Jimmy Attempts To Read All Of Secret Wars 48

It’s like looking into a mirror of insanity as I feel the same way Magneto while trying to finish this up.

No theme to this post, just trying to clue up some odds and ends.  After the cut I will take a look at series final issues: Red Skull #3, Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #4-5, Captain Marvel And The Carol Corps #3-4 and Deadpool’s Secret Secret Wars #4 

Be sure to check out our latest Secret Wars Power Rankings, which also features links to the other parts of my read through.

Red Skull #3

In a move that should have consequences elsewhere, but like similar books will be completely ignored, it’s Magneto, Red Skull and the Annihilation Wave combining forces to attack The Shield.  Since the attack amounts to nothing, I guess it could be in-continuity and just one of the many attacks on The Shield prior to it’s fall in Siege/Secret Wars.

Magneto is defeated by a bunch of non-metal Sentinels.  Not realizing that the Sentinels were not metal (seriously, Magneto would not be able to figure this out?) he thinks the Red Skull has tricked him and not actually returned his powers to him in the last issue.  When Magneto attacks Red Skull in retaliation, the Skull slips the power dampening collar back on him and throws him to the pack of Marvel Zombies nearby.

Retreating to recover and fight another day, Red Skull thinks he is safe until a bullet from afar tears threw that red cranium.  Crossbones arrives and takes the Skull’s skull to bring to Doom, as was his mandate since the first issue.

Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #4

Annie and MJ have been kidnapped.  Not by Regents men, but by the remnants of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the domains remaining heroes.

Back at Annie’s school, Sandman has revealed himself to Spider-Man as an ally.  Unfortunately it makes little difference as Regent shows up and uses the powers of Major Victory and Storm to quickly incapacitate them.  Regent then uses the powers of one of the telepaths he’s killed to read Sandman’s mind and find the location of the rebel base.  Regent also reveals that he can only use the powers he steals so many times before they disappear.

As the Sinister Six attack the rebel base, Spider-Man and Sandman are put into stasis along with the other heroes that Regent feeds on.  Regent reveals that he will use Peter’s spider-sense to avoid attack and take down Doom…like every other villain in almost every series has designs to do.

Regent leaves the two to their fate, but is unaware that Sandman is actually hiding a “spot” inside his sandy body courtesy of Dr. Johnathon Ohhn (aka Spidey villian “The Spot” whose spots mimic the teleportation powers of the hero Cloak).  Using this spot Sandman has opened a door into Regents stronghold which the remaining rebels, including MJ and Annie escape into to take down Regent and rescue Spider-Man.

Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #5

Storming Regents stronghold, Hawkeye, Mockingbird, Prowler and Dazzler take their best shot.  They were probably no match for Regent anyway (this guy singlehandedly killed the Avengers and the X-Men) and with his new spider-sense, they last no time.

Meanwhile, Annie and MJ have followed the rebels through the teleportation spot into Regent’s lab.  Annie, thanks to the powers she inherited from her father, quickly makes work of the lab technicians including one wearing a new prototype suit of Regents armor.  A suit which MJ “borrows” and then orders Annie to destroy all the stasis tubes minus her father’s to drain Regent of his power.

Feeling the drain in his powers, Regent quickly arrives at the lab and attacks MJ and Annie.  And as happens in most Spider-Man stories when he looks to be down and out, he somehow digs deeper and using the love of his family somehow finds the strength to escape from his stasis tube and join the fight.

Regent and Spider-Man make up the majority of the fight and with Spidey weakened and Regent still drawing power from the heroes Annie didn’t manage to disconnect, things aren’t looking good.  That is until Annie uses the “magic arrowhead” that Hawkeye had cooked up, which is actually a power inhibitor.  Jamming the arrowhead into the back of Regents neck, his suit powers off.

Peter then defeats Regent with a well placed punch and a big deal is made about the fact that he knocks out Regent instead of killing him.  He does so as an example to his daughter.  So…what about 4 issues ago when you let Venom die to protect your family Peter?  I guess that doesn’t count now.

And the Parker’s and everyone else lived happily ever after…until Secret Wars #9 when Battleworld likely explodes and this continuity doesn’t exist anymore.  Or does it?  (Hint, see Amazing Spider-Man #1.)

Captain Marvel And The Carol Corps #3

Not surprisingly, Captain Marvel saves Helen from her fiery fate last issue as her plane exploded on take off.

Feeling that the gig is up once Hala mission control identifies Helen’s plane as the unauthorized take off, the rest of the Carol Corps board their planes and escape with less explosive results.  Captain Marvel flees as well with Rhodey in tow.

A firefight ensues between the Carol Corps and other Hala fighters, with Captain Marvel managing to turn the tide and crash the Corps combatants into the ocean.  Allowing them to avoid injury while the Corps make their escape.

The Carol Corps have a new problem though.  For their defiance, Doom has sent the Thor Corps.

Captain Marvel And The Carol Corps #4

It’s the Carol Corps versus the Thor Corps.  Using their planes and the arsenal they recovered from Rhodey’s ship, the Carol Corps surprisingly put up a good fight.  But in the end they will really be no match for the thunder Gods.

Away from the main battle, Captain Marvel and their former colleague and now Thor, Kit, fight.  And…after about two seconds Kit sides with Cap and helps the Corps escape so that they can enter the Void and see what is beyond Battleworld.  (We probably won’t see the “Kit gets sent to The Shield for betraying Doom” storyline that would be the fallout from this.)

And so, Cap and the Corps make it to the Void…which is not mentioned anywhere else and we never actually learn what lies beyond there.

Deadpool’s Secret Secret Wars #4

This series has been kinda fun.  Once I framed it in my head as being a What If? style story that would (hopefully) not be the new canon in the All-New All-Different Marvel Universe, I was able to enjoy it for what it is.  Having a copy of the original Secret Wars on hand to compare it against helps to broaden the experience.  So let’s see how they clued things up…

During the time when Wade Wilson had his appearance returned to normal, he and The Wasp became very, very good friends.  IfyouknowwhatI’msaying?  But now that Deadpool is allowing his healing powers to be drained by Reed Richards to resurrect the fallen heroes, Wasp is disgusted by his usual appearance.  Man, The Wasp is pretty shallow.

Outside of Janet Van Dyne’s rejection of Deadpool, the majority of this issue plays out like Secret Wars #12, just with some extra Deadpool sprinkled into the final confrontation between Cap and Doom.  And like the original finale, once the Beyonder has defeated Doom and taken his powers back, the heroes start experiencing a period of “wish fulfillment”…which in this version is thanks to Deadpool and the Beyonder having a little chat.  Everyone gets their wishes and goes home and live happily ever after.

But…the question of how come no one remembers Deadpools involvement in these events lingers.  Deadpool isn’t sure why, he speculates that someone (implied to be The Wasp) used her wish to forget him and everyone else got caught up in the collective “mindwipe”.  As for Deadpool himself, he used his wish to bring Zsaji back to life, in a twist that will likely never be touched on again, but could actually lead to some interesting stories down the road for Deadpool, Colossus and the Human Torch.  But I’m not holding my breath.