The 2019 Secret Warps event by Al Ewing, Tini Howard, Ario Anindito, and Carlos Gomez is a comic book lover's dream, a fan service mash-up come to life. This fun series saw fusions of popular Marvel superheroes taking on fused villains in epic confrontations that fans had previously only dreamed about. The epitome of the fusion madness came in the form of the Hammer Supreme, a character who was a fusion of a whopping eight members of the Avengers.
The Secret Warps annuals are spin-offs from another Marvel event, Infinity Wars. The Gerry Duggan and Mike Deodato Jr. series was a giant cosmic event that included the Infinity Gems and the reality altering power they possessed. In Secret Warps, reality has been tampered with and countless characters, both good and bad, have been fused with one another. Initially, the fusions consist of two characters, but eventually a huge reality quake hits New York City and combines even more characters together into one. The multiple hero fusions are then combined into the insanely powerful Hammer Supreme.
Hammer Supreme is the total sum of Black Panther and Ghost Rider (Ghost Panther), Iron Man and Thor (Iron Hammer), Spider-Man and Moon Knight (Arachknight), and Captain America and Doctor Strange (Soldier Supreme.) The full list of powers contained within one character is insane. The godlike strength, speed, and invulnerability; the superior combat skills and intelligence; the mastery of the mystic arts and magic. This isn't even including Hammer Supreme's equipment of the Hammer Supreme Armor, the Cloak of Levitation, Eye of Agamoshtur, the hammer Mjolniron, and Spider-Man's web-shooters. Hammer Supreme is a villain's worst nightmare.
Mephisto, Cthon, Zarrko, Sise-Neg, Doctor Doom, Ego, Galactus, and The Stranger got their own fusion as well and the result was truly terrifying. This abomination was defeated before it could unleash its full power when Hammer Supreme struck it with Mjolniron which resulted in enough energy to repair the damaged Soul Gem. With the powerful gem repaired, each character was returned to their original selves.
Despite the insane stakes involved and the astronomical power levels at play, Secret Warps was a fun romp that explored the possibilities of the Marvel universe. Watching Captain America wield Thor's hammer is fun, but seeing them become one character is awesome, as is seeing Iron Man become the Sorcerer Supreme.
The creation of Hammer Supreme raises the question of what other fusions are possible within the Marvel Universe. It raises the exciting idea of one character being a composite of an entire team of heroes such as the X-Men or the Inhumans. Although Secret Warps is over, it was successful in that it brought the imaginations of many longtime comic book fans to life, even if it was only for a moment.