Deviantart Secret Wars

An omnipotent Cosmic Entity by the name of The Beyonder, chooses groups of both heroes and supervillains and teleports them against their will to a planet created by him in a distant galaxy, stocked with alien weapons, technology and mismatched parts from different worlds. He tells them to kill each other, and, to the victor, his greatest desire will be granted.

Sound familiar?

Inspired by, but not to be confused with, the original Marvel Comics publication Secret Wars.

Deviantart member Kostmeyer, started the project in December 2008, inviting artists and writers across the Deviantart community. The series officially kicked off in January 2009, and is currently ongoing, with the finale planned for mid/late 2010. The story is split into twelve parts like the original, each one starting off with a special intro by Kostmeyer, setting the stage for the events to transpire and guidelines to follow for all artists involved.

The plot starts off identical to the original Marvel version, with heroes and villains getting plucked from different dimensions and placed on opposing sides by the Beyonder. From then on, however, it becomes more apparent that it's not a retelling, as each and every character follows their own agenda, making for an original storyline filled to the brim with sub-plots.


 * America Saves the Day: Subverted as The Canadian leads the heroes.
 * Asskicking Equals Authority: Zerkov assumes leadership of the villains this way. See Enemy Civil War below.
 * Backstory: Every single Character has a Backstory. Some of them even revealed in the comic.
 * Badass Army:
 * Shas' troops
 * Ritualist's Alien Army
 * Battle Cry:
 * Jeanne Nocture; "AHHH-CHUCK-AHHH-NORRIS"
 * Banana; "VENDETTA!!"
 * Battle in the Rain:
 * New heroes battling the flame clones when Pippin's rain dance proves successful
 * Beat Panel
 * Used here
 * During this sequence when GLOB saw a demonic-looking character (Impfrit)
 * Beast and Beauty:
 * Rad-Nok and Whisper; Though they're both villains, some parts of this concept still applies to them. Rad-Nok is a murderous and berserk cyborg monster yet when around Whisper he's different and surprisingly even calm. Whisper is gorgeous and intelligent but also obviously not to be messed with. Her telepathic abilities allowed her to "eavesdrop" on Rad-Nok's tender thoughts toward her and she does not seem to mind. It is possible she may also have feelings for Rad-Nok...
 * Ritualist and Limi. 'Nuff said.
 * Bonus Material:
 * Pretty much all the extra stuff the artists involved draw when they aren't drawing pages for the latest chapter!
 * Brought Down to Normal:
 * Chest Insignia:
 * Angel
 * The Canadian
 * Ectogirl
 * Gadget Imp
 * GLOB
 * Jamaican Spider
 * Lord Worm
 * Stunboy
 * Virtus
 * Clothing Damage: several characters endure this trope, including...
 * Virtus
 * Janie Steed
 * Mime
 * Joe Hero
 * Empty Suit
 * Jamaican Spider
 * The Philosopher
 * Combat Pragmatist: Suit shoots Dr. Ignatious' flame minions. Unfortunately, Guns Are Useless against them.
 * Cool Sword: Quite a few characters carry them:
 * Aella
 * Banana (see Katanas Are Just Better)
 * Eve
 * GLOB (when he changes into a crusader knight)
 * Shiniku
 * Silver Titan (a BFS in anyone else's hands. And no, he's not compensating for anything)
 * Steppenwolf
 * Wingstream if you count his Jet Pack`s Deatachable Wings
 * Yenna (a Laser Blade, no less)
 * Crisis Crossover: Just look at it!
 * Curb Stomp Battle:
 * Chapter eight:
 * Dark Is Evil:
 * 105e
 * Dave
 * Hunter
 * Kind-Eyed Father
 * Mr. X
 * Whisper
 * Zerkov
 * Professor Haze
 * Dark Is Not Evil:
 * Angel
 * Banana
 * Charybdis
 * Dr. Destiny (first costume)
 * Ectogirl
 * Joe Hero
 * The Philosopher
 * Ripley
 * Although it's said that she has androgynistic tendencies.
