Marvel Super Heroes: Secret Wars #10 (February 1985)

The Secret Wars rage on! Last time, we saw the heroes attempt to stop Galactus from consuming the Battleworld they were on so he can temporarily satiate his endless hunger. Having succeeded, the World-Eater is forced to draw upon his own ship for the power he needed. But Dr. Doom was hoping for that. Using pieces of the being of living sound known as Klaw for lenses, Doom stole that power and used it to turn himself into a cosmic being, powerful enough to take on the Beyonder himself. So, how will that epic battle fare? Let's find out in Marvel Super Heroes: Secret Wars #10!

The cover is pretty awesome! A Mike Zeck and Terry Austin piece, it focuses squarely on Doctor Doom. It makes sense as he is arguably the main character of the issue. He's on one knee, but stands defiant, his armor in tatters and fists glowing with power. It shows his character rather well. It's a great cover.

"Death to the Beyonder!"
Writer: Jim Shooter
Penciller: Mike Zeck
Inker: John Beatty
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Colorist: Christie Scheele
Editor: Tom DeFalco
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The story begins with the heroes watching Galactus consume his ship.

However, they also witness the energies heading for Doombase. Remember Doom's little power play in the last issue? It's coming to pass here. The heroes head towards the base to find out what is going on. As a beam of light, the Monica Rambeau Captain Marvel is able to scout ahead and discovers what the mad Latverian is up to.

"Geez, when Doom wants a tan, he goes all out!"

Doom's plan is a success. But he discovers that the power comes with a heavy price. His every whim, every stray thought can become reality.

"Richards spiked Doom's brownies!"

Doom fights to get his mind under control, to avoid a disaster. He discovers his senses have grown, and he has gained a form of empathic ability to sense the thoughts and desires of the supervillain prisoners in the Doombase. This power allows the tyrant to discover Captain Marvel spying on him. The heroes realize the Captain is in trouble. They rush off to help her, but discover something wrecked their ship. But that's no problem. Magneto is with them, and being the Master of Magnetism, he's able to get the ship going.

Captain America comments that Magneto lives up to the hype about him. Of course, Magneto has to act all snooty about it. He thinks Captain America is intimidated by his power. Magneto has clearly decided to lodge his head up his butt for the trip. Wolverine joins Magneto in the "head-up-butt" party, getting in Cap's face about how mutants live in persecution. He whips out his claws and the other heroes break it up. I'm reminded of something Spider-Man once said to the X-Men in Ultimate Spider-Man #67 (December 2004):

"God! You know why people hate you? It's not because you're mutants!! It's because you're all a bunch of @#$@#$ $@$%@ ##@$!!"

It was a pain getting that grawlix right. And the link is nothing. Don't worry about it.

Mags and Wolverine certainly are proving Ultimate Spidey right here. After that moment of pointless tension, we go back to Doom. The Latverian tyrant is doing some thinking. The Beyonder said that whoever wins the Secret Wars will be granted their fondest desire. But now Doom has the power to literally wipe the others out with a wave of his hand. What could the Beyonder possibly give him that he can't get himself? And what other challenges are left for him in this universe now? Maybe...the Beyonder himself?

Klaw advises against this, comparing the cosmic being to the biblical Goliath. Doom, however, is not the type of man to settle for being second place in anything. And Doom points out that Goliath had a David. And David defeated Goliath with a slingshot. All Doom needs his own slingshot.

Remember, Secret Wars started as a toyline. So, it makes sense that the comic would have Doom change up his look to match a toy at some point. The heroes burst into the Doombase and discover he's gone. Spider-Woman finds Monica Rambeau frozen in the form of a light statue. They also find Klaw's head. Klaw's alive, but that's because he's a being of living solid sound. He can't be killed in the conventional manner. An explosion rocks the base, and Klaw explains that the Latverian madman is using a new device he created to steal the power of the Beyonder.

