REVIEW: Secret Wars, #2

The fate of the Marvel Universe and the inner workings of Battleworld are revealed in Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic's "Secret Wars" #2.


[I]Full review [URL=http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=user_review&id=8575]here[/URL].[/I]

"When the inhabitants of the life raft are revealed, they won't be who readers are expecting"

or it would be, because you just pointed it out to everyone.

so basically it's put together better and more coherent than convergence. got it.

[QUOTE=gantz_alien_killer;1194254]so basically it's put together better and more coherent than convergence. got it.[/QUOTE]

That seems to be the sediment. Marvel wins on this one...so far.

[QUOTE=justice~!;1192722]"When the inhabitants of the life raft are revealed, they won't be who readers are expecting"

or it would be, because you just pointed it out to everyone.[/QUOTE]

It says "REVIEW" in all caps at the beginning. This is the sort of mild spoiler you expect in a review. I didn't read it until after I'd read the issue for just that reason.

I'm probably in the minority but...I really didn't like this issue, just felt bored throughout it. I was waiting for something to actually happen and I feel like they spent way to long just setting up battleworld (which is also a problem I had with the early convergence issues).

[COLOR="#800080"] When the inhabitants of the life raft are revealed, they won't be who readers are expecting. Hickman throws a curve and introduces a new danger to this reality, a problem that went unsolved prior to the final Incursion.[/COLOR]

"a new danger to this reality". Is that the Cabal he is referring too? Is this a problem that went unresolved prior to the final Incursion?

Not really a Marvel fan (I've only read one or two runs over all my years reading comics) and I wanted to check out something that would fill the void left over after finishing Grant Morrison's Multiversity. Secret Wars definitely did that. It is not that hard to follow even though I haven't read any of Hickman's Avengers run and I would recommend to anyone looking for a good multiversal story or trying to get into marvel comics.

[QUOTE=TheWill;1195765]Not really a Marvel fan (I've only read one or two runs over all my years reading comics) and I wanted to check out something that would fill the void left over after finishing Grant Morrison's Multiversity. Secret Wars definitely did that. It is not that hard to follow even though I haven't read any of Hickman's Avengers run and I would recommend to anyone looking for a good multiversal story or trying to get into marvel comics.[/QUOTE]

Interesting to know. There are a few DC events I've tried to read, and promptly realized I'm hopelessly outmatched in my casual knowledge of the universe/characters. Had assumed Secret Wars would be like that times a thousand, but Hickman did do a pretty good job of setting out the world in issue 2. Though, as a number of commentators have said, issue 1 should really have been a prelude one shot or a zero issue—it is important to show how they got there, but it's more conclusion to the Avengers run than the beginning of Secret Wars.

[QUOTE=TheWill;1195765]Not really a Marvel fan (I've only read one or two runs over all my years reading comics) and I wanted to check out something that would fill the void left over after finishing Grant Morrison's Multiversity. Secret Wars definitely did that. It is not that hard to follow even though I haven't read any of Hickman's Avengers run and I would recommend to anyone looking for a good multiversal story or trying to get into marvel comics.[/QUOTE]

I think you understood it so easily because Hickman doesn't overload a story with characters. His is the story, and there is no need to know where the characters are at, because it's the situation that is so intriguing.

[QUOTE=Darth Weevil;1196988]Interesting to know. There are a few DC events I've tried to read, and promptly realized I'm hopelessly outmatched in my casual knowledge of the universe/characters. Had assumed Secret Wars would be like that times a thousand, but Hickman did do a pretty good job of setting out the world in issue 2. Though, as a number of commentators have said, issue 1 should really have been a prelude one shot or a zero issue—it is important to show how they got there, but it's more conclusion to the Avengers run than the beginning of Secret Wars.[/QUOTE]

Yes issue 2 did set the stage for the event pretty neatly and fells like an issue 1. But the actual first issue wasn't that confusing either, just a little fast in pacing and now I know the reason why is because it was the conclusion to his Avengers run. Maybe I'll check it out later.


[QUOTE=jackolover;1197564]I think you understood it so easily because Hickman doesn't overload a story with characters. His is the story, and there is no need to know where the characters are at, because it's the situation that is so intriguing.[/QUOTE]

Yes you got it, this is exactly how I felt while reading the issue.

Good review. I agree with most of it. I think the score is fair, but I might give it half-a-star less because it was a bit choppy in the beginning. However, it still succeeded in a very important way. It established what Battleworld is and how it functions. It also establishes the kind of power Doom has and what the various worlds are up against. It fits the epic scale of the story. That said, I'm always a bit wary about Marvel events that start strong. Marvel is good at starting a story. It's the ending where they usually mess up. For a story this big, the margin for error is a lot smaller.

I think Hickmans perspective of Battleworld is the leader scribe over the tie-ins. His authority is very strong in Secret Wars #2, moving between 3 or 4 regions, while I'm not too sure what that inverted world is that Alex Powers emerges into, from that pool, and where Thanos' crew arrive. But certainly, Hickmans narrative is the prime one that others feed off. Because the tie-in regions are getting focus, does Hickman tell his story in the unused regions, because there are no books set in High Avalon, Bar Sinister or Doomstadt?