Blast from the Past: Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars

Writer: Don ChiavonWebsite:MarvelComicBooks.orgPermalink:http://bit.ly/z3IIwFrom “The Blast From The Past” SeriesEverybody 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 thecover of Marvel Super Heroes Secret War sitting on a newsstand or comic rackand I had my very first Geekgasm. Staring at the cover, all the major MarvelHeroes rushing towards me with my favorite Hero, Captain America, at the veryforefront… well, I may have felt my knees buckle.Whether it was with my own money or my parents’, I endedup buying that first issue, as well as the next 11 subsequentissues of Marvel’s first company-wide crossover. I honestlydon’t know how I did it. I mean, I was only 10. I didn’t havemoney back then. There were no nearby comic shops I hadaccess to, never mind eBay. But I managed to do it. Iremember that I saw #3 sitting on the shelf at Big V, a localpharmacy. I went back a couple of days later to purchase it,and it was gone. I asked a woman who worked there if ithad been sold, or was maybe taken off the shelf and was in the back. I waitedanxiously as she went to check, and was elated when she came back carryingthe last remaining copy.As it turns out, this year is the 25

Anniversary of Marvel Super Heroes SecretWars. In reading online reaction to the series, it’s easy to see that fan reactionwas 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 mayvery 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 ahole in space. Intrigued by what he saw, he absconded withmost of the Marvel U’s major heroes and villains. He setthem against each other on a world… dubbed, appropriatelyenough, Battleworld, for his amusement. “Slay yourenemies and all you desire shall be yours!” he told them,thus setting off an epic battle. The series, written by thenMarvel Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter, featured gorgeous artby Mike Zeck and was a showcase for MANY senses-shattering moments Including: Spiderman THRASHING the X-Men when he foundout that they were going to abandon the Heroes to ally with Magneto in Issue