With the first half of Marvel’s Secret Wars behind us, Comic Book Classics Revisited moves forward into the second half with some big moments coming…  Starting with today’s issue #7!

The heroes are without a fortress and healing their battle-weary bodies in a village of innocents brought here when the Beyonder created Battleworld.  The villains are in constant offensive mode against the heroes with Doctor Doom in the lead.  Doom, himself, has gotten aboard Galactus’ ship in search of power enough to take down the cosmic world eater and the Beyonder to take all the spoils for himself.  Speaking of Galactus, he’s putting together the machine that will help him devour Battleworld.  As the last issue ended, a mystery woman is hiding in the shadows watching the heroes…

When the mystery woman steps out into the light, she introduces herself as Spider-Woman.  She’s wearing a black and white costume and is markedly NOT the Spider-Woman the heroes know.  She explains that she is from a suburb outside Denver, Colorado.  When the entire suburb was transported by the Beyonder to make up a part of Battleworld, she set out to try to find out what’s going on.  Noticing the secret war going on, she’s offering her services to assist the heroes.  As she pleads her case to Captain America to join the heroes’ side, the Wrecking Crew roll through with their tank and dump off the lifeless body of the Wasp.  Not even Zsaji can save her.  The heroes are enraged by the murder of their fallen comrade, but Cap tries to calm them down by saying if they go off to get their revenge, that leaves no one to try to stop Galactus if his machine comes to life and starts eating everything.  He eventually calms them down, but She-Hulk slips away unnoticed.

While Cyclops, Wolverine, and Rogue return to Magneto’s base, Professor X tells them to divert and follow and attempt to capture Molecule Man, Doctor Octopus, Titania, and Absorbing Man to cut down on Doctor Doom’s forces.  Knowing Molecule Man is injured, Volcana desperately tries to find a way onto the ship to be with him.  Eventually, she cuts a deal with Enchantress to be teleported to the incoming ship.  She doesn’t realize that making a deal with the Enchantress is usually much more expensive than you’ll know.  The villains on the ship are soon attacked by two X-Men craft.  When the villains’ ship is downed, the X-Men are able to make the villains retreat once again.

In Galactus’ ship looming over Battleworld, Doom is still searching for something that will give him the upper hand on not only Galactus but the Beyonder too.  On the planet, Galactus senses the volcanic eruptions on the other side of the planet caused by Cyclops, and realizes he must first repair the world and stop those eruptions before he can devour the planet.  However, he also senses the intrusion in his ship.  When he pinpoints the intruder is Doom, he expels the burglar – with excessive force.

At Doombase, Molecule Man is brought to his quarters to heal, but no one in the villains camp is able to really treat him.  Enchantress again tries to bargain, but is rebuffed.  After the Wrecking Crew cage the enraged Lizard, She-Hulk takes on Bulldozer in his quarters to exact her revenge for Wasp’s death.  Soon the entire Wrecking Crew comes, but She-Hulk disposes of them single-handed.  She then takes on Titania and while they fight, other villains come to take her on.  Eventually she is overcome by the sheer numbers of the villains in the brawl.  In another part of the base, Doom, badly injured, comes back and laments that it is all over and finished…

At the heroes’ camp, Hawkeye tells Cap that She-Hulk’s gone missing.  Everyone pretty much knows where she’s gone, but Cap will not mount a rescue.  Even with Hulk requesting he go help his cousin, the answer is still a negative.  Elsewhere in the village, Colossus find Zsaji exiting the hut where the Wasp’s lifeless body is.  Zsaji looks pale and collapses in Colossus’ arms.  Meanwhile, Professor X contacts Captain America telepathically and says he, the X-Men, and Magneto will stand guard against Galactus so Cap’s team can go and rescue She-Hulk.

We’re now in the home stretch of the series.  Here’s another issue without much to really discuss in much further detail.  It’s interesting to see Doctor Doom so defeated after being expelled from the ship by Galactus.  Doom is not one to simply admit defeat or be so down in the dumps when something doesn’t go his way.  On the flip side, it’s odd to see Cap not at least try to find some way to save a comrade, even if that comrade went against his orders.  I’m not surprised that he is looking at the logic of protecting the masses over saving one person, but to not even consider some sort of plan to save She-Hulk is unlike him.  It’s also surprising to see the heroes turn into a vengeful mob.  Yeah, I’d be upset if a friend was killed, but one of the things about these heroes who live up to ideals is that they don’t give into their base emotions.  Again, it might be what I mentioned in the previous article about there could be some psychic reasoning to why the heroes are acting as they are, but I suspect it is just a simplistic way to kind of amp up the kid readers that want to see the heroes want to go to bat for a fallen friend.

Either way, as we close out issue #7, the second half of the series is well underway and it’s time for the heroes to finally take the fight to the villains!  Come back on Friday for the one issue that stands out more than any other in this entire series all thanks to a little black goo that forms a brand new look for one of Marvel’s most recognizable characters.