 * Steve
 * Stunboy
 * Virtus
 * Wingstream
 * Dead Person Impersonation:
 * Death From Above
 * Played straight in Chapter 9 with Shas dropping a satellite on Dr. Ignatious' head at the end of the attack on his arctic fortress.
 * Disney Villain Death:
 * Dreaming of Things to Come
 * GLOB has a prophetic nightmare that shows him the terrible fate that awaits the new heroes if they are to attack the villains...
 * Enemy Civil War: The villains did have an all-out brawl in the beginning of this story and even after they united, they are still conspiring against each other.
 * Face Heel Turn:
 * Fastball Special: Joe Hero and Suit use this tactic against Chompa.
 * Silver Titan does this with Ritualist during the final battle.
 * For Great Justice: Pretty much most if not all of the heroes
 * Game Breaker: In-Universe example. Adrian Axiom's power stealing gun almost becomes this.
 * The Philosopher's Stone (Not that stone).
 * Plague.
 * Gladiator Games: Starts off in Chapter Nine, with the Canadian, Banana, Mime, and Empty Suit fighting against the giant Chompa.
 * Gondor Calls for Aid:
 * Groin Attack: Wren pulls one on one of Crowe's mooks... with a mini ROCKET LAUNCHER.
 * Angel gives Aqualung a well-deserved knee to the junk.
 * Four Lines, All Waiting: With this many characters in one story, there isn't much of a choice.
 * Heroic Sacrifice:
 * Wingstream near the end of Dr. Ignatious base destruction, however his bracelet reveals something else. It is Revealed in Ch. 10 that he survived. More so in Ch. 11 is truly revealed that a hole made by Lord Wormm`s Summoned Alien worms was responsible for Wing`s survival, later on he found a Cool Bike Cool Plane to escape the mountain
 * Heel Face Turn:
 * Humiliation Conga: Adrian Axiom's authority over the other villains was always tentative at best, but it all went downhill at the beginning of Chapter 9.  Sucks to be Adrian.
 * I Have You Now, My Pretty: Aqualung has a really bad habit of this.
 * Improbable Hairstyle: Most of the characters with hair are subject to this trope...
 * Incredibly Lame Pun
 * Death loves these
 * Interspecies Romance:
 * Ritualist and Limi (human/catgirl)
 * Rad-Nok and Whisper (cyborg imp/demonic human)
 * Virtus and Yenna (human/half-elf)
 * Just Friends:
 * GLOB and Yenna; They have been getting along well as friends so far. They have each other's backs in battle and have frequent and friendly chats. Since Yenna is obviously romantically interested in Virtus, it is safe to say that GLOB and Yenna are just good friends...or is it?
 * Katanas Are Just Better: Banana has one.
 * Killed Off for Real:
 * Loads and Loads of Characters: And HOW! A character sheet is in the works for this article.
 * Loud of War: Suit's method of subduing Chompa? Screaming at the top of his lungs. Right in Chompa's ear. Also counts as a Most Annoying Sound.
 * Love At First Sight:
 * Jeanne when see shes Pippin
 * Rad-Nok when he sees Whisper
 * Aella spotting Virtus
 * Love Triangle:
 * Virtus, Yenna, and Aella
 * Massive Multiplayer Crossover
 * Mirror Match: At the Chaos Realm, Wingstream vs Nega Wingstream
 * No One Could Survive That:
 * Ignatious gets blown away by a falling satellite in chapter 9...
 * Oh Crap: There are many moments like this, the most recent being
 * Redshirt Army:
 * Ignatius' clone army
 * Say My Name:
 * Champion; "SCARAB!"
 * Steve in chapter 8: "ZER-KOV!", when fighting, you guessed it, Zerkov.
 * Shout-Out: The original Secret Wars, obviously.
 * Virtus' short-lived dual-symbiote costume is both a shout-out to Spider-Man's.
 * "Shut Up" Kiss
 * Yenna shuts up Virtus and tells him to kiss her already.
