Comics Corner: Secret Wars II 9

   

Title: Secret Wars II
Issue Number: 9
Release Date: March 1986

Highlights

• Death of Beyonder
• Resurrection of the New Mutants; Magma, Wolfsbane, Cypher, Karma, Cannonball, Magik, Mirage, and Warlock
• Beyonder decides he will wipe out everything
• Reference is made to Avengers 265, Uncanny X-Men 202, Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars 3, and New Mutants 37
• Volcana phones the Avenger's headquarters, and reaching the Fantastic Four there, warns them the Beyonder is coming to destroy everything
• Reed Richards says that he wishes they had a pogo plane because they have to get to Colorado, but as he says it, suddenly he, and several other heroes are instantly transported there by Rachel Summers; the Avengers, the West Coast Avengers, Fantastic Four, Volcana, Alpha Flight, Hulk, Spider-Man, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Cloak, Dagger, Power Man, Iron Fist, and the X-Men
• After reading Volcana's mind to get the information they need, Rachel returns her to her home
• Beyonder makes a new base eight miles below the surface of the Earth
• Beyonder decides to speak to a camera, a video diary of sorts, and tells it that now that he's learned desire from humans, he has desires that can't be quenched
• Beyonder decides to take the ultimate risk, and make himself mortal - Deciding that perhaps he needs to understand why life is so important by not being immortal anymore to truly find meaning
• Beyonder tests his rebirth machine by first using it to resurrect the New Mutants, however, they are reborn without their memories intact - like zombies
• Beyonder makes tweaks to his machine to ensure he'll have all his memories, and also creates a containment unit for his powers so that he can return to his God form when he choses to
• After becoming human, Beyonder immediately panics, and returns to his God form
• Volcana and Molecule Man reconcile
• Molecule Man steps up to the plate, and says he has to go stop Beyonder
• Beyonder once again turns mortal, and starts to experience limitations in strength, being out of breath from running, and fear when Mephisto ambushes him with a horde of demons
• As Mephisto mentally tortures Beyonder, he makes it to his power pod, reclaiming his God form - Mephisto and his demons instantly retreat
• As the heroes stand on the Earth above Beyonder's new headquarters, pondering how to get eight miles below the surface, Molecule Man and Volcana arrive, with Molecule Man telling them he can get them inside
• Seeing the heroes on the surface above, Beyonder buys time to tweak his machine by recreating the New Mutant bio-mechanical alien, Warlock, and controlling the other New Mutants minds to distract the heroes
• The heroes defeat the New Mutants, and Rachel breaks Beyonder's control of their minds, though she doesn't yet restore their memories as she's focused on going after the God
• Molecule Man rips open Beyonder's home, and brings all the heroes to him
• Beyonder tells them he doesn't have any interest in fighting or destroying anything, but rather to become human, while also retaining his powers
• Beyonder easily fells all the heroes, except Molecule Man, and the two battle directly, shaking the very foundation of the multiverse as they do
• As the heroes recover and rejoin the fight, they almost defeat Beyonder, but Molecule Man isn't able to hold him, and the Beyonder sends out a blast that breaks the Earth's gravity
• As the heroes once again are down, they're shielded by Molecule Man, who also removes all living beings out of the pat of Beyonder's blast
• Beyonder fulfills his desire, becoming a human with all his God powers too
• The heroes once again enter the fight, but in doing so come face to face with Beyonder as a baby - Some of the heroes are intent on killing the child, while others say they'll have no parts of it
• Molecule Man refuses to listen, and blasts the machine, unleashing the Beyonder's power, which starts to destroy everything it touches
• The world ends, but then suddenly blinks back into existence, as if nothing happened, all because Molecule Man sent the energy into the nothingness where Beyonder used to exist
• The child is dead
• In distant space, there is an explosion from the Beyonder's energy, a big bang, which creates a new galaxy, one where life begins, evolves, and man begins anew, finally giving the Beyonder a purpose by creating life through his death
• That was an unexpected deep ending from a story that seemed to otherwise drone on aimlessly

Low Points

• None

Oddities

• None

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Comics Corner: Secret Wars II 8

   

