Secret Wars #5 Recap/Review – Owen Reece died for our sins

 

Secret Wars #5 Comic Recap

[Related: Marvel’s Secret Wars 2015 Complete Reading Order Checklist]
Before the world, there was the ether.  We cannot call it heaven, or forever, or any other joyful thing… for it was nothing.  And in this ocean of absence, there was only God Doom and his first disciple: our fallen leader, Stephen Strange.   Think on it, brothers and sisters: there was nothing.  And then… there was everything.  And the only witness to the miracle of creation besides the all-father himself was the good Sheriff Strange.  What an honour, what a life.  If Valhalla is for the brave, Stephen… then there you will be a king.  Of all of us, you were truly the most worthy.

At the funeral, Susan tells Doom that memorials will be held for Stephen all over Battleworld, but the good Sheriff was Victor’s friend, and they thought he would appreciate a more personal affair.  Doom thanks Susan, while Franklin Richards flies up to the statue of Stephen.  He says he is sorry that Strange died, as he liked the man a great deal, and vows that when he finds out who did this, he’s going to smash them into little pieces.

While Susan is surprised at these words, Doom looks on in silence.  Hours later, he stills stands watch, until Valeria interrupts him.  She offers condolences to her father, and Doom says that we all deserve better than a fate than death.  Valeria then asks about something that is bothering her – as she is confused as to how people escaped the judgement of god.  Doom explains he is emotional right now, and if he acts, his unspeakable power could break Battleworld.

But Valeria is still unsatisfied.  She needs to know more, and asks just what happened out there  that could have left Stephen dead and Doom so placid.  Her father pauses, before saying that undying love for family and eternal patience are not the same thing, warning his daughter not to confuse them.  He asks her if she can find the escapees without asking more questions, and she says that she can.  As she leaves to comply, Doom looks on a Stephen once more, before cursing his name.  He opens a portal, and walks into an empty void.

He comes before Owen Reece… the Molecule Man.  The strange one-time villain is hungry.  Every molecule in his body starves for more, even after feasting on all of reality.  But Doom didn’t bring food, as he has other things on his mind.  He tells Owen that Stephen Strange is dead, which surprises his old friend.  Reece guesses it’s cancer, as it is always cancer, but Doom clarifies that Stephen fell to a different sort of decay.  It was doubt that killed the good Sheriff.  Owen finds this interesting, as Strange knew.  He was there, when everything died.  He saw it.  But Doom corrects him.  He was there at the end.  But even Victor wasn’t there for the beginning.  At first, it was just Owen… and the Beyonders.

[Related: Marvel’s Secret Wars 2015 Complete Reading Order Checklist]

But Molecule Man states that’s not true.  It all began with the Beyonders… alone.  They built whole universes.  Random ideas to be tested and given form.  They pushed life as far as it could go, and then got bored.  They took an interest in the idea of death, and thus created the Molecule Man.  A living, sentient bomb – one man, seeded all over reality to kill the multiverse.  But the Beyonders forgot that every man has a choice – and Owen chose Doom.  Together they formed the Order of the Black Swans and began killing Molecule Men across the multiverse, until the incursions began.  So the two men came up with a new plan – a new bomb – a better bomb… a better Owen Reece.

With Stephen Strange joining them – they stood before the Beyonders.  They stole their powers and kept it somewhere safe – and used it to preserve what little remained of the multiverse.  But it was too much for Stephen, who couldn’t handle choosing what lives and what dies.  He passed the responsibility over to Doom – and from that day, a god was born.  And now Stephen is dead, which Doom admits was his own doing.  But Owen knows this.  He can smell the guilt all over Victor.

Owen things everything is about to unravel.  As Doom leaves, Owen wonders who will die next, knowing that if Doom goes, Battleworld dies with him.  And if Owen dies… well… won’t that be exciting?

Elsewhere, Valeria has gathered together the Future Foundation’s Justice Division.  Their members are Nostradamus, Alex Powers, Dragon Man, Bentley 23, Night Machine, and Psycho Man.  She tells her team that God has a job for them, and their first and only priority is finding the team that has escaped to Battleworld.  She orders all other projects to be suspended – there will be no more deep diving into the Negative Zone that exists deep within Battleworld, no more cataloguing objects of great power, and, in spite of his protests, Bentley is specifically ordered to suspend all his little experiments south of the SHIELD.

