New Avengers #33 and Secret Wars #1-2
I'm not dead! And neither is this comm. (I'm just woefully failing at keeping track of what's going on in comics at the moment.) This post is a bit of a multi-recap of several recent comics, partly because my comic shop got one of them in late, and partly because the story's - slightly - more comprehensible taken in larger chunks. Spoilers below the cuts.
New Avengers #33
In this final issue of Hickman's New Avengers story (which I've only been dipping in and out of intermittently), Doom explains to Doctor Strange what he's been doing since he and Molecule Man went off together back in New Avengers #24.
Doom and Molecule Man travel to an alt universe, and back in time to the point where Molecule Man first got his powers. Molecule Man kills his own duplicate, and then explains to Doom that they have to stop the Beyonders from conducting a grand experiment: the simultaneous death of everything in the multiverse. Doom is the one he's chosen to help stop it, because: "You're a man of both science and magic, Victor. The natural and unnatural. Quite the dichotomy, and the one person perfectly capable of fully comprehending what I'm going to tell you."
Molecule Man says that the Beyonders created him to be their multiverse-ending bomb. While other people exist in alternate versions in alt universes (although, he notes, Doom is "somewhat unique in that "there are less of you than there should be", thanks to the culling of the Council of Dooms in Hickman's F4 run), Molecule Man is a singular being across all space and time, sharing consciousness with all his other selves. They're all going to 'detonate' at the same moment, 25 years from now, and take their universes with them.
So, the plan is for Doom to kill each of the Molecule Men early, before they can be detonated at the appointed time. Molecule Man can't help much, because he'll start to fracture and lose his sanity as his other selves are killed. However, as Doom says: "It's impossible for one man - even Doom - to do such a thing." So, Molecule Man tells him he needs to start a religion and gain followers to aid his work, anonymously so that no one guesses who the great destroyer really is. Doom says: "I see very little glory in this, and no room for grace." But they embark on the mission. The incursions seen earlier in the NA series started happening after the Beyonders caught on and sent their followers to track what was going on with the dead Molecule Men and Doom's disciples.
Anyway, Doom explains to Doctor Strange that he started to realise it was odd that if he could go back in time and hatch a plan against the Beyonders, they couldn't just do the same thing to stop him. He realised that the Beyonders' limitation is that they're linear - they can't travel in time. This leads Doom to believe they have a chance against them, and he, Strange and Molecule Man go to confront the Beyonders directly. However, in the middle of Doom's speech about how he's going to destroy them, Doom realises something is wrong.
"No!" Doom says. Everything explodes in a burst of white light... and then we cut to Reed and Black Panther studying a set of computer monitors. Something's just gone horribly wrong. The number of surviving universes just dropped from hundreds of thousands down to less than two dozen - they're out of time and everything is lost.
And that leads into...
Secret Wars #1
Secret Wars opens with a brief flashback to Doom's confrontation of the Beyonders, and then a title page telling us that the multiverse is dying. Now only two universes remain - Marvel 616 and 1610 (the Ultimateverse) - and, "Today, Earths collide."
Over on Earth 1610, Ultimate Reed Richards (teenage ex-supervillain) is snowing Ultimate Nick Fury with the promise they can save the universe by wiping out Earth 616. Fury sends all his forces to attack 616, which will keep everyone busy so Reed can get on with his real plan - which involves an alliance with the evil Cabal, led by Thanos.
Meanwhile, on Earth 616, the Fantastic Four are putting together a life raft spaceship that will be filled with scientists who can save mankind from extinction. But the transport bringing the scientists to them is destroyed, and in a change of plan, they just fill the life raft with everyone they can grab and take off. The carrier section containing Sue and the kids is broken off the ship by an enemy attack, but Sue holds it together with a forcefield. Reed stretches out to grab them... but he fails, and they're lost.
The ship gets its shield up, preserving the devastated Reed together with T'Challa, Captain Marvel and a handful of others, just as the universe whites out. We see a glimpse of Doom's mask briefly before everything goes back. The end page reads: "The Marvel Universe: 1961-2015 * The Ultimate Universe: 2000-2015".
Secret Wars #2
In Secret Wars #2, we open on a brand new, unfamiliar world, which seems to have been shaped according to Doom's wishes, and features familiar faces in different roles, with seemingly no recollection of their past lives.