Title: Secret Wars II
Issue Number: 8
Release Date: February 1986

Highlights

• First appearance of Julia
• In a fit of rage and frustration, Beyonder destroys several multiverses with a mere thought, which Molecule Man, while trying to calm him down, immediately repairs
• Beyonder states he's come so frustrated with trying to find his role in the multiverse that he'd rather just destroy everything, and be alone
• In walking through Beyonder's past with him, Molecule man realizes that the pinhole Beyonder saw which made him aware of existence beyond him was the event which turned Owen Reece into Molecule Man
• Molecule Man suggests that if Beyonder turned himself mortal that he may find purpose, but this only serves to enrage him because he thinks he's being tricked to make himself vulnerable to attack
• In response, Beyonder says in twenty-four hours he'll return, and starting with Molecule Man will destroy all existence on Earth
• Beyonder causes an Earthquake in San Fransisco, unintentionally drawing the X-Men out to attack him, but realizing what he'd done, he retreats
• Seeing this unfold from a distance, Molecule Man panics, and creates a dome around him, and he surrounding area
• Beyonder sees the dome as he's "passing by", and with a laugh, destroys it easily
• Beyonder heads Southwest to talk with the Hulk, but is instead met with a fight by the beast
• Beyonder searches Hulk's mind, wanting to learn about Bruce Banner, but discovers that the man who once was part of Hulk is no more
• Reference is made to The Incredible Hulk 313, and Web Of Spider-Man 11
• Beyonder goes to see Peter Parker, telling him of all the mortals he's met, he likes him most, and asks him to explain why people have a fascination with life and death
• Peter explains that time is finite, so all humans cling to every moment they can, because they don't know when it will end
• This anger's Beyonder that life is all about finite time, but tells Peter he may have convinced him to not destroy everying
• As he leaves Peter's apartment, the New Mutants attack him, he easily defeats them, and warns them not to follow him
• As Molecule Man makes plans for him and Volcana to run, she convinces him to stay, and make his stand once and for all against Beyonder
• Beyonder returns to Molecule Man, prepared to have him tell him about mortality, but Molecule Man attacks
• When his attack is futile, Volcana throws herself at Beyonder's feet, telling him to kill Molecule Man, but spare her, saying she never loved him, Beyonder rejects her, and kicks her away
• Volcana runs away, reducing Molecule Man to tears, as he lies on the ground crying
• Beyonder is amused by this, and says he's going to have one more look at this world before he erases the multiverse
• In her car, Volcana cries from her ruse, speaking out loud that now that she's gone, Beyonder won't be jealous of Molecule Man, and hopefully leave him alone

Low Points

• The story picks up in New Mutants 37, and The Amazing Spider-Man 274

Oddities

• None

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Comics Corner: Secret Wars II 7

   

Title: Secret Wars II
Issue Number: 7
Release Date: January 1986

Highlights

• First appearance of the Legion Accursed, which consists of Juggernaut, Electro, Baron Mordo, Absorbing Man, Titania, Abomination, Doc Ock, Rhino, Vanisher, Dr. Doom, White Queen, Kraven the Hunter, Silver Samurai, Vulture, Hobgoblin, Wizard, Ultron, Wrecker, Kang, Anaconda, Batroc, Crimson Dynamo, Diablo, Graviton, Living Laser, Mole Man, Blastaar, and Ringmaster
• Also the first appearance of Judy, Allen, and Mephisto's demon, Bitterhorn
• First appearance of Chelsea, New York, and Boulder, Colorado
• Mephisto has created a machine that intercepted the power Beyonder drained in doing away with Death in the previous issue
• Reference is made to Marvel Super Hero Secret Wars, and "recent issues" of The Thing
• Mephisto looks to drain Beyonder's power, much like Dr. Doom did during the events of Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars, and in doing so, weaken him enough to destroy him
• Death tells Mephisto the death of a God is sweet, and he ponders if she means his death or Beyonders
• Beyonder sits on an island, doing nothing more than thinking when he's met by a boater named Ed Strunk
• Ben Grimm is also on an island working on a film, when his pilot, "Hopper" Hertneky arrives with a case of beer
• After drinking, the subject of Beyonder is brought up, which sets Ben off
• Ed tells other people about Beyonder just sitting there thinking, and they too want to do that, so he brings them to the island
• Bitterhorn is sent by Mephisto to gather up villains willing to go up against Beyonder in exchange for whatever they ask
• Unknown to the villains, with each agreeing handshake with Bitterhorn, he's imprinting them with an invisible sign which will absorb all energy from Beyonder if they touch into the beyondersbane, and surge it back into him, ideally to kill him
• If Mephisto's plan works, not only will Beyonder be destroyed, but the entire Earth, and 1/3 of the universe
• Spider-Man contemplates trying Beyonder's think system
• As Mephisto's plan goes into its final stages underneath the island, up top Beyonder decides it's too crowded, and will leave
• Mephisto panics at the thought of Beyonder leaving before they can strike, and sets a diversion in place to keep him there by way of manipulating Ben Grimm with disguises of multiple people from his past to goad him into attacking Beyonder
• Mephisto also gets Ben to sign a contract that grants him increased power, but costs him his soul
• With Beyonder distracted long enough by Ben, Mephisto sends his army of villains in to attack
• Coming to his senses, Ben turns his attention to the villains instead of Beyonder
• Seeing Ben use his increased strength to defeat all the villains, Mephisto panics, and rips up the contract
• With his plan failed, the beyondersbane explodes, and seeing his failure, Death leaves Mephisto by himself
• Beyonder decides that his role may be to show people what their true role in their existence is

