Marvel revealed the details of their upcoming Secret Wars event today, simultaneously kind of announcing the end of the Marvel Universe. I guess it all depends on what you want to read into Marvel’s marketing dialogue. Personally, I’m in a wait and see kind of mood, but the rest of the comic book Internet media is pretty convinced this is a reboot and will mark the end of the Marvel Universe as we know it. Those are definitely some major headlines.

What we know is that Secret Wars will see a clash between the regular 616 Marvel Universe, the Ultimate Universe and a bunch of other alternate realities. They will combine into Battleworld, and will mostly likely get into a bunch of fights with each other, this being Secret Wars, after all.

Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso said, “Once we hit Secret Wars #1, there is no Marvel Universe, Ultimate Universe, or any other. It’s all Battleworld.”

Beta Ray Bill had better survive

Alonso and company went on to say that at the end of Secret Wars, we’ll have a new, re-shaped Marvel Universe. I guess the idea is that the 616 Universe, the Ultimate Universe, and bits and pieces of the other alternate universes will all combine into a new, singular universe that will be christened All-New Marvel.

Is it a reboot? We don’t know yet. Marvel were quick to point out that all of the characters’ histories remain in tact. Secret Wars is a story moving forward, so everything we already know happened, then Secret Wars happened, then things changed into All-New Marvel. Secret Wars isn’t going to wipe out or rewrite the past, just the future. That sounds like a weak Band-Aid to me, but it’s the sort of Band-Aid a company like Marvel is going to try and use to appease fans. Personally, I’ve grown past the point of getting freaked out over every little change. I’m more interested in the basic idea that Marvel keeps putting out quality comics.

Which means I’m just going to wait and see what Marvel produces in the Fall. Will it be a blank slate reboot? Maybe. Or will it be business as usual, but with a few random characters crammed in, like Miles Morales in 616? Maybe that too.

Something has to happen to him…

I’m more excited than anything else. Marvel is putting out great comics these days, and there’s no reason why my favorite books, like Ms. Marvel or Silver Surfer, can’t just continue in this All-New Marvel. So until the company announces a weak-ass New 52-style destruction of all my favorite comics, I’m just going to coast along and hope for the best. There’s probably very little that will ever get me to stop reading comics.

But I will take it personally if they put the New 52 whammy on Kamala Khan!

What do you henchies think? Are we going to get a full reboot? Is this Marvel’s secret way of making their comic universe more like the movie universe? Are you going to stop reading Marvel forever? Let us know in the comments!

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