The 14 Weirdest Mash-Ups and Makeovers from ‘Secret Wars’

READ THE COMPLETE SECRET WARS EVENT HERE!

They say that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, but what comes of aesthetics when Doctor Doom is the god of all things?

SECRET WARS, the 2015 event written by master Marvel architect Jonathan Hickman, was set in motion after the “Final Incursion,” or the collision of the Ultimate and Earth-616 Universe.

In the main Marvel Universe, it seemed to us readers that just about everyone had died. As it turned out, Doctor Doom had harnessed enough power to stitch together a patchwork planet from bits and pieces of previously existing alternate realities, reshaping the world in his total image.

Thus, Battleworld was born! And God Doom was seated squarely on its throne.

The overall SECRET WARS epic—which included the nine-issue main series and numerous one-shots plus limited series—became a rich tapestry for creators to weave imaginative stories featuring familiar names and faces in vastly different settings and scenarios. More importantly, it gave us some amazingly cool, weird, wild, out there, and even adorable character designs that we have to talk about!

THE SHERIFF OF AGAMOTTO

Readers were used to seeing Doctor Strange as a roguish yet honorable magic wielder, going where he wanted to take care of any mystical threat as Earth’s Sorcerer Supreme. So, seeing him as a top cop working for Doom in SECRET WARS #2 came as a shock. It was even more surprising seeing what Doom did to his “Sheriff” after he helped stowaway heroes from Earth-616!

VALLEY OF FLAME DEADPOOL

Plenty of Deadpools made the cut during SECRET WARS, but we’re partial to the Merc with a Mouth we met riding a Lockjaw (and trying to wrangle Devil Dinosaur) in SECRET WARS: BATTLEWORLD #3! Wade and the gang even showed up together briefly in SECRET WARS, TOO #1! 

GHOST RACERS

In his attempt to bring entertainment to Battleworld, Arcade brought in a quintet of Ghost Riders to race in his “Killiseum” (yes, really). Robbie Reyes, Alejandra Jones, Johnny Blaze, Danny Ketch, and Carter Slade may have been the main Spirits of Ignition, but plenty more Ghost Riders were on hand for a gloriously twisted race fueled by fire and brimstone!

PILGRIM PUNISHER

Beyond the shield of Battleworld was a wild land overseen by Annihilus’ insect creatures, Ultron’s automatons, and all manner of zombies. When individuals broke the rules of Doom, they got tossed to this hellish minefield far “beyond the wall.”

When the Punisher of 1602—otherwise known as Pilgrim—got thrown in there, he took out a goodly number of the undead, but wound up on the wrong end of an Ultron laser as seen in AGE OF ULTRON VS. ZOMBIES #2.

PHOENIX CYCLOPS

In a last-ditch effort to save his reality from destruction, Earth-616 Cyclops merged with the Phoenix Egg! Even all that power couldn’t stand against the Incursion, but he did manage to make it to Doom’s Battleworld intact.

Though Phoenix-Clops attempted to stop Doom, he proved less powerful than Battleworld’s Ruler Supreme!

[RELATED: 19 Hosts of the Phoenix Force]

WEREWOLF BY MOON KNIGHT

In the territory of Egyptia, Khonshu called the shots, served by her myriad of Moon Knights. One, Marc Spector, rebelled and allied with a group of slave mutants to kill the goddess. However, the would-be assassins had no idea that the Moon Knights turned into werewolves at night, making a neato visual for any fans of the darker, more horrific corners of the Marvel Universe.

Also a great callback to Moon Knight’s first appearance in WEREWOLF BY NIGHT (1972) #32!

HOWARD THE HUMAN

In HOWARD THE HUMAN by Skottie Young and Jim Mahfood, the title character hated his life in New Quack City, surrounded only by anthropomorphic animals. However, we loved reading this critter-filled whodunit in the style of classic noir, laden with furry flair and Howard's ever-present misanthropy!

THE MARVILLE KIDS

What happens when the kid teams growing up on Avengers Street mix it up with those teeny tiny X-Men from way over in Marville? Why GIANT-SIZE LITTLE MARVEL: AVX, of course!

These adorable scamps sure got up to a lot of mischief, whether fighting over who gets to sell the most street food, or trying to convince the newly moved-in twins to join their respective groups. (You know which twins). And, just wait and see what happens when the Guardians of the Galaxy show up!

[RELATED: 5 Best 'Avengers vs. X-Men' Battles and the 5 We Want to See]

ZOMBIE ULTRONS

Between the zombies and the Ultrons, life beyond the shield was intolerably awful. Then, Ultron and Zombie Magneto made a pact to join forces and attack Sanctuary, resulting in cyborg zombie attacks across the only safe haven left.

Sure, things went from bad to worse, but at least we were treated to zombified Ultrons that were too cool to drool!

BUG WORLD’S ANT-MAN AND WASP

Anthology one-shot SECRET WARS: SECRET LOVE #1 featured a sweet look at “Bug World,” where Ant-Man set up a scavenger hunt for his lady, Wasp, so that she could find her way to an anniversary dinner! Along the way, she encountered the adorable Roly-Poly Hulk, Captain Ameri-Bug, and Thor Hopper!

FRANK CASTLE, SORCERER SUPREME

The Frank Castle appearing in SECRET WARS: BATTLEWORLD #1 was on the lam across several territories, when Doctor Strange’s spirit decided to hitch a ride too!

In 2099, the vigilante used mystic weapons to take on the Infernal Four (demonically possessed versions of Spider-Man, Hulk, Wolverine and Ghost Rider).

GROOT THOR

On Battleworld, one force policed all the realms: the Thors! In their self-titled limited series, Ultimate Thor investigated the murders of his own people. Along the way we got to see some thunderous Thor mash-ups, but our hands down favorite is Groot Thor, who mimics traditional Asgardian armor with his alien bark!

THE CAPTAIN & THE DEVIL

While fighting in the Killiseum, The Captain and The Devil proved one of the best gladiatorial pairs of all time… but chafed under Arcade’s rule. After trying to kill their murder master, they were sent to the Hulk-filled Greenland in limited series PLANET HULK. Along the way, this unconventional-yet-battle-hardened pair met a host of kooky creatures well worth checking out!

While you’re at it, read the original PLANET HULK event too, featuring a gladiator Hulk fighting for his freedom on a barbaric alien planet. It’s now free on MU!

COLLECTKRA AND CHEF MATT MURDOCK

To satisfy his horrific hunger, Mister Sinister sent Collektra to hunt and kill the scariest monsters in all the realms. She was then tasked with delivering these ghoulish goods to Hell’s Kitchen, owned and operated by one Chef Matt Murdock.

Their tragic tale from SECRET WARS JOURNAL #2 might bring a tear to your eye, but it drew laughs from the crowd at Bar Sinister!

Read across the realms of SECRET WARS today, and tell us which of these looks are your favorites on Marvel Unlimited’s Twitter and Facebook channels!