Low Points

• The story continues in New Mutants 36, The Amazing Spider-Man 273, X-Men 202, Peter Parker, and The Spectacular Spider-Man 111 before coming back to Secret Wars II 8

Oddities

• None

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Comics Corner: Secret Wars II 6

   

Title: Secret Wars II
Issue Number: 6
Release Date: December 1985

Highlights

• First appearance of Dave Shooter, an avid comic collector and reader, and clearly meant to embody Editor-in-Chief / writer, Jim Shooter
• First appearance of Mr. McCorkle, and the Council of Watchers
• First appearance of Sparta, Illinois and Perth
• Beyonder erects a giant headquarters in Sparta, Illinois
• Dave Shooter, reporter for the Sun-Telegraph notices the new building, and smelling a story, heads out to investigate
• Beyonder watches Power Pack "getting into trouble" on his large monitor, and heads out to help
• Reference is made to Power Pack 17, Fantastic Four 20, and Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars 11
• Beyonder helps them by beating up the gang who blast a train track, and then repairing the damage
• Back at his home, Beyonder meets Dave, and rather than answer his questions, shows him with his mento-projector
• Dave becomes Beyonder's personal coordinator, and hires staff to work under him
• Beyonder admits he doesn't need any of this, but is happy that Dave has found his own purpose in life through it
• Watcher comes to Molecule Man in his home, and is not greeted with happiness
• Watcher tells the origin of Molecule Man
• Watcher says the council of his people have agreed to ask Molecule Man to stop Beyonder before he undoes everything - Molecule Man declines, and tells him to find someone else
• With Dave's business model in place, Beyonder takes jobs across the world and universe, helping everyone he can
• Captain America and Reed Richards visit Beyonder, and tell him that while he's doing a lot of good, people will soon become to reliant on him
• Beyonder and Dave meet with Death, with the Beyonder's intensions to eliminate death for all life indefinitely
• Mephisto literally explodes on the scene with demons, ready to stop Beyonder from ruining his realm by destroying death
• Many cosmic beings arrive too, all led by Watcher, who ask Beyonder to hear them out, and not eliminate death
• Death drinks the cup, vanquishing death across every multiverse
• Molecule Man meets with Beyonder, and informs him he's destroyed the whole purpose of life, and people will now every living thing will exist without meaning
• Dave sacrifices himself to resurrect Death
• Beyonder realizes he too must find his purpose, otherwise it would be better for him to die

Low Points

• No Spider-Man
• You would have to read Cloak and Dagger 4, Power Pack 18, Thor 363, Micronauts16, and Power Man and Iron Fist 121 for the continuation of the story

Oddities

• None

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Comics Corner: Secret Wars II 5

   

Title: Secret Wars II
Issue Number: 5
Release Date: November 1985

Highlights

• First appearance of Boom-Boom, AKA Tabitha Smith
• First appearance of World Complex Headquarters
• While walking down a train track, Beyonder makes a gun out of his fingers, and "fires" at the train, causing all its parts to separate, but gently landing the passengers on the ground
• Boom-Boom, who was on the train, and is also a mutant, figures out that it was him who did it, and says the least he can do is let her walk with him
• Boom-Boom says she's headed for Professor X's school
• After Beyonder makes a camp for them, we get a brief origin of Boom-Boom, and her backstory at home, and a showcase of her powers
• Beyonder leaves, and returns home, only to quickly have the desires of everything he left behind, including his love for Dazzler
• Boom-Boom has left an exploding ball in Beyonder's back pocket, and it does just that
• Beyonder returns to Earth, and drives Boom-Boom to Professor X's school
• When the X-Men see Beyonder, they storm out after him, chasing him away
• As Boom-Boom is left there alone, she quickly realizes she doesn't want to be there, but instead with Beyonder
• After not being able to call him back, Boom-Boom sets a bomb for herself, content on killing herself, but Beyonder arrives as it explodes, saving her from it
• Beyonder takes Boom-Boom for a ride - Deep into space, to the headquarters of the Celestials
• When Beyonder states he's the most powerful being in the universe, Boom-Boom tells him that the Celestials didn't so much as move when they saw him
• Wanting to prove a point, Beyonder tells the Celestials that he is going to destroy the universe in three seconds, sending them into battle against him, which he easily defeats them
• Sickened by this, Boom-Boom tells him to send her back to Earth, and never find her again
• Beyonder returns to his mansion in Brazil, and checks in on Algrim, stating he should find Thor in about a week
• Boom-Boom calls the Avengers emergency line, and with them, sets up Beyonder to be ambushed by them, which he is by not only the Avengers, but West Coast Avengers, Fantastic Four, Doctor Strange, and Thor
• Beyonder doesn't fight back, and when the fighting stops, he wanders off into the woods, depressed

