SECRET WARS II

• Re-examining Secret Wars II
• Issue Reviews
• Original Art
• Secrets of Secret Wars II
• Articles
• Reprint Petition
• Home

Issue Review
Micronauts #16

Direct Market Release Date: September 10, 1985

Credits

Title: Economies of Scale!
Writer: Peter B. Gillis
Artist: Kelly Jones
Inker: Danny Bulandi
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Colorist: Bob Sharen
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

Summary

The Micronauts discover that a starship being used to power a nearby colony is trying to launch, endangering the inhabitants. Acroyear, Hunter, and Bug confront the alien being at the controls, who frantically tells them that he must leave, for "the pain is here". Bug, in an attempt to stop him accidentally causes the starships drives to explode, killing all in the nearby encampment.

The horrified trio notice that the explosion stopped. In the ensuing confusion, they spot Scion, who has arrived with the Beyonder. The Beyonder informs the Micronauts that during his time on earth he became aware of the Microverse, and that he had heard Scion's cries of distress and came to aid him. The Beyonder restores the damaged village to the state it was in prior to the explosion.

Despite his apparent good deeds, Acroyear still views the Beyonder with suspicion. Bug disagrees with this assessment, and follows the Beyonder and Scion to the Endeavour, with hopes of getting the two groups to reconcile. There, he witnesses Scion coax the Beyonder into destroying three plants and the billions of beings who inhabit them.

Bug summons Huntarr and Acroyear to attack. The Beyonder stops them and Scion informs the Micronauts that Baron Karza's destruction of their homeworld caused the planet's soul, or world mind, so much pain that it went mad. That madness has now spread through to Aegis, and the Beyonder's destruction of the three worlds was intended to create a firebreak, to prevent the madness from infecting the whole Microverse. The Micronauts realize that this spreading madness is what possessed the being whose starship launch threatened to destroy the colony earlier.

Despite realizing that Scion's explanation was true, the Micronauts determine that they can't let the three planets be destroyed, even though their destruction may save the Microverse. They battle with Scion and destroy his body, and banish the Beyonder. Realizing that their actions may have doomed the Microverse, the Micronauts resolve to take responsibility for their actions, and venture forth to save it.

After the Micronauts have left, the Beyonder brings Scion back to life, and gives him a new body. Scion thanks the Beyonder for his empty threats of destroying the planets, revealing that he had achieved his true goal of motivating the Micronauts to save the Microverse. The Beyonder thanks Scion for the lessons he has learned - that good may arise from both good and evil acts.

Quotes

Acroyear: Such power should always be viewed with suspicion, Bug -- He's handed everything to us too easily.
Bug: I'm sorry that just won't *tik* wash. All that *tik* "We've got to earn it ourselves" junk -- We don't earn our births, Acroyear. We don't *tik* earn the sunshine or the grass or the wind. Are we going to *tik* begrudge people and their lives and *tik* happiness because they didn't*tik* earn them? Well, I *tik* fought for it -- we all did -- and all we *tik* earned them was a painful death!

Scion: The destroyed planets will give the Micronauts enough time, thanks to you. And though you could remake the entire universe with but a thought, by you refraining from doing more, the Microverse may be healed as LIFE is healed -- by it's own forces.
The Beyonder: So what may be good on one scale may be evil on another -- and out of the most violent mixture of those goods and evils, good may at last arise. It's a lesson I'll remember.

Commentary

Presumably, Secret Wars II tied into this issue in hopes of getting a few more people to give this title a shot. In that regards, I feel it failed miserably. Reader's unfamiliar with Baron Karza, Scion, and the Microverse itself will probably be Googling a lot of names while reading the issue. Peter B. Gillis, who wrote the terrific Dr. Strange tie-in, puts little effort into making the book accessible, which is unfortunate as once the energy is expended trying to figure out what is going on, the book is actually a very good tie in. The Beyonder comes to realize that good and evil are not black and white concepts, and that good and life saving acts may seem evil from a different perspective. The seeds planted here begin to manifest themselves as Secret Wars II starts nearing it's climax.

Kelley Jones and Danny Bulanadi's work on the art is inconsistent, and I'm almost tempted to believe that some figures were redrawn by Bullpen staffers. In particular, the Beyonder's appearance on page 11 and the top third of page 16 stand out as amateurish or rushed when compared to the rest of the otherwise competent work. It wouldn't be the first time this has happened in this crossover, as many of David Mazzucchelli's faces and figures were redrawn for Daredevil #223.

Micronauts #16, like ROM #72, is another title that isn't included in the Secret Wars II Omnibus because of licensing issues. Based on the Japanese Microman toy line (which later morphed into Hasbro's Transformers brand), the rights to the Micronauts name are owned by Abrams/Gentile Entertainment who has not granted Marvel a license for it's use.

Up next...

Secret Wars II continues in The Mighty Thor #363!