Secret Wars II #9

Secret Wars II #9, published by Marvel Comics in March 1986, serves as the final installment of the ambitious sequel to the original 1984 limited series. Written by Jim Shooter with art by Al Milgrom, the story follows the cosmic entity known as the Beyonder as he explores humanity, eventually leading to a climactic showdown with the gathered heroes of the Marvel Universe. The series was designed to be an expansive, company-wide crossover, attempting to influence the continuity of virtually every ongoing Marvel title at the time.

The reception of the series, and this issue specifically, has been polarized since its release. While critics and readers often praised the series for its massive scale and the audacity of its premise, many felt the narrative struggled to reconcile its lofty philosophical themes with the requirements of a mainstream superhero comic. Al Milgrom’s art is frequently cited for its straightforward, classic Marvel aesthetic, which helped ground the abstract, reality-bending plot for readers who had followed the multiversal journey through the preceding eight issues.