 * Supervillain Lair:
 * The Villain Base itself, also they have more Mad Scientist Laboratory than everything else
 * The Flame-Clone Factory of Professor Ignatius is a Mad Scientist Laboratory itself
 * Foundry of Greater Aether is an alternate realm where Professor Haze keeps his laboratory "The entire realm is basically his laboratory". Only Haze can open a portal to his constructed realm of perfection. Inside the realm lurk his massive army of horrors, abominations, and many other pieces of his work and research.
 * The Flame-Clone Factory of Professor Ignatius is a Mad Scientist Laboratory itself
 * Foundry of Greater Aether is an alternate realm where Professor Haze keeps his laboratory "The entire realm is basically his laboratory". Only Haze can open a portal to his constructed realm of perfection. Inside the realm lurk his massive army of horrors, abominations, and many other pieces of his work and research.


 * Swamps Are Evil: Subverted, since the swamp where the second wave of heroes arrived only became evil
 * Swiss Army Gun: Super Zero owns one of these.
 * The Cavalry:
 * Shas and his soldiers aiding the new heroes against Dr. Ignatius' flame clone army
 * The Coats Are Off:
 * Banana, when he first fights Slaughter Gray.
 * Janie Steed, due to her ice powers resulting in inevitable Clothing Damage.
 * Suit loses his among the cacti.
 * There Is No Kill Like Overkill:
 * Shas' satellite strike in Chapter 9, also ending with a No One Could Survive That.
 * The Voice:
 * GLOB; sometimes he hears a frightening voice in his head that tells him to do horrible things like to kill brutally or to abandon innocents, or other bad things. GLOB usually wins in ignoring the Voice but on rare occasion has obeyed its orders to kill. He is unsure what this voice is but knows it must be a creature of malice.
 * Kind-Eyed Father; like GLOB, he too hears a voice in his head. Unlike GLOB, he has heard this voice his whole life and has obeyed and served this voice believing it to be God. It is unknown as to what this voice is but it would be scary if it really IS God.
 * When Trees Attack: Normal Trees and cacti start to attack heros
 * Underestimating Badassery:
 * Bait; Just a kid in a hoodie but watch out! He has some tricks up his sleeves...
 * Grifter; Just an old homeless guy? Wrong. Being able to pull anything out of his pockets, Grifter can be more formidable than he looks.
 * Kid; A weirdly-dressed kid with a killer instinct when bad memories come up!
 * Steve; Another kid in a hoodie, right? Wrong! He's got spirit guardians under his command and ready to fight for him.
 * Stunboy; though he just looks like a kid dressed like a superhero, he's really a god and kicks ass when the occasion calls for it!
 * Whit; he looks like any other bum but Whit can put up a good fight when the need calls for it and he even has powers!
 * Unwanted Harem:
 * Tilia with a male harem including Wingstream, Bob the Heavy Trooper, Philosopher, and Lord Worm (maybe).
 * Virtus with a harem including Yenna, Aella, and Angel
 * What Could Have Been: Several different heroes or villains have been unable to submit any entries to further their own plot ideas, with said characters being Put on a Bus.

Following Character Types can be found:

 * Accidental Pervert:
 * GLOB; He's not a pervert (in fact he's chivalrous and respectful to women) but for some reason he has accidentally been one in the Secret Wars! He bumped into 9-foot tall Ripley...from behind! And when trying to keep Yenna from killing Aella, he holds her back but also unintentionally holds her breasts. It seems he never gets a break in any situation!
 * All Girls Want Bad Boys: Subverted by Virtus (see the Chick Magnet entry below) who is as far from bad as one can be.
 * An Ice Person: Janie Steed
 * Beastess: Limi can be considered as one
 * Badass Beard:
 * For the Heroes, there's Whit.
 * The Philosopher, but first shown in Chapter 8.
 * Virtus has one too beneath the mask.
 * The Villians have Mr. X.
 * Aqualung counts as well.
 * Badass Grandpa:
 * The Philosopher
 * Though you can discuss this, since he decided to make his face older and still has a young body.
 * Badass in a Nice Suit / Sharp-Dressed Man
 * The Empty Suit
 * Johnathan Steero
 * Lot Tiergan
 * Adrian Axiom
 * Super Zero
 * Badass Normal:
 * Kamal who is a well trained soldier without any superhuman powers.
