Marvel's Secret Empire Writer Comments On Character Death In Debut Issue

05/03/2017 05:58 pm EDT

Secret Empire #1 sees the Marvel Universe in a rather broken place, furthered by the death of a longtime favorite. Death is relative in comics, but that might not be the case here.

Spoilers incoming for Secret Empire #1, so you've been warned!

In Secret Empire #1, longtime sidekick and former Avenger Rick Jones is imprisoned for hacking into Hydra's files. After a failed attempt to get Jones to denounce his actions, he is put in front of a firing squad on live television and executed. Writer Nick Spencer took some time to address the book's shocking death with IGN, including how permanent it really is. "He's actually dead. As far as I'm concerned, he's really dead."

Spencer went back and forth on actually killing him in this story, saying "I think that it was a tough decision. I really like Rick as a character, I've had a lot of fun writing him. He's been big part of my run and I didn't know that I was going to do that when the run started. It was heartbreaking to do that to Rick."

As for if this death will stick, Spencer says "death isn't always permanent in the Marvel Universe, but I will say it's a lot more permanent for the non-super powered characters a lot of the times. It's definitely, as far as I'm concerned, Rick's final hour. It's very sad."

Before he died Rick yelled "Avengers Assemble", always believing that Steve Rogers would somehow save the day. Unfortunately for everyone involved, that doesn't seem to be the case, and Spencer says it will get much worse. "if you think that the ending is everyone smiles and says 'no hard feelings' or forgets that anything bad ever happened, that's just not the kind of story that I like to do. They really are broken. It's about what they set out to do in the face of that."

Secret Empire #1 is written by Nick Spencer with art by Steve McNiven, and you can view the full review here.

It's been building for months, across a bevy of titles! But now, the moment has arrived for Steve Rogers to step into the light and declare his allegiance to Hydra! How can the heroes of the Marvel Universe cope with this shattering betrayal by the most trusted figure among them? And what will this mean for the world? The map of the Marvel Universe changes in ways nobody will expect — TRUST THE SECRET EMPIRE!

Secret Empire #1 is in stores now.

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