Using specialized equipment, the team goes over what little they know.  They were able to find the scene of the crime, using spikes in the relative energy levels of Battleworld.  They also learned that Stephen Strange was always different from the rest of the energy of Battleworld – while all beings of this planet gave off energy similar to that of Doctor Doom, Stephen always registered on the negative side – as an absence of Doom.  This negative energy spiked before his death, implying that it was Stephen who scattered the fugitives away from Doctor Doom.  This worries the Future Foundation, who think this involved something more sinister than simple mind control or coercion.

So Valeria gives them her orders – They’re going to take this all the way to the end of the line.  No matter where it goes.  She’ll handle any noise from the throne, but for now what they learn stays with them…  Valeria wants to know what really happened.  Who these people are.  Where they disappeared to.  She wants to know what they’re capable of.  And more than anything else… they have to find out what the fugitives want.  And why it scares god so badly…

Secret Wars #5 Comic Review

Hello and welcome to Comic Island!  My name is Arden, and this is my recap, and review, of Secret Wars #5.

Well now, this was a fun comic.  Ah, it’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to review one of the core series comics.  Not only do Joey and I alternate coverage on this title, but after all the delays, it’s been well over a month since I’ve gotten to talk about Secret Wars.  Yes, we’re dragging on a bit, as we’re only five issues in and the entire event was originally supposed to end in September, but I don’t mind waiting a bit longer than what was originally planned if it means they aren’t rushing the comic and the time is spent devoted to maximizing this comic’s quality.

It was kind of worth the wait, but this is a bit of a strange comic.  Out of the entire series so far, I’d almost call this the weakest of the issues?  Almost, but I also kind of think it’s one of the best ones yet.

[Related: Marvel’s Secret Wars 2015 Complete Reading Order Checklist]

Let me explain this apparent contradiction.  On the one hand, this is kind of a filler issue.  It’s very quiet compared to all the other Secret Wars comics, and it doesn’t have any of the Earth-shattering moments that we’ve seen in issues one to four.  It’s all about a slow but steady build-up to what will likely be the final act of Secret Wars in issues six, seven, and eight.  So yes, in some ways, Secret Wars #5 does not live up to the epic, insane, awesomeness we’ve gotten thus far in this core series.

But, I still think this is my favourite one yet, for three major reasons.  First, the art is at it’s best quality thus far.  The delays we’ve been experiencing in the core series being published are clearly to allow for the creative team behind Secret Wars enough time to polish this comic and make it the best it can possibly be.  It’s hard to fault them for this, and in my view, it really pays off.  And yeah, the art is really impressive in this comic.  The redundant facial expressions we’ve been seeing in the last few issues are gone, and instead we get great shots of Thanos at the Wall, Doom looking over at Stephen, and the brilliant, desperate final stand of Doctor Doom against the Beyonders.  So the art really brings issue number five to life and in a way that I enjoyed even more than the previous issues of this core series.

Second, they take their time to deliver some solid character moments with Doctor Doom and a few other characters.  It’s minor, but important in telling a good story and getting readers invested in what is to come.

And finally, perhaps most critically, we get to see just what happened at the end of Time Runs Out between Doom and the Beyonders.  That last bit was especially important in giving context to Battleworld and why Doom matters so much in it, as well as bringing the Molecule Man back into play.  It was a cool scene that also gives some closure to Time Runs Out that I really appreciate.

So the comic isn’t bad, it’s just a little different from the first four Secret Wars, and you should gauge your expectations accordingly.  I did like this comic, and I do recommend it.  It’s an important issue that’s serving up to us what should wind up being a big and epic final battle.  I expect things are going to escalate to an everybody vs. Doctor Doom fight, and personally, I can’t wait.

And yes, one way or another, Doom is either going to die or choose to give up his power, ultimately leading to a restoration of Earth, and likely, a return to the Marvel Universe as we once knew it.  Or, as this comic might be suggesting, everything might end with Owen Reece.

Now does this mean Marvel is going for a reboot?  Kind of.  Promotional material for post-Secret Wars content has featured a good number of characters from Battleworld as well as some new players, so I expect this isn’t going to quite be a full reboot, as it seems clear that many stories are continuing from where they left off before this event, and many other characters and teams are heading into a completely new direction.  Compared to a reboot, I find that super interesting, and might make a whole video devoted to what happens after Secret Wars for Marvel comics.