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Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars #3: Review

Jul 1984
Jim Shooter, Mike Zeck

Story Name:

Tempest Without, Crisis Within!

Review & Comments

Rating:
3 stars

Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars #3 Review by (June 10, 2011)
In New Mutants #14 Prof X finally made his new clone body walk properly, and in UXM#180 Kitty went off to join White Queen's Massachusetts Academy. Which brings us to the state when they came to Battleworld, although I don't know why Rogue wasn't actually with them.
Lockheed also counts as an X-Man here although he goes off to do his own thing between #1 and #12. Kitty met him while they were fighting the Brood on another planet in UXM#166, and then he stowed away to be with her on their return to Earth.

Fantastic Four continued to riff off their rich history. In FF#261-262 Mr Fantastic was put on trial by alien races for saving the life of Galactus in #244. In #263-264 Human Torch and Thing helped Mole Man save his underground civilisation while Reed and pregnant Sue were playing house.
Between that last arc and this series they as usual did some guest apps. Reed cameoed in Dazzler #32 while Ben and Johnny had their own tale in Marvel Fanfare #15. Then the whole team joined the earlier-mentioned guest-fest in SSM #89. And then it's Thing #10 where Ben Grimm prepared to break up with Alicia Masters, until the Fantastic Three left Sue to go investigate the Beyonder's building in Central Park.

The Avengers were abducted for this series in epilogues to Av#242 and Captain America #192 plus the start of Thor #341. The Thor issue was published a month before the others and the relevant panels were left blank, to be revealed in the next issue's letter column.
Cap's last major story arc was his #286-289 which stopped the Deathlok future from happening, making that an alternate timeline. Since then he's had 1-issue tales in #290-292. Then he was part of a guest-fest in Spectacular SM #89 before joining the Avengers for their #241-242.
In Th#337-340 Walt Simonson introduced us to Beta Ray Bill who is worthy to wield Mjolnir, and Thor stopped being Donald Blake. Then he spent some time in Asgard in his Annual #12 before visiting the Avengers and getting dragged into this series.
Meanwhile in Av#240-241 Tigra called for help after the end of Spider-Woman's series (#50) left Jessica Drew's astral spirit separated from her body. Starfox plus the female Avengers fought Morgan Le Fay to put her back together, but she lost her powers. Then in #242 they threw a party to celebrate Hawkeye's wedding to Mockingbird, joined by Cap and Thor.

The X-Men came here at the end of Uncanny XM #180. The team have as usual been continually changing their lineup. I'll start with UXM#171 where the basic setup was Storm leading Ariel (the current codename of Kitty Pryde), Colossus and Nightcrawler. Cyclops was off wooing Madelyne Pryor while Wolverine was in Japan with Mariko Yashida. Rogue came to them for help and stayed, causing guest Binary (the current codename of Carol Danvers) to go off in huff and join the Starjammers in space in #174.
Logan's wedding to Mariko crashed in #172-173 and he returned to the team as Storm changed to her punk mohawk look. Scott Summers' wedding to Madelyne in #174-175 was more successful despite the bride being temporarily turned into Dark Phoenix, so he *didn't* return to the team.


Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars #3 Review by (June 10, 2011)
Heroes: Captain America, Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau), Hawkeye, Hulk, Human Torch, Iron Man (Jim Rhodes), Mr. Fantastic, She-Hulk, Spider-Man, Thing, Thor, Wasp and X-Men Professor X, Colossus, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Rogue, Storm, Wolverine, plus Magneto. Villains: Absorbing Man, Doctor Doom, Dr. Octopus, the Enchantress, Galactus, the Lizard, Kang, Molecule Man, Ultron, the Wrecking Crew.

Comments: First appearance/origin of Volcana and Titania. Explanations: Iron Man is Jim Rhodes, Hulk has Bruce Banner’s mind, Professor X can walk.

Review: Full review appears with issue #1.

Rob adds:-

The Fantastic Three, She-Hulk, Captain Marvel and Spider-Man are put out of action by Titania, Volcana, Dr Octopus and Ultron (Human Torch is only injured, the rest are knocked out). Wrecker frees Kang and the Wrecking Crew, but couldn't find Enchantress because she's gone off with Thor.

Hulk's difficulty concentrating on a scientific problem is the 1st sign that the Hulk persona is beginning to return to replace Bruce Banner's.

Where does this series fit in the lives of various heroes?


Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars #3 Review by (June 10, 2011)
Spider-Man continued to juggle 3 series and he got abducted by the Beyonder in all of them. The bulk of Amazing SM #251 was the apparent end of the Hobgoblin storyline. Then SM visited his other series before coming back for the epilogue. He doesn't actually appear in a Marvel Team-Up here but we get a tale from Web Of SM #26, a series which hadn't even started yet! But then he did SSM#88-89 where his partner Black Cat consulted lots of guest-stars to get a real super-power.
Then SM returned to ASM#251 for a meeting with Harry Osborne in Central Park, and entered Beyonder's building. This sequence was echoed at the end of SSM#89 and in an epilogue to MTU#140.

James Rhodes has been feeling his way into his new role as Iron Man since IM#170, replacing drunk Tony Stark. But in #179-181 he faced IM's nemesis Mandarin and survived. Then he investigated Beyonder's building in Central Park.

Banner's mind has been controlling Hulk's body since his #272. He was given a Presidential amnesty in #278 and has been working as a scientist since then. But lately the Hulk persona has been trying to return. After a story involving MODOK in #287-290 he's been having single-issue adventures plus a tale in Defenders #122-125 in which the Elf With A Gun caused the original Defenders to quit the team.
But #294 started a story about dying mob boss Max Hammer which Hulk will have to finish when he returns from this series.

Magneto is listed with the heroes here but he's still a villain. In his last UXM app in #148-150 he tried to force the world to get rid of their nuclear weapons, and when they wouldn't he destroyed a Russian city. Since then he's revealed his paternity to Pietro and Wanda in Vision & Scarlet Witch #4. He's had a philosophical discussion with Storm in XM Unlimited #39. Then he allied with the X-Men in the 'God Loves, Man Kills' GN against Rev Stryker and the Purifiers, and turned down a place on the team.




 

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars #3 Synopsis by Peter Silvestro

As a violent storm rages outside, Magneto releases his "guest" the Wasp from her metal prison. He brought her here to discuss a truce. Meanwhile at the heroes’ citadel, the fury of the storm causes a massive rock to fall toward the building and only Thor can shatter it with the power of Mjolnir as he exults in the unbridled elements. Inside, the heroes assemble technology for Mr. Fantastic to monitor Galactus and the villains’ fortress. Elsewhere in the building, Spider-Man has discovered that the X-Men have established a separate HQ apart from the rest…and are talking about joining Magneto. When Spidey is detected, the mutant heroes attack; he manages to fight them off and escape to tell Reed about the perceived betrayal but suddenly he can’t remember what he was going to say (thanks to the mind manipulation of Professor X). Xavier tells his team that he has discovered a jet that operates by psychic control so they board and head off to Magneto’s fortress. Meanwhile, Magneto has rejected an offer to join Doctor Doom’s team and continues to explain his position to Wasp—and two find themselves attracted to one another….

At Doombase, in exchange for their pledge to serve him, Doom subjects two Earth women to a device that will grant them superpowers (it will later be explained that these women are from a section of Denver, Colorado, drawn from Earth to form part of Battleworld): Marsha Rosenberg gains fiery powers and renames herself Volcana, and her friend Mary "Skeeter" MacPherran becomes the superstrong Titania. The two superwomen are introduced to the rest of the villains; Titania tries to pick a fight with Absorbing Man to test her new strength but the villain doesn’t see the point of fighting before the next day’s battle. Meanwhile, Volcana is attracted to Molecule Man, finding him kindly and sensitive, despite his great power and allegiance to Doom.

At the heroes’ citadel, Thor releases Enchantress from her healing capsule, needing another immortal to talk to. At dawn, Captain America wakes up late because the Hulk, distracted by problems of concentration, failed to alert him. The villains launch their attack, taking them completely by surprise. Several of the heroes are overpowered and the rest retreat to regroup. Doom and his forces declare a victory….



Mike Zeck
John Beatty
Christie Scheele
Mike Zeck (Cover Penciler)
Mike Zeck (Cover Inker)
(Unknown artist) (Cover Colorist)


Characters

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

Absorbing Man
Absorbing Man

(Crusher Creel)
Captain America
Captain America

(Steve Rogers)
Hulk
Hulk

(Bruce Banner)
Mr. Fantastic
Mr. Fantastic

(Reed Richards)
Spider-Man
Spider-Man

(Peter Parker)
Thor
Thor

(Odinson)



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