 * The Mime who is a superior martial artist but is not as superstrong as some of the other Heros.
 * Although she does possess a form of telepathy.
 * Super Zero; he doesn't have any real superpowers, but is skillful boxer and owns a gun that can use anything as ammo.
 * Lot Tiergan; Though he can hold his own at close quarters combat and is an ace with a gun, he's still human.
 * Badass Longcoat
 * Banana
 * Lot Tiergan
 * Grifter
 * Psycho
 * Aqualung
 * Tilia
 * Badass Mustache: Shas, just Shas.
 * Bald of Awesome:
 * Steve
 * Firearm (counts as Bald of Evil as well).
 * Beast Man:
 * Whatchamacallit
 * Jamaican Spider seems to fit this trope during Chapter 6.
 * Drop Bear
 * Berserk Button:
 * Never EVER mess with Suit's... suit.
 * Impfrit's wrath is demonic if you say anything that makes him feel you either fear, mistrust, or hate demons. Also if you make nicknames like Hell Boy.
 * If you value your life, don't even SPEAK of harming dragons in front of Yenna.
 * Big Eater: Virtus, who gets hungry after a few hours after eating all over again.
 * Big Ol' Eyebrows: Super Zero
 * Blessed with Suck:
 * Boston, whose powers will kill him without the red bands, or if he overheats in battle.
 * Blond Guys Are Evil:
 * Steero
 * Blitz
 * Boisterous Bruiser: several
 * Banana
 * Tropical Thunder
 * For the villains, there's Zerkov
 * Bottle Fairy: Janie Steed qualifies, as she's transported to Battle World with drink still in hand.
 * Cartoony Eyes:
 * Super Zero
 * Due to the fact this is a collaborative project with many artists with different styles, and no one is restricted to drawing their own character, anybody can get these.
 * Celibate Hero:
 * Canadian
 * GLOB
 * Shaktu
 * Shaz
 * Silver Titan
 * Super Zero
 * Chick Magnet: Virtus. He and Angel were once an item long before the war started. (Still are, to some level, due to his polyamorous nature) Yenna and Aella are drawn to his 'good guy charm' as well, sparking a love triangle to fuel their cat fights amongst one another.
 * Civvie Spandex: basically anyone who wears regular clothes, including...
 * Empty Suit (the Coat, Hat, Mask variety minus the mask)
 * Janie Steed, though she wears her Leotard of Power under her pantsuit.
 * Whit qualifies as well
 * Combat Medic:
 * Eve is an alien, Vangonite to be precise, with the ability to heal others and herself and is very good with her sword.
 * Jasmine can use her powers to heal others if she focuses on it.
 * GLOB can use his blood to heal others' wounds with one drop (he uses a canteen full of it to do so).
 * Corrupt Corporate Executive:
 * Adrian Axiom
 * Johnathan Steero
 * Crazy Homeless People: Aqualung plays this one straight. Whit subverts it.
 * Creepy Child: Suzanna, just Suzanna
 * Cute Little Fangs:
 * Jeanne Nocturne
 * Cyber Cyclops:
 * Jovan
 * Dark Action Girl:
 * Fem Plague
 * Ivory
 * Jigsaw Jill
 * Limi
 * Raggedy Annie
 * Scarlet
 * Valdera
 * Did I Just Say That Out Loud??: Most of Chapter 7 for Jester.
 * Dirty Old Man:Inverted; While the Philosopher is quite old (last clocked in at 1000 years), he is relatively handsome and doesn't personally chase after women. They actually come to him. According to the storyline, he's at least had three straight meetings with three other females (Tilia, Aella, and Ectogirl)
 * Played totally straight with Aqualung
 * Damsel in Distress:
 * Vigil; Captured and tortured by the most powerful villains, even Vigil needs rescuing at this point!
 * Tilia; Though not helpless and can fight well, she seems to be in so much trouble in battle that every now and then she needs a helping hand.
 * Dumb Muscle: Chompa
 * Elmuh Fudd Syndwome
 * Pwofessuh Poison
 * Eighties Hair: Boston, just Boston.
 * Embarrassing Nickname:.
