Secret Wars Minis and Tie-Ins (potential spoilers)

David_D

I know we have been talking about some of these in the threads about the main Secret Wars book. But there have been enough of these, with more to come, that I thought they could get their own place, and I will move some of that chat over.

What have you tried so far?

What have you liked?

Any of these characters or ideas things you hope get to stay in the post-Secret Wars MU?

NOTE-- The first few posts might be ones you made or saw before, moved from Secret Wars issue threads.

TheOriginalGMan

** SPOILER DISCUSSION RE: VARIOUS SECRET WAR TIE-IN ISSUES**

Don't know if you've been reading any of the tie-ins, but while it seems like the characters are unaware that they had lives on previous incarnations of Earth, several of the tie-ins have had some interesting twists on this. Going to give away a mild spoiler here, but in the "Spider Verse" tie-in, due to their "Spider Sense," all of the various "Spiders" that are in Battleworld know something is wrong and that they don't belong there. It's not clear how much of their previous lives they recall though.

Also, "Ultimate End" #1 implied that the heroes brought together in that series may know what's going on as well? At least they're making us thinking that's the case.

Brack

TheOriginalGMan said:

Also, "Ultimate End" #1 implied that the heroes brought together in that series may know what's going on as well? At least they're making us thinking that's the case.

I'm glad the characters know what's going on in that comic, because I had no idea. You could tell it was a Bendis comic though, as his favourite Marvel character, "table around which characters stand talking" was front and centre.

TheOriginalGMan

Brack said:

I'm glad the characters know what's going on in that comic, because I had no idea. You could tell it was a Bendis comic though, as his favourite Marvel character, "table around which characters stand talking" was front and centre.

:-) Ha! Yeah, there was certainly a lot of that. If I'm remembering correctly, the heroes definitely knew they were from 2 different earths, which (except for Spider Verse) isn't a concept I'm seeing in the other tie-ins. Granted, the fact there were two, you know, Tony Starks may have been a bit of tip-off to them.

Brack

TheOriginalGMan said:

Brack said:

I'm glad the characters know what's going on in that comic, because I had no idea. You could tell it was a Bendis comic though, as his favourite Marvel character, "table around which characters stand talking" was front and centre.

:-) Ha! Yeah, there was certainly a lot of that. If I'm remembering correctly, the heroes definitely knew they were from 2 different earths, which (except for Spider Verse) isn't a concept I'm seeing in the other tie-ins. Granted, the fact there were two, you know, Tony Starks may have been a bit of tip-off to them.

I think I'm going to give the rest of it a miss. The only tie-ins I've enjoyed so far are Master of Kung Fu, which works without you even having to know it's a Secret Wars tie-in and Deadpool's Secret Secret Wars, which hits my particular history with Marvel square on.

popestu

Brack said:

TheOriginalGMan said:

Also, "Ultimate End" #1 implied that the heroes brought together in that series may know what's going on as well? At least they're making us thinking that's the case.

I'm glad the characters know what's going on in that comic, because I had no idea. You could tell it was a Bendis comic though, as his favourite Marvel character, "table around which characters stand talking" was front and centre.

HA! Spot on with the Bendis table.
I will get the next one.

popestu

Brack said:

TheOriginalGMan said:

Also, "Ultimate End" #1 implied that the heroes brought together in that series may know what's going on as well? At least they're making us thinking that's the case.

I'm glad the characters know what's going on in that comic, because I had no idea. You could tell it was a Bendis comic though, as his favourite Marvel character, "table around which characters stand talking" was front and centre.

TheOriginalGMan said:

Brack said:

I'm glad the characters know what's going on in that comic, because I had no idea. You could tell it was a Bendis comic though, as his favourite Marvel character, "table around which characters stand talking" was front and centre.

:-) Ha! Yeah, there was certainly a lot of that. If I'm remembering correctly, the heroes definitely knew they were from 2 different earths, which (except for Spider Verse) isn't a concept I'm seeing in the other tie-ins. Granted, the fact there were two, you know, Tony Starks may have been a bit of tip-off to them.

