Is there a better publisher at getting heroes to fight heroes than Marvel Comics? It has been a minute since Secret Wars, but the arena is set again in this week’s Battleworld #1. Written by Christos Gage, a certifiable encyclopedia of Marvel knowledge, Battleworld aims to take heroes from all sorts of dimensions and different timelines. It’s in this last detail that sets the new miniseries apart, especially since ramifications to the 616 universe are highly possible.
Battleworld #1 opens with Hank Pym, who learns he’s been transported to New York, only it’s not the New York he knows. Instead, it’s Battleworld, with different areas made up of iconic Marvel locations like the Savage Land and Monster Island, to name two. The story unfolds quickly, allowing readers to dive in for the real fun: character dynamics.
He’s among other heroes, but they aren’t the ones from his dimension, the 616 universe. There’s Luke Cage in his Power Man gear, Carol Danvers in her black costume, and a Spider-Man who is only now getting his bearings as a hero. The heroes from different timelines add an interesting wrinkle to everything, and Gage does a good job exploring the unique dynamics between them all.
Gage does a good job here, making it clear who these characters are and their relationship to Pym. Readers of all ages should have no trouble identifying these characters, which is a relief, given the large number of them in this issue. Considering characters from CrossGen are in this, Gage makes the complex continuity approachable.
Ouch!
Credit: Marvel
That isn’t to say this book is just heroes talking, as a full-on attack from Sentinels kicks things into gear, with some exciting in-fighting later on in the issue. A full-age splash of the heroes fighting the Sentinels is up there as one of the best splashes of the year. Marcus To does an excellent job, given how many characters are in any given panel. The art is detailed, and the characters never look off. When Bucky enters the story, To makes it clear he’s a badass, totally fine with killing. A cosmic character pops in, and color artist Rachelle Rosenberg makes him look dazzling and otherworldly. They’re giving the heroes on the page the justice they deserve. The book is in great hands, and you’ll be itching to see how many more full-page splashes we get going forward.
If I had any gripes with the issue, it’s mostly that the fight-comic nature of Battleworld doesn’t kick into gear yet. That’s because the worldbuilding is taking center stage, which isn’t a bad thing. The heroes are standing around, unsure what to do or how to escape, with only the hot heads fighting at one point. The boxing match of it all has not yet started, or maybe it won’t start at all. Gage makes it clear why these heroes are pulled in, and the cliffhanger teases that high stakes and murder are on the horizon.
Battleworld #1 is a great start and worthy of the long lineage of heroes fighting heroes at Marvel Comics, setting up a multiversal melee that adds new wrinkles to the tradition. Battleworld #1 doesn’t just revisit Marvel’s tradition of heroes clashing, but reinvents it by throwing Hank Pym into a volatile patchwork world of timelines and legends. Christos Gage’s sharp scripting makes every character instantly engaging, while Marcus To and Rachelle Rosenberg deliver some of the year’s most vibrant superhero spectacle. With its ambitious scope, character clarity, and jaw-dropping visuals, this debut sets the stage for a multiversal showdown that feels like it could be the next great Marvel brawl.
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