The Marvel Universe is dead! There is only Secret Wars. This is Marvel’s biggest comic book event in years. To put the premise as concisely as possible, the classic Marvel Universe is colliding with the newer Ultimate Universe, and both of them will be gone. For those coming into Secret Wars fresh, the Marvel Universe is the one created by Stan Lee and artists like Jack Kirby - the foundation of . The Ultimate Universe was created in 2000, to bring in new readers and debut revamped versions of popular characters, most notably Ultimate Spider-Man.

What happens in Secret Wars will apparently lay the foundation of the Marvel Universe for years to come. I think it’s a great jumping-on point for new readers because it’s a fresh start - a huge unknown with the potential to rewrite everything. Here are ten Secret Wars books that will be essential reading as this huge event kicks off.

Secret Wars is what happens when these two fictional entities collide, leaving behind a reality unlike either of them, known as Battleworld. 33 of Marvel’s most popular comics, like Amazing Spider-Man and Avengers, will end. So what’s left?

Battleworld is a landscape made of different parts of Marvel’s history, and the setting of Secret Wars. Marvel has even of it. Different storylines from Marvel’s past literally occupy parts of this world; they describe it as a ‘patchwork planet’. Think of it like this: the 2006 comic book story, Civil War, literally occupies one nation in this immense world, co-existing with many others. It’s Marvel’s history built into one mighty realm. During Secret Wars, Marvel will tell the stories of Battleworld in a host of new comic book series, which launch across the next three months.

Ready to get started with the comics? Click on, brave traveller...

First issue release date: May 6

You’ll need to read the main book to keep track of what’s going on, of course. This is a story that writer Jonathan Hickman has been building towards ever since he started writing both and New Avengers in 2012. Secret Wars has been in the planning stages for that long; it’s anything but an improvised event.

In the first issue, out now, we see the heroes of the Marvel Universe and Ultimate Universe having a climactic showdown, bringing both of their universes to an end. Then, in the second issue, we’ll get a first proper look at the Battleworld, which sets the stage of every book launching during the event and changes the course of the Marvel universe forever.

First issue release date: May 27

The superheroes are long gone, but a much older Wolverine lives on in the Wastelands, a kind of messed-up Marvel future where villains rule. Think Unforgiven with Wolverine, because that’s basically what Old Man Logan is - a one-last-job vision of the X-Man, originally conceived for the story of the same name back in 2008 (one of the best Marvel has ever published).

Don’t worry if you’ve never read it. This sequel stands alone, and sees Wolverine attempting to bring order to this chaotic world - which is now further complicated by the events of Secret Wars, and the creation of Battleworld. Old Man Logan is intriguing because in the ‘regular’ Marvel Universe, Wolverine died last year. Is this Marvel’s way of bringing him back, via the coolest iteration of the character ever?

First issue release date: July 7

You might’ve heard the name ‘Civil War’ in recent months, given that it forms the basis of the next Captain America movie, out in 2016, which will feature Cap fighting Iron Man and will force the rest of the heroes to take sides. This Secret Wars book revisits the idea at the centre of Mark Millar and Steve McNiven’s hugely successful 2006 event book Civil War: Steve Rogers and Tony Stark divided over a matter of superheroes being forced to disclose their identities (Iron Man for, Cap against), but blows it up into a much bigger story.

In Secret Wars, instead of that fight being tidily resolved after a few brawls, this new Civil War reimagines it as a conflict that never ceased. It’s now a six-year war, where Tony Stark is president and Steve Rogers is a general, with the nation broken in two over their different ideologies - it’s taking the concept as far as it can go and sounds like one of the larger-scale Secret Wars spin-offs.

First issue release date: June 3

A few years ago, Marvel made the divisive decision to erase Peter Parker’s long-running relationship with Mary Jane Watson out of continuity. This caused a loud internet upset that’s never quite gone away. Since then, though, Marvel has published some of the best Spider-Man stories I’ve ever read - Spider Island, Superior Spider-Man, Spider-Verse, all of which are worthy of the character.

But some readers never forget, and it finally seems like that’s being addressed. In Renew Your Vows, we get to see Peter Parker not only married to Mary Jane, but with a child, too (in the comics, Peter and MJ had a child that died many years ago). It underlines the extent to which Secret Wars is allowing creators to explore every major storyline in Marvel’s history - and writer Dan Slott has promised that whatever happens here will affect the Spider-Man that emerges from Secret Wars.

First issue release date: May 20

As Secret Wars begins, the old Avengers team is gone. The book and the team no longer exists. A-Force is, for all intents and purposes, the Avengers in Secret Wars, composed of quite an eclectic mix of characters like She-Hulk, X-Men pop star Dazzler, the Inhumans’ Medusa and about a hundred others, judging by the cover. The idea was to create a team of heroes from various backgrounds and see how their personalities and methodologies fit together. At the start of the book, the A-Force will be protecting a small island called Arcadia on the outskirts of Battleworld, that’s seemingly one of the last peaceful bastions of civilisation in this landscape.

