Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars #9
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeIssue #9, titled 'Assault on Galactus!', is the pivot point of Marvel's first company-wide crossover event — the issue where Doctor Doom's long-plotted scheme to seize cosmic power finally ignites, as he escapes captivity and begins the chain of events that leads to his theft of Galactus's energies and, subsequently, the Beyonder's near-omnipotence. It is also the issue in which Spider-Man, now sporting the alien black costume he acquired in issue #8, actively operates in it for the first time during the Battleworld's climactic hero-vs.-Galactus assault — a costume whose symbiotic nature would eventually birth Venom and reshape Spider-Man's mythology for decades. The series as a whole established the template for the modern crossover event, directly inspiring DC's Crisis on Infinite Earths and every company-wide 'event' that followed, and issue #9 represents its dramatic and thematic apex.
In "Assault on Galactus!", the X-Men join forces with the assembled heroes of Battleworld for one final stand against the planet-devouring Galactus, who grows weaker as he begins consuming his own world ship. As Spider-Man adjusts to his mysterious new black suit, Dr. Doom makes a bold move, rescuing Klaw and revealing his own hidden agenda. With tension rising and energy running low, the fate of Battleworld hangs in the balance. Written by Jim Shooter and brought to life by Mike Zeck’s dynamic art, with inks by John Beatty, colors by Christie Scheele, and lettering by Joe Rosen, the cover by Mike Zeck and Bob McLeod captures the epic scale of the impending clash.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars was conceived by editor-in-chief Jim Shooter at the request of toy manufacturer Mattel, which wanted a publishing event uniting all of Marvel's major characters as the backbone for a new action-figure line. Shooter wrote all twelve issues, with interior art on issue #9 by penciler Mike Zeck and inker John Beatty, and a cover by Zeck with Bob McLeod — the same core creative team that drove the series. The title was originally announced in Marvel Age #11 (February 1984) as 'Cosmic Champions' before being renamed; the series ran from May 1984 through April 1985, with issue #9 carrying a January 1985 cover date and going on sale in late 1984. Tom DeFalco served as editor. The Colossus/Zsaji romance that deepens across this issue was reportedly introduced by Shooter specifically to dissolve the ongoing relationship between the adult Colossus and the much younger Kitty Pryde in the regular X-Men continuity.
Trivia · 7 facts
- Story title: 'Assault on Galactus!' — Part 9 of the 12-issue limited series. Written by Jim Shooter; art by Mike Zeck (pencils) and John Beatty (inks); cover by Mike Zeck and Bob McLeod.
- Doctor Doom, imprisoned in Doombase, engineers his escape and devises a plan using Klaw's living-sound body as a conduit to siphon the energies of Galactus's worldship — the first step in his arc toward stealing the Beyonder's full power, which culminates in issues #10–11.
- The assembled heroes — Avengers, Fantastic Four, X-Men, Spider-Man, Hulk, and Magneto's faction — mount a combined assault on Galactus as the World Devourer begins consuming Battleworld. Mister Fantastic alone argues that allowing Galactus to 'win' the Beyonder's contest might cure his eternal hunger, but is overruled.
- Spider-Man appears throughout in the black alien symbiote costume first bonded to him in issue #8; this issue is one of his earliest in-continuity appearances actively using the costume's organic webbing and thought-responsive capabilities.
- The alien healer Zsaji — created by Shooter to narratively separate Colossus from his underage X-Men love interest Kitty Pryde — continues her role on Battleworld, with her connection to Colossus (Piotr Rasputin) deepening across the issue.
- The series as a whole is documented as Marvel's first company-wide crossover event; its commercial success is cited as the direct catalyst for Marvel's tradition of annual line-wide events, and reportedly prompted DC to accelerate plans for Crisis on Infinite Earths.
- The series was tied to a Mattel action-figure toyline of the same name (1984–1985); a black-costumed Spider-Man figure was among the toys produced, making the black suit's in-comic development directly tied to a major licensed merchandise push.
Cast · 40 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in Geheime Oorlogen #7 (1985), Secret Wars #18 (1985), Secret Wars #19 (1985), Secret Wars featuring: Zoids #20 (1985), Spidey #74 (1986), Edderkoppen #5/1988 (1988), Spindelmannen #5/1988 (1988), El Asombroso Hombre Araña Presenta #9 (1988), Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars #[nn] (1992), Marvel Exklusiv #9 (1998), Marvel Secret Wars #[nn] (2003), Secret Wars #[nn] (2005), Secret Wars Omnibus #[nn] (2008), Hasbro / Secret Wars #9 (2009), [Marvel Super Heroes] Secret Wars #[nn] (2011), Marvel Série I #13 (2012), Marvel Gold : Secret Wars - Les Guerres secrètes #[nn] (2013), Die offizielle Marvel-Comic-Sammlung #6 (2014), Marvel. Официальная коллекция комиксов #32 (2014), Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars: Battleworld #[2] (2015), Marvel Super Heroes - Secret Wars #[nn] (2015), Secret Wars: Kampen mot Beyonder #[nn] (2022), Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars Facsimile Edition #9 (2024), Marvel Archive Edition: Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars Gallery Edition #[nn] (2025) + 2 more
Key issues in Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars
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