Most Marvel fans have encountered the concept of Battleworld at some point. The original Marvel Super Hero Secret Wars maxi-series depicted it as a planet created by the Beyonder, where heroes and villains clashed fiercely. The severely underrated Beyond by Dwayne McDuffie and Scott Kolins reimagined Battleworld as a survival story. Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic took perhaps their wildest swing with Secret Wars (2015), where Battleworld was a patchwork of alternate realities forged into a makeshift kingdom by Doctor Doom. So the question is: what do Christos Gage and Marcus To bring to the table with their Battleworld miniseries?
The answer lies in the makeup of the new Battleworld, and who constructed it. This Battleworld is forged by an immensely powerful being — in this case, the would-be god Michael Korvac — but rather than alternate realities, it draws from different time periods across the Marvel Multiverse. This means that the distant future of 2099 might intersect with the sword-and-sorcery landscape of Weirdworld, or a soldier from World War II might be flabbergasted by a girl wearing a miniskirt. Korvac intends to drive all of Battleworld’s different inhabitants into battle and forge a new timeline for whoever survives; it’s up to a small band of heroes, led by the Earth-616 version of Hank Pym, to stop him.
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These heroes wind up providing Battleworld with a rich cast of characters, and Gage made some great picks to fill out the story. In addition to Pym, the band of heroes includes a Peter Parker who’s only just started his heroic career as Spider-Man; Luke Cage in his Heroes from Hire era; Carol Danvers as Warbird; Storm from the “Days of Future Past” timeline; King Thor from Jason Aaron’s Thor run; Kushala, a Spriit of Vengeance who also happens to be a Sorcerer Supreme; and a WWII-era Bucky Barnes.
Gage’s script touches on how all these characters are at a low point in their lives or have struggled with failure, especially with Pym. He finds himself shocked by the appearance of a Wasp who lost her Henry Pym during the Avengers’ first fight with Baron Zemo and the Masters of Evil, and some of the best moments have them coming to terms with how differently their lives have turned out. Pym also gets plenty of moments to shine, whether it’s leading his makeshift team into battle or standing up to Korvac. Considering most writers stick to “hey, remember when he made Ultron?” or “Hey, remember when he hit his ex-wife?” when it comes to creating storylines for Pym, I’m happy Gage went in a different direction. The other character dynamics, especially between Bucky and Spidey, are fun to watch.
In order to bring the sheer scope of Battleworld to life, you need a great artist, and To is more than up to the task. From the first issue, where the heroes battle against a legion of Sentinels and the Maestro, the evil version of the Hulk first introduced in “Future Imperfect”, to the final showdown between Pym and Korvac, To doesn’t hold anything back. Neither does Rachelle Rosenberg, whose color art fills the page with wild bursts of energy and the clashing hues of a dozen different timelines.
The creative team doesn’t just stop at Pym and his group of heroes, though. Battleworld contains a wide range of heroes and villains from across the Marvel Universe, including characters from Marvel’s long-defunct CrossGen imprint and the New Universe. I was genuinely shocked when Ken Connell, the original Star Brand, showed up, as that was the deepest of deep cuts. Not only do To and Rosenberg capture these characters’ visuals perfectly, but Gage dedicates the back of each issue to pointing out where each character made their first appearance. Reading this back matter lets you know that Battleworld is crafted by a writer who has a serious love for all things Marvel and knows how to utilize it in a fresh way.
Battleworld is packed full of stunning visuals, excellent character work, and a fresh twist on a classic Marvel trope. While universe-spanning battles are all the rage these days, this stands out from the pack as you can feel the love the creative team poured into its pages.
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