Posted in: Comics, Marvel Comics | Tagged: marvel, reckoning war

What Is Marvel's Reckoning War About Anyway? Go Back To 2005 And 1964

Today sees the official launch of the Reckoning War, with Fantastic Four: The Reckoning War Alpha which Dan Slott has been teasing for over a decade-and-a-half. Initially seen as some future-set main event, he tried to get it going at She-Hulk, and a few times since. At one point, he seemed to have given up on it, but now it's all over Fantastic Four, and kicked off in the Empyre crossover event he co-wrote in 2020.

With Cotati sporting weapons from The First Race, long before the current gods of the Marvel Universe. And now we see such weapons being handed over to the Badoon.

Teased a number of times in recent Fantastic Four with the Time Variance Authority.

Who also appear in today's Fantastic Four: The Reckoning War Alpha #1.

Because She-Hulk has met them before, seventeen years ago, our time.

But only two years from their perspective. Man a lot has happened in those two years. In She-Hulk #3 back in 2005, we discovered, from the Time Variance Authority, that actions already taken by She-Hulk would lead to The Reckoning War.

The Reckoning War would devastate not only the Earth but the whole cosmos, would target The Watchers, who would break their vow of non-interference.

That this was a bad thing. That this was all She-Hulk's fault, and emanated from something she had done in the first year that Dan Slott wrote her.

With a repeated phrase, "there shall be a reckoning" or "there will be a reckoning".

Gauntlet inspires Southpaw to reform, and become a superhero, while his daughter Kid Glove acts as her sidekick. Gauntlet and Southpaw also popped up in Iron Man 2020 written by Dan Slott, with Arron Stark believing in an imminent cosmic threat. And today as the TVA finally catch up with their previous appearances (and Jack Of Hearts who appeared at the end of She-JHulk #1 now part of her coterie)

… we start to get an explanation, though it seems a familiar one to classic Marvel readers of old. With the origin of The Watchers… and technology being thrown around by the Reckoning.

Unidentified folk have been giving alien races more powerful weapons using Watcher technology from the First War. The first War? Well, that was a long time ago. When the Watchers were literally Luminous.

Which is a modern retelling of the original story from Tales Of Suspense #53  by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Paul Reinman and Art Simek.

Although it is "gifts" rather than the specific "nuclear energy" from the original. Well, that was the sixties, everything was radioactive.

The same planet though, Proscilious.

And the same results as before – at least initially.

But rather than continent to continent, in the new version told today, it goes far beyond Proscilious.

And they get the name, The Reckoning. With The Watchers forced to act.

In the original it is kept just to their planet and the Watchers are held to account by the Proscilians.

This is, of course, the same origins as were given to the Time Lords in 1979 in Doctor Who, who gave the Minyans the power of advanced technology, including regeneration, only for them to destroy themselves in nuclear war, and giving them the Time Lords the philosophy of "non-interference" that the Doctor rebelled against. And so the Watchers make their vow of non-interference. This time though, the threat of the Proscilians, The Reckoning, is put on pause…

And The Reckoning War seems to indicate that they have escaped that barrier. Which is what leads the Watchers to break that vow…

There shall come… a reckoning!

FANTASTIC FOUR RECKONING WAR ALPHA #1
MARVEL COMICS
AUG218316
(W) Dan Slott (A) Carlos Magno (A/CA) Carlos Pacheco
FIFTEEN YEARS IN THE MAKING – AND IT ALL KICKS OFF HERE!
In a time before the Kree, Skrull or Shi'ar Empires. Before the emergence of Galactus. Before the birth of Asgard.
There was the First War. The greatest war to ever rage across the Multiverse.
Today, it is reignited. This is the Day of Reckoning.
And all that stands between all of reality and revenge from the dawn of time are the heroes of Earth, the Fantastic Four and the mind of Mister Fantastic.
Starring the FF, She-Hulk, Jack of Hearts, the Unseen, the Silver Surfer and everyone in the whole damn Marvel Universe.
Rated T+In Shops: Feb 02, 2022 SRP: $4.99

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