Reed Richards finds a monitor, which allows him to discover that Doom and the Beyonder are in combat. It also allows him to spot the body of Galactus. Reed then comes up with a plan: bring the World-Eater to Battleworld and revitalize him. Why does he want to do this? Reed believes they need Galactus to stand a chance of stopping Doom. The Doombase gets rocked again. Reed gets pinned under the monitor, but Ben Grimm is able to get him out. Things are not looking good for our heroes. They're way outmatched, She-Hulk and Mr. Fantastic are injured, chaos is erupting, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria!

The Hulk finds another monitor, and Colossus asks him to check up on Zsaji's village. They're not doing so well, and Zsaji herself is hurt. Colossus alerts Johnny Storm, but Johnny's more worried about Reed at the moment. But another quake rocks the planet. The clash between Doom and the Beyonder is literally consuming the universe.

I bet somewhere, the Anti-Monitor is looking at this and going "Yeah, that part of the multiverse is consuming itself, I'm not needed here." Doom's attack is waning, but the armored maniac refuses to give up. There has to be a way, as far as Doom is concerned.

Thus, he appears to the heroes in the collapsing Doombase. I like that Doom spins some utter horse hockey to the heroes about him winning. Dude, we saw you getting beat like a government mule! He asks the heroes to help him take the Beyonder on. Magneto agrees, but Iron Man and Hawkeye stop him. Doom vanishes, and Hawkeye gets in the X-Men's faces about it. For Pete's sake... Captain America worries that this action just may have doomed the universe.

With the Lateverian tyrant down, the Beyonder then enters Doom's mind and learns about him. He learns of Doom's youth as a Roma in Latveria, the death of his mother Cynthia (who was a local healer), his discovery of her collection of supernatural and scientific secrets, and the fated experiment that scarred his face. This is stuff that is expanded further upon in Fantastic Four #5 (July 1962), Fantastic Four Annual #2 (September 1964), Astonishing Tales #8 (October 1971), and Books of Doom #1-6 (January-June 2006).

The Beyonder finds the things Doom desires: Power, as vengeance for the cruelty of fate. Freedom, for the spirit of his mother who is trapped in Mephisto's netherworld...which he would get in Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment (July 1989). Restoration, for his ruined face. This only makes the Beyonder more curious, and he begins to pull apart Doom's body. Doom tries to fight back.

Back on Battleworld, Doombase is falling down like London Bridge. The heroes evacuate, while Captain America and Wolverine free the confined villains. But it's only a reprieve. Battleworld is shaking itself apart. This looks like the end...or is it?

The shaking stops. Everything is quiet again. It seems as if the universe was stabilized. A big burst of light comes to the heroes, and something forms within it.

DOOMZILLA!

Doc Doom's been eating his vegetables. He's also clearly in the mood to pick a fight with Godzilla. But he shrinks down to his normal size, and takes off his mask. Doom has been reborn, the Beyonder is slain. The Secret Wars are seemingly over.

Well, this issue was really cool. Doom is clearly the central character in this issue. We got to see exactly what made Doom one of the Marvel Universe's most popular supervillains: His willpower and determination, as well as his sheer ego. That was honestly the strongest part of this issue. I did wish we still got to learn more about Spider-Woman, though. The mini-series is almost over, but we barely know anything about her. Look how Crisis on Infinite Earths handled the Kimiyo Hoshi Dr. Light. We saw her origin, and she got an arc. Poor Spider-Woman is just...there.

Mike Zeck's art does its job for the issue. My favorite panel he drew in this issue is when Doom discovers the extent of his newfound cosmic power, everything warping around him to show his armored face. It's a panel that makes sense as it shows the depths of Doom's ego. Ultimately, the Latverian madman only loves and admires one man: Doom himself.

This issue really ratcheted up the fear for the heroes, as they already have to deal with the X-Men being jerks. The Beyonder may be powerful, but at least it was known that he did not seem to favor the heroes or the villains. Doom being an all-powerful cosmic being...yeah, the heroes know what kind of man he is, and that is really scary. Finally, Doom becomes a kaiju briefly, and that's just awesome.

Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, spread it around! Join me next time, where in honor of Halloween, we're going to join Superman and Batman as they encounter a child of the night...