Review: Secret Wars 4 & 5

Secret Wars #4

It kicks off with the battle of The Cabal vs The Thors with the exposition of what BATTLEWORLD is done off  panel by Dr. strange as he speaks to the Final Incursion survivors.

Dr. Strange tries to explain and justify Doom's reign over BATTLEWORLD. Strange's ideology of course is challenged by the survivors but this ends abruptly when they are interrupted by the nascent Thor being summoned into battle against the Cabal.

Review: Runaways 1 & 2 (Secret Wars)

Runaways #1 (Secret Wars)

I went into Runaways think it was going to be a story about the last Runaways team but, as I'm beginning to learn, with Secret Wars Titles it's never exactly what you expected. All in all, turns out the story kicks off in Doomstadt (capital domain of BATTLEWORLD) where there is a school for the most gifted and brightest accross BATTLEWORLD domains where they are trained as potential leaders and 'DoomElites' in Doom's world.

 

At the school there are a bunch of teens (obviously) who were given this school's version of detention after causing a ruckus in the hallways (long story; read the book; you'll love it, I promise).

The problem is they have to register with their teams for their final exams but are stuck in this detention. Eventually Amadeus Cho (one of the miscreants) manages to get them out of their detention by reprogramming their doombot warden.

Their escape is shortly discovered but they are still allowed to register with the catch being they must do it as a team. There's the interesting reveal at the end that Doom's daughter is actually headmaster of the institute

What I liked?: If you know a thing or two about the type of comics I like then you will know

Review : Secret Wars 2099 1-3

Secret Wars 2099 takes place in the (you guessed it) 2099 domain of BATTLEWORLD. The title surrounds a band of the 2099 version of the avengers-- all new characters, except for Hercules, all with their own intrigue.

Secret Wars 2099 #1

The first issue opens by introducing the characters in the setting of a battle against 'The Chain Gang' who have stolen something or another. We're introduced to Captain America (muscular female super-soldier); Hawk(wings and talons), Black Widow(kind of a spider-lady), Iron man (man in armor) and Hercules (demigod).

The real intrigue are the reveals, mostly closer towards the end: Cap is some split personality form of Roberta Mendez, who thinks she's a mere secretary or something but in reality becomes the super-soldier whenever she's "activated" by Mr. Stone; Black Widow isn't very reserved when it comes to lethal methods; The man in the Iron man suite is actually a, quite handsome, little person; and The Vision is some weird precognitive semi-comatose person in a pool of water.

Review: X-tinction Agenda 1 & 2

Being the X-geek that I am I had to pick up X-tinction Agenda from the Secret Wars event. The title is set in the X-topic domain of BATTLEWORLD and is overseen by Baron Grey (Rachel Grey aka Phoenix). Because it's a four issue auction-packed miniseries it has to stuff a whole lot in each issue; so my receive only gives the basics:

X-tinction Agenda #1

The first issue kicks off with the final battle for Genosha that left Havok and Rahne as new leaders in this country. It fast forwards to years later when the country is plagued by an extinction virus causing them to be quarantined and cut off from the rest of X-topia. There are food riots and the only thing Havoks team is left to do is have Mystique pose as Xavier (who is no dead) to quell them.

The Genoshan leaders plead with both Lord Emperor doom AND Baron Grey but to know avail. The Genoshans believe the with the help of mutant healer Triage and Rogue, under the advice of their gene engineer, could help them stop the plague. Under the advice of Beast, Baron Grey refuses to lift the quarantine.

Review: Infinity Gauntlet 1 & 2

Infinity Gauntlet wasn't quite what I was expecting... But it was so much more!

It's set in a part of BATTLWORLD (I don't know why I always all-caps that word) that has been all but completely destroyed by "the bugs" -- giant bug-like alien life forms that eat people.  It's the story of Anwen and her family in the desolate post-apocalyptic landscape, trying to survive and evade these bugs. Her mom had left to join the Nova Corps in efforts to stop the bugs but it's been years and they haven't heard from her, or them, since.

Infinity Gauntlet #1

This first issued was following a day in Anwen's life when suddenly her family is attacked my these alien bugs. The group end up getting split up and Anwen loses her grandfather when he risks himself to save her.

Anwen ends up finding an infinity gem after killing a bug that was threatening her.

Review : Secret Wars 1-3

Secret Wars 1-3

I'm not going to go into much detail, but these books are highly recommended (by me) anyway, so go get reading and check out my review:

Secret Wars #1

You have to read Secret Wars #1 twice to love it: On the first read you'll probably not have a clue of everything that's going one; on the second read (when you're reading to do a review on your blog after having read a few other Secret War tie-in titles) you'll realize how epic it is.

Secret Wars #1 excellently sets the stage for what the rest of the series is going to be. It opens with the war between 616 and 1610, with backstage, evilous players such as 1610's Reed Richards and (I think) 616's Thanos and The Cabal, as the two worlds are colliding. Needless to say, nobody wins the war and the 616 team manages to get some select heroes on a safety raft to survive the incursion.

We also see Doom being set up to become the God of the BATTLEWORD that ensues.

What I liked? : On the second read? EVERYTHING!! Just get ready for a great series. There is so much happening in this book: Look out for development with Phoenix-Cyclops, a mourning 616 Reed, evil 1610 Reed, The Cabal and God-Doom.

(Return of) Comics I like: Secret Wars

I have been out of the comics game for a while now -- haven't been reading any for months from being swamped with work and life in general and also losing interest in most titles (as you already know). But -- praise the lord -- I've finally decided to dive back into the world of fiction which I love so dearly, and it seems not a moment too soon: Secret Wars is at hand.

Several titles have launched surrounding this universe-changing event and it would seem this event is ready to sweep me in. And, as I get swept, I feel I'm going to rekindle my sharing the experience with you through blogging about the titles I've picked.

The great thing about secret wars that makes it attractive to someone with my type of comic book tastes is that in this new BATTLEWORLD it's created, where Doom is god, there are, first of all, several point ones where I can hop on to these titles and, secondly, these titles are all set in their own little world that is being built from ground up; so I wont be getting too lost in the convoluted-ness that is typical 616 continuity-- you just have to know these characters exist... and that's it; follow the story from there.

I'll be giving my reviews of some of my favourite titles as the weeks press on and we'll watch where the event goes from there.

Usually I hate crossovers but this one seems just right for me.