No diversity in the room: Secret Wars

@brothascomics has been walking issue by issue through the original Secret Wars as a throwback to an iconic series from the 80's.  You can find the first two issues reviews here:

OG Secret Wars Review Pt 1
OG Secret Wars Review Pt 2


On top of that, we have been podcasting our reviews of the issues and having a funny look back at the writing of comics in the 80's and how many of our beloved heroes have evolved since then.  You can find links to the podcasts here:

OG Secret Wars Podcast Part 1
OG Secret Wars Podcast Pt 2

The podcasts, however, have exposed a wide open secret in the comic industry about the clear lack of diversity in the creative and writing process.  This lack of diversity leads to comics which; although entertaining still 30 some odd years later, also make you cringe when you read the dialogue and the culture behind that dialogue.  When there is a lack of other voices in the room, people will make up what they perceive or believe on how women and people of color speak.  And often its totally wrong, lacks empathy, and it borderline offensive.

Look we are big comic fans here, but we'd be wrong if we don't point out this nonsense and have a little bit of fun doing it.  So lets check out some cringe worthy dialogue with a few of our heroes.

Iron-Man: Soul Brother #1

At the time, Tony Stark is not Iron-Man. James Rhodes is in the suit.  Now "Rhodey" is from South Philly, but he is also a military man, whose foundation is based on orders. In Secret Wars, Rhodey's dialogue is very stereotypical and often ends sentences with "man or "my man". Please remember this is 1984.    And he is incredibly sexist- referring to Captain Marvel as "woman" and "babe".   He also refers to her as, "talent" and overall in the series is a sexist jerk to her. You have to think that is how the writers thought black men talked to black women and it would be ok.  Hint:  Its not ok!  Plus, in a stereotypical move, they put Iron Man on roller skates- even tho he has the ability to fly. And he even drops a Rudy from Fat Albert and tells the Human Torch he has "No class, man"! And when it was time to shine and battle the villains, somehow Iron Man was not even ready for battle and was pulling his suit on while everyone else fought on.  Well everyone except...

Captain Marvel

Monica Rambeau's history with Marvel is much better now than it was in 1984. In 1984, she was designed and given the look of Pam Grier by the creators.  Yet in 1984, they have her rocking a natural afro. In 1984.  What is she doing when the big battle of issue 2 breaks out?  Taking a bath! A bath?! Not a shower- a bath.  Werd?   Then she gets taken out by a C level villain in Dr. Octopus after she gets out of the bathtub. The bathtub.  So two of the three black heroes in the entire Secret Wars are: both late to the battle and unprepared to fight because they can't get they shoes on and are just getting out of the tub.

Wasp

I dislike the character of the Wasp and in Secret Wars she is even more annoying than normal to me. However, early in the series, after she is kidnapped by Magneto for... well its never really explained. But as part of that scene, there is a very uncomfortable scene where Magneto pushes up on her and she says "no, no, no" yet he still assaults her and eventually she gives in.  You have to imagine, no women were in the room when this was written or story boarded.  Having the leader of the Avengers being assaulted and then giving in and later, washing it over like it never happened, is such disrespect for a woman.

If you have listened to the podcast, we make fun of these situations and have a good laugh based on the audacity of the writers in the room.  Its such a prime example of a series that is iconic for sure, but upon further review did nothing to help advance the cause of heroes of color or females.  Marvel gets props for its diversity and currently being hailed for its hip hop variant covers,  but they still lag far behind on diversity in the writing room and artists. This matters. It does. People of color and women can offer point and counter point on how it feels to be in a given situation to make it seem more real and authentic.  Not some dude pretending to know what a woman would think or feel in that situation.  Its privilege run wild and its not totally harmless because its in a comic book.

So Marvel we gonna call statue of limitations on this one. I think the 32 years since this came out is too long to run you over the coals for it.  But, this same culture still exists in your writing rooms and how you pick artists for your books.  Its been long enough.  You can do better!

