The Secret Wars Power Rankings – Final Standings

Well, it is finally over!  Ok, it was finally over back in the beginning of January, but I’ve finally finished my write ups.  With that done, after the break check out our (well, mostly my) final rankings for all the Secret Wars series.

It was a huge event and most will not be insane enough to read it all.  If you are interested in the main story, you can mostly get by with just reading the main series.  Very few of the other series tie into the main event, and those that do are recapped as needed in the lead book.

Outside of that, I’d recommend giving any of the top 15 a shot.  As for the rest, you can likely just pick and choose the series that interest you.  As said, most have no ties to the core book outside of Doom being God and the story taking place in a domain of Battleworld.  And some barely bother with that.

Let us know what’s ranked too high or too low.

Jimmy Attempts To Read All Of Secret Wars 51

Life is funny sometimes.  When I wrote my walk through of Secret Wars #9 I mentioned that I had read all the events books except for Armor Wars #½.  Since it was a limited giveaway at Toys R’ Us (a store I don’t frequent) I had a hard time getting my hands it.  Strangely enough, it was literally half an hour after that review posted to the website, I happened upon a copy.

After the break I will inch closer to completing this odyssey with the aforementioned Armor Wars #½, as well as finish off Weirdworld (#3-5) and X-Men ’92 (Infinite) (#7-8).  As usual, this way be spoilers.

The Secret Wars Power Rankings – November 12, 2015

 

It was a big week for Secret Wars.  Probably the last one, with the release of Secret Wars #7 and the conclusions of Thors, Squadron Sinister and Infinity Gauntlet.  The only books left now I believe are Secret Wars #8 and #9, Hail Hydra #4 and Ultimate End #5, which is long delayed, I’m guessing because it ties into the conclusion of the main series.

I’ve heard rumors that when Secret Wars was expanded to 9 issues, the actual page count remained the same for the series.  That they basically split an issue that was supposed to be oversized in two to give the creative team more time.  It sure felt that way this week as issue 7 felt like half an issue.  The endings of Thors and Squadron Sinister were ok but had their problems.

Infinity Gauntlet finished strong and has a big jump up the rankings.  Moving from #16 to #9.  While it still annoys me that this series doesn’t tie into the main story, as a self-contained work it is quite good and manages to deliver on the ending, which many of the Secret Wars tie-ins have failed to do.

After the break, this weeks rankings…

The Secret Wars Power Rankings – November 3, 2015

There’s not much Secret Wars left to talk about these days.  Most series are over and the new Marvel Universe has already launched.  Last week saw the conclusions of House of M and Where Monsters Dwell.  This week, for the first time since May, there are no Secret Wars books scheduled.

Since there aren’t many issues, there aren’t really any big movers and shakers.  Monsters dropped slightly as I wonder if this had anything to do at all with Secret Wars or Marvel just used it as an excuse to hype a tame Garth Ennis book?  I don’t think there is one reference to Battleworld in the story.  House of M moved up a bit with a mediocre finale, jumping over a couple of other mediocre books.

After the break, this weeks rankings…

Save Your $5 And Avoid The Guide To The Marvel Multiverse

With many of their company wide events, Marvel likes to publish a “Guide” book to help those that may be lost about what circumstances lead to the current crossover and who the main players are.

Even being the completist that I am, I almost never read these.  The problem for me is the format.  They are just page after page of very small text with the occasional recycled image added where appropriate.

But since I’m attempting to read all of Secret Wars, will I manage to read this as well?  Answer: no.  So the question becomes, should you?  Find out after the cut.  (Spoilers: no, no you shouldn’t.)

The Secret Wars Power Rankings – October 26, 2015

I thought I would mix up the intro a bit this week.  If you’re like me you don’t read it and skip over it anyway since it hasn’t changed in months.  It also has been a while since we’ve done a “Secret Wars Power Rankings Reaction” style column where Ryan and Tom tell me I’m crazy.

So after the cut I will incorporate some of that into the beginning of this weeks rankings.  Not a lot changes these days as Secret Wars is supposed to be over now, but due to delays, it is still pushing out a few titles a week even though the new Marvel Universe launched on schedule a couple of weeks ago.  We even have a new title this week, Secret Wars Agents of Atlas.

The Secret Wars Power Rankings – October 19, 2015

The best part of Marvel’s Secret Wars is that virtually every facet of the massive event starts with an issue #1.  This presents 49 different jumping on points.  Some stories may be based on characters you know, some series may be from another event or world you’ve read about, but all of them are different enough that you can pick up the series and start reading.  With that in mind, we’ve harnessed the powers of Jimmy Impossible (who’s actually reading the entire event) to power rank every single Secret Wars series.  Each week the rankings will change as new issues come out, so come take a look at the latest power rankings after the break!

Secret Wars #7 Cover Who’s Who?

Not that Secret Wars #7

I was recently writing up my walk through for Secret Wars #6 and when I reached the end I flipped the page to see a preview of the cover for issue #7.  I had seen it before.  But as it sat there before my eyes, the longer I looked at it, the cooler I realized it was.  “Is that the Lou Ferrigno Hulk?  Forbush Man??  Goose Rider???”  What was going on with this cover?

It seems the Marvel multiverse is back and they are not happy with one Victor Von Doom.  After the cut, check out the full cover and our best guesses at who’s who.  We’ve identified must, but there are a couple we need your help with.  So get your Marvel dukes shined up and have a look…

Jimmy Attempts To Read All Of Secret Wars XXVIII: Runaways Edition

There’s been a lot of talk around these parts by Tom and especially Ryan that I’ve underrated Runaways in our Secret Wars Power Rankings. Like here, here, here and here.

I thought Runaways was ok, with one of the few good endings in these (and I use the term loosely) “tie-ins”.  But I’ve just never dug on teen angst teams.  So no, I’ve never read any previous incarnations of Runaways either.

At the end of the day I can only mark it down to personal preference.  And much like I’m sure Terminator 2: Judegement Day is not Ryan and Tom’s favorite movie, or Led Zeppelin Ryan and Tom’s favorite band, to each their own.

After the cut I’ll take a look at Runaways #1, Runaways #2, Runaways #3 and Runaways #4 with an eye to telling you what happened, and not necessarily if you should spend your $15.96 + tax on it.

Related links:
Secret Wars Power Rankings
Tom’s Road To Secret Wars: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,7.
Other parts of this series: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27

The Secret Wars Power Rankings – October 9, 2015

The best part of Marvel’s Secret Wars is that virtually every facet of the massive event starts with an issue #1.  This presents 49 different jumping on points.  Some stories may be based on characters you know, some series may be from another event or world you’ve read about, but all of them are different enough that you can pick up the series and start reading.  With that in mind, we’ve harnessed the powers of Jimmy Impossible (who’s actually reading the entire event) to power rank every single Secret Wars series.  Each week the rankings will change as new issues come out, so come take a look at the latest power rankings after the break!