A-Force comes from writer G Willow Wilson, who created the acclaimed Ms Marvel book, and Marguerite Bennett, as well as artist Jorge Molina. It’s the first all-female Avengers team, an idea that will hopefully stick around once Secret Wars has ended.

First issue release date: June 10

For me, there’s been no better and more consistent Marvel book from the last few years than Jason Aaron’s Thor. In the Secret Wars series Thors (plural), gods of thunder from various Marvel realities team up to police Battleworld. In the line-up, you’ve got the newest, female Thor from the current Marvel books, Frog Thor, Beta-Ray Bill and my personal favourite: old king Thor, a one-armed, eyepatch-wearing eccentric who rules Asgard in the far future.

Jason Aaron equates Thors to something of a cosmic detective drama, where the group travels across the Battleworld, solving uniquely weird and shocking crimes. Given that various Thors feature prominently on the cover of Secret Wars #2, this will likely be essential reading for those following the main series. Aaron describes it as “basically me doing a cop story, but with hammers instead of guns.” Sold! There’s even going to be a Groot Thor, based on the Guardians of the Galaxy tree creature.

First issue release date: May 20

In 2000, Marvel made the radical and brilliant move of creating a brand new universe, where it could release stories featuring iconic characters without the clutter brought on by decades of continuity. The Ultimate Universe, as it is known, was a big success and titles like Ultimate Spider-Man changed the way all publishers thought about comics appealing to a broad audience.

15 years later and now with its own somewhat complex continuity, the Ultimate Universe is dying alongside its older brother. This is its last gasp, from two of its creators, Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley. What happens to the majority of its characters, like alternate versions of Captain America, or Thor, is a mystery that this book should reveal - what we do know, however, is that the newest Spider-Man, Miles Morales, will escape his dying universe and survive Secret Wars. He’s one of the stars of the All-New, All-Different Avengers roster that is coming after this event finishes - the existence of which is the only thing we know about Marvel’s post-Secret Wars universe so far.

First issue release date: June 24

In the case of a lot of these Secret Wars books, the appeal is seeing iconic Marvel characters in new, exciting situations. Age of Ultron vs Zombies is a book where I’m sold on the title alone. In this zombie thriller from brilliant veteran writer James Robinson and artist Steve Pugh, there’s a war-zone between Ultron’s part of Battleworld and the world where Marvel’s zombie population roams. Here, a pocket of mankind, including Marvel heroes like The Vision and Wonder Man, are trying to hold off both sets of enemies.

It sort of sounds like a Marvel version of horde mode from Gears of War, and it’ll feature reams of Marvel villains in undead form - the announcement alone showed off flesh-eating variants of Kingpin, Bullseye and Spidey foe Kraven The Hunter. Looks like a lot of fun.

First issue release date: June 17

It’s not just the planet that’s thriving with superpowered activity in Secret Wars. There’s a moon orbiting Battleworld: Knowhere, the giant space head world seen in detail in last year’s Guardians of the Galaxy movie. In Guardians of Knowhere, it’s the grim backdrop to a sci-fi mystery story, where Guardians Drax, Rocket Raccoon, Gamora and Angela protect those who need it in this skeezy locale. Here, they’ll face some form of mysterious new villain, who you’d expect to be a pretty rotten apple if they’re hanging out on Knowhere.

If you enjoyed last year’s Guardians of the Galaxy, this seems like a pretty good place to jump in and see what the characters are up to in comic book form.

First issue release date: May 20

One of my favourite Marvel books of the last few years was the Spidey story Spider-Verse, which threw together every version of Spider-Man ever as they fought against dimension-travelling vampires (I know that sounds ludicrous, but trust me, it was great. Comic books!). In this Secret Wars series, a bunch of the best Spideys reunite for a mostly New York-set story that’ll feature a number of Spidey villains, too, including a version of Norman Osborn that may or may not be evil.

The specifics of this story are shrouded in mystery, but it’s the potential team dynamic of this Spidey line-up that I’m excited about the most: Spider-Gwen (Gwen Stacy from an alternate universe where Peter Parker died, and a brilliant contemporary reinterpretation of the Spider-Man concept), Spider UK (Spider-Man saying British things), Spider-Man Noir, the Spider-Man of India and Spider-Ham (a pig that is also Spider-Man). If it’s anything like Spider-Verse, it’ll be a fun team-up book that reaffirms why Spider-Man is a pillar of the Marvel Universe.

Whether you'd like to wade into battle with Captain America's shield, have the acrobatic ability of Black Widow, or smash everything like the Hulk, it's possible to step into your favorite hero's shoes. But rather than expose yourself to gamma radiation or invent an invincible suit of armor, you can just play video games. The Avengers have shown up in plenty of games, allowing you to play the part of the hero. Want to become your favorite superhero? Well, I've gathered together some of the best representations of each Avengers: Age of Ultron hero in games, right here.

