I think it comes as no surprise that the characters were the best part of this! Such a great introduction to the cast. Although I felt the ending part with the return of Kang's future self (that was confusing to write out) was a bit rushed.
And I agree with the sentiments throughout the thread: this tie-in seems quite important to the over-arching story of Secret Wars!
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I had the same kind of issue with the Civil War tie-in. I was wondering "why does Doom allow this to happen in his Battleworld?"
Two reasons, I guess:
1) he isn't powerful enough to maintain 'peace'
2) he's more of the free-will kind of 'God' as opposed to the one who solves everyone's problems
And you're right, Brand has ample motivation to defend the Shield. I wonder if he did that intentionally, just so the Shield would have a good and motivated protector haha
My fan fiction:
The Outstanding, a fan fic Universe where Marvel characters and stories are reshaped, revised and retold. Check it out!
The Ultimate Flash, where I take inspiration from classic Silver-Age Comics of Barry Allen and the new CW TV Show to give an old character a new spin! Click here to read!
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away the Marvel and Star Wars Universe combine! Check out Marvel: Star Wars' first family, the Fantastic Four! Read it here!
I've been thinking about this, and I believe we can find the answer if we look to the SW books set in less-chaotic Battleworld regions.
Let's consider, for example - A-Force, Captain Marvel & t.C.C. and Korvac Saga. Their respective regions of Arcadia, Hala Field and Forest Hills are among the least turbulent of Battleworld's many nations. Sure, they have their dangers, but most of the population seem content, and you get the impression normal folk could live there without feeling constantly two feet from death. What else do these books have in common? They all feature some quotient of anti-Doom rebellion (Baroness She-Hulk going against Strange's commands, the Banshees plotting to find out what's above the sky, the mutating madness plague erupting whenever someone questions the non-existence of stars). Perhaps the best example comes from Captain Britain and the Mighty Defenders, wherein EVERYONE we meet in Yinsen City is plagued by dreams of the world that used to be.
By comparison, in titles like Civil War, Inferno, Age of Apocalypse or Future Imperfect, nobody questions the nature of reality or Doom's authority. They've all got more immediate problems to fret over, like endless politically-driven bickering, literal Hell on your doorstep, living under the oppressive heel of mad tyrants etc.
Now, if Doom is even close to as powerful as we've been led to believe, he could likely remove these problem-points from their regions and leave everyone to live more peacefully...but if he did that, wouldn't that just mean more people start to doubt the truth of Battleworld, and thus doubt him? I feel that this is the best answer we'll get - that Doom knows he can preserve his lies for longer so long as everyone's too distracted to think about them. Probably also why the arrangement with the Shield and the regions beyond it: one more problem, one so major it threatens every region, to keep everyone fretting.
The X-Books Board is wretched and does not deserve the Domino Appreciation Thread.
Yeah, that's a great point! I think you're right, the more distracted they are (and the more fear they have, I suppose, of Thors and Hulks etc) the less they'll seem to question Doom. At the same time, however, they will continue to ask him for help and turn to him in a crisis. It's a great way to maintain devotion from 'subjects'.
Of course, the reasoning that "God doesn't solve all of your problems just because you ask him to" is valid as well
This isn't a utopian world, which is interesting. Either by choice or circumstance, it's actually quite dystopian.
My fan fiction:
The Outstanding, a fan fic Universe where Marvel characters and stories are reshaped, revised and retold. Check it out!
The Ultimate Flash, where I take inspiration from classic Silver-Age Comics of Barry Allen and the new CW TV Show to give an old character a new spin! Click here to read!
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away the Marvel and Star Wars Universe combine! Check out Marvel: Star Wars' first family, the Fantastic Four! Read it here!
It's not a bad consideration. It has been known in Autocracies that keeping the population in wars distracts them from any revolutions. What Doom needs to do is what he did in Yinsen City, and get them out of their false sense of security, and make them worried about what happens next. This he should do to Arcadia, Hala Field, and Foest Hills
Maybe Doom is sending all these Hulks across borders as well as formenting chaos with border crossings like Thor Angela, Singularity, and Ultron body parts, as well as Portals springing up here and there. This all inflames something in the Domain it occurs in, and distracts whatever is going on there. Spider Verses Arachnia is another Domain that needs to be distracted because it looks particularly too anti-Doom the way it's going, and, it's far too stable. There really needs to be a Martian invasion.