Low Points

• No Spider-Man
• To continue the story, you would need to read The Thing 30, Doctor Strange 74, and Fantastic Four 285

Oddities

• None

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Comics Corner: Secret Wars II 4

   

Title: Secret Wars II
Issue Number: 4
Release Date: October 1985

Highlights

• Death and resurrection of Dazzler
• First appearance of Kurse, AKA Algrim, Sharon Ing, and Eddie
  
• Sharon Ing is in love with Beyonder, but he doesn't reciprocate, and in fact, after one particular night together, he just says goodbye, and leaves
• Beyonder takes to the skies in his red Lamborghini
• Reference is made to Thor 247, 248, Rom, The Thing, Alpha Flight 27, and 22
• Beyonder revives Algrim, and watches as he sets on his path to kill Thor
• The military catches up to Beyonder's flying car, and blast him with a missile
• Not happy with it, Beyonder gets out of his car, and walks towards through the air towards the plane he's frozen, takes the plane, and sends the pilot to an auto shop with his damaged vehicle to get it fixed
• Beyonder goes to visit Molecule Man, and asks him to explain love to him
• Beyonder returns to Sharon to find she's overdosed on drugs
• Beyonder revives her and asks why she loves him, only to be told because of how he makes her feel
• Her response isn't good enough, and Beyonder chooses to find someone else - settling on Dazzler
• Beyonder brings Dazzler to a dome floating through space, and introduces himself, he then proceeds to whisk her around the world in an attempt to get her to open up to him
• Dazzler and Beyonder kiss atop a mountain
• Dazzler awakens in France with Beyonder, and he tells her he is going to get her a gift
• Beyonder materializes in the West Edmonton Mall in front of Alpha Flight, who immediately attack him - He makes short order of them
• Beyonder tells Shaman he needs to borrow his pouch, but intends to pay him for it, he then produces Shaman's daughter from the depths of the pouch, returning her to him
• Dazzler decides she wants to leave Beyonder, and he teleports her to New York
• When Dazzler tells him she wants to live her life and follow her dreams, Beyonder teleports her to a stage with a full audience, but she says she wants to earn her dream on her own
• The Avengers arrive, deeming Beyonder too powerful to be on Earth unchecked
• The Avengers attack, intent on stopping Beyonder, but to no avail, as Dazzler saves his life, allowing the two to teleport back to the mountaintop
• Beyonder admits that those weren't the real Avengers, but rather he materialized them to get Dazzler to prove she loved him
• Beyonder gives Dazzler half his power, making them equals, but she declines it, telling him she doesn't love him
• Drained of the energy, Dazzler falls from the sky, hitting the ground, and dying
• Angered that Dazzler doesn't love him, and has died, Beyonder's rage shoots upward in a blast of energy that destroys a galaxy far beyond Earth
• Beyonder revives Dazzler, and manipulates her mind to love him, but realizing it would be empty, he releases her, and returns her to where she was originally before they first met

Low Points

• For as many highlights as each issue has, Secret Wars II really isn't all that interesting to read
• No Spider-Man

Oddities

• None

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Comics Corner: Secret Wars II 3

   