Captain America is the greatest soldier that ever lived. He's got the conscience of a saint, and the strength and skill to take on just about any supervillain you could throw at him. If you really want to get the feeling of what it's like to be Cap from the movies, Captain America: Super Soldier is where it's at.

In Super Soldier, you play out Cap's World War II days as he battles Red Skull and his army of technologically advanced super soldiers. I'm not going to lie, Super Soldier isn't the most polished comic book-based superhero game you'll ever play. However, it does have a strong Batman Arkham series-style combat system at work that makes battling Hydra goons a blast.

If playing the star spangled Captain isn't your jam, there's always the Avengers’ most popular member. Yes, Iron Man has had his own movie tie-in games and he has been in a few side-scrolling beat 'em ups, but none of those games make the billionaire, playboy, philanthropist timidating or fun to play than in the Marvel vs Capcom series. Tony Stark is all about the glitz and the glam, and what better way to embrace that part of the character than in a flashy, fan service-flooded fighting game.

Even if Tony Stark seems to be wearing a bulky, inflexible, robot suit, he's just as quick with face busting punches and kicks as the next super-powered fighter. Iron Man uses a ton of his signature gadgets and attacks in his moveset, from his uni-beam chest blast to shoulder missiles, but the most memorable one is definitely his Hyper move. When activated, Iron Man pulls out a massive proton cannon that fires an energy beam that covers half the screen.

If you want to be a real beefcake superhero, you want to play as Thor. The god of thunder is right up there with the most powerful heroes to ever sign up for the Avengers team. He has a hammer that only he can pick up, the power of lightning at his fingertips, and strength to rival the Hulk. But as with Iron Man, Thor's console movie tie-ins haven't been the most well received. Surprisingly, you can get the most satisfying thunder god action on the Nintendo DS.

Thor: God of Thunder on the DS is a movie tie-in game based on the Marvel movie universe, but it takes place before the events of the first Thor movie. It's a simple brawler with a thoroughly entertaining combat system, memorable boss encounters, and some pretty impressive characters and environment art. The game is a little bit retro and totally kick ass - not unlike Thor himself.

When you want to play a game as the indestructible, incredible Hulk, really all you want to do is jump over buildings and smash everything in sight. After all, "Hulk smash," is what the big green guy does. The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction lets you do that, and it's the best thing ever.

Ultimate Destruction is an open-world game that gives you free reign to explore and demolish an entire city. You can leap over tall buildings, throw cars into attacking helicopters, and weaponize ripped appart vehicles as you fight off Hulk Buster robots and the military's tanks. No other Hulk game makes you feel like a gamma ray-powered monster like Ultimate Destruction does. Even though the game came out two console generations ago, this title is still the best Hulk experience you're going to get.

Thanks to Scarlett Johansson's version of Black Widow in the Marvel movies, the Russian spy has become one of the more popular Marvel superheroes. Now we just need a game that stars the Avengers’ most dangerous secret agent. But that hasn't happened yet, and to this day Black Widow has only been a side-character or included on massive rosters like that of the Lego Marvel Super Heroes and Marvel Ultimate Alliance games.

If you want to jump in on the action as Black Widow, Lego Marvel Super Heroes does the character justice. The Lego titles give plenty of attention to every character on the hero rosters, and Black Widow is no different. In Lego Marvel Super Heroes, you have all of the neck snapping, acrobatic combat moves, high-tech gadgets, and weapons you see Black Widow use in the movies.

Like Black Widow, Hawkeye hasn't shown up in games as much more than a support or side character. Poor Hawk Guy doesn't always get all of the respect that he deserves. With his pinpoint accuracy, arsenal of you-name-it arrowheads, and quippy personality, it's a wonder why he hasn't had his own game yet. But, if you want to play as Hawkeye, you'll want to check out Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 not only lets you play as Hawkeye, you can level him up to earn skills that allow you to fire electrified, ice, and armor piercing arrows. Plus, there are four costume types to choose from. So, you can dress in outfit ranging from the classic purple costume, to the Ultimates look (which is very close to the movie costume).

If you have the hankering to fight supervillains as the entire team of Avengers, the Marvel Ultimate Alliance series is what you're looking for. You can assemble a group of superheroes from a roster of dozens of upgradeable Marvel characters with alternate costumes - including just about every character mentioned in this article. You even get an attribute bonus if your group consists of all Avenger members.

There are also classic side-scrolling brawlers such as Captain America and the Avengers which is one of the few chances you can actually choose to play as the Vision - a newly-added character in the Marvel movie universe. That's all I have for you this time true believers. Were there any other outstanding Avengers games I missed? Let me know in the comments below.