Secret Wars Battle Report, Week Twenty-Six

Welcome back to the Battle Report! The war continues to wind down, as two more miniseries come to an end. We are almost there, readers – next week won’t even have any Secret Wars tie-ins! Find out which ones keep up the quality of this crossover in the Bam Smack Pow Battle Reports!

Where Monsters Dwell #5

What happened: Clemmy gives her origin to Karl, basically that she was suspected of murdering her husband and has been on the run. She decides the cocky pilot is too wretched to kill, so she lets him escape the island of sexy Amazons, and he ends up on an island made of dung with the woman he abandoned in the first issue.

Was it good: Yes. This series has been about pulp adventure with lots of cheeky sexuality, and this issue kept that going to the end.

Is it necessary: No, it has nothing to do with the rest of Battleworld and doesn’t star anyone you know from the main Marvel Universe.

Should you buy it: It doesn’t make the cut, but it’s a great little escape if you’ve got the time.

House Of M #4

What happened: Magneto and the humans storm his mutant castle, defeating the usurper prince Quicksilver and the enemy king Namor. Magneto spares his son but cuts Namor to pieces with shards of his own trident.

Was it good: Very much so. It’s lacking some of the great narration lines of the first three issues, but the action is great, and the vicious defeat of Namor spares the reader gratuitous gore.

Is it necessary: No, I don’t recall seeing these characters anywhere close to the main series, but it’s a great standalone book.

Should you buy it: Yes. It doesn’t have the Avengers that the original series had, but fans of the X-Men will find that this surpasses the first House Of M crossover.

Essential Reading:

Really, just Secret Wars. Well done, Marvel.

Recommended Tie-ins:

A-Force, Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows, Captain Marvel And The Carol Corps, House Of M, Inferno, Inhumans: Attilan Rising, Marvel Zombies, Old Man Logan, Star-Lord & Kitty Pryde, Thors, X-Men ’92 (digital version), and Ms. Marvel or Silk (Last Days).

Good Books That Just Don’t Make Top-Tier:

1602 Witch Hunter Angela, 1872, Age Of Ultron Vs. Marvel Zombies, Captain Britain And The Mighty Defenders, Civil War, Deadpool’s Secret Secret Wars, Ghost Racers, Giant-Size Little Marvel: AVX, Hank Johnson, Agent Of Hydra, Howard The Human, Infinity Gauntlet, Korvac Saga, Master Of Kung Fu, M.O.D.O.K. Assassin, Red Skull, Runaways, Secret Wars 2099, Secret Wars: Battleworld, Secret Wars Journal, Secret Wars: Secret Love (for two stories), Siege, Spider Island, Spider-Verse, Squadron Sinister, Weirdworld, Where Monsters Dwell, X-Men ’92 (print version), and X-Tinction Agenda.

Books To Skip:

Age Of Apocalypse, Armor Wars, E Is For Extinction, Future Imperfect, Guardians Of Knowhere, Hail Hydra, Mrs. Deadpool And The Howling Commandos, Planet Hulk, Ultimate End, Years Of Future Past, and any of the Last Days titles you weren’t already reading.

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