Secret Wars #8-12
Originally released in 1984
Written by Jim Shooter
Art by Mike Zeck
Admittedly, issue 7 was a bit of an odd number for me to stop on last time, but I figured that if I was going to highlight one cover from this run, it would be the cover of issue 8, which introduced Spider-Man's new black costume. (and, seemingly unbeknownst to anyone at the time, plant the seeds for the introduction of a character who's inarguably Spider-Man's biggest villain that was introduced outside of the 1960s, Venom)
The symbiote isn't portrayed as sentient here, but rather, it's initially believed to be the creation of an alien machine that creates or repairs clothing. However, even by the end of Secret Wars, it's clear that something is up with this new suit, as the other outfits behave like regular clothes.
As for the story itself, the Wasp was badly wounded and on the verge of death after being attacked by the villainous forces, and She-Hulk went to avenge her fallen Avenger only to be ganged up on by Titania, the Absorbing Man, Doctor Octopus, and the Wrecking Crew. The Avengers, the Fantastic Four (or rather, Fantastic Three), Spider-Man, and the Hulk go to avenge Janet, while Magneto and the X-Men keep an eye on Galactus.
Meanwhile, the villains have a new addition to their group - Ulysses Klaw, the man who killed Black Panther's father. Klaw wound up trapped on Galactus's world-ship after an encounter with Dazzler (I don't think there's any amount of context that could make that statement make sense), and Doom discovered Klaw when trying to find anything on Galactus's ship that could be useful in stopping Galactus and the Beyonder.
After defeating most of the villains, Reed realizes that the Beyonder's contest could prove to be a way to save an incalculable number of lives with a single action: giving up. If they sacrifice themselves and let Galactus eat Battleworld, then Galactus will win the competition, and either have his wish granted (thereby ending his hunger and making it so he's no longer the Devourer of Worlds) or filling him up and giving him the strength that he needs to defeat the Beyonder if the Beyonder chooses not to grant the wish. (his earlier portrayal against the Beyonder is justified by him being weakened by hunger, as he hasn't eaten a world in quite some time)
Sacrificing the few of them for all life in the universe seems like the logical option... except, with a baby on the way, Reed won't allow himself to die here. It's what I like about Reed, and something that was lost in his portrayal in Civil War - he might be a serious and calculating scientist, but he puts his family above all else.
The heroes delay Galactus for long enough that he grows impatient and converts his world-ship into energy so he can absorb it - I'm not sure if this is the final appearance of this vessel or if Galactus can reform it whenever he chooses. Doom absorbs the energy from the world-ship, takes on the Beyonder, and (after a near-death experience) manages to absorb the Beyonder's energy as well, becoming omnipotent.
The Beyonder doesn't get much in the way of characterization - portrayed as nothing more than a blob of energy, the Beyonder comes from another universe or dimension where everything is an extension of its will. The concept of desire is unfamiliar to him (he later takes on a male human form, so I'm using "him" for simplicity's sake), so he uses this conflict to learn about desire. He's portrayed like something of a scientist, trying to dissect Doom mentally and physically to get a better idea of what desire is and where it comes from, but most of this comes from the last two or three issues. Even when he possesses various members of the cast to get his power back, he doesn't speak, hiding in the back of his host's mind until it's time to act.
The Enchantress, a foe of Thor who lusts after him, gets a good amount of development from this series. Thor admits that, while he finds her physically attractive, her personality drives him away, but he's willing to give her a chance if she changes her ways. Enchantress honestly seems to consider it for a time, even drowning her sorrows when she believes that she messed up her one chance. She even unknowingly helps Dr. Curt Connors, a.k.a. the Lizard - as the Lizard, she claws at her face, so she blasts him with magic that, by all appearances, appears to remove the Lizard side of him. Of course, that seems like it will be about as permanent as the claw marks on the Enchantress's face (that is to say, not at all), but I'm curious to see if she develops from this in the Thor series afterwards.
Upon gaining omnipotence, Doom claims that he's cast aside all of his former grudges and desire for conquest, but the heroes aren't convinced - his first act with his new power was to fix his face, and his stated goal is to use his unlimited power to rescue his mother from the depths of Hell, so he's still motivated by human desires and there's no telling when he'll turn Reed Richards into spaghetti with a stray thought. Klaw (possessed by the Beyonder) doesn't help, spreading nagging little seeds of doubt in Doom's mind to mess with him.
Secret Wars wasn't anything too deep, but it has some great moments, and I'm looking forward to seeing how some of the plot points turn out. In addition to Spider-Man's black suit, this story also leads to She-Hulk joining the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men's leadership crisis remains unresolved. I'm curious to see where the character development for characters like Magneto and the Enchantress take them - the Enchantress's changes might not be permanent, or she could revert back to a life of cruelty almost immediately, but Magneto's slowly been moving towards heroism over the course of the 80s and I'm looking forward to seeing if or when it will stick.
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