Why You Shouldn’t Worry About Secret Wars

Yesterday Marvel made the announcement everyone was waiting for; we learned what we can expect from Secret Wars. Jonathan Hickman’s three year tenure on Avengers has all lead to this, the Marvel U as we know it is coming to an end and it’s time to panic! Comics will never be the same! Run for the hills comic fans, I know how much you fear change. This announcement is just the first in what will inevitably be a barrage of news conferences and leaked tidbits leading up to the April 2015 launch of this cataclysmic event. So strap in, fellow True Believers, we’re in for a bit of a roller coaster before this whole Secret Wars thing is over.

Let’s start by talking about what we know so far: I’ve already mentioned that this has been Hickman’s brain child for a while. He took control of the Avengers in 2012 and New Avengers in 2013 to start laying the groundwork for the event that will destroy the Marvel U as we know it. We also know that Marvel is not doing away with their previous mythology or continuity, this is not, I repeat NOT a reboot. This event will foster change. After Secret Wars the Ultimate Universe will converge with Earth-616 and all story lines that emerge will be part of the Marvel cannon. We are talking about doing away with pasts and futures and completely eliminating alternate realities. All the titles to come out of Secret Wars will all fit in to Marvel’s Battleworld.

Now, allow me to rant. Marvel is working very hard to get us hyped about this event; granted, this is kind of a big deal and deserves more attention than your regular weekly releases, but at the end of the day it’s still just another event. Every event changes the Universe, there are always ramifications, of course Secret Wars won’t be any different nor should we expect it to be. But what is Marvel really planning to do? Sure there will be a shift in the Marvel U, Battleworld will emerge and Earth-616 will not exist as we know it. So what? Maybe the Ultimate Universe will be a casualty, but the Ultimate characters that you love will merge into Battleworld and you can keep following their stories. I think my biggest complaint is that every time Marvel announces an event, the internet collectively holds its breath.

It’s time for us to chill. The comics will continue and you will most likely continue to love them. This will not affect the characters you love, or their mythologies; the X-Men, the Avengers, Spidey, all of them will continue to have dynamic stories and exciting heroics to thrill and amaze you. With that in mind ask yourself; what is all the fuss about? Fans are getting all worked up, the media is freaking out, and for what? If you cared enough about comics to open this article, you care enough about comics to see your way through Secret Wars so don’t waste energy panicking about what may happen. Sit back and enjoy the ride. Marvel is doing something new, and like any event, it could be amazing or it could be awful (I’m pretty optimistic, after all Hickman is the mastermind here), but you won’t know until it hits the racks. Don’t let the press circus distract you from what’s important, the stories. Keep reading Marvel fans; it’ll all be okay in the end.