In 1984, Marvel's greatest heroes and its deadliest villains were pitted against each other on Battleworld by the unbelievably powerful Beyonder in Jim Shooter, Mike Zeck, and Bob Layton's Secret Wars.
Regarded as the pioneer crossover event, Secret Wars had an undeniable impact on comic book storytelling and to celebrate this landmark series' 40th anniversary, Marvel will return to Battleworld this November in an all-new four-issue limited series: Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars: Battleworld.
The series is written by Tom DeFalco, former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief and the editor of the original Secret Wars, while Pat Olliffe will be on art duties.
Along the way, we'll delve into never-before-told secrets behind one of the significant conflicts in Marvel history. It's said we can expect revelations beyond the Beyonder’s true motives, shocking appearances by characters that you didn’t even know fought in the Secret Wars, and more. Spider-Man and the Human Torch, meanwhile, will be put front and centre.
"The mysteries of the Secret Wars deepen," reads the official description. "Get ready for an all-new cataclysmic battle from when Spider-Man first got his alien costume and a mysterious being called the Beyonder assembled superheroes and villains from Earth to do battle on a patchwork planet."
This new story will finally reveal some secret connections and missing characters going back to the original series. What secret tests are the Beyonders conducting, and how will Spider-Man, the Human Torch and the whole cast determine the fate of the universe?
"Pat Olliffe and I were handed a daunting creative challenge," DeFalco says. "We were asked to do a sequel/new tale of a classic Marvel story that first saw print 40 years ago and created ripples that are still felt throughout the universe today."
"Since we share a kinship with a certain web-swinger (and his family), we were also compelled to do a story that ripped to his core and defined his unique place in the Marvel Universe while examining the budding relationship with his new black costume."
Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars: Battleworld will go on sale on November 24 but for now, you can check out a slew of new covers including a homage variant cover by Ryan Stegman, the first part of a connecting cover series by Todd Nauck, a cover by series artist Olliffe, and more.