Marvel Comics Review & Spoilers: Secret Wars #6 By Jonathan Hickman, Esad Ribić, Ive Svorcina. Doom’s Discouraged! Mystery Man Makes Misery! Panther’s Power Play!

Reviews, Spoilers, Top Story

SECRET WARS #6 review spoilers 1SECRET WARS #6 review spoilers 2SECRET WARS {3rd series} #6 (of 9)
Writer & Designer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Esad Ribic
Color Artist: Ive Svorcina
Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos
Covers by: Alex Ross; Babs Tarr; John Tyler Christopher; Simone Bianchi & Simone Peruzzi; Gabriele Dell’Otto;Ron Frenz, Sal Buscema & Chris Sotomayor
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Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99

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“We Raise Them Up…Just So We Can Pull Them Down” (25 pages)

God Emperor Doom is a fraud!!! How can anyone who is nigh-unstoppable allow the fruits of labour to rot?? The idol has become idle. He hems and haws at the unrest, deflecting the issues while placing the onus on his barons and enforcers. Pass me a hanky! Anyone with superior intellect can see through his façade. Interestingly enough, that someone is from his tight inner circle. Knowledge is power but it is also dangerous!!

Shifting allegiances, uneasy alliances, subterfuge, twisted perception, and the cold hard facts. This issue has it all! There are eight interactions highlighting the aforementioned list.

Black Swan saves her own milky white skin by betraying her comrades Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight. She is selective in her recounting of events to Doom but vows to serve him. There is a familiarity between them since Doom knows of her displacement. She confirms returning to her point of origin and utters the phrase “Annu ersetu damiq.” The metal-faced monarch is pleased.
SECRET WARS #6 Black Swan switches sides
Val has come up empty in her extensive investigation of Strange’s murderer(s). The news is disappointing to her ‘father’ but she persists. Alex Power gives her a much-needed breakthrough: the location of the power source fueling Doom is literally under her feet!! She needs to process this. Alex also informs her of the Night Machine’s discovery – six drones have been found around the entire perimeter of the planet. Answers are being sought.
SECRET WARS #6 Val gets some answers
The drones belong to the two Reeds! They are combining their genius intellects to take down the steel-plated sovereign. Ethics aside, and literally being worlds apart, the two could not be more different. The Maker scoffs at Mr. Fantastic’s soft side [no pun intended]. Reed-616 rebukes Reed-1610’s hardness. Between that, the drones have footage of a mysterious figure simply called the Prophet that is amassing non-believers in the false god. The good Reed suspects that the evil Reed has a hand in this but the latter will neither confirm nor deny.
SECRET WARS #6 Reed vs. Reed
The two Spider-Men are doing recon outside Castle Doom. They have been sent by Mr. Fan to do some digging. Lo and behold, Valeria runs into them. She is completely oblivious to Spidey’s existence even after he blurts his secret identity. She grabs the drone, built by Reed Richards, another name which means nothing to her. She is insulted at the simplicity of the gadget. Val refuses to venture after being asked. She demands confirmation of two things: (1) the presence of the outworlders on the life raft, (2) their innocence in killing Sheriff Strange. Enveloped in white, Peter realizes that they are dealing with the Molecule Man. Miles offers an extremely stale hamburger conveniently tucked away in his costume to the reality-wielding basketcase. Owen makes the two realize that they are staring at the face of Doom’s greatest asset :0
SECRET WARS #6 Molecule Man marvelously mischievous
Doom meets with four of the most powerful barons: Apocalypse, Madelyne Pryor, Maestro, and Sinister. He inquires about the nature of Prophet. He wants to ensure that neither of them is supporting this upstart. Typical of a blowhard, he refuses to sully his hands. Rather, he demands that the quartet create their own Crusades in killing the unconverted. Sinister shows the scene to Captain Marvel. She is there to negotiate a deal. When he claims obeisance then complete genocide, she gives him a one-two punch. He then suggests being naughty to which Carol smiles with wicked delight.
SECRET WARS #6 SinisterSECRET WARS #6 Carol cavorting
Black Panther and Namor have made their way to the Isle of Agamatto, sanctum sanctorum of Stephen Strange. A holographic image of the sorcerer turned lawman greets them. When the correct password is given, two items emerge from the mouths of two stone dragons. Namor views the first item: the Siege Courageous. This allows transportation between. T’Challa’s jaw drops at the second item: the Infinity Gauntlet!! T’Challa asks for guidance. Namor instructs him to wield it since he doesn’t trust himself. The mage emphasizes that this can strike down any deity.
SECRET WARS #6 Panther's power play
Susan tells her son Franklin a bedtime story – the altered origin of the Fantastic Four. There never was a Reed Richards. In his stead was her and Johnny’s father Dr. Franklin Storm. When he was killed by Apocalypse, Doom came to their rescue. Sue sings the man’s praises to her son. Doom created a brand new world from scratch, became the light of her life, and implemented order. Sue believes the hogwash that Johnny’s transformation into the sun is a gift to the populace. Franklin is curious about his Uncle Ben. Sue tells her that she will save that story for when he reaches adulthood.
SECRET WARS #6 alternate FF
How appropriate to end on this: The Thing is in conference with Thanos. The Mad Titan opens the orange-rocked individual’s eyes and gives it to him straight. Ben is a hero, a warrior, best friend to Doom’s most bitter rival. Battleworld is real enough but it should not exist. Doom is ill-equipped in tampering with reality. Ben’s tenure as The Shield is a mockery. Doom has been using and abusing his talents. Upon hearing this, Ben fully materializes in gigantic form. It’s clobberin’ time!!
SECRET WARS #6 reality is illusionSECRET WARS #6 it's clobberin' time
Confession is the manifestation of contrition.” – Your heart is less heavy once you deliver the truth. Sue is unconvinced of Black Swan’s tellings.

