Headhunter's Holosuite Wiki
Don't have an account?
Register
Headhunter's Holosuite Wiki
Advertisement
Register
in: Marvel Comics, Limited series, Comic book volumes,
and 4 more

Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars Vol 1

Sign in to edit
This page is similar in name or subject to other pages.

See also Secret Wars for a complete list of references to clarify differences between these closely named or closely related articles.

Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars
Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars 1
Title: Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Type: Limited series
Years published: 1984-1985
Total issues: 12
Featuring: Avengers; Fantastic Four; X-Men; Hulk; Spider-Man; Doctor Doom; Enchantress; Galactus; Kang; Magneto; Ultron
Creators: Jim Shooter; Mike Zeck; John Beatty; Art Adams; Art Nichols; Joe Rubinstein; Christie Scheele; Joe Rosen
Navigation
Previous: —
Next: Secret Wars II

Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars is an American comic book limited series of the superhero fantasy genre. It was published by Marvel Comics and ran for twelve issues from May 1984 to April 1985. It is the first comic book limited series with a 12-issue publication count, and is the first major highly publicized event involving a vast array of Marvel Comics heroes and villains. Stories in this series were written by Jim Shooter with artwork by Mike Zeck and Bob Layton. Inking and embellishment were provided primarily by John Beatty, but also by Art Adams, Art Nichols, and Joe Rubinstein. Stories were colored by Christie Scheele and lettered by Joe Rosen. They were edited by Tom DeFalco. All twelve issues of the comic book series were reprinted in the Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars trade paperback collection, and the Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars Omnibus hardcover collection.

The Secret Wars came about as a result of a cosmic entity known as the Beyonder. Having only recently gained sentience, the Beyonder was intrigued and perplexed by life on other planets. To satisfy this curiosity, he used his vast power to literally snatch environments from dozens of worlds and patch them together to create his own planet, Battleworld. He then took several of Earth's champions, including members of the Avengers, the X-Men, and the Fantastic Four, and pitted them in battle against members of Earth's villainous community including Doctor Doom, the Lizard, Doctor Octopus, the Wrecking Crew, Kang the Conqueror, Ultron, and even Galactus.

Through the course of events, the heroes labored to not only stave off members of the villains camp, but also to maintain unity within their own ranks, which now included the likes of Magneto. The villains on Battleworld, ultimately fell into true form and began plotting their own personal agendas. Doctor Doom sought great power and even attempted to unseat the Beyonder himself.

Issues

Tie-in issues

  • Amazing Spider-Man 251
  • Avengers 242
  • Captain America 292
  • Deadpool's Secret Secret Wars 1
  • Deadpool's Secret Secret Wars 2
  • Deadpool's Secret Secret Wars 3
  • Deadpool's Secret Secret Wars 4
  • Fantastic Four 264
  • Incredible Hulk 294
  • Iron Man 181
  • She-Hulk 10
  • Thor 383
  • Uncanny X-Men 180
  • What If...? Vol 2 4
  • What If...? Vol 2 114

Collections

Notes & Trivia

  • "MSHSW" serves as a shortcut to this page.
  • The events of the Secret Wars gave rise to a follow-up event chronicled in Secret Wars II in 1985. The less said about that the better.
  • The release of this series tied in with an action figure toy line produced by Mattel. There were two waves of figures and accessories, which included gimmicks such as action figures equipped with shields that could hold lenticular images. The first wave of toys involved characters that were featured in the comic book maxi-series. The series two action figures were of characters that did not actually have anything to do with the series, such as Daredevil, Falcon, and Hobgoblin. It has confirmed by Marvel's then Editor-in-Chief, Jim Shooter, that the only reason he put together the comic series was as a form of publicity advertising so Marvel could profit off the merchandising deal.
  • There is a matter of unconventional continuity concerning the release of this series. As the title featured all of its major characters being off-planet, the events of this series would take a total of twelve months to unfold. However, all issues of the tie-in publications following the release of Secret Wars #1 take place after the conclusion of the series, leaving readers scratching their heads over mysteries that will take another eleven months to resolve themselves. Such dangling mysteries include: Why is Spider-Man wearing a new costume? Why does the Hulk have a broken leg? Why did the Thing stay behind on Battleworld? Why is She-Hulk now a member of the Fantastic Four? And what the hell does Deadpool have to do with all of this? (The latter question will not be resolved for many more years until the Deadpool's Secret Secret Wars limited series in 2015.
  • One of the most enduring legacies of the Secret Wars was the introduction of the symbiotes, which is an aggressive alien race. In this series, the symbioties take the form of a ball of black goo that becomes Spider-Man's new costume. Later, this particular symbiote bonds with Peter Parker, and eventually becomes known as Venom.
  • The Kang that appears in this series is from a divergent timeline than the one who has classically been seen battling the Avengers. This is actually the first appearance of this particular Kang.
  • About midway through the series run, the good folks over at DC Comics were brewing up their own twelve-issue maxi-series event that has been several million years in the making - Crisis on Infinite Earths. A true game changer, this series likewise brought together all of the major heroes and villains of the DC Universe and pitted them against a cosmic level alien threat.

Recommended Reading

See also

External Links

Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.
Advertisement