8 Reasons Why Secret Empire Didn't Work
7. It Didn't Know What Kind Of Story To Be
A political thriller? A superhero slugfest? A quest? Just why couldn't it stick to one story structure?
Throughout the series, Secret Empire went through a number of different structural directions, as though it couldn't really decide what kind of story it was from the get-go.
Initially starting out like a summer blockbuster, then becoming more of a political thriller, then becoming a quest story - at times humorous, at times dire and serious - and ending on a superhero slugfest, Secret Empire switched tracks and beats as quick as its issues were released.
It felt like it could never decide how to tell its own story, or perhaps more accurately Spencer or Marvel were unsure how it should go.
This was exacerbated by extending the series past it's already long nine-issues to an extra tenth issue, the constant adding or changing up of artists throughout, and a frankly ludicrous amount of tie-ins and spin offs in other titles, some of which actually (and annoyingly) held important plot points you'd really be better off obtaining from the main story.
In the end, Secret Empire just felt like a mess of ideas, too big for its creators to control, and winding up thrashing all over the place.