The Original Secret Wars

[David O Burcham]

I've been catching up on lost YABS time skimming through the forum and just read the "Beyoder retcon" thread started by bert. A lot of bad things have been said about the original Secret Wars series and I felt compelled to start a new thread to discuss the series in and of itself (not the Beyonder retcon, not Secret Wars II).


The greatest Marvel heroes and their worst villians set to another planet to beat the snot out of each other.










How is that NOT the most awesome comic book ever created!??!

[heystacy]

It had its pros and cons. It proved Thor should be written as a badass everyday. She-Hulk got thrashed. Hulk could hold up a mountain. Poor Colossus and his cheating heart.

[areacode212]

I loved it as a kid. Taking the heroes and villains out of their usual environment and throwing them together, barracks-style, made for some pretty fun character interactions that you didn't normally get to see.

[Corrina]

I thought it was kinda lame as a kid but then I was never a Rumbles-type. It's basically a battle royale with a few decent character moments.

The Venom suit came out of Secret Wars, yes?

The only thing I really liked that came out of this was Lockheed the Dragon. Whatever happened to him?

[Charles RB]

How is that NOT the most awesome comic book ever created!??!

Because Flesh was created years before.

Time-travelling cowboys capturing dinosaurs to be mass-slaughtered and send their meat back to the future - and the Tyrannosaurus' are fighting back (and are the real protaganists)! The sequel had this cover at the time (http://www.2000adonline.com/covers/2000ad/hires/93.jpg)and this reprint cover (http://www.2000adonline.com/covers/reprints/hires/extreme7.jpg).

I love Flesh I and II.

[TCJohnson]

The only thing I really liked that came out of this was Lockheed the Dragon. Whatever happened to him?

Featured quite prominantly in Astonishing X-Men

[the4thpip]

Lockheed did not come out of Secret War, though. Kitty found him when the X-Men were fighting the Brood. If I'm not completely mistaken, he is a Paul Smith creation.

[Night Swordsman]

Yep,Paul Smith,along with creating Leave it to Chance,gave us Lockheed.

How can you NOT like a creator like that! :)

[Alex Dragon]

How is that NOT the most awesome comic book ever created!??!

At the time it came out some people probably thought it was. It was a great idea and concept that hadn't really been done on that scale before. If Jim Shooter had given it to one of Marvel's top writers to write it would've had more critical acclaim than it ended up getting. If I remember correctly the biggest complaint was that all the characters were written in a sort of generic way and no one was acting/reacting as they should. Many people feel it didn't live up to it's hype of the major changes it would have on the Marvel Universe but I think most of the big crossovers from Marvel and DC that followed didn't either.

I guess if you go back and read it today it would seem far from a big deal because that type of thing is very common today but back then it was a huge big deal.

[stealthwise]

At the time it came out some people probably thought it was. It was a great idea and concept that hadn't really been done on that scale before. If Jim Shooter had given it to one of Marvel's top writers to write it would've had more critical acclaim than it ended up getting. If I remember correctly the biggest complaint was that all the characters were written in a sort of generic way and no one was acting/reacting as they should. Many people feel it didn't live up to it's hype of the major changes it would have on the Marvel Universe but I think most of the big crossovers from Marvel and DC that followed didn't either.

I guess if you go back and read it today it would seem far from a big deal because that type of thing is very common today but back then it was a huge big deal.

I read it when I was six, a few years after it came out, and I loved it.


Which is funny, because Marvel seemed to write big events for kids back then, but now are gearing everything towards almost the exact same generation, only we're now grown-up, ugly, and jaded. Not the smartest long-term strategy, and I'll take a mess like Maximum Carnage or Secret Wars over Civil War any day.

[Corrina]

Aha. So Lockheed came from the X-Men after all.

Thanks! But at least wiki tells me that Lockheed did have a role in Secret Wars, which is probably what mixed me up.

[Night Swordsman]

I loved Secret Wars. I also read and loved the first Contest of Champions as well. Both of these were great fun,especially for the times when they were released. ALOT of the flack both of these series get is that the ideas that made up these series have been used,reused,REreused,retconned,redone,and just plain abused. It is the whole "This new generation is jaded to what has gone before" issue. As time has proven,over a period of time has passed,and with more knowledge of the artform gives way,BETTER appreciation of the works of classic writers and artists becomes more inherrant,especially to the once younger audiences.