Title: Secret Wars II
Issue Number: 3
Release Date: September 1985

Highlights

• First appearance of Toots, Vinnie Corbo, Millie Shuriff, Laverne "Smurfette" Lacy, Chulo, Eliot, Luigi, Mushnik, Gina, and Beyonder in his form as Frank
• An officer approaches a sleeping Beyonder leaning against a street sign, and tells him to show him some ID, instead, Beyonder shows him his realm, sending the cop stumbling off
• Beyonder comes across a lady of the night, and when she propositions him to get a room, informing him he needs money, he creates a gold bar out of thin air, which startles her
• Beyonder vanishes into thin air, reappearing at the hotel he was told to get a room at, and does indeed do so
• Beyonder is awoken by a gangster (Vinnie), with his bodyguard (Smurfette), his bookkeeper (Millie), Chulo (the pimp), and his girl Toots, which is the same woman Beyonder met earlier
• Vinnie asks Beyonder about the gold bar he made, and then asks him to tell him his story, Beyonder does
• Reference is made to Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars, Secret Wars II 1, 2, and Transformers 9
• Vinnie tells Beyonder he can help him with his quest, but tells him to first get some sleep
• Vinnie posts guards at the door to his room, and leaves Toots to take care of him
• The next day, Vinnie and Toots take Beyonder out, and teach him the joys of eating, and then, they put him in a bed with a lot of girls to learn...other stuff
• Vinne gets Beyonder a new set of clothes, making reference to both Duran Duran and ZZ Top, and then later on to Michael Jackson - Sweet!
• Beyonder helps Vinnie by dealing with a rival gang, and then "cleaning" his ladies of the night of their "ailments"
  
• Vinnie also gets Beyonder to make him a small pile of gold, cure the Dyslexia of his daughter, and make his fat wife thin
• Vinnie teaches Beyonder about gambling, and how winning all the time takes the fun out of it
• Beyonder is soon living a life of luxury, while doing dirty work for Vinnie
• Beyonder runs into Toots, and when he leaves, she says to herself that she loves him
• Vinnie tells Beyonder he's taught him all he can, and it's time for him to get out on his own, and see what he can do
• Beyonder gets fat, but when he senses the girls surrounding him don't like it, he dissolves it, and puts his muscle back in place
• Beyonder visits Kingpin, and using his powers, takes over, demanding 90% of the Kingpin's take, to which he can't resist agreeing to
• Not satisfied, Beyonder's next stop is the White House, where he takes over the country
• Beyonder feels this still isn't enough, and sets his sights on taking over the entire world, taking over every creature, bacteria, and molecule - save for one
• Molecule Man is unaffected by Beyonder's control, and even removes his grasp from his girlfriend, Volcana
• Despite his control over (almost) everything, Beyonder remains desirable of something, but doesn't know what
• Beyonder visits Vinnie, and asks why he still deisres when he has everything, but Vinnie can't help him
• Beyonder seeks out Toots, and releases her from his control, she immediately recognizes him, kisses him, and thanks him, telling him that because of what he last said to her, she went and got a respectable job as a waitress, and is working on a new life
• Beyonder decides to release the rest of the world of his controlling grasp, removing from their memories anything about what he had done
• Beyonder goes to Avengers headquarters to inquire about the feeling of gratitude from Toots, only to be told the Avengers are battling the Skrulls
• Beyonder teleports to them, but we don't see the battle, instead, he is instantly back in New York stating that he really messed that up
• Beyonder decides his next to stop is to see Matt Murdock

Low Points

• It's a charming story, but not one with any sort of action, or real stakes
• To get the full story, one would need to next read Daredevil 223, Hulk 312, and Avengers 260, the latter fills in the gaps of the battle with the Skrull noted above
• No Spider-Man

Oddities

• None

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Comics Corner: Secret Wars II 2

   

