Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThe Marvel UK edition of Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1, launched on 27 April 1985, brought British readers their first sustained encounter with the story that redefined superhero publishing — the original company-wide crossover event in comics history, wherein nearly every major Marvel hero and villain was gathered by the omnipotent Beyonder to fight on an artificial patchwork world called Battleworld. Because a large portion of that roster — the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and more — had little regular presence on UK newsstands, this reprint title served as a genuine introduction to swathes of the Marvel Universe for an entire generation of British readers. The series across its run also seeded the ground for lasting Marvel mythology: the broader saga introduces the alien symbiote that eventually becomes Venom, the villains Titania and Volcana, and the second Spider-Woman, Julia Carpenter. As a publishing object, this UK #1 is the door through which Secret Wars entered British pop culture, carrying with it a format experiment — partial colour alongside black-and-white pages — that was entirely its own.
"Marvel's Secret Artist" kicks off Marvel UK’s Secret Wars #1 with a bold, high-stakes premise: heroes and villains alike are plucked from their worlds and dropped onto the surreal, fractured planet of Battleworld. Written by Jim Shooter and brought to life with dynamic art by Mike Zeck—inked by John Beatty and colored by Christie Scheele—this first issue sets the stage for a clash of wills, where the Beyonder’s twisted game begins with a single, ominous command. The cover, also by Zeck and Beatty, captures the moment the fate of Earth’s mightiest is sealed.
In "The War Begins," heroes and villains alike are plucked from their worlds and delivered to a surreal, fractured planet called Battleworld, where the enigmatic Beyonder declares their fate: conquer your enemies, and your deepest desires will be granted. As the heroes descend on Doctor Doom’s stronghold, they turn on Magneto, while the villains, led by Doom, struggle to unite—only to be betrayed by Kang, who shoots down Doom’s attempt to reach Reed Richards.
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The source story was conceived by Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter at the request of toy manufacturer Mattel, who had secured the Marvel licence as a competitive response to Kenner's DC-based Super Powers line and needed a publishing event to anchor their action-figure range. Shooter wrote the series himself, recruiting penciller Mike Zeck and inker John Beatty — both then working on Captain America — with Tom DeFalco serving as editor; the title was initially announced in Marvel Age magazine as 'Cosmic Champions' before focus-group testing led Mattel to insist on the words 'secret' and 'wars.' Marvel UK launched its reprint on 27 April 1985 as a fortnightly title in a larger magazine format (approximately 8¼ × 11 inches, 30 pages), with pages from the American original reproduced in a selective partial-colour-plus-black-and-white layout; the first issue included a free rub-down transfers gift and a UK-originated two-page humour strip, 'Marvel's Secret Artist', preceding the main story. The success of the launch was sufficient that the title converted to a weekly schedule from issue #10, at which point the masthead was shortened to simply 'Secret Wars.'
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published by Marvel UK on 27 April 1985, cover-dated April 1985; the title launched as a fortnightly and went weekly from issue #10 (title shortened to 'Secret Wars' at the same time).
- Reprints Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1 (May 1984, Marvel US) — written by Jim Shooter, pencilled by Mike Zeck, inked by John Beatty, edited by Tom DeFalco — the story titled 'The War Begins!'
- The US original is the first line-wide company crossover event in comics history, bringing together the Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, and Hulk against villains including Doctor Doom, Galactus, Ultron, and Doctor Octopus, orchestrated by the Beyonder.
- Issue #1 of the UK series features the cameo first appearance of the Beyonder (as a voice and white light), and introduces Battleworld — the patchwork planet that has since reappeared across decades of Marvel storytelling.
- The UK format reproduced pages from the American original in a selective partial-colour/black-and-white layout (approximately 8¼ × 11 inches, 30 pages); the first issue included a free rub-down transfers gift and the UK-originated humour strip 'Marvel's Secret Artist.'
- Beginning with issue #2, a backup strip reprinting John Byrne's Alpha Flight (from Alpha Flight #1, 1983) was added — a deliberate editorial choice to use the UK title to introduce characters largely unfamiliar to British readers.
- The broader Secret Wars series (issues #3 onwards in the US) introduces Titania, Volcana, and Julia Carpenter as the second Spider-Woman; issue #8 (US) features the debut of Spider-Man's black alien costume, the symbiote that later becomes Venom.
- The American source series was tied commercially to a Mattel action-figure line and a TSR role-playing game; the series was originally announced under the title 'Cosmic Champions' and renamed after Mattel focus-group testing found children responded strongly to the words 'secret' and 'wars.'
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↩ Reprints Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars #1 (1984)
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