REVIEW: ‘Secret Wars #9′ deserves our attention, True Believers.

Finally, some of the answers and revelations are highlighted in Jonathan Hickman’s swan song for the House of Ideas, Secret Wars #9. Due to the circumstances behind the maxi-event series’ delays, the All-New, All-Different Marvel title series were released late last year (2015), making the remaining chapters of the Hickman-Esad Ribic grand meta-narrative of superhero almost irrelevant since rebooting the whole Marvel universe and the renumbering the titles almost ad infinitum are already norm in mainstream comics since 2011, and some of these new titles presented some surprises and questions regarding the actual fates and/or happenings of the major characters in the Battleworld. But most probably due to Hickman’s superior meta-storytelling and Ribic’s minimalist and detailed illustrations, Secret Wars remained one of the top selling single-issue series in 2015. So, does the finale worth your time and the hype surrounding this one? My answer is simple: Secret Wars #9 deserves our attention, True Believers.

Picking up from the exciting penultimate issue, the ninth one shows God Emperor Doom at the height of his omnipotence while confronting Black Panther wearing the nigh-all-powerful Infinity Gauntlet, and lastly, his greatest and oldest rival of all—Reed “Mister Fantastic” Richards—as the Alex Ross regular cover art beautifully showcases the encapsulation of the zeitgeist of this company-wide mega-event. To make things more interesting, Hickman puts some unexpected surprises as the story gathers momentum up to the satisfying crescendo and a fulfilling dénouement that settle some of the intriguing issues sprouted in some new Marvel series last year. The pacing of this tale is above-average at best, despite the considerable thickness this chapter possesses (plus the hefty price but personally, it is worth the trouble). Hickman readers know the drill already for this finale should be read repeatedly to gain the benefits of unlocking of the author’s secrets here since relying on Ribic’s illustrations alone is something of a fool’s errand.

Speaking of the illustrator, most of his artwork are ranged from consistent to stunning. The former is self-explanatory because he maintains his signature art style since Secret Wars #0; while the latter is justifiably deserved as he draws some of the most imaginative battle scenes in the series, most particularly on Doom versus Black Panther, and the close-up facial portrayals of some of the major characters involve here. Some of the panels are understandably uneven due to the gravity and scope of the plot, again in the battle sequences. The coloring department does an amazing job on making Ribic’s pencils and inking more prominent and help enhance further the ambiance of this epic conclusion that can say a total collective creative effort.

Yet, some of Hickman’s dialogues, particularly on the Ultimate Reed Richards and Valery Richards, are rather intimidating, if not a bit jargon, to some casual or non-Hickman readers (well, the characters are considered highly intelligent and scientifically genius, which the writer is well-versed on that matter). Furthermore, some of Ribic’s interiors are obviously rushed, especially on some of the casts’ faces (the eyes and mouths, as always) and some of the peripheral battles that could have highlighted more (like, Groot versus Galactus). Good thing the artist still has good visual sequential paneling to make the readers forgive of his “duck faces” facial portrayals. Also, the delay definitely hurt a bit because the impact is already lessen to the general readership, aside from the release of the new series that considered as post-Secret Wars. And the paper quality is rather inferior compared to the last couple of issues.

Secret Wars #9 fulfills its objective of tying many loose ends, and finishes another great run of meta-narrator Jonathan Hickman, particularly his tenure in Marvel (he will focus more on his creator-owned titles, especially East of West). Questions are answered. Issues are settled. But most importantly, this maxi-series paves way to the justification yet again of renumbering and/or rebooting the entire Marvel universe.