Blast from the Past: Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars
Writer: Don Chiavon
Website: MarvelComicBooks.org
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From “The Blast From The Past” Series
Everybody remembers their first time; their first kiss, first love, first cliché,
yadda yadda yadda. Well, in 1984, when I was the tender age of 10, I saw the
cover of Marvel Super Heroes Secret War sitting on a newsstand or comic rack
and I had my very first Geekgasm. Staring at the cover, all the major Marvel
Heroes rushing towards me with my favorite Hero, Captain America, at the very
forefront… well, I may have felt my knees buckle.
Whether it was with my own money or my parents’, I ended
up buying that first issue, as well as the next 11 subsequent
issues of Marvel’s first company-wide crossover. I honestly
don’t know how I did it. I mean, I was only 10. I didn’t have
money back then. There were no nearby comic shops I had
access to, never mind eBay. But I managed to do it. I
remember that I saw #3 sitting on the shelf at Big V, a local
pharmacy. I went back a couple of days later to purchase it,
and it was gone. I asked a woman who worked there if it
had been sold, or was maybe taken off the shelf and was in the back. I waited
anxiously as she went to check, and was elated when she came back carrying
the last remaining copy.
As it turns out, this year is the 25th Anniversary of Marvel Super Heroes Secret
Wars. In reading online reaction to the series, it’s easy to see that fan reaction
was polarized. Most either loved it or hated it, with few opinions in between.
Needless to say, I was one of the readers on the loved it side. In fact, this may
very well be my very favorite mini-series ever.
Admittedly, the premise is kind of flimsy. A God-like Entity,
the Beyonder, was able to observe Marvel’s earth through a
hole in space. Intrigued by what he saw, he absconded with
most of the Marvel U’s major heroes and villains. He set
them against each other on a world… dubbed, appropriately
enough, Battleworld, for his amusement. “Slay your
enemies and all you desire shall be yours!” he told them,
thus setting off an epic battle. The series, written by then
Marvel Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter, featured gorgeous art
by Mike Zeck and was a showcase for MANY senses-
shattering moments Including: Spiderman THRASHING the X-Men when he found
out that they were going to abandon the Heroes to ally with Magneto in Issue

#3; The Hulk holding up a mountain that the villains dropped on the heroes
after they had been defeated and tried to escape in Issue #4; the “death” of
the Wasp in Issue #7; And, most importantly, the debut of Spiderman’s iconic
black costume. As Marvel fans know, the suit turned out to be an Alien
Symbiote, and later became insanely popular Spiderman villain Venom.
The series was a smashing success. Each issue sold nearly 750,000 copies, and it
spawned a dreadful sequel, Secret Wars II, in which the Beyonder comes to
Earth and takes human form, dressing in a white leather jumpsuit and having a
black perm. *sigh* I try to forget it ever happened. Secret Wars also inspired
THE Marvel toy line of the ‘80s, which carried the same name as the comics.
Each of the figures came with their own “secret shield”, which came with
inserts you could place in the shield to show off changing images when you
moved it back and forth. I had the Captain America, Iron Man, Wolverine, And
Dr. Doom figures. There were also vehicles, playsets, coloring books, puffy
stickers, etc. Check out http://www.toymania.com/archives/secretwars/ for
an overview of both the comics, toys, and other products inspired by the
series.
It’s hard to believe all that was 25 years ago. Being the collector that I am
today, I have near mint copies of the series bagged and boarded and safely
stashed away in a long box. It’s actually been a long time since I’ve read the
series, and I think I’m due. Time to sit down in my jimmies with some Count
Chocula and get to readin’. Guess I’ll be sending you Marvel Zombies another
Blast from the Past when I’m done. Until then, I’ll see you at the comic shop.
Writer: Don Chiavon
Website: MarvelComicBooks.org
Permalink: http://bit.ly/z3IIw