A preliminary stab at a Secret Empire sequence

Discuss chronologies for characters in the main "Marvel Universe"

Moderators: Col_Fury, michel, Arthur, Somebody, StrayLamb

Clive_Reston
Chronology Guru
Chronology Guru
Posts: 479
Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2015 11:42 pm

Re: SECRET EMPIRE

Post by Clive_Reston »

Pocokk wrote: Sat Dec 15, 2018 10:40 am Can you create not a panel/page based, but rather an issue based reading order? I'd really appreciate it, thank you.
So here's the thing: what you're asking for is an entirely different proposition. A chronology asks the question "in what order did the events shown here happen?" (That takes detective work and occasionally a bit of Talmudic reasoning.) A reading order asks the question "what is the most satisfying order for reading these issues?"

That's a substantially more subjective question, and it has a few conflicting principles that can lead to possible answers. Should issue A come before issue B if it starts first, chronologically? How about if issue B ends before issue A--which one comes first then?

There are also times when it's much more dramatically satisfying to read stories entirely out of chronological order. My favorite example of that is Secret Invasion: without giving anything away, there are stories in the contemporaneous issues of New Avengers and Mighty Avengers that take place long before Secret Invasion #1, and yet reading them before rather than after the first time you read the relevant issues of Secret Invasion would make the whole project a lot less fun.

(For the record, my personal preferred reading order for Secret Empire is Secret Empire 0, the Free Comic Book Day issue, Secret Empire 1-7, Captain America 25, Secret Empire 8-10 and Omega, and then whichever of the tie-ins you think you might enjoy.)
User avatar
michel
Director
Director
Posts: 3148
Joined: Tue Feb 24, 2004 1:00 pm
Location: France
Contact:

Re: A preliminary stab at a Secret Empire sequence

Post by michel »

I think there's a problem with CASR 16. Currently we have in the listings just before Secret Empire and at the beginning of Secret Empire :
CASR 15, 16 (1-19), 17-FB*
CASR 16 (27)-FB*

SECRET EMPIRE
and
SECEMP 0 (22-24:4)
SECEMP 0 (24:5) ~ CASR 16 (20) ~ U.S.A 6 (14) (hypno-Faustus)
SECEMP 0 (24:6-27)
U.S.A 6 (15)
SECEMP 0 (28-30) ~ MCM 5 (19-20)
CASR 16 (21-26), (28-30)
SECEMP 0 (31-32) (Darkforce dome starts)
CASR 16 (20) is Doctor Faustus hypnotizing SHIELD agents in their hellicarriers. But I believe it's a FF : in the pages before and after page 20, Cap is in Germany with the High Council of Hydra, Faustus just describes to him how he will hypnotize the SHIELD agents, and we see this through a FF. CASR 16 (21 - 26) and (28 - 30) can' t happen between pages 30 and 31 of SECEMP 0, Cap is aboard a hellicarrier with Sharon at this time.

As we don't use FF in the MCP, CASR 16 (21 - 30) should be a FB. In the last pages, Cap adress the Hydra soldiers, and CASR 16 (29:1 - 29:4) is also a FF showing the beginning of the attack.
User avatar
michel
Director
Director
Posts: 3148
Joined: Tue Feb 24, 2004 1:00 pm
Location: France
Contact:

Re: A preliminary stab at a Secret Empire sequence

Post by michel »

ULTS² 8-9 and 100 are placed in the lising after SECEMP 8, but the shield around Earth is still an issue in the ULTS² issues, and Quasar breaks it in SECEMP 8.
The Guardians of the Galaxy appear in ULTS² 9, they leave the Alpha Flight station after MCM 7 (and have left in SECEMP 3), then come back in MCM 8/SECEMP 8, and their arrival leads directly into the breaking of the shield, so to me ULTS² 8-9 and 100 must happen between MCM 7 and SECEMP 3, before they leave.
User avatar
StrayLamb
Director
Director
Posts: 2300
Joined: Thu Jul 30, 2015 5:42 am
Location: a sheep paddock, along the Great Eastern Highway

Re: A preliminary stab at a Secret Empire sequence

Post by StrayLamb »

michel wrote: Sun Sep 19, 2021 3:38 pmAs we don't use FF in the MCP, CASR 16 (21 - 30) should be a FB. In the last pages, Cap adress the Hydra soldiers, and CASR 16 (29:1 - 29:4) is also a FF showing the beginning of the attack.
Being easily confused, it took me a minute to realize you were referring to a flash forward, rather than the Fantastic Four. May i suggest we abbreviate it to FFWD or something similar?
Out in the Land Down-Under, beneath a rocky outcrop, deep within the back paddock, dwells the Stray Lamb.
Post Reply