Were there also 2 Hawkeyes?

popestu

popestu said:

Brack said:

TheOriginalGMan said:

Also, "Ultimate End" #1 implied that the heroes brought together in that series may know what's going on as well? At least they're making us thinking that's the case.

I'm glad the characters know what's going on in that comic, because I had no idea. You could tell it was a Bendis comic though, as his favourite Marvel character, "table around which characters stand talking" was front and centre.

TheOriginalGMan said:

Brack said:

I'm glad the characters know what's going on in that comic, because I had no idea. You could tell it was a Bendis comic though, as his favourite Marvel character, "table around which characters stand talking" was front and centre.

:-) Ha! Yeah, there was certainly a lot of that. If I'm remembering correctly, the heroes definitely knew they were from 2 different earths, which (except for Spider Verse) isn't a concept I'm seeing in the other tie-ins. Granted, the fact there were two, you know, Tony Starks may have been a bit of tip-off to them.

</<img src="http://thepunkeffect.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/battleworld-ultimate-end-1-1.jpg" />blockquote>

Were there also 2 Hawkeyes?

popestu

Brack

Thought Infinity Gauntlet was the stand-out of this week's Secret Wars tie-ins. Great Dustin Weaver art and great protagonists. Only thing bad about it is the cover, which looks rushed compared to what's inside, and also misrepresents it too.

David_D

There is a spoilery discussion of Master of Kung-Fu 1 here, with some questions asked that maybe someone could help answer.

bralinator

Anyone know whether the #CGSGeeks will be doing an episode on the Secret Wars series proper or the tie-ins similar to their two-part Convergence episodes?

TheOriginalGMan

So far, I'm liking X-Tinction Agenda, Future Imperfect, Years of Future Past, and Old Man Logan. (3 of 4 are X books, and I'm not even a big X-Men fan)

Didn't care for Inferno, MODOK, A-Force, or Battleworld.

Everything else was "okay"

David_D

TheOriginalGMan said:

So far, I'm liking X-Tinction Agenda, Future Imperfect, Years of Future Past, and Old Man Logan. (3 of 4 are X books, and I'm not even a big X-Men fan)

Didn't care for Inferno, MODOK, A-Force, or Battleworld.

Everything else was "okay"

Would you be up for expanding on that? What did you like about the first group? Not like about the other?

nweathington

The only one I'm reading is Master of Kung Fu, because I am a softie for Shang-Chi and I enjoy Hong Kong kung fu flicks. This is definitely not the Shang-Chi I know and love (he would never fall into the depths of a bottle), but it's been fun so far, looking at it strictly as an homage to ’70s kung fu cinema.

My only complaint is that they're throwing in new versions of a lot of X-Men characters that for the most part either don't make a lot of sense in the setting or I just don't recognize and/or care about. I’ve spent too much time wondering, “Who is that, again? And why are they in this story?” It's a bit distracting while I'm reading. Why can't I get the Sons of the Tiger instead of the New Mutants?

Also, fair warning, it has all the emotional depth of the average ’70s kung fu flick, so there isn't a whole lot of character development going on, nor does there need to be. But if that's what you're looking for, look elsewhere.

Brack

The worst thing, at least in the first wave of tie-in issues, was there were too many "character is brought to Doom to be judged" scenes echoing the Jamie scenes from Secret Wars #2. It reminded me of Dark Reign tie-ins where the tie-in was the same every time - Dark Avengers show up to attack title characters.

David_D

I have only read a few tie-ins so far. I figure these are things I can binge on via Marvel Unlimited 6 months from now. But from what I have read so far--

Old Man Logan #1- When I saw the solicit on this, I was originally surprised. There was something about Bendis picking up on a Millar story that seemed surprising, given that they are contemporaries, and A-listers, and usually are individually doing the things that OTHER creators follow. So I was surprised by a story that is Bendis "After Millar", if you know what I mean.