Cunning linguist!! Black Swan speaks Sumerian!! The phrase she spews translates as “This Earth is good.”

Crusader: I’m real curious about Prophet. He has appeared out of nowhere. He has enormous pull to have disciples join with him. Doom is understandably annoyed.

Legion of Doom! Fake-out!! This is not the Distinguished Competition’s ensemble of villains. It’s a reference to the naysayers that see the truth behind the supposed god.

Spiders in my head.” Val is conflicted with her heart and her mind. The web of lies is bigger than she imagined. The second time she uses this, she is sarcastic and unimpressed at coming across Peter and Miles.

I hold the heavens up just so the earth can tremble beneath me.” – Godhood is no easy feat. If one is constantly looking up with head above the clouds, one cannot see what transpires below among the masses. Doom curses Stephen (really, himself) for leaving him.

Siege Courageous: The French word siège means “seat”. This is the polar opposite of the Siege Perilous. Think of the wording. Duh! The crucial difference is retaining one’s memory and identity.

The chinks in the armour are increasing!! Mismanagement is leading to a compass of consequences. Conspiracy is coming to Doom from all four corners. It is fitting and deliberate that the plotters are Reed, Val, Spidey, and Ben. Mr. Hickman is putting his ‘family’ front-and-center. This is how he propelled his career at Marvel, after all. The loose threads are re-sewn. He continues to touch upon his other two major works. Doom’s antithesis isn’t simply a worshipper of death. He is a bringer of destruction. One-third of the Illuminati is definitely against him despite past associations.

The shining star in this issue in Valeria. Her vast intellect surpasses that of her real father and her surrogate’s. She embodies the best of the two dads: she is much more emotive than Reed and more calculating than Doom. She is endearing because she realizes that at the end of the day she is a child: physically, psychologically, and mentally. She is miffed at herself for not succeeding in her father’s mission. Once the power source is revealed, those wheels keep turning and she comes to an improbable but not impossible conclusion regarding the man she worshipped. There will be a reckoning but she needs to plan it carefully.

Esad Ribić has graduated to master of faces – determined, enthusiastic, frustrated, malleable, maniacal, smug, supple, surprised. Each character’s screen time is more memorable due to the close-ups of the varying emotions. The smiles and smirks, the wide eyes, the closed mouths, all provide ample detail and imprint the plot. Black Panther gets to shine when placing the gauntlet, an object worthy of someone used to power plays. Ben Grimm lives up to his namesake. The shadows on his face act as crevasses but there remain the craggy features. The deep blue in his eyes remind us of his humanity.
SECRET WARS #6 Thing thoughtfulSECRET WARS #6 Thanos talks to Thing
Ive Svorcina sticks with subdued tones. He makes one exception for flash and substance: Molecule Man’s beaming expression within the white walls. Make that two exceptions: the crackling energy of the Gauntlet.

Chris Eliopoulos illustrates little of Black Swan’s speech but her words carry weight. I hear Thanos’ voice as hoarse and raspy. The thick outline of the word balloons keep his sentences tight and terse.

It’s been an agonizing eight weeks since the release of the previous issue. Although one was promised in September, it is too late to gripe and moan. In all fairness, were it not for the bi-weekly delivery in May, this book would be ‘on schedule’. The one consolation we are given is that the series has expanded to a ninth issue. On that note, major flub on the cover ;-P The third printings of issues one, two, and three have “of 9” on their covers.

Things are finally ramping up. Doom has to be assailed from all sides!! My money is still on Thanos beating the snot out of him. However, there is one wild card: Valeria. Since nine is the new magic number, I give this book 7.75 out of 9 [86%].
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Comic book junkie, now blogger/reviewer. Trilinguist. Educator of many. Complex individual with simple insights.