Title: Secret Wars II
Issue Number: 2
Release Date: August 1985

Highlights

• Inspired by the physique of Captain America, Beyonder creates himself a muscular human body to experience life with
• His first experience is gravity, when he steps off the side of a building, expecting to float down to the road below, but instead plummets, turning back to his cosmic form just before impact
• Beyonder chooses to try eating, and mimics a man ordering a hot dog and cream soda - However, rather than drink the glass bottle of soda, he chomps down on it, devouring the shards of broken glass
• He notes that eating is an intense experience that will require his human form body to be repaired
• Reference is made to Fantastic Four 280, 281, Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars, and Marvel Fanfare 20
• Hate Monger takes on the form of Reed Richards, allowing him to get close enough to Sue Storm, and turn her into Malice, Mistress of Hate
• Beyonder enters a clothing show and asks the shopkeeper the significance of eating and clothing - The shopkeeper tells him he can't help him, and that he should find someone he knows to explain these things
• Beyond does just that, and teleports to the Daily Bugle asking Peter Parker as he enters an elevator - Peter thinks him a nut, and keeps walking, only to be followed
• Peter evades the man, changes into his Spider-Man costume, and then thinking he'll have the drop on him, jumps out, only to see nobody
• Confused, Spider-Man heads home, followed by an invisible Beyonder
• Standing at his fridge, Peter ponders if he was hallucinating the man because he hasn't eaten all day, and as he thinks that, the Beyonder appears, asking if hallucinating is why there is eating
• Beyonder than questions him on why he changed clothes, and why his thoughts changed when he did
• Peter recognizes the man as Beyonder
• As the two sit on his couch, Peter informs Beyonder that he can't help him with his questions about the meaning of life, and suggests he go see Reed Richards
• Peter realizes he's just sent Beyonder to randomly pop in on the Fantastic Four, and in a panic heads to intercept
• The FF4 are reunited with Sue, who is no longer Malice, and they are in mid battle with Hate Monger (see low points below)
• Beyonder shows up in the middle of the battle to ask Reed if hallucinating is why there is eating
• The FF4 capture Hate Monger, but his cohort, Scourge (hidden in shadows, and unknown), escapes
• The mysterious figure briefly returns, and blasts Hate Monger, turning him into a puddle of ooze, and then quickly disappears again
• Reed explains that it's not the real Hate Monger, but rather a humanoid construct
• Unable to answer his questions immediately, Beyonder departs from Reed
• While taking a suit from a mannequin, Beyonder is approached by the homeless woman, Elsie Gertz, who chastises him for stealing, and then tells him how the suit doesn't fit, and that he doesn't have shoes
• As Beyonder mentally makes the adjustments to his attire, Elsie approves, and tells him to stick with her because she knows how the world works
• A group of thugs jump Elsie and Beyonder at her alleyway cardboard box
• Beyonder gets beaten to a pulp, and Elsie hands him a card, telling him he should see help from them
• Instantly healing himself, Beyonder takes the card, and informs Elsie he shall seek them out
• Beyonder appears in the office of Luke Cage and Iron Fist, Heroes For Hire, but they aren't there
• Sensing them in the past, Beyonder plucks the men from time, bringing them to the office
• Thinking its a customary greeting, Beyonder punches Luke Cage across the room when he approaches him, and follows suit with an equally pounding on Iron Fist
• Luke Cage grabs Beyonder from behind, and tells him to go outside with him so that they don't bust up the office, to which Beyonder agrees, and promptly walks through the window of the fourteenth floor
• As he falls, Luke Cage jumps out after him, only for Beyonder to use his powers to not hit the ground - Luke Cage on the other hand, hits the ground hard, but being invulnerable, isn't down for long
• Iron Fist attempts to explain that humans want to be one with the universe, to which Luke Cage interrupts, and teaches Beyonder about money, and its value, and why it's important to everyone
• Spider-Man sees the three talking, and joins them on the ground
• Beyonder, thinking he has the grasp of money, turns the Heroes For Hire building into solid gold, but it collapses under the weight of it
• When asked by the two why he did that, he informs them to pay for their services, and then says he's going, and disappears
• In disappearing, Luke and Iron Fist are returned to their original point in time they were initially plucked from, leaving Spider-Man standing there by himself

Low Points

• You have to read Fantastic Four 281, otherwise you miss how the Fantastic Four save Sue Storm from her Malice persona
• The ending says to read Web Of Spider-Man 6, then The Amazing Spider-Man 268, and finally Fantastic Four 282 before returning to Secret Wars II 3
• So basically, this is a giant cross over series, and not contained to the pages of the mini series, as the previous Secret Wars was

Oddities

• Prior to leaving Peter's apartment, he teaches Beyonder how to use the bathroom

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Comics Corner: Secret Wars II 1

   

