A Barfing Inhuman Was the Most Important Part of Marvel's Secret Empire Event

Just as it began, Secret Empire ended in a polarizing fashion. The real Steve Rogers returned as the Captain America we all knew and love, defeating the Hydra version of himself that plagued the Marvel-616 over the last year. A sense of normalcy was restored to the world by a repentant Kobik, the sentient Cosmic Cube who reshaped things for the worse in the first place. But while victory came as a result of heroes throwing down, it was really attained thanks to an Inhuman throwing up.

That's right, the return of Good Cap and defeat of Fascist Cap came down to the stomach of a nobody named Brian McAllister, an Inhuman who could more or less barf up anything he envisions into reality. In this case, Brian regurgitated a Cosmic Cube shard which allowed Sam Wilson, Bucky Barnes and Scott Lang to pull a quick one on Hydra-Cap, leading to his downfall in Secret Empire #10.

However, it wasn't Brian's role as a deus ex machina that made him stand out. It was his heart, altruism and love for his younger brother, Jason, that made him the keystone of Marvel's big event. His heartfelt story added emotional resonance to a story where such depth was otherwise hard to come by. Throughout the months-long epic, Brian offered a true sense of family, which was tough to establish with well-known heroes who were brutally beating each other near-death just a few months ago in Civil War II.

We were introduced to the McAllisters of Greensboro, North Carolina, in Secret Empire #1, with Jason complaining of being bullied in school. Brian comforted his brother, who simply wanted a Captain America lunchbox -- the Sam Wilson version.Of course, Hydra had recently taken over the world, and unbeknownst to either of them, one of Jason's friends sold out Brian's abilities, which led to his incarceration. As Hydra raided Brian's house, he was literally barfing up a shiny, new lunchbox. He was taken prisoner and placed in an Inhuman internment camp, which bore striking similarities to the concentration camps Nazis placed Jews in.

Brian's imprisonment and Secret Empire arc echoed a lot of what we're seeing in the United States' current political climate. Brian, a NuHuman, couldn't speak out though, as he was muzzled by a Hannibal Lecter-esque mask, nullifying his powers. His own situation was dire, but it didn't diminish how worried he was about his brother, not just due to the bullies in school, but now because the amplified xenophobia and discrimination level across the nation. A similar fate could befall Jason, he feared, a feeling that was emphasized when Brian wrote his feelings down on a piece of paper to tell another Inhuman inmate, Naja, how he felt. Brian used one word -- "SCARED!"

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In Barf, Secret Empire Offered a Genuine Human Component to a Superhero Epic

Amid the reality-warping and status quo-shaking events that Secret Empire presented, readers were able to latch on to Brian/Barf's arc as an aspect of Nick Spencer's story many could directly relate to. It was heartbreaking watching the brothers torn apart, especially as they only had each other, a noticeable change of pace from the way so many Avengers stories present the team as the family that gets torn apart in some fashion. What Spencer did here was focus on the common man and appeal to the readers' base instinct as humans. This was a case of the 'other' being apprehended, oppressed and subjugated -- common themes that minorities, females, people of color, immigrants and LGBTQ people face in the world today.

As dark and heart-breaking as it was though, Brian's story was necessary. His plight provided the event's moral compass, which A.I. Tony Stark and Sam could cling to when they found him in a prison break and realized he could produce a fragment of the Cube. It seems a bit ridiculous, but amid the cloud of terrorism hanging over the Resistance's collective head, any weapon for freedom was acceptable no matter how it came about. As he barfed up the Cosmic Cube fragment which Hydra-Cap wanted so desperately, Brian reminded the Avengers about family. This is what made them accept and forgive the real Steve Rogers when he returned so easily. There was no doubt or cynicism -- they all recognized their brother and leader-in-arms.

When the dust settled and good prevailed, Brian's story hit home even harder. The emotional connection to readers grew even stronger as we saw Brian, at the behest of a United States government free of Hydra's control, signing away his rights to sue them for the jail term he wrongfully served, simply because he wanted to go home to Jason and leave his experience behind them. When he arrived home, he experienced something that felt new and which would perhaps move things back to a "normal" way of life; his community was united and actively atoning for their discrimination and overall treatment of the family.

The day after they arrived home, Jason and Brian awoke to find the "HAIL HYDRA" message that had been spray-painted on their house was being removed, and everyone in the neighborhood was chipping in to help the brothers. It was similar to the aftermath of a natural disaster, when everyone comes together to assist each other, and what made it so perfect was that it was led by the same personnel from his school -- kids and teachers -- who had previously been proud of the Hydra way of life and who wanted Inhumans dead. While things may not have fully been set right in the world, at least here for the brothers, it's now on course to be alright.

This is an epilogue of redemption for Greensboro, and a new beginning for the McAllisters. It's a breath of fresh air, then, when Brian saw Jason playing with a Sam Wilson/Captain America action figure at the end, ironically with the same kid who had previously sold the family out. Brian bears no ill will or anger, he is merely relieved and happy that everyone is now living together in harmony once again. This punctuates the most genuine part of Spencer's entire story. The sentiment that stands out in this final panel is hope; hope that no matter who runs the government, family is always there, inspiring us and driving us as heroes to unite, stand and fight to protect everything and everyone we love, in order to change things for the better.