Comic Vine Review

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Secret Wars #1 - The End Times

5

If you're going to destroy a comic book universe or two, this is how you do it.

The Good

The moment that's been building up for some time if finally here. SECRET WARS has begun and it looks like the Marvel Universe, any of them within the Multiverse, will never be the same. If you've been following Jonathan Hickman's AVENGERS and NEW AVENGERS, you know that the Multiverse has been coming to an end. It's been known to a select few that the Universe was going to collide with another. There's been many attempts to prevent this and there's been high costs. Now it's come down to the regular Marvel Universe and the Ultimate Universe. This might seem like a lot for readers that haven't been following the story before but the issue does sup it up simply in just three sentences.

In a matter of survival, we see the two earths having to decide what they need to do to survive. This is where you start to see the finality of what's happening in the story. The familiar versions of characters we love are now at odds with each other. With everything at stake, it's not going to be pretty. Hickman does write some remarkable scenes and we see some glorious battles. What makes it hard is the fact that these characters shouldn't be fighting each other. They just don't have any other choice.

The visuals for the story are exactly what you would want in such a big and important story. Esad Ribic's art and Ive Svorcina's colors are astounding. There are so many characters present in this issue. They all look great and the story and action flows smoothly. Each moment and change of scene looks great and the appearance of other characters never feels gratuitous or just included to make the story feel bigger. This is the real deal here.

The Bad

For readers that have no idea what the Incursion business is about, there might be a little confusion. As mentioned, it is concisely summarized and you can get the gist of what's going on. We have two worlds fighting each other, trying to save their own. That's really all you need to know.

There were a couple times characters were talking, off panel or over a com, and you weren't exactly sure which universe they were from. This was a rare occurrence. It was usually pretty clear by the tiny differences in their looks.

The Verdict

This is a story that's been in motion for some time. We've been looking forward to this for some time and Jonathan Hickman delivers in a big way. For a first issue, there is no holding back. The seeds have been planted over the last couple years. Now they're coming to fruition. If you've been reading Hickman's Avengers book, you have an idea what's going and that's all you really need to know. Those that haven't, might be a tiny bit confused but it's easy to figure out the basics of what's going on. Esad Ribic's art and Ive Svorcina's colors are gorgeous. The characters are depicted in a glorious and fitting fashion as they put everything on the line to fight for survival. The crazy thing is this is an eight-issue story. With all the action and outcomes from this one, it's hard to imagine what could possibly come next. We could guess or make assumptions but with Hickman at the controls, it's best to sit back and enjoy the show. I read the original SECRET WARS when I first started buying comics. I was excited for this story before but now having read the first issue, I'm even more excited for the rest.