Title: Secret Wars II
Issue Number: 1
Release Date: July 1985

Highlights

• First appearance of Thundersword, AKA Stewart Cadwall, Boromir, and Marian
• First appearance of McBurgers, and Quality Inn
• The Beyonder travels through the void of space, looking for Earth, crashing to the ground in Denver, Colorado, near the home of Molecule Man, and Volcana, and the two panic when they see him
• Across the world in Muir Island, Scotland, Charles Xavier startles on the couch, shouting the name of the Beyonder, immediately knowing he is somewhere in the Western United States
• Reference is made to "recent issues" of New Mutants and X-Men, as well as Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars
• Xavier reaches out to Captain America telepathically, as the hero travels on a 747 from London's Heathrow Airport to New York's JFK
• Cap uses his status as an Avenger to get the plane rerouted to Los Angeles
• Abridged retelling of the events of Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars
• Magneto stands before many of the X-Men in Xavier's School, but when Wolverine, Rogue, Rachel Summers, and Shadowcat learn of it, they literally bust in, immediately in attack mode
• Only Colossus and Nightcrawler are able to convince them he's only there to talk
• Magneto informs them that Xavier has asked him to lead the X-Men against the Beyonder, and Nightcrawler agrees to comply on behalf of the team...for now
• Magneto travels the X-Men across the country, using his magnetism to levitate a car they're all sitting within
• Taking over Molecule Man's body, Beyonder appears to Stewart Caldwell, and his girlfriend Marian, expressing to him that he wants to "experience," and "understand"
• In Los Angeles, Magneto recruits additional mutants, Cannonball, Magik, Dazzler, and Lila Cheney
• Beyonder turns Stewart into Thundersword
• Rachel is able to find Beyonder telepathically, and leads the flying car full of mutants to him
• Thundersword immediately uses his powers for evil, destroying television stations, and attacking those who make him rewrite his scripts
• Thundersword sees them approaching, and immediately attacks, destroying the vehicle
• Thundersword destroys a MacBurger restaurant for its high fat, non-nutritional food values, but in the process the flames he creates set a neighboring motel ablaze
• Captain America join the fight against Thundersword
• Ilyana Rasputin finds a cloaked Beyonder, and when he materializes in front of her, and grabs her, she transforms into Dark Chylde
• Dark Chylde panics, and in doing so creates a portal which whisks her, and several mutants into the unknown
• Seeing this, Wolverine rushes Beyonder, followed by Magneto, Nightcrawler, Rogue, Colossus, Lila, and Rachel Summers
• Despite slicing Beyonder multiple times with his claws, the God is  not phased
• Equally panicked, Lila creates a portal in fear of Beyonder, teleporting the remaining mutants away
• Just before Cap is defeated by Thundersword, Iron Man (James Rhodes) joins the fight
• Iron Man's instruments inform him that Thundersword's power is emanating from his sword, and he and Cap separate him from it, returning the villain back to his true form of Stewart
• Cap approaches Beyonder, and when he states he wants a word with him, the God vanishes in the blink of an eye
• Stewart has a nervous breakdown from his actions, knowing that he's destroyed the studios where he worked
• As Captain America departs from the scene, he's unaware that he's being followed by an invisible Beyonder

Low Points

• It's definitely not as interesting a starting point as the original Secret Wars was - In fact, it's kind of goofy
• Part of his chronological reading order, but no Spider-Man in this issue
• To read the next part of the story, you have to turn to the pages of New Mutants 30, Captain America 308, X-Men 196, and Iron Man 197

Oddities

• None

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Big Lick Comic Con

 

On May 14, 2022, I loaded up my backpack, and headed off to the Dulles Expo Center to be part of the scene that was, Big Lick Comic Con. Unfortunately, I also made an error in my time of arrival.

Weekend ticket holders had the ability to get into the show an hour early, and somehow, I got it in my mind that it was 9:00 AM that doors opened for early access. This turned out to not be correct. Doors actually opened at 11:00 AM for general admission, and early access was at 10:00 AM. This meant I was two hours early for the show. While I was first in line, I was also out in the drizzle of rain for two hours.

When the doors opened, I immediately made a right turn upon entering, and made a "B" line for what I had come for. But more on that after a quick tour of the show. I didn't honestly take as many photos as I could have. I focused my shots on wall racks, and even then the pictures I got didn't even scratch the surface of what was there.

While I had a small list of books I was looking for, my main goal for the show was to get some autographs.

First stop for me, without question, was the drill instructor of the Joes. You know who I'm talking about.

The Sarge not only hooked me up with three autographs, but also put me in a Cobra Clutch for a series of photos.

In addition to the poster, I also got a few other items autographed. However, since I got more than his signature on these things, I'll share them further below.

My next stop was to the savior of the universe, Flash Gordon, Mr. Sam Jones.

Not only was I super excited to meet him, but so to was my girl's son. He of course was excited to meet the guy from Ted 2...pfft...kids.

Sam was incredibly nice.He talked with everyone who wanted an autograph at length, and even prayed with my girl's son, who is going through a bit of a rough patch. We must has spent thirty minutes with him talking and getting a ton of autographs. Between the two of us we got about eight things. I even picked up something for George of G.I. Jigsaw. The photos below are just the stuff I got for myself.

From there, it was all the way to the back of the convention hall to meet the father of 80's G.I. Joe.

Seriously, I may as well have just signed my paycheck over to Larry Hama with how much stuff I got signed.