But, now that we have seen the promo image for the post-SW Marvel Universe that shows the Old Man Logan version of Logan, as basically, THE Logan of the future MU, now I get it. Even though Bendis is continuing a take on the character from Millar, he is, as the stalwart company man, reestablishing who this version of Logan is, and getting him ready for the big show.

As for the first issue-- it is a quick read. I got it via a code swap. If I were buying it off the rack, I might not continue and just wait for Marvel Unlimited. But I did like it. It was spare, and felt like a Western (which was the vibe of the original Old Man Logan). I feel like part of the fun of these various Secret Wars settings is not only getting another visit with some past 'greatest hits', but also that the settings can feel like different genres.

I like Andrea Sorrentino, I think he is a great fit for this.

The first issue had some Doom talk, and mentions of the larger Battleworld. But generally it felt like this book is going to do its own thing. Which is good.

Infinity Gauntlet #1 I wasn't originally going to get this, but the positive buzz about it, as well as some general Secret Wars enthusiasm, got me to get it off the rack and give it a try. I'm glad i did. Great art and thrilling storytelling by Dustin Weaver (and I agree with @Brack that the cover is misleading, and not as strong as the work inside). This one felt like another genre, too. It felt like dystopian fiction with a young protagonist. Sort of a well-told YA book. And Weaver and Duggan do a good job of making us care about a new set of characters. The issue is not what I thought an "Infinity Gauntlet" comic would be, but in a good way. I'm intrigued to see how this builds, and whether any of the characters we meet in this will end up in the MU of the future.

Rider_Philze

I love Master of Kung Fu; it's definitely my favorite so far. I'll probably pick up all of Old Man Logan, too, if issue 2 keeps me interested, and I think it will.

Renew Your Vows was interesting. I thought Inferno was pretty good. A-Force, Giant-Size Little Marvel, 2099, and Planet Hulk were all okay. I haven't really read one that I thought was outright bad yet.

TheOriginalGMan

David_D said:

Infinity Gauntlet #1 I wasn't originally going to get this, but the positive buzz about it, as well as some general Secret Wars enthusiasm, got me to get it off the rack and give it a try. I'm glad i did. Great art and thrilling storytelling by Dustin Weaver (and I agree with @Brack that the cover is misleading, and not as strong as the work inside). This one felt like another genre, too. It felt like dystopian fiction with a young protagonist. Sort of a well-told YA book. And Weaver and Duggan do a good job of making us care about a new set of characters. The issue is not what I thought an "Infinity Gauntlet" comic would be, but in a good way. I'm intrigued to see how this builds, and whether any of the characters we meet in this will end up in the MU of the future.

While I liked this one, I'm not quite getting why it's called the Infinity Gauntlet. I'm sure it will all come together at some point though.

David_D

TheOriginalGMan said:

David_D said:

Infinity Gauntlet #1 I wasn't originally going to get this, but the positive buzz about it, as well as some general Secret Wars enthusiasm, got me to get it off the rack and give it a try. I'm glad i did. Great art and thrilling storytelling by Dustin Weaver (and I agree with @Brack that the cover is misleading, and not as strong as the work inside). This one felt like another genre, too. It felt like dystopian fiction with a young protagonist. Sort of a well-told YA book. And Weaver and Duggan do a good job of making us care about a new set of characters. The issue is not what I thought an "Infinity Gauntlet" comic would be, but in a good way. I'm intrigued to see how this builds, and whether any of the characters we meet in this will end up in the MU of the future.

While I liked this one, I'm not quite getting why it's called the Infinity Gauntlet. I'm sure it will all come together at some point though.

Remember- we see her find a certain something at the end of the issue, inside that bug, while a certain someone is nearby. So I do think things are heading into a more Gauntlet-y direction.

