How a God-sized alien, a toy line, and an alien symbiote crashed the party and rewrote the rules
Among the dusty relics of comic book lore, one gleaming oddity continues to shimmer: Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars (1984–1985). A series so bombastic, so wonderfully over-the-top, it might’ve seemed like a fever dream born in a lunchroom dare—if it hadn’t also upended everything we thought we knew about superhero storytelling. It wasn’t just a crossover. It was the crossover. The blueprint. The delicious mess that changed everything.
The birth of Battleworld
Let’s begin with the not-so-secret truth: Secret Wars was cooked up, in part, to sell toys. Yes, the whole thing started with Mattel wanting action figures. And yes, that does sound like the worst reason to make a story. But here’s the twist—somehow, it worked. Gloriously.
At the time, Jim Shooter, Marvel’s editor-in-chief, spun this corporate nudge into something... cosmic. Enter: the Beyonder. A being of such godlike power and wildly under-explained motives, he decides, quite casually, to scoop up a bunch of Earth’s heroes and villains and plop them onto a frankensteined planet he’s called Battleworld. Why? To watch them fight, of course.
His opening pitch?
‘Slay your enemies, and all that you desire shall be yours. Nothing you dream of is impossible for me to accomplish.’
That’s right—Secret Wars begins with a celestial game of capture the flag but with more punching.
The cast: The best, the worst, and magneto
Every good drama needs its cast of misfits. And here, we got the lot: Spider-Man, Captain America, the Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, the X-Men (brooding as ever), plus the villains: Doctor Doom, Ultron, Galactus, Kang, and the ever-scowling Enchantress.
But the twist? Magneto, everyone’s favourite morally ambiguous mutant terrorist, gets lumped in with the heroes. Cue immediate suspicion, side-eyes, and debates about whether redemption is real or a convenient plot device.
Issues to remember
Issue #1: The War Begins
The line is drawn. Heroes look tense. The villains look smug. Magneto immediately upsets everyone.
Popular grade: CGC 9.8
Total Books Sold (2002–2025): 1,358
Highest Price Recorded: $1,200
Lowest Price Recorded: $19
12-Month Average Sale from today: $218
Last Sold: March 2025, $221
Issue #4: Situation: Hopeless!
Hulk holds up a 150-billion-ton mountain. No, that’s not a typo. One. Hundred. Fifty. Billion. Tons. That’s comic book math, folks.
Popular grade: CGC 9.8
Total Books Sold (2002–2025): 428
Highest Price Recorded: $330
Lowest Price Recorded: $9
12-Month Average Sale from today: $162
Last Sold: March 2025, $162
Issue #6: A Little Death…
The Wasp is taken out (sort of). It’s brutal. It’s shocking. It’s Marvel saying: ‘Yes, your faves might die. Maybe.’
Popular grade: CGC 9.8
Total Books Sold (2002–2025): 499
Highest Price Recorded: $300
Lowest Price Recorded: $6
12-Month Average Sale from today: $125
Last Sold: March 2025, $145
Issue #8: Invasion!
Spider-Man finds a sleek new black costume. Spoiler: it’s alive. Bigger spoiler: it’s Venom, eventually. The biggest spoiler: he doesn’t notice.
Popular grade: CGC 9.8
Total Books Sold (2002–2025): 4,713
Highest Price Recorded: $1,260
Lowest Price Recorded: $24
12-Month Average Sale from today: $482
Last Sold: March 2025, $450
Issue #10: Death to the Beyonder!
Doom takes down Galactus. Then Doom tries to take down the Beyonder. Because, of course, he does.
Popular grade: CGC 9.8
Total Books Sold (2002–2025): 466
Highest Price Recorded: $500
Lowest Price Recorded: $14
12-Month Average Sale from today: $227
Last Sold: March 2025, $265
Issue #11: …And Dust to Dust!
Doom wins. For about five minutes. Power corrupts. Absolute power means things get very weird, very fast.
Popular grade: CGC 9.8
Total Books Sold (2002–2025): 349
Highest Price Recorded: $283
Lowest Price Recorded: $7
12-Month Average Sale from today: $119
Last Sold: March 2025, $125
Issue #12: Nothing to Fear…
Doom loses. Heroes win. Captain America makes a speech. The Thing stays behind for soul-searching. There are no post-credits scenes, but emotionally, it’s close.
Popular grade: CGC 9.8
Total Books Sold (2002–2025): 422
Highest Price Recorded: $198
Lowest Price Recorded: $8
12-Month Average Sale from today: $108
Last Sold: March 2025, $82
Who shined brightest (and weirdest)
Spider-Man
He thought he was getting a wardrobe upgrade, but what he got was a parasitic alien suit. Welcome to long-term storytelling.
Doctor Doom
This is Doom unleashed. Brilliant. Arrogant. Dangerous. For a brief, shining moment, a god.
The Hulk
Smashes mountains. Shows heart. Smashes again.
Magneto
Still scary. Still unpredictable. But you start rooting for him. (Kinda)
The Thing
Gets a moment of introspection. Decides he likes the freedom of Battleworld. Ditches the team. Grows as a person. Kind of.
Legacy: What this toy commercial actually did
Somehow, Secret Wars became more than it had any right to be:
Proved that events could shape universes—and sales.
Spawned Venom and, therefore, an entire side of Spider-Man’s saga.
Showed that merchandising and storytelling could produce something real.
Paved the way for Infinity Gauntlet, Civil War, and the 2015 Secret Wars reboot that went a whole kaleidoscope on continuity.
Why it still matters (and probably always will)
Secret Wars asked ridiculous questions with dead-serious intensity:
What if the Hulk held up a mountain?
What if Doom became God?
What if morality wasn’t just black and white, but whatever colour you painted your costume that day?
It was loud, messy, ambitious, and—against all odds—it worked. It dared to play with everything and somehow made it count.
It wasn’t just a crossover. It was a mirror held up to what Marvel could become. And for better or worse, we’re still living in its wake.
