Unraveling the truth Behind Jim Shooter's Secret Wars
Tom Spurgeon, a well respected reporter said the following on The Comics Reporter: You have this section where you're discussing the 1980s, and you tell this story about someone -- it must have been Carol Kalish -- standing up and saying, basically, "Secret Wars was terrible... and we're going to give you more Secret Wars!" And everyone had a bit of a laugh at this notion.
This quote from Spurgeon on Marvel’s Direct Sales Manager Carol Kalish is a legendary story regarding Marvel’s own direction in their huge Secret Wars crossover. At the end of the day, neither of the two (Secret Wars) stories are very good -- but as proved in the crossover at Marvel comics happening right now, the stories managed to leave some kind of lasting impact on Marvel. Also, I have no doubt Kalish’s impact on Marvel and the like would be felt more if she didn’t unfortunately pass at the early age of 36.
The story of Secret Wars is a long and complicated one starting in 1984. The series started as an opportunity for Marvel Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter to shake-up the franchise of the Marvel Universe going forward. Unlike Stan Lee, Shooter was interested in pushing the envelope with the different Marvel characters as far as they could possibly go. Under his tenure at Marvel, Spidey first got his black costume, Storm got a mohawk, Sue Richards became the Invisible Girl, and Jean Gray (phoenix) came back from the dead. He even used The Beyonder in the first big crossover with Secret Wars. The Beyonder brought all the Marvel Comics characters out of their own titles that saw them teleport into a location called Battleworld. Here the different characters duked it out until the 12-issue series finally ended.
Then the madness of Secret Wars II started.
As strange as Secret Wars I is, Secret Wars II is even crazier. EIC Jim Shooter was notoriously difficult to work with. The author made almost every title at Marvel cross into the upcoming series, and sent many a title back to the printer to redo the story. Secret Wars II essentially features The Beyonder (who instigated the first Secret Wars by forcing the different Marvel characters into Battleworld in the first) actually coming back to Earth and just...well...hanging out with other Marvel characters. The story continues to be one of Marvel’s worst event series -- and almost seems to chronicle the fragile mental state of Shooter.
The EIC has been chronicled again and again as having been the sole source of a lot of behind-the-scenes problems at Marvel during the 80’s. His brawl with famed Batman and Daredevil writer Denny O’Neil has been one of the worst instances of a Secret Wars II fight between two creators. With respect to knowing the full history, it seems really strange that Marvel would be continuing to push the name of Secret Wars after the concept of the story has changed so quickly. Key points and plot movements are the same, but author Jonathan Hickman has greatly expanded on the premise of Battleworld itself that was originally so thin in the first couple of moments in Secret Wars.
Even the premise of the characters known as The Beyonders have completely changed in the brand new Secret Wars. They even have the name of the Ivory Kings. Select moments in the Marvel Universe don’t have all the mythology represented before they are crafted. For instance, Brian Michael Bendis just launched a story in Guardians of the Galaxy that showed where the Venom symbiote came from. He showed that symbiote can be used for good or evil depending on the person bearing the armor. In Secret Wars, we never really figured out anything about the creation of The Beyonders.
Even with the frayed legacy of Jim Shooter and the rest of Secret Wars, Jonathan Hickman has been assembling the pieces in completely different ways for a Secret Wars worthy of the actual title. The author also began to reimagine several different pieces from Shooter’s reign at Marvel. He took the New Universe concepts with the characters of Nightmask and Starbrand and brought them into the fold with a new focus. In addition to also utilizing the new Beyonders as the Ivory Kings, Hickman also explored the Shooter-era. Terrax the Tamer was another character created under the run of Shooter who is now part of Thanos’ evil cabal. Shooter was obsessed with the character of Molecule Man, and went through great lengths to portray his complicated relationship with Doctor Doom. This is yet one more Shooter concept being explored by Hickman for the upcoming event.
With a new focus on Secret Wars, Hickman and Marvel have a seem to have a winner on their hands if the first couple of issues are any indication. Still, with the context of the previous Secret Wars titles, the new series can be looked at in a much different light. Let us know if the perspective on Jim Shooter and his collection of Marvel stories at all change how you perceive the new title.
