And so we’ve come to what is probably the most significant issue in the Secret Wars series…  Not only is this book significant to the Marvel Universe as a whole, but it also usually fetches the highest price in the collectors’ market of all the Secret Wars books.  After months of already seeing the suit in the pages of the various Spider-Man titles, we’re finally given the origin of the black suit that will eventually prove itself to be a very dangerous alien entity.  Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s get a quick catch up and then crack open the issue!

As issue #7 came to a close, the heroes had learned of the Wasp’s murder at the hands of the Wrecking Crew.  They wanted vengeance, but Captain America would not allow it in the event that Galactus would finish his planet eating machine and start devouring Battleworld.  Too hot to be told no, She-Hulk makes her way to the villains’ base, Doombase, and after beating the hell out of the Wrecking Crew, is overpowered by the other villains.  Doctor Doom was discovered aboard Galactus’ ship as he tried looking for enough power to take out both the world eater AND the Beyonder, and was violently cast out leaving him defeated and ready to give in.  The heroes get their wish to go after the villains and get their revenge for Wasp’s death and save She-Hulk when Professor X steps up with his X-Men to watch after Galactus while Cap’s team is away.

As issue #8 begins, eleven heroes from Cap’s camp is approaching the villains’ base ready to lay a smackdown on the bad guys.  Inside her quarters, a drunk Enchantress hears Thor’s hammer making war and casts a spell to see what is going on outside.  She reveals that Thor had asked her to forsake evil when they went on their little getaway in issues #3 and 4, but that she had planned on ensnaring him with her kiss before they were interrupted by that mountain range being dropped on his pals.  Since he’s a bros before hoes kinda guy, she missed out on her chance with him.

The villains putting a beating on She-Hulk realize that the heroes are attacking, but Volcana is preparing to protect Molecule Man at all costs, and Klaw has released the Lizard from his cage.  The heroes gain entry into the fortress where a new battle rages.  As the Thing takes on Absorbing Man, the Thing reverts back to his human form, but the new Spider-Woman is there to take on Absorbing Man and knocks him out with his own ball and chain.  The heroes start to gain an advantage, but not before Hulk is lulled to sleep by the Enchantress’ beauty.  She tries the same trick on Cap, but his will’s too strong to fall for it and knocks her out with his shield.  Captain Marvel, Reed Richards, Thor, and Iron Man locate Volcana and the recently conscious Molecule Man.  When Captain Marvel is able to get through Molecule Man’s shielding, she causes him to pass out from his wounds reopening.

In another area of the villains’ base, Spider-Man out-maneuvers and defeats Titania.  Cap and Human Torch take on Ultron who is standing guard outside Doom’s quarters.  Torch goes into full nova mode to short out Ultron, and when Cap finds Doom, Doom’s so out of it from his defeat in Galactus’ ship, that he doesn’t even recognize that Cap is there.  The heroes find Ben and Hawkeye playing childish games with Klaw and Lizard.  The two villains agree that as long as their games are not interrupted, they’ll be more than happy to do as the heroes say.  As the battle winds down with a heroes’ victory, Captain Marvel finds She-Hulk and takes her to the main infirmary.

With both heroes and villains being attended to, or, for some of the uninjured villains, locked up, we switch back to the village the heroes had called home and find Colossus frantically looking for help for Zsaji.  He takes her to her home and uses the same vapors to find out what happened.  As it turns out, the Wasp was not actually dead but near death.  When she was able to work on her, Zsaji used much of her power to revive Wasp and bring her back from the brink.  In the X-Men’s camp, they continue to watch over Galactus when suddenly, they are startled by something in the view screens.

Back at the new heroes base, Spider-Man notices that Thor’s cape and helmet that had been previously destroyed is back.  Thor tells him of a machine the Hulk found that can create any clothing desired.  They point the way for him and he approaches a machine that he thinks is “wanting” to make a costume for him.  Instead of what he expects, he’s given a small black ball of goo that ends up covering his entire body, dissolving the tattered remnants of his old costume, revealing a new all black costume with a big white spider on his chest similar to the new Spider-Woman’s suit.  Before he can get much answer to the origin of this new costume, he stumbles from an earthquake.  Just then, Professor X calls out to Captain America to tell him that Galactus has begun devouring Battleworld!

While it took to the very end of the issue to get what the cover promised, we are finally given Spider-Man in his new black suit.  Now, I suppose there is no better time to discuss the actual detriment to the series itself.  Because it was really the first of its kind, we’re shown when the heroes disappeared in some of their series, but we’re also shown when they return nearly the same time that Secret Wars began.  Spider-Man’s black costume first appeared the same month this series started!

Again, we’ve already discussed in previous articles that this was really the first event.  Unlike others that came after it (including this series’ own sequel), there were no tie-ins.  So it’s not like the Avengers’ book or the Fantastic Four’s, X-Men’s, or Spider-Man’s books all shifted their attention to Battleworld while Secret Wars was going on in its own pages.  However, what Marvel also didn’t do was shift continuity a tad to tell some flashback stories or stories that would have continued on until Secret Wars ended and then catch-all the books up to that moment when all the heroes returned.  Yes, there were some important things that took place in the Avengers title.  Vision was going crazy and trying to take over all the electronics to protect humanity in a more omnipotent way.  That led to the creation of the West Coast Avengers too.  It’s not like the heroes disappearing for their ordeal on Battleworld didn’t create some gaps to be filled, but when they leave one moment and are back shortly after, it kind of takes away the surprise and the ultimate threat of what the Beyonder was doing or what Doctor Doom wanted to do.

On the other hand, Spider-Man was gallivanting about in his new black costume and we’re not given too much background as to why or where it came from.  We do know it’s different and he doesn’t need his webshooters, or that it also made him act more aggressively, or finding out that the black suit (later called a symbiote) was going out while Peter Parker slept to fight crime with Peter kind of more like a sleepwalker trapped inside his own suit.

Still, the point is that the series kind of didn’t know that it was shooting itself in the foot by not removing the characters from their own titles or setting up a series of stories that would have happened prior to them being transported to Battleworld and then having them reappear with changes intact a month or two after Secret Wars ended.  That doesn’t make this story bad, and from a child’s perspective (the vast majority of the audience), you wouldn’t have cared.  As a story on its own merits, none of these continuity problems that were created by having the characters return to their own series so quickly cause any real problems and Secret Wars can simply be enjoyed on its own.  Besides, remember, the sole purpose of the series was to give kids what they wanted by having as many good guys and bad guys all in the same book, and, of course to sell toys.  What more could you really ask for?

Come back Monday as we begin the final third of the saga!