Secret Wars (2015 comic book)

Secret Wars (2015 comic book) is a Marvel Comics crossover event that ran from May 2015 to January 2016. Written by Jonathan Hickman with art by Esad Ribic, it served as the culmination of storylines Hickman had been developing in Avengers and New Avengers since 2012's Marvel NOW! relaunch.

The story centers around the collapse of the Marvel Multiverse due to incursions, where alternate Earths collide with each other, leading to their mutual destruction. To prevent the total annihilation of reality, Doctor Doom, with the help of Molecule Man and Doctor Strange, steals the power of the Beyonders, godlike beings responsible for the incursions.

Doom uses this power to create Battleworld, a patchwork planet comprised of fragments of various destroyed realities, ruled over by himself as God Emperor Doom. Each region of Battleworld is a dominion based on a different alternate Marvel reality, often with drastically different versions of established characters and events.

The remnants of Earth-616 (the main Marvel Universe) and Earth-1610 (the Ultimate Universe) survive the destruction in life rafts built by Reed Richards and other scientists. These survivors eventually emerge on Battleworld and confront Doom, leading to a final confrontation that reshapes the Marvel Universe.

The event resulted in the merging of various aspects of different realities into a new, streamlined Prime Earth. The immediate aftermath of Secret Wars was the "All-New, All-Different Marvel" relaunch, which featured new teams, titles, and status quo changes reflecting the altered landscape of the Marvel Universe. The event is notable for its scope, its impact on the Marvel Universe's continuity, and its portrayal of Doctor Doom as a powerful, albeit flawed, savior figure.