The Producer

OG Secret Wars: Part 2

We continue our issue by issue throwback to the Original Secret Wars(1984).  In our first article we looked at the first issue and how Team Heroes and Team Villains wound up on Battleworldin this Contest of Champions set up by the Beyonder.  We examined each of the teams of good guys and bad guys and the issue of course ends on a splash page tease of the first battle.

You can find the link to the first article and the podcast associated with it listed here

OG Secret Wars Part 1

Secret Wars Podcast

Whereas issue 1 ended on the viewpoint of the villains on attack, issue 2 opens with the heroes under attack.  The opening page has everyone getting ready for what they knew was already coming.  Now if you listened to the podcast, you know that we felt the villains are quite undermanned.  Yes they have Galactus and Dr. Doom, but the rest of the villain squad is made up of some, lackluster evildoers so this battle is gonna go they way most would expect it.

Cap is our leader and he begins barking out orders from the start.  Our villains found some weaponry at Doombase that helps sort of even the score but, like a squash match in the WWE, you know eventually the star is gonna win out and hit this jobber with their finisher.

Cap recognizes immediately after this first wave of offense that their attack is unorganized.  And really that should not be a surprise.  There is not a leader in the bunch of Team Villains- with Dr. Doom having left before the battle even began.  I guess the leader would be Kang, but even that is a stretch.

Once Captain America figures out their attack and Team Heroes go on offense, the battle comes to a quick end.  Thor, who could beat all these dudes by his damn self, takes out most of the Wrecking Crew in one fell swoop and the Hulk finishes off the rest of them.  And then when the Enchantress tries to fight back against She Hulk, her beautiful face gets smashed.  Notice in the early panels tho how many Xmen are laying on the ground.  Marvel had very little respect for mutants then.  How the tide would change in about 5 years.

Meanwhile, as the battle rages on, Dr. Doom has gone back to find Galactus, who was knocked the fuck out, when he attempted to take on the Beyonder in issue 1.  Doom is present when Galactus silently rises.  Doom makes the decision to stake out on his own in this battle against the Beyonder, but knowing full well he will need the others on Team Villains to help his plan succeed.  He goes back and rejiggers Ultron to make him his bodyguard and now turns the Team Villain base into Doombase.  When the other members of Team Villain return, Doom informs them they are working for him now and those who attempt to resist, are whipped back into submission by an Ultron attack.

Team Hero after the battle retreat to their homebase.  Being the good guys that they are, they place the captured members of Team Villain into healing chambers as they set out to find living space and plot to what the next steps are.  Captain America and Mr. Fantastic are calling the shots- the only real dissenter verbally is Wolverine, who for some reason is not buying into Cap as a leader at all.

Meanwhile, the Magneto problem winds up making its way to Team Hero Base. Magneto, after being distrusted by most of Team Hero, left them all before the first battle.  Leaving his personal home base, Magneto goes to Team Hero base with a plan.  He manipulates the power core and draws all the heroes to him and as he slips out after their attack, he, for some reason, takes Wasp with him as his prisoner. In an attempt to save Wasp, Thing tries to attack, but reverts into human form and back into Ben Grimm.

The issue ends with the Galactus standing near the top of a mountain with Team Hero watching him and wondering what he is going to do next.

That concludes issue 2.  It moves at a quick pace from  start to finish and ends on a good cliffhanger.  I remember from back then the change of Thing back to Ben Grimm kinda freaking me out.  Plus, when Secret Wars ends, he gains control of his powers to switch back and forth from Ben to the Thing.  I've never liked the tortured Thing character as he is more interesting being able to switch back and forth.  Not changing makes him just a orange version of the Hulk.

Join us in a week for issue 3 review.  And if you can, join us on our Secret Wars Podcast tonight as we review issues 3 and 4.