TheOriginalGMan

Yeah, I know. What I meant was that the other tie-ins that are named after prior Marvel events all seem to pick up from where they had left off, or seem to exist in that world, you know what I mean? Infinity Gauntlet took place out in the Cosmos somewhere, so I'm not getting the post-Apocalyptic Earth setting. Granted, I'm not too bright to begin with, so there's that. :-)

David_D

TheOriginalGMan said:

Yeah, I know. What I meant was that the other tie-ins that are named after prior Marvel events all seem to pick up from where they had left off, or seem to exist in that world, you know what I mean? Infinity Gauntlet took place out in the Cosmos somewhere, so I'm not getting the post-Apocalyptic Earth setting. Granted, I'm not too bright to begin with, so there's that. :-)

Ah. Got it. Yes, I was also surprised that the IG mini started at ground level. Not what I was expecting either.

Greg

Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #1 is the only tie-in I've read so far.

It's Dan Slott writing who, although I think he should take a break from Spidey, he does a really good job here. I like Andy Kubert but not everything I saw in the art worked for me. Iron-Man looked like he was wearing an older suit of armor and it made me think that more of an older copper or bronze age style of art would have worked really well here.

It's nice seeing MJ and Peter together, I won't get into my personal feels about that. Heroes are going missing or turning up dead. Cap calls in everybody to deal with it and as they're getting ready to head out Venom escapes from Rikers.

Spidey leaves the Avengers to deal with Venom which is a classic Venom/Spidey throwdown. The set-up we are left with afterwards, I think is going to make this a really great Spider-Man story.

spid

I picked up the DCBS bundle so I am slowly working through the first batch from May. What stood out for me so far is Infinity Gauntlet and Master of Kung Fu. I have only read about fix or six so it is a limited sample.

I think they both succeed of making a lived in world. Possibly because they were both pitched at a bottom up "normal" people view of the world around them instead of the lords/heroes. Some of the other books also seemed to setup for the next issue instead of digging deeper in to world. I can appreciate Planet Hulk devoting some pages to an origin story however I could have used a couple of more pages devoted to the main story.

I loved that Infinity Gauntlet started with new characters, at least I think they are new, instead of rehashing variants of characters we already know. It put a human face to what would have happened if the Annihilation Wave has succeeded.

spid

I read a couple of more so here some thoughts.

Old Man Logan #1 The first Old Man Logan story was Unforgiven with a Wolverine mix. This story was more of a High Plains Drifter mash up. Wolverine thrown into a Clint Eastwood movie is a good starter so Bendis did not have far to go to turn a decent read. One of my problem with Bendis is he does not know how to stick the landing so we shall see how this goes.

Battleworld #1 If you are all in like I am into this event then these two stories provide some entertainment. The first story does fill in a nagging thought I had of why Strange is so subservient to Doom in the main series. The MODOK story met the need for a bit a levity. Again neither story is essential reading, but it was entertaining enough for what it was.

Bondo

I just dove into this buying single issues for the first time in 17 years. I got the July bundle and realized I was already behind the 8 ball. So on my monthly trip to civilization out of the cold dark north I went to three LCS' and blew about 240 bucks on as many of the current issues as I could find. I'm so glad I did. I've only picked up maybe half of the tie ins, and I've only finished issue 2 of the main story. And I really have zero complaints thus far.

I was pleasantly surprised by Years of Future Past #1. Again, not having read X-men since I was 13 or so, I sort of expected to be underwhelmed but I actually found myself intrigued by the brief but engaging story. The art wasn't what I would consider top-tier but it was definitely enjoyable.

Hickman's main storyline is definitely doing it for me. I'm very excited to dip into the other issues I have on deck: Planet Hulk, Infinity Wars, Old Man Logan are what I have currently I think. I'm super pumped for Thors because I managed to pick up the last three issues of Jason Aaron's Thor series and was blown away.

More on this as it unfolds!

TheOriginalGMan

A couple of strong recommendations ...