The new world is divided up into many small kingdoms, ruled by barons (including characters like Captain Britain, Mister Sinister and Apocalypse) who get to do what they want in their own little kingdoms but ultimately answer to Doom, whom everybody worships as a god. An army of Thors, a sort of police force judged worthy by their ability to lift the mystic hammers, keep the peace.
In one of the kingdoms, Utopolis, Alex Power - known as "Minister Powers" in this world - investigates a strange find, aided by some other members of the Future Foundation. (Who all look a bit different: in particular the moloids are now all grown adults.) They've been told there was an earthquake, but the signs don't add up, and they think it was a cover story for the fact that "another Hulk got loose on the mainland." But then they stumble across the real cause: a crashed spaceship.
The Thors bring two of the barons, Mister Sinister and Captain Britain (Jamie Braddock in this world), before the high court of Doom, where "God Doom himself sits in judgment on his throne, Yggdrasil - the world tree." Doctor Strange is "Sheriff of Agamatto, the right hand of Doom - his irrevocable voice". Sue and Valeria also have pride of place beside Doom's throne (and, interestingly, they're all in Future Foundation white, Doom included).
Sinister has insulted Brian Braddock and his wife, and chooses trial by combat rather than paying up, almost killing Braddock before Doom steps in. He says that Brian should be grateful, and therefore tell Doom where to find the headquarters of the rebels working against him. Brian doesn't know, and to save him, his brother Jamie steps in and admits he was the one working with the rebels. Doom wants the entire house put down, but Sue puts her hand on his shoulder and says, "Victor. Mercy." He covers her hand with his, bows his head and says, "Yes, Susan. Of course." He changes the order so that only Jamie is punished, cast out into the deadlands to fight to the death against the monsters out there that threaten their civilisation (including familiar villains like evil symbiotes, Annihilus and Ultron's forces).
Doom and Sue leave the council chamber, but Valeria sticks around to talk with 'Sheriff' Strange. It turns out that she holds an office equal to his in Doom's court - while Strange is Doom's right hand, the Law, Valeria is Doom's left hand, the Foundation. (She also refers to Doom as "father".) She and Strange both go to look at Alex Power's find of the spaceship. Carbon dating has proved it predates the creation of the world, which makes it a heresy against the religion of Doom, and Strange orders it quarantined. However, one of the Moloids can't resist poking, and the door opens.
Out steps Thanos together with the rest of the Cabal and Ultimate Reed Richards. It seems they've escaped the destruction of the former universes by stealing the plans for 616 Reed's life raft and arrived here on Doom's newly created world. Unlike the denizens of Doom's world, they remember the former universe, and are wondering where the hell they are. Thanos interrogates a moloid, and he tells them "This is Doom's world... which he made to test both the faithful and the unforgiven. The firmament, created with his own hands." Battleworld.
Thoughts
So, a tl;dr summary of The Story So Far:
* The Beyonders wanted to destroy the multiverse
* Doom tried to stop them but it didn't go to plan, so the multiverse went splodey
* Marvel 616 and Ultimateverse were the last universes left
* Reed and a few 616 heroes escaped the destruction of their universe in a specially made ship
* Evil Ultimate Reed and the Cabal copied the ship design and escaped as well
* Doom has once again gained the powers of a god (must be Tuesday) and created a new world to his design
* The Cabal and Evil Ultimate Reed have just showed up there
Presumably, we can expect the surviving 616 heroes to make a similar appearance in an issue or two. But in the meantime, the interesting part is the fascinating glimpse into Doom's psyche that we get from Battleworld. He's declared himself god and introduced a feudal system with harsh punishments for rebelling against him - no surprises there.
On the other hand, the fact he's chosen to dress himself in Future Foundation white is very interesting, and I can't quite decide what that says. In Avengers: Children's Crusade he also switched his costume from green to FF white when he gained godly powers - does he associate his stint in the FF with goodness and heroism? OTOH, in Children's Crusade, and in the original Secret Wars, the first thing he did with godly powers was fix his face, yet here he remains masked. Is the mask purely ceremonial and his face healed underneath it, or was the creation of Battleworld done wholly unconsciously, and he sees himself as scarred in his subconscious?