 * Expressive Mask: Virtus.
 * Even Evil Has Loved Ones:
 * Firearm
 * Evil Redhead:
 * Ubus Mellus
 * Scarlet
 * Face of a Thug: Super Zero
 * Feather Fingers: Wren
 * First-Person Smartass: Suit
 * Five-Man Band:
 * Steve manages to achieve it all by himself. Kinda.
 * The Hero: Steve
 * The Lancer: Lobo
 * The Smart Guy: Vamp
 * The Big Guy: Viktor
 * The Chick: Tamis
 * Sixth Ranger:
 * Four-Temperament Ensemble: Suit is Sanguine, Banana is Choleric, Mime is Melancholic and Canadian is Phlegmatic.
 * General Failure: Adrian Axiom. Nothing seems to go right since he took command of the villains.
 * Genius Bruiser: I know there's some of these around.
 * Boston; due to his obsession with reading books, it's assumed that he is very knowledgeable.
 * Watchamacallit; though he seems brutish and tends to talk more with his fists, he was a scientist so he may be more intelligent than others may think
 * The Mime; While her martial arts skills are beyond master level, she is also a sharp detective with telepathic abilities.
 * Gentle Giant:
 * Silver Titan; he's usually quiet (out of shyness) but is quick to help his new allies.
 * Green-Skinned Space Babe:
 * Charybdis
 * Guns Akimbo:
 * Blaze
 * Gun Slinger:
 * Jeanne Nocturne, is running around with a couple of firearms.
 * Blaze; Thanks to her super-fast reflexes she can shoot pretty fast.
 * Handsome Lech:
 * Ritualist, though he achieves Chivalrous Pervert status later on.
 * Heaven Seeker:
 * GLOB
 * Heroic Sociopath:
 * Banana, big time.
 * Homeless Hero:
 * Grifter
 * Whit
 * Hot Amazon: Aella Amazon, of course
 * Hot Chick with a Sword:
 * Aella Amazon
 * Yenna Dragona fits this trope to some points too.
 * Eve qualifies as well
 * I Know Madden Kombat: Wingstream plays this straight with his soccer inspired fighting style then is upgraded with his Quarterblast form which is inspired in american football
 * Innocent Fanservice Girl: Ectogirl shows signs of this (she is first seen in a long t-shirt and fuzzy slippers); considering she's a ghost.
 * In the Hood:
 * GLOB
 * Dr. Destiny
 * The Plaguebringers
 * Jack of All Trades:
 * John Vaugner shows great flexibility in the usage of his powers (all the way from telekinesis, to power beams, to heat vision), but doesn't show mastery in any certain one (though he may use some more than others). He's a balanced character, through and through.
 * Killer Rabbit: Professor Poison, even though he's actually a teddy bear, fits the trope nicely.
 * Go Cat counts as well.
 * Knight in Shining Armor:
 * GLOB; Noble to his allies, always helpful to those in danger, and willing to fight for good, GLOB fits well for this role.
 * Lady of War:
 * The Mime is a great example for this trope. She is very elegant and collected.
 * Lantern Jaw of Justice:
 * Super Zero owns quite impressive one.
 * Lego Genetics:
 * Boston
 * GLOB
 * Whatchamacallit
 * Lightning Bruiser
 * Virtus
 * Blitz
 * Stunboy
 * Mime counts as well
 * Making a Splash: Charybdis is a hydrokinetic.
 * Meaningful Name: Wingstream Quarterblast
 * McNinja: Blitz
 * Monster Clown: Dave
 * Muck Monster: The White Trash Heap
 * Nice Hat
 * The Empty Suit is never without his fedora.
 * The Mime has her beret
 * John Vaugner is almost always seen with his green, military-style hat.
 * Shas wears an impressive (albeit oversized) beret that would make Che Guevara jealous.
 * Wingstream uses his Baseball cap as his Transformation Trinket: and double functions as his Uniform`s helmet
 * Order Versus Chaos:
 * The villain Ubus Mellus acts as a self-proclaimed "Champion of Chaos" in the war against Order.
