...All She Desires!

There were so many characters who were participants in the first Secret Wars series of the early 1980s--and yet, in the midst of the mob, there was the Enchantress, who seemed at loose ends in this environment of senseless conflict. Only at its end would the Enchantress understand what the Beyonder was and why he brought a diverse number of super-beings to a distant, hastily-assembled world and established them in two camps which would engage in brutal battle; but until that time, she would "go with the flow," so to speak, appearing on the battlefield with her fellow villains as they fought their heroic enemies and, in lax moments, biding her time.

But as we know, the Enchantress, an Asgardian goddess who plays her own games of manipulation and deceit, doesn't tarry long when it comes to scheming her way to making certain she controls a given situation, either directly or by the use of a pawn to do her bidding, with or without their realizing it. Yet there are too many players on what would become known as "Battleworld," and all striving to meet the Beyonder's terms for victory: "Slay your enemies and all you desire shall be yours!" And there is no chance or means for her to affect the Beyonder himself, so enormously powerful and completely *ahem* beyond her reach.

So what options are left to her? In the scenes which follow, that's a question we'll explore as this goddess, in the company of a host of villains, nevertheless finds herself isolated and uncertain as to how to gain leverage for herself in the overwhelming shadow of the Beyonder.



Writer Jim Shooter has a great many characters and personalities to juggle throughout this series, so it's surprising that the Enchantress receives as much panel time as she does and still winds up not taking a more assertive role for herself. Instead, while she's featured in some noteworthy scenes insofar as maintaining her character as Shooter sees it, her role in the entire series appears to be that of an amused and at times slightly bored observer who, like the reader, must probably be wondering why the hell she's been brought here.

It doesn't speak well of the contribution she'll make to the series when, in the very first engagement between the two warring sides, the Enchantress is among those captured and incarcerated by the heroes--a result you wouldn't have expected of this classic foe whose mettle has been proven against the Avengers more than once. (Indeed, from the arrogant words she dispenses, she seems to feel the same.)

Her time as a prisoner leads to the only real pivotal scene which Shooter provides for the Enchantress, as Thor frees her so that the two of them might deliberate on their situation as the only gods present. Such a meeting on their own, with neither of them even thinking of including any of the other mortals, offers the potential for some interesting dialogue from such characters, as well as a new perspective on this "contest" which dangles a prize that might be meaningless to immortals. For instance, as gods, how do they feel about a being that operates on a level far superior to even their own--or Odin's, for that matter? Should they try to handle this situation on their own? Even as gods, what action can they take? Could they combine their powers to transport everyone back to Earth? (Assuming Thor, who's accomplished similar feats before, can't do it on his own--has it even occurred to him?)

So as a lead-in, Thor's words in the following scene are intriguing, to say the least.

Yet when they meet, a conversation which promises "things of which only gods may speak, and which only gods can understand" instead is diverted almost immediately by the Enchantress to discuss her attraction to Thor, and the possibility of love between them. It's no wonder the scene is so brief, since elsewhere Dr. Doom and the other villains have launched an all-out assault on the heroes' base--which part would you want to spend your time reading?

As shock waves reach their location that indicate disaster has struck, the Enchantress returns the two of them to the base, where they materialize in the midst of Doom and his cronies standing in the rubble of the now-destroyed complex. With Thor surrounded, it's a chance for the Enchantress to prove that the feelings she expressed to Thor weren't just words--but though she has neither the need nor the obligation to ally herself with either group, Shooter nevertheless establishes loyalties for her which don't really exist.

What follows is a battle which plays out on a larger scale than what we saw in the Secret Wars version; but suffice to say that it ends with Thor's presumed death, and status quo for the Enchantress.

Still declining to actively take part in the war, that leaves the Enchantress only one option at present for extracting herself from this situation--an option that this haughty goddess at one time would never have even considered, given that it involves not only one of the mortals she normally holds in such contempt, but an act that one would never think of associating with her character: supplication.

Here and there, however, there are signs of the Enchantress of old--such as when Charles Xavier is reconnoitering the villains' base telepathically, only to arouse the ire of a woman who schools him in the ways of power.

And later, when the Molecule Man is injured in battle, the Enchantress once again demonstrates her talent for callously taking advantage of opportunity and laying the pieces in place for circumstances which might at some point turn in her favor.  Not to mention a knack for impudence.

And when the She-Hulk is being bludgeoned to death after staging a one-woman invasion, while Doom, forcibly ejected from the world-ship of Galactus and gravely wounded, staggers to his chambers, we see once more the goddess accustomed to asserting her will and plotting as if we were all chess pieces on her board.

But Doom's sorry state only serves to remind the Enchantress how these events have spiraled beyond even her control, producing a sight which is as astonishing as its description: the Enchantress getting hammered.

Her timing is unfortunate, since she's getting wasted just as the heroes are invading in force to save the She-Hulk. Regardless, during the attack, her first thought of defense is allure rather than aggression, perhaps out of amusement for the mortal foes she feels she can humble at any time. Luckily, one of those foes knows precisely who he's dealing with.

Finally, the Enchantress is given some nice closure when the Molecule Man breaks a section of Battleworld away from the planet in order to return himself and the villains to Earth (as well the hapless population of a suburb of Denver, Colorado). It's the Enchantress whom Shooter chooses to explain the Beyonder's purpose at last, thanks to her methods of gaining information (spurred by the distressing point Dr. Octopus makes that the speed they are traveling is insufficient to reach their solar system before they have all long since died). It's quite an entertaining scene, all things considered, though what she ends up making use of is of course a far cry from a mystic brazier.

Given what she learns, the Enchantress realizes how imperative it is to return to Asgard immediately. Fortunately, her earlier ploy with Volcana can now bear fruit, while reminding us of the Enchantress' reputation for ruthlessness.

This final issue of the series occurs around the time when the forces of Asgard and Earth have rallied together to defeat the fire-demon known as Surtur, an epic battle which the Enchantress was present for--though if memory serves, the Mighty Thor title was left out of the titles which Secret Wars had some direct effect on, so it's difficult to pinpoint when and where the Enchantress' gambit had her arriving. On the other hand, my impression of travel to and from Asgard was always that it wasn't a matter of physical distance traveled, so why the Enchantress would now regard it otherwise doesn't add up. At any rate, on a more morbid note, the Lizard doesn't have to worry about going anywhere.