Oh. Sorry. Rambling. I am waiting for the mailman to deliver my comics.
Yes,i liked Secret Wars. Even DESPITE the damn Venom suit. :rolleyes:

[Night Swordsman]

Aha. So Lockheed came from the X-Men after all.

Thanks! But at least wiki tells me that Lockheed did have a role in Secret Wars, which is probably what mixed me up.

He did. He found a girlfriend,and when the heroes all got returned(for some reason,the x-men ended up in Japan,seperated from the other heroes) the girl dragon grew to immense proportions,and the X-men had to stop her.

I also believe the girl dragon was featured in the Kitty Pryde mini-series from a few years ago. I do believe a certain great penciller that i have been geeking over on this thread drew it as well. Lockheed too!


(Mega Kitty & Lockheed fan!) :)

[Red Jack]

I liked SW 1 a lot more than SW 2. Doom really went crazy in the first go 'round and there was just something fun about the whole thing (not to mention there were ongoing consequences from wht happened on the Beyonder's world).

I REALLY liked the two CONTEST OF CHAMPIONS minis, though. Especially the second one.

[mgs]

Aha. So Lockheed came from the X-Men after all.

Thanks! But at least wiki tells me that Lockheed did have a role in Secret Wars, which is probably what mixed me up.

yeah, he was in secret wars, and I really liked the series too. :)

http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=166978&page=4&highlight=kitty

[DungeonmasterJim]

Count me as another that really liked the original Secret Wars. And I still really like it, too.

DM Jim

[suedenim]

Secret Wars totally rocks if you're 12 years old or thereabouts. It's a fun story, elegant in its simplicity: "Get all our biggest characters together in the middle of nowhere and have them punch each other."

I think even today, you could do a lot worse than using Secret Wars to get a young reader hooked on Marvel's comics and characters.

[Lester C.]

Wasn't there a Bendis mini by that name a couple of years back?

[Night Swordsman]

Wasn't there a Bendis mini by that name a couple of years back?

Yes. Secret WAR(no s). AND despite the delays in the final issue,was a pretty decent mini with great artwork. Worth buying in a trade nowadays,and unfortantely seems to be one of the origin points for everything going on in the Marvel Universe nowadays. It was also one of the last appearances of Nick Fury in command of SHIELD.

I have this really insane theory in the back of my head that they are going to reboot the Marvel Universe in the near future,and that Doom's technology will be involved in it. Just want to put this thought in print so i can point back to it.

[Red Jack]

I have this really insane theory in the back of my head that they are going to reboot the Marvel Universe in the near future,and that Doom's technology will be involved in it. Just want to put this thought in print so i can point back to it.

You aren't alone.

This all seems fun now but the problem with taking things to their "logical" conclusion is, comics aren't real. This status quo cannot sustain itself. not easily at least. It will become too self-conscious and self-referential, thus defeating its own purpose.

I love reading Nova's reaction to the whole thing. He's like, "Did the whole planet just go nuts while I was away?"

Yes, Rich. They did.

[Night Swordsman]

You aren't alone.

This all seems fun now but the problem with taking things to their "logical" conclusion is, comics aren't real. This status quo cannot sustain itself. not easily at least. It will become too self-conscious and self-referential, thus defeating its own purpose.

I live reading Nova's rection to the whole thing. He's like, "Did the whole planet just go nuts while I was away?"

Yes, Rich. They did.

I thought the EXACT same thing(and i'm been a huge Nova fan since issue one. The first series,not the fourth one. :) ),and i am wondering this: If Tony Stark is ever found guilty of the deaths involved in Planet Hulk,will the Xandarian system classify him and the super-humans of Earth as criminals and threats?

[MartinRedmond]

The first one had too much talking. I liked the second one better. The talking fit that story better. And it was cool to see an omnipotent being trying to fit in. The first one was too generic of a plot, like an excuse for some random WWF throw down.

[MartinRedmond]

I have this really insane theory in the back of my head that they are going to reboot the Marvel Universe in the near future,and that Doom's technology will be involved in it. Just want to put this thought in print so i can point back to it.


Why would you need to explain a reboot?