Secret Wars is the first book to systematically analyze the ways powerful states covertly participate in foreign wars, showing a recurring pattern of such behavior stretching from World War I to U.S.-occupied Iraq. Investigating what governments keep secret during wars and why, Austin Carson argues that leaders maintain the secrecy of state involvement as a response to the persistent concern of limiting war. Keeping interventions “backstage” helps control escalation dynamics, insulating leaders from domestic pressures while communicating their interest in keeping a war contained. Carson shows that covert interventions can help control escalation, but they are almost always detected by other major powers. However, the shared value of limiting war can lead adversaries to keep secret the interventions they detect, as when American leaders concealed clashes with Soviet pilots during the Korean War. Escalation concerns can also cause leaders to ignore covert interventions that have become an open secret. From Nazi Germany’s role in the Spanish Civil War to American covert operations during the Vietnam War, Carson presents new insights about some of the most influential conflicts of the twentieth century. Parting the curtain on the secret side of modern war, Secret Wars provides important lessons about how rival state powers collude and compete, and the ways in which they avoid outright military confrontations.

When Latverian Prime Minister Lucia Von Bardas funds a group of supervillans as a means of wreaking terror on American soil. and the U.S. government refuses to overthrow the Latverian government, S.H.I.E.L.D's Nick Furry is forced to call upon Spider-Man, Captain America, Daredevil, Black Widow, Luke Cage, Wolverine and Daisy Johnson to help.

Starring Wolverine, Spider-Man, Daredevil, Captain America, Black Widow, Luke Cage and more! Brian Michael Bendis, the most popular and acclaimed writer in comics, reveals the darkest chapter in Marvel Universe history! When Nick Fury discovers a disturbing connection between many of Marvel's deadliest villains, he assembles a ragtag team of the MU's most misunderstood heroes for a secret mission to do what the U.S. government could never allow - eventually leading to a super-powered blowout between a who's who of NYC heroes and mutants! Featuring the American debut of the stunning, fully painted work of Italian artist Gabriele Dell'otto. Collects Secret War (2004) #1-5.

Now repackaged and updated, this ground-breaking book talks honestly about the real issues facing Christian men, including stress, unhealthy relationships, and temptation.

Collects Secret Wars 2099 #1-5. Travel to the Battleworld domain of 2099 and see the future in a whole new light. Introducing the Avengers 2099! Can the ideal of Earth's Mightiest Heroes survive in a world where megacorporations rule with an iron fist? Find out as the 2099 Avengers come face-to-face with a tremendous beast who's no stranger to the team! (You won't like him when he's angry.) Then, the Defenders of 2099 square off against the Avengers! When corporations control super heroes, what differences could have driven the Defenders to stand against Earth's Mightiest Heroes? To find out, the Avengers take on Alchemax - and Miguel Stone bears his talons for the first time! And even as Captain America discovers the truth about her own dual identity, an ancient evil appears, intent on destroying the 2099 Avengers!

Last time Earth's heroes encountered the Beyonder, they fought for their lives. This time, they fight for all existence! A year after kidnapping the most powerful beings on Earth and pitting them against one another in a "Secret War" on a distant world, the omnipotent Beyonder comes to Earth to continue his study of humanity. However, a being so powerful and so naïve is a dangerous combination. As the Beyonder's understanding slowly grows, so too do his own desires - and even the lord of lies, Mephisto, fears what the Beyonder might finally decide he desires. Because if the Beyonder decides he wants to end all that is, even the combined might of the universe's cosmic powers might not be enough to stop him! Collecting SECRET WARS II #1-9.