All New All Different Marvel

I can definitely understand your hesitation to jump into the already complicated continuity of the Marvel Universe, especially with this shake up that is going to be taking place post-Secret Wars, but I don't think it's really as dramatic a change as it is being made out to be. While anytime they try to say that they are creating something that "offers accessible entry points for new readers" is just outright ridiculous, it won't be any more difficult to work your way into this "new" Marvel Universe than it was at any other point in their history. And anyone that has been reading even a sliver of what has been happening in the last couple years will have no trouble jumping into this post-Secret Wars world.

For me at least, this complicated nature is a large part of why the Marvel Universe is awesome. It creates a large barrier for entry to try and parse through the half-century histories of these characters to fully understand them, and to grasp all the major events that have shaped their present iterations, but it also makes the reading of the decades worth of backstories more rewarding. It's like piecing together an enormous, constantly-growing puzzle. The crossovers and events can be a little too constant, especially when a large portion end up not being that good, but when they really nail it, and deliver a great combined story that brings together characters from all across their universe, it can be really great, and some of my favorite things to read from Marvel.

But yes, this interconnectedness, and insanely complicated history are not for everyone. And that's why I think DC's new approach to make their books more standalone is also great. For one its easier on the wallet to not have to buy a dozen different crossovers, tie-ins, and event books every month to understand what is happening, but it also works to keep things more concise for all readers, including the more casual readers. Both publishers thankfully have their own unique methods to their superhero madness, tailored to different readers desires, so there is stuff out there for all readers to enjoy. So if one is not to your taste or reading style than you always have other options.

I love what they've been doing. Guess I'm the only one here, but that's fine.  Plenty of their books have been able to be read by themselves and will continue to be. Others are more explicitly part of the universe. No one is required to read all or nothing.

It's new stories with existing characters and mantles and progressing the universe. DC used to have legacy characters and people loved that.

As an old-timer, I'm still on the fence with what might be termed the NuMarvel Universe. I loved what DC did with legacy characters, and where I see a difference to be is that while DC did have a "new" Flash, Green Lantern, etc., the Earth-Two originals were still appearing in new stories via the yearly JSA/JLA cross-overs, the Wally Wood/Gerry Conway/Paul Levitz "All-Star Comics", or countless guest appearances, and I'm not certain if Marvel will adopt this strategy, at least in the short term.

I'm somewhat nervous about this all-new all-different Marvel U. Part of me feels like this a change for the sake of change, which I'm not a fan of, and the other part of me is excited to see where they take some of the characters/teams. I've always been a proponent of character development and progression, so if this reboot/re-lanch allows the the powers that be to "take out some of the trash" then I'm excited. But, if this just another convoluted event to drive up sales, then I'm sorry to say I'll be spending my money elsewhere in the future. Only time will tell.

I will say that I have been enjoying the main event book and some of the new story line tie-ins. So my optimism thus far is higher than it has been for some of the more recent events Marvel has put out. But, I reserve the right to change that opinion as we move closer to the climax of this story.

On a side note, for a company that is trying to get rid of the x-men, there sure are a lot of mutant heavy story lines associated with this event... Plus, characters from Fantastic Four, with the exception of The Thing (sorry Bob) sure are playing a major roles in this event.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't, really. If htey change things, a section of fandom will be pissed. If they don't, a section of fandom will say that nothing of importance ever happens or changes. Then, there's a section that likes change but then says 'eh why bother, itll just go back to what it was'.  And, sometimes those sections cross over!


With the publishing schedule and media landscape, a 'change' for 1-2 years is fairly similar to a 'change' in the status quo from 40 years ago the equivalent of about 5-10 years.  This has happened in mnay other mediums as well.

My point of view, again because I'm not a huge Marvel fan, is just viewing this as an outsider and as someone who welcomes change. I mean Jim Gordon is Batman, and I love it. The New 52 is what got me a standing order. And thats my point.

What frustrates me with Marvel is that over roughly the past 2 years or so they've been shouting the constant, and now infamous, "THE UNIVERSE WILL NEVER BE THE SAME!" only to be pretty much exactly the same, just with some costume/sex tweaks that will eventually revert back anyway.

This Secret Wars event had most people absoutely convinced that Marvel was starting from scratch. But this big change is no different than announcing Thor as a woman and Falcon as Cap. Only this time they've slapped the Secret Wars banner on it. They keep hyping every slight change they make as universe shattering but don't seem to have the confidence to make that much of a drastic change in the end.

If Marvel rebooted there would be screaming from the streets just like the New 52. But it would show huge confidence. And would get new people as well as uninterested people like me interested for certain.

Personally when they said "Oh we've been building to this for years" I didn't believe it, I felt like that was just something to give fans confidence. Thats just me. But look at it now. What have they actually been building towards? Tony Stark is Iron Man. Daredevil's costume is black. Wolverine is a woman. Logan is old. The Ultimate Universe, now down to 3 books anyway, is gone. Little tweaks. If that took years of planning, they must have had some serious writers block. That doesn't come across as confident year-after-year planning and discussing. That comes across as "Oh crap, they want changes. Ummm.... Okay lets do this this and this. What should we call the event? Secret Wars worked once before, lets do it again."

I'm coming across as super cynical. I don't mean to. Power to them if this succeeds. I'm just no longer convinced Marvel will ever bite the bullet and "Change the universe FOREVER!" They do make little changes, but all within a very secure safety net. Make X-23 Wolverine. Hell, make Groot Captain Marvel but in a Batman costume. Just stop billing it as universe shattering.

Yeah, I have to agree with Pacino on this one. A lot of the characters will be the same but right now, and this is coming from the books I have been reading, I have no idea what the Marvel world will look like at the end of this.

I've been reading secret wars, old man loan, future imperfect and a force and I can't imagine how all these will fit together by the end. It's actually been pretty cool so far, and I was pretty sour on the whole idea heading into it so I've been pleasantly surprised.