The Producer

Original Secret Wars: Part 1

With the conclusion of the Hickman Secret Wars(2015), @brothascomics is gonna take a a look back at the original Secret Wars.  Developed primarily as a tool for Marvel to sell toys, the series winds up having significant impact on the Marvel Universe. It spawns an awful sequel in Secret War 2, but the influence of the original lives on as evident by the homage to the original by Hickman's Secret Wars

Over the course of the next few weeks, we will review issues 1-12 and host a podcast to discuss the series.  So grab a Jolt Cola and sit back and enjoy the recaps.

Prior to the start of the series, all the heroes are drawn to Central Park because of this large construct that has appeared in the park.  One by one, the heroes enter and are transported into space and wind up all together and confused as to how they wound up in space.

Representing the heroes the Avengers, the Xmen, the Fantastic Four( minus Sue Richards), Spider man, Hulk, and for a reason that will become apparent later, Magneto.  For some reason the heroes feel  the need to introduce themselves and Wasp, who is leader of the Avengers at the time, does so in the most arrogant way possible.  It must be noted that Iron Man is James Rhodes at this time and The Hulk is smart and under the control of Bruce Banner.

At the same time, the villains have been transported as well to a different construct.  Its implied that many of the villains were taken from their homes or prison and transported unlike the heroes who went in voluntarily.  At the same time, the heroes are kinda confused as to why Magneto is with them and not on the other construct.  The Xmen, Xavier in particular, are very protective of Magneto even tho he is not trying to be a hero.

While trying to figure all of this out, the power of the Beyonder is revealed.  He begins to destroy one galaxy to make another( Battleworld).  His power on full display shocks and awes everyone.

Once Battleworld is formed, finally the Beyonder speaks.  He speaks of this great battle and that if you slay your villains, you will get whatever you choose.

Galactus is the first to act.  Wanting to end his constant huger for planets, he charges out towards the source of the Beyonder's power.  Dr. Doom, who is curious as well as power hungry, follows shortly after as they fly towards the Beyonder.

Of course the Beyonder has God like powers and swats the both of them back to Battleworld like its nothing.  For Doom, this is his wake up call.  The power of the Beyonder is so great that even he does not think anyone should challenge him directly.  

Meanwhile, the heroes are looking to find a leader for this upcoming battle.   But first they need to decide what to do with Magneto.  No one besides the Xmen want him there and its become a tense situations between the heroes.  Eventually, Magneto feels attacked and decides to fight back and deuces the heroes to do his own thing.

After Magneto leaves, the heroes decide they must have a leader for this upcoming battle.  Many names are tossed around, but eventually they settle on Captain America to lead the team.

As Doom heads back to the villain base after his Beyonder smack down, he is formulating what to do next.  Doom recognizes the power and how very little he could do to challenge the Beyonder on his own. He plans to seek out Reed Richards to formulate some plan to stop the Beyonder.  of course his villain co horts want to challenge the heroes so they can win the prize the Beyonder is offering.  This is insulting to Doom and he attacks the villains and plans to fly to see Reed.  Kang, thinks that is a bitch ass move and shoots down Dooms ship when it leaves the base.

As the heroes move to check out the explosion that took down Doom's ship, the villains move in to attack and we end issue one on a cliffhanger before the first battle between hero and villains.

That ends issue #1.  As much as I love this series, its kind of a mess in parts and it definitely shows its age when you re-read it.  Villains and heroes a like are constantly invoking their own name and the idea of thought boxes all over the place is 20 80's and 90's comics.  I think a major point people miss when looking pack is how sorry the villains are, tho.  I mean the Wrecking Crew? Lizard?  Kang and Dr. Doom are solid and powerful enough to take on the heroes by themselves.  And of course Galactus can hold his own against anyone.  Meanwhile the heroes are stacked with all their most powerful heroes AND the Hulk.  Not a fair fight at all.

But solid effort. Looking forward to issue #2.

The Producer