Summary
- Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars: Battleworld #1 explores a previously unseen adventure from the original Secret Wars event.
- Spider-Man finds himself in a mysterious space surrounded by monsters, believing it to be the work of the Beyonder.
- The Beyonder, previously stripped of his powers, is referred to as “The Defective One” by narrators who are likely fellow members of his species.
Warning: Spoilers for Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars: Battleworld #1!The Beyonder’s return to Marvel Comics grants him a new codename and a new perspective on one of Marvel’s most powerful species. The Beyonder first made his debut during the original 1984 Secret Wars series, where he sent a group of heroes and villains to his home world, Battleworld, to do battle for his amusement. Marvel has since continued to reveal more about the character, including the fact that he is just one member of an incredibly powerful species known as the Beyonders.
Now, Marvel has opted to revisit and expand upon the lore of that initial Secret Wars event through Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars: Battleworld #1 by Tom DeFalco, Pat Olliffe, John Kalisz, VC’s Joe Caramagna. Giuseppe Camuncoli and Paul Mounts’ cover art can be viewed below. Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars: Battleworld #1 will be available on November 22.
Preview panels for what is to come can also be viewed below, where a new nickname is coined by a collection of omnipotent narrators. Although the panels do not reveal the narrators’ identities yet, it may be safe to assume they’re fellow members of the Beyonder’s species, offering additional context to his new nickname: The Defective One.
The Beyonder is The Defective One
This new series is meant to give readers insight into a previously unseen adventure from the original Secret Wars event. The adventure kicks off simply as Spider-Man leaves for a snack while Reed Richards is looking for a way to send everyone home, only for Spidey to awaken in a mysterious space surrounded by monsters, unsure of how he got there. As Spider-Man fends off these creatures, he hypothesizes out loud that this is the Beyonder’s doing. The narration suggests that it was the narrators themselves (likely the Beyonders) who are responsible, referring to Beyonder himself as “The Defective One” in the same breath.
Marvel’s Past Hints at The Beyonder’s Future
It is worth noting that in Marvel’s more recent lore, the Beyonder was stripped of his powers and reduced into thin, cosmic dust by the Lost One – whom the Beyonders stole their powers from originally – during the Avengers: Beyond series. It is hinted at the series’ end that the remaining Beyonders will be targeted by this new cosmic force in hopes of reclaiming all of his powers. Knowing this context, it would be interesting to learn if this unseen story is actually being recollected by those remaining Beyonders. If the Beyonder isn’t referred to as the Defective One due to a power hierarchy in comparison to his fellow species, he could be viewed as the Defective One in Marvel Comics now after having his powers taken away and made into a defective version of his former self.
All will be revealed in Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars: Battleworld #1, hitting stores November 22.
