Secret Wars (Comics) | Review

For years, writer Jonathan Hickman (Avengers: Infinity, Ultimate Comics: Fallout) spent his Avengers runs building toward the destruction of everything. His New Avengers run chronicled incursions, universes colliding and annihilating each other while heroes made impossible choices about which worlds deserved to survive.

Secret Wars picks up where that Time Runs Out storyline ended, delivering the actual apocalypse those stories promised. The Marvel Universe dies completely in issue one. What comes after is stranger and more ambitious than standard event book territory.

Battleworld emerges from cosmic destruction, a patchwork planet stitched together from hundreds of dead realities and lost timelines. Doctor Doom rules as god over this fractured realm, maintaining order through absolute authority while survivors from different universes live in domains that remix Marvel's greatest hits.

This isn't a crossover where heroes team up to punch a threat together and save the day. It's a deconstruction of superhero mythology where reality itself broke and someone had to pick up the pieces, even if that someone is Victor Von Doom playing god.

The opening issue delivers on years of buildup. The final incursion happens. The final incursion happens without warning. The Marvel Universe and Ultimate Universe collide catastrophically. Reed Richards and Tony Stark have built lifeboats to save a handful of people but there's no time for ethical debates about who deserves survival.

Everything dies in spectacular fashion. The Beyonders, cosmic entities that exist beyond reality itself, have been systematically destroying the multiverse across infinite dimensions for reasons mortals can't comprehend. They succeed where all resistance failed completely.

Eight years pass in the blink of cosmic time. Battleworld exists as the only remaining landmass in an empty cosmos, divided into kingdoms that each represent alternate Marvel realities. There's a domain where Civil War never ended and heroes remain eternally divided. Another where the Age of Apocalypse continues without end.

Doom looked into omnipotence and didn't flinch, salvaging what remained after cosmic genocide. He wears god-like power better than you'd expect. His Battleworld has laws enforced by a Thor Corps made up of alternate Thors from different realities.

Doctor Strange serves as sheriff and enforcer of Doom's laws, policing domains with authority while harboring deep doubts about whether Doom truly deserves to play god over all reality. Susan Storm is Doom's consort and companion, which creates uncomfortable questions about consent and agency the story eventually addresses.

Reed Richards survived in one of the lifeboats, along with members of both the Marvel and Ultimate universes who escaped annihilation. They wake up on Battleworld with fragmented memories of what came before, confused and disoriented by this patchwork reality.

This becomes crucial to resistance, remembering the old universe when everyone else accepts Doom's creation as reality means having the conceptual weapons to challenge him. Heroes who remember become immediate threats to the established order and Doom's authority.

The confrontation between Reed and Doom forms the emotional core of the entire event. These two have battled for decades across Marvel continuity but here the stakes transcend personal rivalry. Reed represents scientific curiosity and collaborative problem-solving. Doom represents authoritarian control justified by results.

When faced with omnipotence and universal collapse, which philosophy deserves to rebuild existence? The answer isn't as simple as hero versus villain. Black Panther, Doctor Strange and other key players work to undermine Doom's authority while protecting the survivors.

Thanos shows up because of course Thanos shows up during multiversal collapse, though his role remains smaller than you'd expect given his power level. The various domains go to war when cracks appear in Doom's control and the scale becomes overwhelming in ways both impressive and occasionally exhausting to follow.

The resolution involves Reed gaining the Beyonders' power and choosing to rebuild the multiverse as collaborative effort with his family and friends rather than god-emperor Doom. The old Marvel Universe returns, though not exactly as it was.

The Ultimate Universe's Miles Morales integrates into the main continuity. This directly launches the All-New, All-Different Marvel initiative, a soft reboot that re-launched around 60 titles set eight months after Secret Wars with new status quos across the board.

Artwork by Esad Ribić (Thor – God of Thunder: The Last Days of Midgard, Uncanny X-Force: Deathlok Nation) elevates this from standard event fare into something visually distinctive. His painted style gives Battleworld weight and history, making patchwork kingdoms feel like they've existed for centuries rather than eight years.

The double-page spread of Doom's castle towering over reality communicates power through architecture. His character work maintains clarity even during massive battle scenes involving dozens of heroes and villains. The color palette shifts between domains effectively.

Hickman's writing brings density that defined his Avengers run. Characters speak with purpose rather than quipping through crisis. Reed and Doom's dialogue revisits decades of conflict without forced nostalgia. Strange's internal conflict about serving a tyrant while remembering what hero work meant gives the story moral center.

The pacing struggles in middle issues where scope becomes too ambitious. Multiple plot threads across dozens of domains create moments where narrative loses focus, jumping between storylines without giving any single thread enough room to breathe.

Secret Wars accomplishes something most event books don't attempt, actually ending an era of continuity and rebuilding from the ground up. The scale feels genuinely apocalyptic rather than just another Tuesday in superhero comics. Doom as god-emperor works because the story asks whether benevolent dictatorship justifies existence.

The event suffers from ambition exceeding execution in several places. Not every domain gets adequate exploration. Some character moments feel rushed. The conflict between Reed's collaborative rebuilding and Doom's authoritarian control delivers emotional weight.

The aftermath fundamentally reshaped Marvel's publishing line, integrating Ultimate Universe characters into main continuity and establishing new status quos that rippled through titles for years. Understanding why Miles Morales suddenly appears in main Marvel Universe or why some have altered histories requires reading this event.

This works as both massive crossover spectacle and thematic examination of who deserves to wield ultimate power. Not every swing connects but the ambition and execution succeed more often than they stumble, making this essential reading for Marvel fans.

Secret Wars (2016) is collected in trade paperback, hardcover and Secret Wars: Battleworld Omnibus across Amazon and other major retailers, following the eight-issue event that has reshaped the Marvel Universe. For digital reading, the entire event is available via Amazon Kindle, ComiXology and Marvel Unlimited.