 * Also, The Jester believes himself to be a "catalyst of chaos," for the purpose of "advancing the plot."
 * Plant Person: The Banana; even though he's neither green nor a tree.
 * Playing with Fire:
 * Tilia can because its an inherit ability in elves.
 * Powered Armor:
 * Gadget imp and
 * Power Glows:
 * GLOB
 * Victor
 * Rain Dance: Pippin does one of these, resulting in a Battle in the Rain.
 * Scarf of Asskicking:
 * The Philosopher gets one in Chapter 8.
 * Lot Tiergan has one, too.
 * Sinister Minister: Kind-Eyed Father
 * Sleeves Are for Wimps:
 * Zerkov
 * Boston
 * Limi
 * Yenna
 * Smoking Is Cool:
 * Super Zero; He "smokes" a Chocolate cigar all the time.
 * The Banana
 * Janie Steed
 * Ritualist
 * Lot Tiergan
 * Firearm
 * Spikes of Villainy: Zerkov, just Zerkov
 * Story-Breaker Power: Plague. When he absorbs the powers of a HORSEMAN OF THE APOCOLYPSE, he's reached beyond this point. Whenever Plague appears, continuity breaks down
 * Strange Girl:
 * Jasmine Malik
 * Super Senses:
 * Ritualist has an enhanced sense of smell, despite losing his sense of sight.
 * Super Mode: Once Again Wingstream gets this by assuming his Quarterblast Form, also Virtus regains his symbont powers,
 * Squishy Wizard:
 * Jasmine is physically very weak also rarely in the condition to communicate. Her psychic powers on the other hand are rather strong.
 * Subverted; The Philosopher has been thrown, set on fire, blasted with eye beams, and has yet to retain any real damage.
 * The Dragon:
 * Symbiotic Psycho
 * The Faceless:
 * Boogeyman
 * Blitz
 * Canadian
 * Colonel Blizzard
 * Empty Suit (invisible, can be considered The Blank)
 * Hunter
 * GLOB
 * Jester
 * Raggedy Annie
 * Ritualist
 * Shaktu
 * Virtus
 * The Fair Folk: Subverted, as the two resident elves Yenna and Tilia are genuinely nice persons.
 * Yenna's a half-elf, but still.
 * The Jester: Obviously, the Jester.
 * The Mole: It is revealed that the Jester had became this in Chapter 10.
 * Supporting Leader:
 * GLOB
 * The Starscream: Several, but Adrian Axiom is the most upfront when it comes to undermining Zerkov's leadership.
 * The Team Normal:
 * Subverted; Team Normal, which consisted of Bait, Kid, and Steve, teamed up because the three seemed like normal tagalong kids,
 * Terrible Trio:
 * Tick Tock and his Clock Troopers
 * Ubus Mellus and his Uber Mels
 * Those Wacky Nazis: Blitz
 * Useless Superpowers:
 * The Empty Suit: He's invisible, but he never takes off his suit, which kinda defeats the point.
 * He's basically Cursed with Awesome, only he doesn't realize the awesome.
 * Vain Sorceress:
 * Ivory (except she's not old)
 * Whisper
 * Violent Glaswegian: Janie Steed and The Philosopher seem to avert this trope. Though both are Scots who've seen their share of combat, they're not nearly as rowdy as the trope implies.
 * Voluntary Shapeshifting
 * GLOB; he usually changes body parts into different things like chainsaws, fly-swatters, and other weapons. He can also change his form entirely if he wishes to.
 * Lord Worm; skilled shapeshifter who has more of a stretchy style.
 * Warrior Poet: The Philosopher fits this, being a proud Scotsman and quoting famous tacticians and thinkers.
 * Weak but Skilled: There are a few of them.
 * The Empty Suit; though it's never said he has any other ability than shooting his pistols and Good Old Fisticuffs one can assume that he gained some experience in his job.
 * Redd Rocket; since beside the over average agility and healing powers her biggest "strength" is her superior intelligence the gadgets she use.
 * Grifter; even though he can stand a fight he wouldn't stand a chance against the real bad guys. On the other side he has a lot of life-experience and has the ability to pull out all kind of stuff from his pockets.