Stephen Strange as Doom's right hand and the instrument of his law is also fascinating, and suggests a surprising amount of trust in him and his wisdom on Doom's part. They were working together before the universe changed, which may have played in - plus they did of course save Doom's mother from hell together, which may have left a real impression.
Valeria calling Doom 'father' in his self-created world is less unexpected, but sweet. Aw, Doom, your paternal impulses are showing. I guess Sue as Doom's... consort? (it's not really specified) goes along with that, though despite the odd What If? story there's rarely much evidence that Doom's particularly interested in Sue for herself. But the fact he's cast her in the role of a good influence cautioning him to moderation and mercy is again pretty intriguing. Does he see her as having that influence over him? Does he see himself as needing that? Having someone tell him what to do is not usually his style, though perhaps it gives him a way to see himself as gracious and willing to listen.
Some interesting absences from Doom's self-created world so far: no sign of Kristoff or Franklin, no Namor... and where's Molecule Man? He was with Doom and Strange at the end, and now he's gone. Did he detonate at the end of the universes? Plus I suspect 616 Reed's reaction to finding Doom has acquired his wife and daughter will be interesting when he shows up.
The art is nice all round. Deodato on New Avengers, who's always good though his women are a bit annoyingly 'sexy' (the panels of Doom's army of female followers just look ridiculous), His take on Doom is okay if not my favourite, but he does faces and expressions very well and I like his Molecule Man and Doctor Strange.
The Secret Wars art is by Esad Ribic, and absolutely lovely. He's at his best doing less mundane characters, I think - he does a fabulous Thanos and Mister Sinister, and his Doom armour's pretty good as well. The panels of Sue laying her hand on Doom's shoulder are fantastic. (OTOH his Valeria does look like a teenager, but then she may be supposed to be older in Doom's world, I don't know.) Plus there's a muted painted sort of style to Ive Svorcina's colouring of his art that I like better than the harsher, more neon-y tones of Frank Martin's colours in New Avengers.
All in all, pretty confusing (Secret Wars #1 was particularly tough because I'm not sufficiently up on recent events in either 616 or 1610 to always be sure which universe's characters I'm looking at) and it took some rereading before I got it all sorted out in my head, but the setup is very intriguing. It looks like Secret Wars is going to be hugely Doom centric, and since I love Hickman's version of Doom, I am very excitedly onboard for that wherever it happens to be going.
New Avengers #33
In this final issue of Hickman's New Avengers story (which I've only been dipping in and out of intermittently), Doom explains to Doctor Strange what he's been doing since he and Molecule Man went off together back in New Avengers #24.
Doom and Molecule Man travel to an alt universe, and back in time to the point where Molecule Man first got his powers. Molecule Man kills his own duplicate, and then explains to Doom that they have to stop the Beyonders from conducting a grand experiment: the simultaneous death of everything in the multiverse. Doom is the one he's chosen to help stop it, because: "You're a man of both science and magic, Victor. The natural and unnatural. Quite the dichotomy, and the one person perfectly capable of fully comprehending what I'm going to tell you."
Molecule Man says that the Beyonders created him to be their multiverse-ending bomb. While other people exist in alternate versions in alt universes (although, he notes, Doom is "somewhat unique in that "there are less of you than there should be", thanks to the culling of the Council of Dooms in Hickman's F4 run), Molecule Man is a singular being across all space and time, sharing consciousness with all his other selves. They're all going to 'detonate' at the same moment, 25 years from now, and take their universes with them.
So, the plan is for Doom to kill each of the Molecule Men early, before they can be detonated at the appointed time. Molecule Man can't help much, because he'll start to fracture and lose his sanity as his other selves are killed. However, as Doom says: "It's impossible for one man - even Doom - to do such a thing." So, Molecule Man tells him he needs to start a religion and gain followers to aid his work, anonymously so that no one guesses who the great destroyer really is. Doom says: "I see very little glory in this, and no room for grace." But they embark on the mission. The incursions seen earlier in the NA series started happening after the Beyonders caught on and sent their followers to track what was going on with the dead Molecule Men and Doom's disciples.
Anyway, Doom explains to Doctor Strange that he started to realise it was odd that if he could go back in time and hatch a plan against the Beyonders, they couldn't just do the same thing to stop him. He realised that the Beyonders' limitation is that they're linear - they can't travel in time. This leads Doom to believe they have a chance against them, and he, Strange and Molecule Man go to confront the Beyonders directly. However, in the middle of Doom's speech about how he's going to destroy them, Doom realises something is wrong.
