Secret Wars #6 (2015)
by Jonathan Hickman & Esad Ribić
cover by Alex Ross
Thanos, this is Secret Wars, not Infinity Gauntlet! I know you show up everywhere but calm down!
It’s been three weeks since last issue, and Doom’s rule is already unraveling.
It really says something about how unstable his new order was, or how unwilling he is to actually use his godly powers.
The one member of the Cabal that Doom has located is Black Swan, who you might remember technically worked for him in the old universe.
Two other members, Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive, were found almost dead.
Notice Doom gaslighting Susan here: he knows EXACLY who they are, but he’s placing the emphasis on finding the rest of the rebels.
Valeria and the Future Foundation are making little progress on that regard, but they do find the drones that are spying on Doom’s capital…
…built by Reed Richards and Evil Reed Richards, also known as The Maker.
They have a disagreement on how to deal with Doom. Because the current reality is being kept together by Doom’s will, so they have to be careful not to destroy what’s left of the multiverse if they dethrone him.
The Maker used to be Reed Richards in the Ultimate Universe, and in that incarnation he was a complete waste of a character. His new evil version is, paradoxically, a lot more nuanced.
This interaction between the two is a fantastic (pun intended) interaction between the two Reeds.
The Maker is not just devoid of empathy… he’s a straight up sadist.
Regular Reed is obviously distraught by seeing Susan at Doom’s side, but it would take a lot more than this to break him.
Reed’s plan is to send the two Spider-Man to the source of Doom’s power, and they find it beneath Molecule Man’s tomb… thanks to Valeria.
However, Valeria is not fully committed to the rebellion. She’s still too fond of Doom.
Inside the secret chamber, the two Spider-Man finally meet Molecule Man.
I’m still not entirely sold on Miles Morales in comics… he’s amazing (pun intended) in other media, but in comics I haven’t seen him rise to the same level.
Except whenever he gets to banter with Peter Parker. These two are a legitimate comedy duo.
I did tell you last time that Doom not bringing Molecule Man anything to eat would be crucial… because thanks to this tiny connection to something real, he’s focused enough to tell everything to his enemies.
During all this, Doom is busy handling the rebellions in his most unruly vassal worlds.
However, he’s STILL delegating everything to his underlings.
From the rest of the series, I assume it must be because he’s BARELY holding together this universe and doesn’t want to risk losing control for a second… but if that’s the case, Hickman should have done a better job clarifying this.
Because as it is, Doom comes off as ridiculously lazy.
During all this, Black Panther and Namor go through a whole quest left behind by Doctor Strange to find an emergency weapon…
…THE INFINITY GAUNTLET.
Ah, so that’s why Thanos is hanging around.
Also Susan tells Franklin the origin of the Fantastic Four, as a bedtime story.
In this version there’s no Reed: his place is taken by Franklin Storm, her father.
Until Doom showed up to avenge her father, killed in battle by Apocalypse of all people.
The last member of the old FF we meet is the Thing, who has been transformed into the giant wall that protects this world (!!!).
Weird to see THANOS of all people making a passionate speech about freedom.
That’s enough for the Thing, who decides to pay Doom a visit.
Secret Wars #7 (2016)
by Jonathan Hickman & Esad Ribić
cover by Alex Ross
I can’t shake the feeling this cover is inspired by Crisis On Infinite Earths #12.
The previous issue showed that a figure known as The Prophet is convincing people Doom is no god. Turns out that’s Maximus of the Inhumans.
Only for his followers to be slaughtered by Doom’s forces.
Despite being Doom’s consort, notice that Susan is STILL defending the people’s right to protest!
When you follow a guy known as “The Mad”, you should take into account that things might not end well.
The Thor Corps shows up to help… the rebels.
Yeah this isn’t Doom’s day.
As if it wasn’t enough an army of Hulks joins the fight. All this is coming off the various tie-ins, but it comes off as abrupt here…
…but it KIND OF works, because it’s all part of the Maker’s behind-the-scenes plan.
But fortunately he’s not the one calling the shots. Regular Reed is.
The good guys (and Maker)’s plan is ALMOST as insane as Doom’s, so let’s try to follow.
The * steps are by the Maker and probably without Reed’s full consent.
1) locate the source of Doom’s power, thanks to the two Spider-Man
2) have Black Panther recover the Infinity Gauntlet
*3) have Maximus create a rebellion
*4) orchestrate a mutiny of the Thor Corps
*5) convince the Hulks to rebel
6) have Black Panther recruit the zombies beyond the wall
It’s not THAT complex so far, but just wait.
There isn’t a lot of Doom in this issue, despite the cover.
Secret Wars #8 (2016)
by Jonathan Hickman & Esad Ribić
cover by Alex Ross
7) take advantage of the chaos and have Star-Lord take you to Doom’s capital
Not the way I imagined the first interaction between the Think and the Maestro incarnation of the Hulk.
*8) have the Thing fight Galactus (!!!) who is currently controlled by Franklin (!!!).
This is PROBABLY still part of the Maker’s contribution.
Yeah, uhm, even as a giant, the Think is ridiculously outmatched here.
*9) have Thanos recruit the Annihulus army.
At this point, Valeria has figured out what’s going on.
While Maker and Reed are busy infiltrating the castle, Star-Lord deals with Black Swan.
10) have Star-Lord take out Yggdrasil (!!!) with Groot (!!!) WHO HAS BEEN HIS TOOTPICK THE WHOLE TIME.
What Valeria has deduced is that this entire assault has been a distraction.
Doom however doesn’t notice this (remember that he’s not omniscient), and he FINALLY decides to actually DO SOMETHING.
I’m not surprised these two have a disagreement on how to use absolute power.
Say what you will about Doom’s complete mismanagement of this new reality but he DID save all existence. Thanos, on the other hand, only wanted to kill half the universe.
Doom is not impressed.
This leads to what is probably the most famous moment of this miniseries, where Doctor Doom RIPS OFF THE SPINE OF THANOS.
I will be extremely surprised if we don’t get SOME version of this scene in the eventual movie.
Doom will have more occasions to show off next issue, because he’ll have to fight someone with an actual Infinity Gauntlet.
11) have Black Panther fight Doctor Doom with the Infinity Gauntlet.
We are still not done with the complete plan.
Doom significance: 7/10
Important for the overall storyline, but the significant part is in the finale.
Silver Age-ness: 2/10
It’s definitely gorier than the actual Silver Age, but there are a couple of amusing scenes with the zombies.
Does it stand the test of time? 7/10
This is one of those miniseries that REALLY benefit from the paperback, because this part really slows down. This does allow for a few gorgeous action scenes, but that’s it. This is particularly noticeable because the first issues moved faster, leading me to wonder if this wasn’t originally supposed to be a six part miniseries then stretched to nine issues.
Action aside (and that comes quite late) the interaction between the Maker and Reed is the best part.
I skipped a lot of the infighting between Doom’s evil barons, because honestly they’re a real drag.
Destroy the FF! : 61
Not the primary goal for taking over the multiverse, but it’s there in the backstory.
I did not see the Grootpick coming when I read this. A very nice surprise.
Or the Thing being the wall. Refusing to fight Susan’s son gave him a good death here.
Maestro and his Hulk army are even more abrupt coming off the tie-ins! Future Imperfect is about Rick Jones / Ruby Summers / Thunderbolt Ross Thing removing him from power and ends with him trapped in inescapable psychological prison. And now he’s here with no explanation.