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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I like comics but don’t really read much in the superhero arena. If I liked superheroes, I’m sure this would be fun. However, it was basically superheroes fighting supervillains (and one another at times). The only extended character development involved the male heroes moping over their wives and girlfriends who didn’t get sucked out to Battleworld with them. And then Colossus is sad about Kitty Pryde until he meets a random girl and now his whole life is about her?
I like Galactus but he basically stood on a mountain and had tea with Reed. And Doom is always good. But his story kind of ends when they wanted to end the limited series so they could put everything back how it was. Also how did Doom randomly create two women? And one basically seems to exist to fall in love with Molecule Man, I guess. But Lizard also loves her?
I don’t know, man. It was written a long time ago. What’s cool is seeing how they’re pushing the MCU in this direction and how they may have planted seeds in various places. But I fear the movie will be like Endgame in that it’s more of a long clip show than a movie.
At least they have to fix how women are portrayed, I imagine. My God is Wasp ridiculous.
I like Galactus but he basically stood on a mountain and had tea with Reed. And Doom is always good. But his story kind of ends when they wanted to end the limited series so they could put everything back how it was. Also how did Doom randomly create two women? And one basically seems to exist to fall in love with Molecule Man, I guess. But Lizard also loves her?
I don’t know, man. It was written a long time ago. What’s cool is seeing how they’re pushing the MCU in this direction and how they may have planted seeds in various places. But I fear the movie will be like Endgame in that it’s more of a long clip show than a movie.
At least they have to fix how women are portrayed, I imagine. My God is Wasp ridiculous.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
If you read Secret Wars as a kid in the time period in which it was originally published (the mid-80's) you likely really enjoyed it, as it offered much of what you were likely looking for, epic cosmic scale battles between your favourite heroes and villains like a giant action figure smash-em up, but with some far reaching consequenes like the origin of Spider-Man's black suit (that eventually leads to Venom) and not in the least the foundation of the comic book cross-over event for all that can be both good and bad. If that is the case for you then you may align with my 4 star rating.
And if you're one who didn't read it in the time frame of first publication, but can enjoy comics from that era with an understanding of the comic book genre as it was at the time (CMYK colour printing on newsprint quality paper, expansive dialogue that was often wordy, stilted and very expositional, etc.) then with suspension of disbelief and forgiveness for some logic gaps in place, you'd probably find the series an enjoyable read.
If however your sensibilities prefer a more modern comic book/graphic novel story telling style and you have less patience with some of the dated characterizations and some elements that would be considered out of step with today's social norms, then this book may not be your cup of tea!
For me, I originally read this when I was first getting into comics as as a kid and young teen, and the expansive multi-verse wide epic storyline taking place across a cosmic level of enormity was right up my alley! I loved the size and scale, zany character moments and epic battles, action figure loving me did not care at all that the series was designed to sell toys, as that was exactly what I wanted! I remember being amazed and loving Spidey's new black suit, and the villainy of Dr. Doom helped me to fall in love with that character as one of my all time favourites.
I'd suggest to a prospective reader to find the perspective and sensibility of the audience that would have first read it and if that's a comfortable fit for you then dive right in and enjoy the ride!
And if you're one who didn't read it in the time frame of first publication, but can enjoy comics from that era with an understanding of the comic book genre as it was at the time (CMYK colour printing on newsprint quality paper, expansive dialogue that was often wordy, stilted and very expositional, etc.) then with suspension of disbelief and forgiveness for some logic gaps in place, you'd probably find the series an enjoyable read.
If however your sensibilities prefer a more modern comic book/graphic novel story telling style and you have less patience with some of the dated characterizations and some elements that would be considered out of step with today's social norms, then this book may not be your cup of tea!
For me, I originally read this when I was first getting into comics as as a kid and young teen, and the expansive multi-verse wide epic storyline taking place across a cosmic level of enormity was right up my alley! I loved the size and scale, zany character moments and epic battles, action figure loving me did not care at all that the series was designed to sell toys, as that was exactly what I wanted! I remember being amazed and loving Spidey's new black suit, and the villainy of Dr. Doom helped me to fall in love with that character as one of my all time favourites.
I'd suggest to a prospective reader to find the perspective and sensibility of the audience that would have first read it and if that's a comfortable fit for you then dive right in and enjoy the ride!
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It took me much longer to finish this comic than expected and overall I just didn’t like it. I know it’s one of the most iconic arcs in the comics but man does it drag. The first half especially made me think the writers didn’t really know where they were going with it, several elements are introduced that you’d think would be a lot more consequential than they are, there are new characters that are really interesting in theory but in practice they contribute little to nothing, and the ending felt very anticlimactic.
I thought the love triangle with Zsaji was stupid and annoying and, while it made sense for Johnny to be into her, it made zero sense for Colossus to be into her, especially when he spent the first several issues going on and on about how much he misses Kitty.
I primarily read this because of Spider-Man’s involvement and the introduction of the black suit but his inclusion also felt fairly inconsequential as well.
Overall I just wasn’t a fan of this one.
I thought the love triangle with Zsaji was stupid and annoying and, while it made sense for Johnny to be into her, it made zero sense for Colossus to be into her, especially when he spent the first several issues going on and on about how much he misses Kitty.
I primarily read this because of Spider-Man’s involvement and the introduction of the black suit but his inclusion also felt fairly inconsequential as well.
Overall I just wasn’t a fan of this one.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Oh what a trip down memory lane for the 1st big Marvel event/crossover. Haven't read this since it came out in '84 and funny how I still remembered most of it. Yeah some of the dialogue is bad (really bad) and women got the shaft in this, but boy did I enjoy the reading this again.
When Spider-Man showed up in The Amazing Spider-Man in a new suit, and the issue says to read about it in this series, I skimmed the Wikipedia article. When I saw that this was the first mega-crossover series, I decided to give it a go.
Big Mistake.
Like super hero movies packed with too many bad guys (cough, cough, Spider-Man 3, anyone) the story is too fragmented. At times the story jumps so badly that it seems like they had to cut planned frames to save space.
And all that for about 2 or 3 frames that talk about the new Spider-Man suit, which I'll bet is better covered in flashbacks in the Amazing Spider-Man.
Oh well.
Big Mistake.
Like super hero movies packed with too many bad guys (cough, cough, Spider-Man 3, anyone) the story is too fragmented. At times the story jumps so badly that it seems like they had to cut planned frames to save space.
And all that for about 2 or 3 frames that talk about the new Spider-Man suit, which I'll bet is better covered in flashbacks in the Amazing Spider-Man.
Oh well.