Though Crisis on Infinite Earths receives much of the spotlight, the comic book event as we know it began in 1984 with Marvel Super Hero Secret Wars. The premise was simplicity itself: take Marvel’s biggest heroes and villains, place them on an alien planet, and have them engage in the ultimate battle. Never mind that the event was mainly designed to sell toys; it was a blast! It also saw serious changes to Marvel’s roster – teams fluctuated, relationships fractured, and Spider-Man got a brand new costume that would eventually give birth to one of his deadliest foes.
It’s in the middle of all this chaos that Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars: Battleworlds #1 picks up. After the heroes recuperate during their battle with a godlike Doctor Doom, Spidey wanders off and is pulled into another part of the Battleworld alongside the Human Torch. While Spidey and Torch fight against numerous dangers including the Absorbing Man as well as the Hobgoblin, they are being watched by a pair of mysterious beings who decide to pin the entire fate of humanity on the web-head’s shoulders.
Battleworld is the latest in a series of Marvel minis that flash back to certain eras of the past. Some of these, like Peter David’s Maestro saga, have provided a new insight into classic storylines. Others, like Venom: Lethal Protector, feel like gratuitous fan service. Battleworld falls somewhere in the middle; while it’s fun to see Spidey and Torch fight against supervillains, I don’t know who the mystery duo is, what their connection is to the Beyonder, or why they’ve placed the fate of everything that lives in Spidey’s hands.
But what keeps this comic from being a throwaway read is the creative team of Tom DeFalco and Pat Oliffe. The duo is famous for their work on Spider-Girl and the MC2 universe, and they bring that same level of teamwork to the pages of Battleworld. DeFalco’s script captures the rhythm of Jim Shooter’s work on Secret Wars; he especially has fun with the back and forth between Spidey and Torch. Oliffe never misses a chance to go big with his artwork, as the comic seems to be comprised of mostly splash pages that has Spidey backflipping over giant wolves, ice giants, and a volley of pumpkin bombs. Finally, John Kalisz’s color work makes the artwork sing – and Spidey’s black suit has rarely looked better.
Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars: Battleworlds #1 is a solid start to a celebration of the original crossover event, though it needs more to hook readers. So far the only draw is the connection to Secret Wars – and that can only take a series so far, especially where new readers are concerned.
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