- The Marvel Universe (and all multiverses and timelines) are being destroyed and mapped into a single planet known as Battleworld. Each continuity exists as its own country on this planet.
- Most of the existing series taking place in the Marvel Universe are being ended and starting in May will be replaced by series which seem to homage previous events. For example, Infinity Gauntlet and Planet Hulk.
- After having seen all the current replacement series, I can safely say that not a single 616-er is the focus or among any of these series. These are series about non-616 versions of 616 characters or in some cases characters that Marvel hasn't used for decades (Weirdworld).
- These series are advertised as series and not mini-series, which means they have the potential to keep going after Secret Wars has ended.
We have seen something similar to this in the past with the Age of Apocalypse storyline in X-Men during the 1990's. Each of the major X-Men titles were replaced by mini-series which told new and interesting stories from that timeline. The existing continuity ceased to exist and then after the event was over, the previous continuity continued. There is a major here and that difference is intriguing.
- A lot of these are advertised as ongoing series, rather than minis-series. How can these series work on their own if after the event, things go back to some semblance of normalcy? Will Battleworld exist separately from the Marvel 616 Universe? Will these warzones as they are described be transported back to their own place in the timeline and multiverse after the event is over? I think that seems more likely.
Don't forget that X-Man become a series after Age of Apocalypse ended when the titular character was transported to main-line continuity, but that was more of a surprise than expectation.
Other interesting tidbits include:
- Marvel is saying that these series will have legs and affect what kind of outcome Secret Wars has. Is Marvel really going to do a Survivor-esque game to determine what the future Marvel looks like based on the sales of these new ongoing series? If 1872 sells the most of all the other titles, will the new Marvel Universe become a Western-themed one? That's a strange thought. How would they be able to accommodate a Western-setting with alternate versions of Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, and Bruce Banner in the new 616 that may appear out of the end of Secret wars?
- There isn't a single X-Men series announced so far which includes an exclusive creator as the writing lead. I don't mean writers who only write for Marvel, but those who have signed an exclusive contract and therefore are put on the most high-profile books and take part in the Writer summits that occur several times a year. Sure we have Old Man Logan by Brian Michael Bendis, but that storyline was known as a Wolverine book with very few X-Men in it. We still have House of M, I believe, as the last outstanding series that would be X-Men-related and could be considered a major X-Men replacement.
- There is no Daredevil. Sure there was mention of a Daredevil in one of the series, but there is no book with Daredevil as the lead. A privilege the character has enjoyed for decades. Rumor has it that Daredevil is not affected by Secret Wars, however Daredevil is conspicuously absent from the latest June solicitations.
Ultimately, I think Marvel is using this event to try to throw some new ideas and concepts at the wall without having to rely on their core 616 characters (who I assume will all be stuck in the Secret Wars mini-proper). There are some exceptions to that idea, namely Ultimate End, Thors and Inhumans: Attilan Rising, all of which include 616 references of one kind or another. We can easily explain Ultimate End as taking place during the incursion between 616 and Ultimate Marvel. However, Thors and Inhumans: Attilan Rising both use references to the existing female Thor. Maybe it is only the Warzone titles which won't include 616 characters, while the Battleworld titles won't have such a restriction.
At this stage, who can say? This is all horribly confusing and I wish Marvel would provide more clarity in their intentions. I don't want spoilers or the ending of the Secret Wars event ruined for me. What I want is assurances on which books are the most important to the publisher. As a Marvel fan who is mostly concerned with continuity, I would find that most comforting. Right now, the only thing I have to go by are which titles have exclusive creators on them. Those include:
| Ultimate End | Bendis |
| Old Man Logan | Bendis |
| Guardians of Knowhere | Bendis |
| Inhumans: Attilan Rising | Charles Soule |
| Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows | Dan Slott |
| A-Force | G. Willow Wilson |
| 1872 | Gerry Duggan |
| Mrs. Deadpool and the Howling Commandos | Gerry Duggan |
| Infinity Gauntlet | Gerry Duggan |
| Age of Ultron vs. Marvel Zombies | James Robinson |
| Armor Wars | James Robinson |
| Thors | Jason Aaron |
| Weirdworld | Jason Aaron |
| 1602: Witch Hunter Angela | Kieron Gillen |
| Future Imperfect | Peter David, Greg Land |
| Star-Lord & Kitty Pryde | Sam Humphries |
| Planet Hulk | Sam Humphries |
Future Imperfect is iffy, if only because Peter David has a history of not working on high-profile titles within the publisher or being a major fixture at the Marvel summits. Greg Land, however, is known to work the more high-profile titles within Marvel. That combination is why I included Future Imperfect.
Rick Remender is conspicuously absent from any of these Secret Wars shenanigans. Maybe he sees it as a good time to take a break and get some creator-owned work completed. I also expected Tom Taylor to be present, since he is writing Superior Iron Man, but he is also missing. I don't know for sure if he is an exclusive creator at this point in time, but working on Iron Man does make him a high-profile creator for Marvel. Also missing is Mark Waid, though I have no idea what his future plans with Marvel are after his exit from Daredevil takes place. Maybe just Star Wars comics.