Carol Corps #1 - Carol Danvers leads a group of fighter pilots at an airforce base in her portion of Battleworld. Not sure if that entire "world" is just one big air force base or not as they don't offer any glimpses of it beyond the base. In any event, the book centers around Carol and her fighter squadron questioning many of the natural laws of their (Doom-created) universe and promises to be key to moving the overall Secret Wars story arc forward. If you're enjoying the main Secret Wars book, I'd definitely recommend this one.

Secret Wars Journal #2 - This one features 2 stories, the first is a kinda "meh" story about Misty Knight and Paladin trying to win a competition in a Las Vegas style world run by Kraven the Hunter. The other one though, hoo boy. Let me just say that the premise (Matt Murdock is the genius personal chef for Mister Sinister and whose cuisine is the envy of all of Battleworld) sounds totally stupid, but trust me this was an awesome read. One part Edgar Allen Poe, one part Twilight Zone, one part Marvel comics, mix together, bake at 350 for 30 minutes and ... voila! A comic masterpiece!

ThreadKiller

Man...I haven't posted in the forums in a loooong time. This event has me so psyched though; I had to bring something to the discussion.

I know there are other threads for the main series...but I have to state: Hickman has just absolutely knocked this all out of the park. I didn't think I was a Hickman fan until I realized what he was building in New Avengers.

So far, I have read A-Force, Future Imperfect, Planet Hulk, Spiderverse, and Infinity Gauntlet.

I normally read to wind down before bed, and usually begin nodding off in the middle of a book. Not these. Each one had me reaching for the next when I finished it.

Right now, I am most stoked about Planet Hulk. It is not what I was expecting, but I was hooked by the premise instantly. **SPOILER ALERT** I think that was Doc Green at the end too. Coming off that story line in Hulk, I am excited to see his role. Seems like he might be one of the few that might remember how things used to be.

Not sure about A-Force, but love reading female superheroes; so I am on board for now.

Wasn't sure about Infinity Gauntlet until you know who reared their ugly head at the end; so I am excited about that now. Seems like this tie in with the main series somehow; since I think the evil Cabal will play a role there.

I am surprisingly OK with Land's art in Future Imperfect...we'll see if that lasts. **SPOILER ALERT** Love the appearance of Ruby Summers in that book. Seems like a weird place for an X-character; but I think we'll see a lot of that in this even.

Can't wait to see what issue 2 brings for Spiderverse. I think a certain villain may not be so evil in this book, but we'll see.

I feel like my brain is trying to piece together this world and make sense out of it; like assembling a puzzle. Each story offers another piece. So fun.

TheOriginalGMan

Two more recommendations:

Thors #1 - Follows a couple of Thors as they investigate a mysterious series of murders on Battleworld. The book has a fun "TV cop drama" vibe to it, ala Law and Order or NYPD Blue. Definitely worth your investment.

Squadron Sinister #1 - Another good read. Hyperion and his crew's plans to conquer their neighboring Battleworld nations are put on hold with the unexpected arrival of a Thor for a surprise inspection.

luke52

The Hits...

Thors - loved this one. The Cop Drama feel was real fun. And who can turn down Groot Thor ("I AM THOR!") and Storm Thor. Awesome.

Planet Hulk - Devil Dinosaur and Cap in a world populated by Hulks. What's not to like!

Where Monsters Dwell - thanks to @David_D for the code swap on this one. This might be my favourite. The feel of old adventure classics like Journey to the Centre of the Earth with a comedy slant and more dinosaurs. Great stuff.

The rest...

Only one other tie in that I'm reading is Old Man Logan, I'm really struggling to get into this one. The premise is great, Old Man Logan road trip through the various kingdoms of Battleworld, the execution has not been great so far. I'll stick with it to the end of Secret Wars now, but hoping it picks up soon.

Rider_Philze

Thors was fantastic. Did anyone read Runaways #1? I think it's aces.