve on this one:
Awesome article, but I disagree on the quality. I enjoyed Zeck’s art in the series a lot, and I thought a lot of the characters were well-protrayed.
What out-of-characterization did you think happened? I’d be interested to hear what you think about it.
Thanks for the shout out to my blog, too!
Peace,
Chip
Dude I LOVED Secret Wars! Of course I was 10 so I wasn’t really thinking about how the characters acted. I was just amazed they were all there and fighting all of those baddies. Secret Wars introduced me to the Wrecking Crew, the new Spiderwoman and the ever delicious Enchantress. It also gave me a better appreciation for Hawkeye.
Now I’m not saying it was an amazing piece of comic literature but through my kid eyes it was pretty darn cool. It did it’s job of getting me excited about Marvel Superheroes as before that I was pretty much a DC superhero fan. I read Marvel comics and knew the main characters but Secret Wars made me want to follow them afterwards. Especially the Xmen and Avengers.
Of course getting my parents to buy me the toys soon followed.
Great blog.
I guess I was also young enough to not notice Secret War’s foibles. I just loved seeing everyone together. I remember clearly that spread in the beginning of issue #1 showing the good guys right after they were beamed to planed Beyonder. I remember just staring at that. And, yeah, I loved the figures (even though I couldn’t quite figure out why we were getting characters that didn’t appear in the story.)
Congrats on the article in the omnibus. Gotta pick that up.
Crap.
I didn’t realize (or had forgotten…old age, y’know) that you had that article in the SW Omnibus. Dang. Now I’m gonna have find the money and nab a copy!
Oh, and I should say that I *loved* Secret Wars. Yeah, I thought Zeck’s art looked rushed most of the time, yeah I was frustrated when Layton filled in, yeah the story was lame…but I loved it. It was a blast seeing all the big Marvel characters in one story. It was a lot of fun seeing several of Marvel’s titles jumping ahead to post-Secret Wars and wondering, “Now, how’d that happen?” Good stuff. Can’t believe it’s been 25 years.
Now Secret Wars II….THAT was abysmal. But, I did have a SW2 poster in my college dorm room featuring virtually the entire MU vs the Beyonder.
Well, I have to say that you have an incorrect opinion(yes, that’s possible) about the first Secret Wars 12 issue series. It most certainly does not suck! Not in any way, shape or form. To each their own, I guess.
Secret Wars II, well that did kind of suck.
Don’t take my word for it. Here’s what John Byrne has to say:
“And then Shooter himself went on to do the biggest piece of crap that sold through the roof: Secret Wars. And I think that in his own mind he had to justify that somehow, he had to tell himself that Secret Wars sold because it was brilliant.
And it was really Secret Wars, I think, that pushed him over the edge, because from that point on we would get make-readies back with his notes on it that would always say “See Secret Wars number whatever for how to do this right”, and that kind of stuff. I’m sorry, I wouldn’t look at Secret Wars to see how to make toilet paper right. I’m sorry, it’s just – it was crap.
What was Mike Zeck’s great line at one point…? Shooter had completely rewritten something and made Mike redraw it. And I asked him why, and Mike said, “Because it wasn’t dull enough”.”
And like Jeff said, it was meant for readers to think, “Cool! All the heroes in one story!” and it accomplished that goal. But the actual characters in the book don’t act like the characters did in their own books at that time at all.
Jeff, don’t buy a copy on my account, it’s not the world’s best article (there just isn’t much info about Secret Wars to be revealed). At some point I’m sure Chip and I will do an archive and incorporate it all.
Interesting Byrne quote. Thanks for posting that.
Jason, to be honest that wouldn’t be the only reason I’d buy it. I want a copy of the story, the TPB is out-of-print (while they push the Omnibus, I assume) and it’s just one of those iconic comic moments I wouldn’t mind having in a deluxe format…
…now, being actually able to afford it is a different story altogether. Maybe I can find a deal at SDCC…or maybe just find the trade there…
Mr. Otter,
Think we might see these as singe packs down the line? They paired the characters I want with ones I don’t. That brown costume Wolverine is way better than the one out now (I don’t like the Origins line’s claws).
Gotta back Otter up here: Secret Wars was not very good, especially when compared to CRISIS, which was more or less contemporary (and just like the SW toys were vastly inferior to Super Powers). I’ve read that Byrne quote before; Shooter also apparently generated a lot of ill will among the freelancers by giving himself such a high-profile assignment that he made a fortune on.
I have two memories of Secret Wars: one is that the first issue made me absolutely, positively hate the Wasp for all time (go back and read her dialog and you’ll see why), and two, I distinctly remember being in a bookstore an I ran up to a few friends of mine with issue 11 while they were trying to sneak peaks at the adult magazines. “Look,” I said, “it’s Doctor Doom’s face!” “Um, we’re looking at something more important”
Hellpop mentioned Crisis On Infinite Earths, and for me, that’s why I’ll agree with Jason’s take on Secret Wars without hesitation. While it didn’t capture my imagination the way Super Powers did, I loved the Secret Wars action figure line, so I made sure to get my hands on the books of the same title. I forgot about it just as quickly as I finished the first couple of issues. On the other hand, Crisis hooked me on superhero comics the following years, and specifically on DC titles. The Marvel crossover didn’t even come close to having a similar effect on me. Prior to Crisis, I read some Batman, Superman, and Spider-Man here and there, and I loved Frank Miller’s four-issue Wolverine series. The only title I absolutely had to have, though, was G.I. JOE. Growing up on that book, I was practically baptized in Mike Zeck’s artwork, so I’ve always paid special attention to it over the years. Looking back as an adult, I can’t think of another example of his work that feels as… blah as Secret Wars.
I LOVED Secret Wars!! I STILL love Secret Wars. It captured my imagination like no other mini-series before or since. SWII did suck though. Oh well, can’t please everyone, I guess.
Not to take anything away from Byrne, but Shooter’s Avengers work is the reason I got into Marvel comics. I liked Secret Wars more as the years went by. Shooter had great takes on Reed, Cap, the X-Men, Colossus on his own, Magneto/Xavier, Molecule Man and most of the bad guys, including Galactus, and Doom. In fact, Doom alone MADE that series and Zeck was rushed the worst in the last issue which saw a whole bunch of inkers finishing the series up. Art Adams is in there somewhere near the end.
Shooter’s Human Torch was a jerk, though. The formerly bad-ass Klaw was now a cowardly toady who went completely bonkers, Hawkeye was kinda off, not as feisty as he appeared in other books. But the story was solid overall, I would recommend reading the trade in one long sitting. Spidey beating up on the X-Men and Titania are priceless moments. Bob Layton’s two fill-ins where the Hulk lifts that mountain up were also sweet. Give it another try, guys…it’s been 25 years.
Secret Wars II, though? I almost quit reading comics after that came out. I could not make heads or tails outta it. It seemed like Shooter’s evil twin had written it, whatever the heck it was.