This book was intended to be a convention exclusive for a different show, but ended up being brought to Big Lick. It's a variant cover edition of issue 289, and features a cover by Hama. The book is apparently limited to 1,200 copies. I got three, and also opted to have them signed.

I then got two 11 X 17 prints which were signed in advance by artist, Michael Zeck. I opted to have Larry Hama sign these as well.

I then went for broke, having Larry sign my first prints of G.I. Joe number one and twenty-one. I stopped at Michaels on the way home and picked up all the frames that you see all the photos displayed in. I had an extra one left over that worked perfectly for the two books.

Then there were a couple more items thrown on the pile, and these I got signed by both Larry Hama and Sgt. Slaughter.

Yeah, buddy! I got my G.I. Joe The Movie and complete first series signed. For as much as I love having the above comics signed, THIS is what I came to Big Lick to get autographed. Well, that and my Flash Gordon soundtrack.

The last table I stopped at for autographs was one I was tossing back and forth in my mind since buying my tickets.

Jim Shooter is a legend of Marvel Comics (and more), yet I didn't honestly know if I had anything that was, well, worth getting signed. At the last minute this morning, I grabbed my entire run of Secret Wars and Secret Wars II, telling myself that if I did get anything signed out of the pile of twenty (plus) books, that I would figure out which ones those would be later.

I was really surprised to find that in general the autograph lines were non-existent at Big Lick. Well, except for Sam Jones who always seemed to be at least ten people deep at any given time. This was no different for Mr. Shooter, who only had one person there getting a few comics autographed.

The driving force behind getting any books signed was going to come down to price, and as I stepped up to his table, I asked very politely, "Could I ask if you had the time to sign my entire run of Secret Wars, how much would that cost?" Mr. Shooter responded, "Yeah, sure. I'll sign those for you, and there is no charge."

What?!?!?!! Well, if that's the case, then yes please, and thank you!

My collection of number one's feature the original error printing, the fixed printing, and formal second printing. What was really awesome was that he knew what each one was just by looking at the cover, and immediately launched into the story of how the error printing came to be, going into detail on the printing process that led to it's existence.

Jim Shooter was so awesome to meet! He was so kind, and shared so many stories about Marvel, other artists, and more. Say what you will about his "reputation" in the industry, the man was truly nice, and very happy to talk to fans.

I was kicking myself when it dawned on me that I could have brought my Marvel Age issue that had the announcement of Secret Wars, as well as the first appearance of black suit Spider-Man.

With things autographed, it was time to actually walk the floor and see what was out there to be had. I had a small list of McFarlane based comics that I was looking for...and quickly found that I had left this at home.

Working from memory, I ran forward with the only title I remembered the issues from. Incredible Hulk 330 through 346. I really didn't expect this to be as challenging as it was. I thought from the various tables that I could easily put together a run of these books. Boy, was I wrong.

Out of all the tables, only one had the majority that I found, and another had a single issue that the other table didn't. I came up five books short when it was all said and done. Oh well. Next time.

While chatting with Joe, the dealer who helped me dive headlong into my vintage G.I. Joe collection, I had an outburst moment when I looked up from the boxes on the table, saw someone, and shouted, "Hey, it's the guy from YouTube!"

For those of you who don't follow comic book collector's on YouTube, this dude is Long Box Love Affair. I don't know that he's ever shared his real name on his videos, and considering I was asking for his photo randomly, I didn't want to look all the more weirder than I did by imposing a request for his true credentials.

I really hope I didn't make myself look like a dope.

The last item I picked up was one I really didn't need, but figured, my chances of finding one in the wild were pretty slim.

Yes, it's yet another copy of Todd McFarlane's Spider-Man number one, but this one is signed on the polybag.

I think the selling point on this was that the signature was on the polybag itself, which isn't common. The dealer that was selling it ALWAYS over charges, and I definitely paid more than it was worth. But, at that point in the day, I had already more than blown the budget I intended to spend.

Overall, it was a great way to spend the day. We got to meet some celebrities, get autographs, and enjoy something new and exciting.

Though I could have gone back on Sunday to get a few more autographs from Jim Shooter, I opted to instead find other ways to spend my last day of the weekend, which included hanging all the stuff I got on the walls.

I also rebagged and boarded my Incredible Hulk books.

I know that issue 335 isn't a McFarlane issue, but it would have driven my OCD nuts to be missing this issue in consecutive order of 330 through 346. I just need 331, 333, 341, 344, and 346 to complete the run.

And with that, as well as a few other errands and stuff, that wrapped up my weekend.

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