396 MARVEL SUPER HEROES SECRET WARS
and the Fantastic Four (Human Torch, Th ing, and Mister Fantastic); as well as the
Hulk , Spider-Man , and Spider-Woman, transported to “Battleworld,” a planet deep in
the recesses of the galaxy. Th ere, a voice declaring itself to be the Beyonder, states, “I am
from beyond! Slay your enemies and all that you desire shall be yours! Nothing you
dream of is impossible for me to accomplish!” Th us begins the secret wars.
In similar fashion, the enemies of the super heroes are also brought to the planet,
but are placed in a diff erent fortress, and are given the same ultimatum as the heroes.
Th e villains include the Absorbing Man, Doctor Doom, Doctor Octopus, Enchant-
ress, Kang the Conqueror, Klaw, Lizard, Molecule Man, Titania, Ultron, Volcana,
and the Wrecking Crew (Piledriver, Wrecker, Th underball, and Bulldozer). A “neu-
tral,” third party, Galactus, is also brought to the netherworld. Not intimidated by the
Beyonder’s declaration, Doctor Doom and Galactus both fl y off into space to confront
the Beyonder, only to be turned away, thrown back into the fray like one would swat
a fl y at a family picnic. Having both the heroes and the villains see this defeat, and
knowing Galactus was presumably the most powerful individual in the universe, the
combatants decide to play the war games. But with this defeat, Galactus decides his
destiny is not with the villains, much to the dismay of Doctor Doom, and leaves to
create his own camp.
After the initial battle in the fi rst issue, the X-Men feel it is in their best interest to
break away from the rest of the group and create their own camp as well. As mutants ,
they feel they are unlike the other heroes and disdain the authoritative leadership of
Captain America. Th is causes some animosity among the heroes, fueled by the disso-
nance of being transported to an unknown world, and in-fi ghting occurs.
As the series continues, good battles evil in a contest of champions. In book 4, Mol-
ecule Man drops an entire mountain on the heroes, who are saved by the strength of
the Hulk, holding up the mass. In book eight, the heroes take the off ense and go after
the villains. Th ese battles become the framework for Secret Wars , but on its own would
not make this a signifi cant piece in Marvel’s history. Rather, it is in the subplots and
character development that the series makes its mark, creating a depth of humanity
and realness for readers.
Doctor Doom drives one of these signifi cant subplots. It is his quest for ultimate
power that drives him to conclude that he should battle the Beyonder one-on-one,
setting his sights on stealing his power for his own use. Siphoning off a part of Galactus’s
power, Doom mounts an attack against the Beyonder and inevitably steals the source of
his power. With the help of the heroes, the Beyonder regains his power and decides to
end the games, albeit ever-so-humbled by mere humans.
Secret Wars is a multilayered, complex series that does more than provide a
prototypical good superhero versus bad supervillain storyline. It is one of the fi rst to
bring together a multitude of company-wide titles into one series, and one (as noted
previously) that inspired several other imitators at other comic book publishers. It is
in this collaboration that we see the humanity and the every day struggle of learning
to deal with egos, both with the humans and the villains.
