[brydeemer]

Let 'er rip.

Bry

[matchkitjohn]

Guess now that Watchmen is done you guys are back on track. I got some issues I was missing in a 50 cent bin and was wondering when it would pick back up. I'll read No. 3 tonight.

[mguy1977]

Well I bought a Secret Wars trade for under 15 bucks off ebay yesterday (not everyone can go to a Wild Pig sale).  So in a week or so, I will have read all of Secret Wars to see what the event is all about.  

Matthew (DC fan gaining knowledge about the Marvel Universe)

This post has been edited by mguy1977: 26 March 2009 - 02:28 PM

[Robot Porter]

Shooter's strengths as a writer are clearly on display here.

Especially his ability to include a large cast of characters and keep them both interesting and accessible to new readers. One of the ways he does this is by showing the various characters emotions and motivations, and how they dovetail and vary. And, in so doing, he also separates our heroes from our villains.

We see a number of the heroes pining for their lovers.

While Magneto starts a new romance, and Dr. Doom actually creates two women.

This is a clever way to subtly suggest the threat Marvel villains pose. They have a better ability to adapt to this new environment than our heroes, and this gives the sense of them having the upper hand even though they don't win anything significant in the issue.

Spiderman shows his power, but he is attacking other heroes. And Thor's power is only shown against the elements, but later he is drawn away from the scene by a woman. Another indication he isn't a true master of this environment.

It's this kind of under-girding that give Shooter's stories such power. He may not be as showy as writers of today, but there's a lot going on there if you look for it.

This post has been edited by Robot Porter: 27 March 2009 - 11:20 AM

[jaydee74]

Loved the episode.

To Bryan's point about how the X-Men are not liked for being mutants, but characters like Spider-Man or the Thing are loved, Spidey isn't really liked all that much. You still have the smear campaign from J.J.J. and is usually wanted by the cops. As for the Fantastic Four? Somehow, they have always been celebrities so somehow they got a pass.

Also, with the Fantastic Four, people know how they got their powers. With the X-Men who are just basically born with their powers, people fear them because they see them as an evolution in humanity and maybe regular humans see mutants as the first stage of regular humans becoming obsolete. Of course the X-Men are going to be hated.

Also, with the X-Men, their main source of stories was always about prejudice. At least that's what I always thought it was. Hated for the way they were born and whatnot.

I loved the battle with Spider-Man and the X-Men, but it was absolutely a fight result of the times and I doubt you would get the same result now or even ten years ago.

Again, love these episodes.

[Asgardian]

Re: Jamie's question/comment about the dialogue in the last panel: "We shall level this place so that no stone remains on stone." This is actually a biblical allusion, which accounts for its odd phraseology. Jesus is talking about the imminent destruction of the temple and says: "There may not be left here a stone upon a stone, that shall not be thrown down" (Matthew 24:2).

[Brack]

I loved Secret Wars as a kid, the UK reprint was my introduction to a lot of non-Spidey characters.

However, looking back now, with the hindsight of both being an adult and having read a number of the books from around that time, Jim Shooter's script really looks weak. With Byrne on FF, Stern on Avengers, Claremont on X-Men, the three main team books were in peak condition and Shooter's characterisations feel off in comparison. Particularly Wasp, who comes across as the Stan Lee ditzy girlfriend incarnation under Shooter's pen.

It often feels that Shooter didn't actually read the comics he was publishing at the time.

[sickweeble]

Love the issue 3 episode! You know the whole Spider-man being able to beat the X-Men thing had me thinking. In alot of Spidey's What if stories, he's made to seem almost unstoppable (The Back in Black one, even the Spidey vs. Wolverine one.) In both stories his backs against the wall so to speak and he seems to use his mind more to defeat his opponents. (He is like a genius) I think it's the combination of his spider-sense AND his "genius" that makes him so tough to beat. Plus he's always holding back, so you never really know his full potential. (Almost makes you wonder just how bad ass he would be if Weapon Plus got their hands on him!)