"No!" Doom says. Everything explodes in a burst of white light... and then we cut to Reed and Black Panther studying a set of computer monitors. Something's just gone horribly wrong. The number of surviving universes just dropped from hundreds of thousands down to less than two dozen - they're out of time and everything is lost.
And that leads into...
Secret Wars #1
Secret Wars opens with a brief flashback to Doom's confrontation of the Beyonders, and then a title page telling us that the multiverse is dying. Now only two universes remain - Marvel 616 and 1610 (the Ultimateverse) - and, "Today, Earths collide."
Over on Earth 1610, Ultimate Reed Richards (teenage ex-supervillain) is snowing Ultimate Nick Fury with the promise they can save the universe by wiping out Earth 616. Fury sends all his forces to attack 616, which will keep everyone busy so Reed can get on with his real plan - which involves an alliance with the evil Cabal, led by Thanos.
Meanwhile, on Earth 616, the Fantastic Four are putting together a life raft spaceship that will be filled with scientists who can save mankind from extinction. But the transport bringing the scientists to them is destroyed, and in a change of plan, they just fill the life raft with everyone they can grab and take off. The carrier section containing Sue and the kids is broken off the ship by an enemy attack, but Sue holds it together with a forcefield. Reed stretches out to grab them... but he fails, and they're lost.
The ship gets its shield up, preserving the devastated Reed together with T'Challa, Captain Marvel and a handful of others, just as the universe whites out. We see a glimpse of Doom's mask briefly before everything goes back. The end page reads: "The Marvel Universe: 1961-2015 * The Ultimate Universe: 2000-2015".
Secret Wars #2
In Secret Wars #2, we open on a brand new, unfamiliar world, which seems to have been shaped according to Doom's wishes, and features familiar faces in different roles, with seemingly no recollection of their past lives.
The new world is divided up into many small kingdoms, ruled by barons (including characters like Captain Britain, Mister Sinister and Apocalypse) who get to do what they want in their own little kingdoms but ultimately answer to Doom, whom everybody worships as a god. An army of Thors, a sort of police force judged worthy by their ability to lift the mystic hammers, keep the peace.
In one of the kingdoms, Utopolis, Alex Power - known as "Minister Powers" in this world - investigates a strange find, aided by some other members of the Future Foundation. (Who all look a bit different: in particular the moloids are now all grown adults.) They've been told there was an earthquake, but the signs don't add up, and they think it was a cover story for the fact that "another Hulk got loose on the mainland." But then they stumble across the real cause: a crashed spaceship.
The Thors bring two of the barons, Mister Sinister and Captain Britain (Jamie Braddock in this world), before the high court of Doom, where "God Doom himself sits in judgment on his throne, Yggdrasil - the world tree." Doctor Strange is "Sheriff of Agamatto, the right hand of Doom - his irrevocable voice". Sue and Valeria also have pride of place beside Doom's throne (and, interestingly, they're all in Future Foundation white, Doom included).
Sinister has insulted Brian Braddock and his wife, and chooses trial by combat rather than paying up, almost killing Braddock before Doom steps in. He says that Brian should be grateful, and therefore tell Doom where to find the headquarters of the rebels working against him. Brian doesn't know, and to save him, his brother Jamie steps in and admits he was the one working with the rebels. Doom wants the entire house put down, but Sue puts her hand on his shoulder and says, "Victor. Mercy." He covers her hand with his, bows his head and says, "Yes, Susan. Of course." He changes the order so that only Jamie is punished, cast out into the deadlands to fight to the death against the monsters out there that threaten their civilisation (including familiar villains like evil symbiotes, Annihilus and Ultron's forces).
Doom and Sue leave the council chamber, but Valeria sticks around to talk with 'Sheriff' Strange. It turns out that she holds an office equal to his in Doom's court - while Strange is Doom's right hand, the Law, Valeria is Doom's left hand, the Foundation. (She also refers to Doom as "father".) She and Strange both go to look at Alex Power's find of the spaceship. Carbon dating has proved it predates the creation of the world, which makes it a heresy against the religion of Doom, and Strange orders it quarantined. However, one of the Moloids can't resist poking, and the door opens.
