Are the lasers pelting him with rocks?
Secret Wars II #6
Marvel (December, 1985)
“Life Rules!” WRITER: Jim Shooter PENCILER: Al Milgrom INKER: Steve Leialoha COLORIST: Minny Hands (?) LETTERER: Rick Parker EDITOR: Bob Budiansky
After a talk with Doctor Strange in one of the tie-in crossovers, Beyonder decides to become a champion of life, setting up a new headquarters outside Sparta, Illinois. Dave, a local man who runs the town paper has dreams of becoming a full-fledged journalist and attempt to interview the Beyonder. Instead he becomes his agent, as the One From Beyond helps people and saves lives, but it isn’t enough for him. Captain America and Mr. Fantastic stop by, worried that the more people learn about him the more they will turn to him and do less for themselves. Dave, however, insists as if they should, that only death should be afraid of him. That gives the Beyonder the idea of killing Death (which I remind you in the Marvel Universe has a “living” embodiment”). Even the other conceptual beings, some of which have battled Death before, ask him not to do it. Yet Dave insists Death go through with it and she does, meaning nothing can die. Molecule Man (who earlier had been approached by Uatu since all the Watchers decided that Beyonder was on a dangerous enough path to get involved) arrives and chews Beyonder out because without death there is no reason to live. Dave, realizing his error, agrees to die (which uses up a lot of Beyonder’s power) in order to resurrect Death. Then Beyonder destroys his headquarters and realizes he’s actually tired.
What they got right: The cosmic corner of the Marvel Universe is getting a good showing in this series. This time it’s the conceptual beings. At the very least this serves as a good introduction to them and the Beyonder explains them to Dave, and in effect the readers. There’s actually a nice use of Chekhov’s Gun in the form of the flowers that Molecule Man forgot to replace with living ones.
What they got wrong: Reed Richards is fairly nice to Beyonder. Power Pack thanks him for his help. Even Molecule Man, while getting mad at him for what he did, is less mean to the guy than Captain America is, or maybe my head is just giving him an angrier voice. But Dave is downright insufferable. He’s practically Beyonder’s acolyte at this point, and his sudden decision to die in order to bring Death back comes out a bit too fast. The only result of his actions we see are the flowers, which shouldn’t have sprung back to life since the other didn’t (unless they were just dying and not fully dead yet). I’m not asking for Torchwood: Children Of Earth (and frankly nobody should) but more than Molecule Man showing he can’t kill a flower in a speech that lasts more than three panels.
Recommendation: A good introduction the Conceptual Beings but sadly not much else. That alone is still worth picking up, though. Just not really hunting down.
BW Media Spotlight 