The Multiversity: Thunderworld Adventures #1 Review
By Steve Lam
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Cameron Stewart / Colorist: Nathan Fairbairn / Letterer: Steve Wands / Cover: Cameron Stewart
The Multiversity: Thunderworld Adventures #1 is Grant Morrison completely pulling back from his mind-bending, metaphysical storytelling that was so evident in Pax Americana #1. I’m definitely not saying that this issue is dumb action with no depth. In fact, it’s Morrison’s way of telling us that he knows when to have fun. Thunderworld Adventures #1 is a light-hearted, straightforward superhero story. A clean, no frills, minimalist issue with a simple good versus evil plot. Enjoyable and endearing, The Multiversity: Thunderword Adventures #1 will make you feel like a kid again.
Spoilerific Recap
We open with the wizard Shazam discovering an anomaly — an extra day in the Cosmic Calendar known as Sivanaday. The Rock of Eternity is suddenly under attack, and to Shazam’s surprise, he finds another eternity. All of this is the doing of Doctor Sivana via tracking the source of Captain Marvel’s magic lightning. He has also gathered three youths, and making them say his name “Sivana”, each one transforms into a being with Captain Marvel’s powers. Their mission: kill Captain Marvel.
Billy Batson is in downtown Fawcett City reporting on timequakes. Various artifacts, beings, and creatures from multiple places in time are now in the city. Billy suddenly sees himself appear, holding a set of crystals. His doppelganger tells him that he’s from tomorrow, and to look at the sun and clock. As his duplicate self starts to fade, he warns him that Shazam is in trouble and that Black Sivana is coming. Suddenly, Sivana’s three protégé show up. Billy tricks one of them to look away, giving Billy just enough leeway to become Captain Marvel.
Knowing that he’s outnumberd, Captain Marvel whistles a call to Freddy Freeman and Mary Bromfield. Meanwhile, at Doctor Sivana’s floating artificial Rock of Eternity, we learn that he was able to communicate with Sivanas from other universes with the Multiversity comic books (he’s seen holding a copy of The Multiversity: The Society of Super-Heroes). By mining the Rock of Eternity, Sivana hopes to manufacture Suspendium and sell time like a tangible asset. An imprisoned Shazam warns Sivana that if and when he exhausts all the magic, the universe will be left heartless. Disregarding Shazam’s warnings, Sivana tells him that he was able to create an eighth day of creation, Sivanaday, by importing Suspendium from other universes. The only ingredient missing is the secret source of Captain Marvel’s lightning. As the magic starts to die, Shazam grows weaker.
In Fawcett City, Captain Marvel battles Captain Sivana and punches him into the distance. Seeing that Captain Sivana is headed towards a train, Captain Marvel flies towards him, but is intercepted by the other two members of the Sivana Family, Captain Sivana, Jr. and Georgia Sivana. Captain Marvel, Jr. and Mary Marvel arrive just in time and save the train. Seeing Mary Marvel, Georgia Sivana confronts her. As her vanity takes over, Georgia Sivana starts to brag about her newfound beauty and wants Captain Marvel, Jr. to support her claim. Captain Marvel, Jr., to the surprise of Mary Marvel, starts to become mesmerized with her beauty and ends up asking her name. It turns out that Captain Marvel, Jr.’s temporary infatuation is all a ruse when Georgia Sivana reverts back to her ordinary self the second she utters “Sivana.”
As Captain Marvel overpowers Captain Sivana and binds him, Captain Sivana reveals that they were only a distraction. That’s when the Monster Society appears and prepares to do battle with the Marvels. Suddenly, the Lieutenant Marvels appear, ready to support the rest of the Marvel Family. As Captain Marvel flies off to rescue Shazam, Captain Marvel, Jr., Mary Marvel, and the Lieutenant Marvels stay behind to protect the city from the Monster Society.
In order to get to the Rock of Eternity, Captain Marvel flies to the subway station — a place where it all began, where he originally met Shazam. Arriving on Doctor Sivana’s artificial Rock of Eternity, Captain Marvel easily destroys a number of Sivana’s robots. Reminding Captain Marvel that this is Sivanaday, Sivana transforms into Black Sivana. As Sivana pummels Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel purposely transforms back into Billy Batson. Grabbing pieces of crystalized time, Billy communicates with himself from yesterday (basically, the current events were meant to happen because the communication is the same as the start of the story).
As the crystalized time is used up, Black Sivana flies towards Billy. Quickly, Billy transforms back into Captain Marvel. Tackling Captain Marvel, Black Sivana finally defeats him, but with a caveat. The Suspendium used to create Sivanaday was not enough. The other Sivana’s from parallel universes cheated this Sivana. Sivanaday is only eight hours long. As the day ends, Captain Marvel turns the tables and apprehends Black Sivana. Cursing the other Sivana’s and inadvertantly saying his own name, Doctor Sivana transforms back into his powerless self.
Back in Fawcett City, Captain Marvel, Jr., Mary Marvel, and the Lieutenant Marvels have defeated the Monster Society. As Captain Marvel looks at the Society of Super-Heroes comic book (where Doctor Sivana got his ideas about parallel universes), Captain Marvel, Jr. notes that the comic had already been cancelled. Commenting that it’s no surprise that such a somber comic wouldn’t succeed, Captain Marvel crumples it up and flies off with Captain Marvel, Jr. and Mary Marvel.
Best Moments
- When Billy Batson is in the middle of downtown Fawcett City and we get to see a convergence of multiple things from different periods.
- The arrival of the whole Marvel Family really ups this issue into more of an epic tale.
- The overall art is so bright and bold that it really pays homage to the optimistic stories of classic comic books. Kudos to Cameron Stewart and Nathan Fairbairn.
Overall Verdict
Another strong issue in the Multiversity collection of stories. I like how in tune Grant Morrison is to the fan base that he knows when to give our neurons a rest. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good mind-twister like any comic book nerd, but I’m still trying to figure out last month’s Pax Americana #1. With a clean, simple plot and bright art to go with it, this issue really ups the fun factor.
Morrison’s ability to portray Earth-5 as a much more happy, simple place gets props from me. Why? Because of the contrast with other worlds in the multiverse, Morrison shows that he can conjure up living breathing characters versus just rehashing old stuff. Readers should look at the overall Multiversity collection as one big plot, and not individual self-contained stories. I mean, he does leave that connection pretty blatant with the inclusion of The Multiversity: Society of Super-Heroes #1 comic book. With that in mind, the more different each world is in the Multiversity, the more interesting the conflicts will be when the endgame arrives.
If you’re looking for something fun, innocent, and fast-paced, look no further than The Multiversity: Thunderworld Adventures #1. If Pax Americana #1 was Morrison’s love letter to Watchmen, then this is his love letter to the Golden Age of Comics.