Out steps Thanos together with the rest of the Cabal and Ultimate Reed Richards. It seems they've escaped the destruction of the former universes by stealing the plans for 616 Reed's life raft and arrived here on Doom's newly created world. Unlike the denizens of Doom's world, they remember the former universe, and are wondering where the hell they are. Thanos interrogates a moloid, and he tells them "This is Doom's world... which he made to test both the faithful and the unforgiven. The firmament, created with his own hands." Battleworld.
Thoughts
So, a tl;dr summary of The Story So Far:
* The Beyonders wanted to destroy the multiverse
* Doom tried to stop them but it didn't go to plan, so the multiverse went splodey
* Marvel 616 and Ultimateverse were the last universes left
* Reed and a few 616 heroes escaped the destruction of their universe in a specially made ship
* Evil Ultimate Reed and the Cabal copied the ship design and escaped as well
* Doom has once again gained the powers of a god (must be Tuesday) and created a new world to his design
* The Cabal and Evil Ultimate Reed have just showed up there
Presumably, we can expect the surviving 616 heroes to make a similar appearance in an issue or two. But in the meantime, the interesting part is the fascinating glimpse into Doom's psyche that we get from Battleworld. He's declared himself god and introduced a feudal system with harsh punishments for rebelling against him - no surprises there.
On the other hand, the fact he's chosen to dress himself in Future Foundation white is very interesting, and I can't quite decide what that says. In Avengers: Children's Crusade he also switched his costume from green to FF white when he gained godly powers - does he associate his stint in the FF with goodness and heroism? OTOH, in Children's Crusade, and in the original Secret Wars, the first thing he did with godly powers was fix his face, yet here he remains masked. Is the mask purely ceremonial and his face healed underneath it, or was the creation of Battleworld done wholly unconsciously, and he sees himself as scarred in his subconscious?
Stephen Strange as Doom's right hand and the instrument of his law is also fascinating, and suggests a surprising amount of trust in him and his wisdom on Doom's part. They were working together before the universe changed, which may have played in - plus they did of course save Doom's mother from hell together, which may have left a real impression.
Valeria calling Doom 'father' in his self-created world is less unexpected, but sweet. Aw, Doom, your paternal impulses are showing. I guess Sue as Doom's... consort? (it's not really specified) goes along with that, though despite the odd What If? story there's rarely much evidence that Doom's particularly interested in Sue for herself. But the fact he's cast her in the role of a good influence cautioning him to moderation and mercy is again pretty intriguing. Does he see her as having that influence over him? Does he see himself as needing that? Having someone tell him what to do is not usually his style, though perhaps it gives him a way to see himself as gracious and willing to listen.
Some interesting absences from Doom's self-created world so far: no sign of Kristoff or Franklin, no Namor... and where's Molecule Man? He was with Doom and Strange at the end, and now he's gone. Did he detonate at the end of the universes? Plus I suspect 616 Reed's reaction to finding Doom has acquired his wife and daughter will be interesting when he shows up.
The art is nice all round. Deodato on New Avengers, who's always good though his women are a bit annoyingly 'sexy' (the panels of Doom's army of female followers just look ridiculous), His take on Doom is okay if not my favourite, but he does faces and expressions very well and I like his Molecule Man and Doctor Strange.
The Secret Wars art is by Esad Ribic, and absolutely lovely. He's at his best doing less mundane characters, I think - he does a fabulous Thanos and Mister Sinister, and his Doom armour's pretty good as well. The panels of Sue laying her hand on Doom's shoulder are fantastic. (OTOH his Valeria does look like a teenager, but then she may be supposed to be older in Doom's world, I don't know.) Plus there's a muted painted sort of style to Ive Svorcina's colouring of his art that I like better than the harsher, more neon-y tones of Frank Martin's colours in New Avengers.
All in all, pretty confusing (Secret Wars #1 was particularly tough because I'm not sufficiently up on recent events in either 616 or 1610 to always be sure which universe's characters I'm looking at) and it took some rereading before I got it all sorted out in my head, but the setup is very intriguing. It looks like Secret Wars is going to be hugely Doom centric, and since I love Hickman's version of Doom, I am very excitedly onboard for that wherever it happens to be going.