Time Runs Out part 2

Time Runs Out part 2

Avengers #40-44 and New Avengers #29-33

Originally released in 2015

Written by Jonathan Hickman

Art by Stefano Caselli (Avengers #40-43), Mike Deodato (Avengers #44), Kev Walker (New Avengers)

Everything dies.

Not yet, but that's where this is leading.  It's no secret at this point that Hickman's run on Avengers and New Avengers is building up to Secret Wars - starting in issue 40 of Avengers, it's clearly shown on the cover.

However, some loose ends need to be cleaned up, starting with the Cabal.  Dealing with them is relatively simple - when an Incursion happens and they go to that planet to destroy it, trap them there and destroy the planet.  However, Namor's among them, and T'Challa won't be satisfied with simply blowing up a planet with the Atlantean ruler on it.

This was a long time coming, and I'm surprised that it wasn't done sooner. However, T'Challa's pausing to give Namor time to register that T'Challa killed him comes back to bite him almost immediately
, because an unprecedented double Incursion happens, allowing Namor and the Cabal to escape to another Earth - one that I swore that I wouldn't return to.  Earth-1610, a.k.a. the Earth of the Ultimate universe.

(I might read an Ultimate comic at some point; I'm just not keen to try the Ultimates volume 2, let alone the parts of that universe that are considered legitimately bad)  Reed Richards had become the Maker by this point, but he has supposedly reformed and is working with Nick Fury to find and stop threats before they happened.  He discovers the Incursions in the process, and has managed to kill over sixty worlds before the Cabal arrives and works with him.

However, events are accelerating.  Within the span of a day, the number of Earths in the multiverse drops from thousands to less than twenty five, and it's clear that time is very quickly running out.

Meanwhile, Doctor Strange and the Black Priests are investigating the Black Swans, having tracked down the interdimensional library that the Swans used as a base.  The Black Priests are killed in the conflict, but Rabum Alal takes an interest in Doctor Strange and has the Sorcerer Supreme brought before him.  None of the Black Swans can see the face of their master, and yet Rabum Alal chooses to make his appearance known to Strange.

Doom has been working alongside Molecule Man to stop the Ivory Kings, who are better known as the Beyonders.  Whereas the Beyonder from the original Secret Wars was a child, the Ivory Kings are adults - both are destroying universes on a whim, but in the case of the Ivory Kings, they view life as an experiment, and they're choosing to rush to the end of it by ending life.

The Ivory Kings placed an identical Molecule Man into each universe, serving as a multiversal constant and a bomb.  When the mood strikes them, the Beyonders detonate Molecule Man, ending that universe.  Doom tries to travel from universe to universe, killing the alternate Molecule Men, and later recruits the Black Swans to speed up the process - however, doing so kicks off the Incursions.  The Mapmakers are servants of the Beyonders, mapping out the path that Doom and the Swans took through the multiverse, while the Black Priests are described as a multiversal defense system. (I could have some details wrong - there's a LOT of exposition in a very short time frame)

As Doctor Strange, Doctor Doom, and Molecule Man face down the Beyonders, an armada is heading for Earth.  The various alien empires of the Marvel universe have realized that Earth is the center of the collapse of the universe, and join forces to try and destroy it and hopefully spare the universe.  This serves as a way to wrap up some plot points, like the planet that had been thrown at, and later phased into, Earth, or a superweapon that the Illuminati had been building around the sun.

There seems to be peace between the Avengers and Illuminati, as most of the Illuminati are willing to face justice for their actions.  Most, but not all - Tony refuses to admit that he did anything wrong, even as the universe is falling apart around them.  Captain America refuses to let go of old grudges as well, leading to the two of them getting into a fist fight as the final Incursion occurs and the Earths of universes 616 (the main universe) and 1610 (the Ultimate universe) collide.

Most of the plot points seem to be wrapped up here in preparation for Secret Wars, though the motivations of the Beyonders (and their fate after Doctor Doom throws a building that seems to be jam-packed with Molecule Men from thousands of universes) are unclear. (the exploding Molecule Men seemed to be the cause of thousands of Earths being wiped out all at once)

At this point, the heroes of Earth-616 stand no chance of winning, though they're trying to figure out how to not lose.  Their last-ditch solution is a multiversal lifeboat, made from the skin of the Living Tribunal (who tried to fight the Beyonders and died in the process), that will supposedly allow a handful of people to survive the destruction of the universe. (though what they plan to do beyond that is a mystery - there isn't really anywhere to go when everything has been destroyed)

It's a bleak story - I suppose the title being "Time Runs Out" should have been a giveaway when it came to the tone, but even with the heroes working together, they're futilely trying to survive the inevitable apocalypse, and even as the end of all things is nigh, Tony and Steve can't help but get into a drawn-out slug-fest even as a Helicarrier from another universe seem to crush both of them.

With that, I'm finally ready for Secret Wars. (I think - for all I know, there's some sort of supplemental story set in the Ultimate universe or a random issue of X-Men that's crucial to my understanding of what's going on - Cyclops says that he has a Phoenix egg that he's planning to use for "resurrection", but he keeps his plans vague and mysterious for the time being)  It's been a long twisting road to get to this point, with several series wrapping around each other, and I still feel like I've missed something.

Still, it's different from the more episodic nature of a lot of comics, or the shorter storylines - it feels like Hickman's had a plan in place since he started his Fantastic Four run, and it's all been building up to this. (or he's extremely good at using details from older comics to make it seem like he has a plan)  Either way, time has run out for the Marvel universe, and soon, it will be time to see the aftermath.