Secret Wars II#7(1986)

Secret Wars II continues from Power Man and Iron Fist Vol 1 121... Down in his netherworld dimension, Mephisto and his consort Death watch over the Beyonder, who has occupied much of the Lord of Lies' thoughts of late. Following their previous encounter, and the Beyonder's temporary destruction of Death, Mephisto is worried about what the Beyonder will do next. Watching as the One From Beyond takes up solitude on a deserted island to think, Mephisto has begun staging a plan that will hopefully destroy the Beyonder once and for all. He explains that he had witnessed the Beyonder becoming weak and vulnerable during a period when Dr. Doom had previously absorbed the Beyonder's power. As such, when the Beyonder expended power to destroy Death recently, Mephisto captured that excess energy and collected it into a device which he has called the Beyondersbane. With a limited time before the power gathered reaches critical mass, Mephisto begins his plot to destroy the Beyonder. When he asks Death for her thoughts, she responds that the death of a god for her would be sweet, leaving Mephisto to wonder if she means the Beyonder or himself. Meanwhile on Earth, the Beyonder's lone vigil is spotted by a man named Ed Strunk, who is vacationing on another island nearby. Curious as to what the Beyonder is doing, he is completely inspired by the fact that the Beyonder is simply on the island to think. Not far away, the Thing is participating in a shoot for one of his latest film roles. After the shoot is done for the day, a pilot brining a supply of beer for Ben remarks about the island where the Beyonder has gone to think. Hearing the Beyonder's name angers Ben into crushing the beer can and he explains how the Beyonder ruined his life. Explaining how he was one of the heroes brought into his original Secret War, then staying behind on Battleworld after the fight and returning home to find out that his girlfriend Alicia was now in a relationship with his former best friend, the Human Torch. He then talks about how he wandered, became a wrestler and eventually battled the Beyonder in the ring. He remembers how he had the chance to kill the Beyonder but backed out at the last minute and wonders just who he is, a hero or an unrequited murderer. Meanwhile back on the island, Ed is so inspired by the Beyonder's idea to "just think" he gets permission to bring a bunch of people to the island to follow the Beyonder's example. As this is happening, Mephisto has sent one of his agents out to Earth to recruit an army of super-villains to battle the Beyonder. He begins by making deals with the Juggernaut, Electro, Baron Mordo, the Absorbing Man and Titania. With each deal made, a handshake is made marking each villain connecting them to the Beyondersbane. As Mephisto watches from his realm, he explains to Death that if only one of the villains manages to make contact with the Beyonder, it will complete the circuit with the Beyondersbane, unleashing its power. He explains that the force of the power would be enough to not only destroy the Beyonder, but a great part of the universe. As he explains this, he shows that the universe's many cosmic beings are behind him and that the Beyondersbane is being operated from within by Eternity itself, the very manifestation of the universe itself. He explains that Eternity is willing to amputate part of itself to end the potential menace of the Beyonder from destroying its existence. Soon one of Mephisto's minions reports that the collection of 99 super-villains has been completed and that they are ready to strike at any moment. Back on Earth, the Beyonder's island of thinkers gains worldwide attention, bringing the news media and people from around the world to emulate his example. When news reaches the Denver suburb where the Molecule Man lives with his girlfriend, Marsha, Owen excuses himself from an evening of Trivial Pursuit to go and inspect the universe. When Marsha catches up with him, Owen tells her he tells her that he senses that the powers in the universe are all conspiring to destroy the Beyonder. Owen then breaks down, admitting to his lover that he is torn: part of him wants to aid his friend, but another part of him hopes that they succeed in destroying him. The news reaches others in the superhuman community, notably the X-Men and the New Mutants whose leader, Magneto, decides to wait to see what the Beyonder does next. Spider-Man watches the news and wonders if the Beyonder's new thinking movement might help his life as well. Lastly, when the news reaches the Thing, it causes him to lose his temper. Back in Mephisto's netherworld, Mephisto has gathered his Legion Accursed and is about to unleash them at the crucial moment when he spies on the Beyonder considering leaving in order to get away from the throng of people who have invaded his island. Seeing this as a determent to his plan, he comes up with a means to keep the Beyonder in one spot so that he can attack. Appearing before the Thing, who has just awakened from a nightmare, Mephisto uses illusions to trick the Thing into signing a contract to both go after and kill the Beyonder, providing him with enhanced strength in order to do so. The Thing signs it and dives into the ocean to swim to the Beyonder, unaware that he has played into Mephisto's plans and will forfeit his soul in the process. Just before the Beyonder can depart the Thing arrives, ready to beat him to death. Before he can, Ed tries to stop him. When Ed says the Thing is a hero, this confuses the Thing and he begins to lose his nerve. This provides an ample distraction for Mephisto to unleash his Legion Accursed on the island. As the villains rush toward the Beyonder, the powers that be wait in anticipation to see how things play out. While the Thing struggles with his morality as a hero and his desire to kill the Beyonder, the Beyonder considers either letting the attack happen or simply escaping. It is finally the Thing who decides that despite the fact that he hates the Beyonder, killing him is against his code as a hero and begins fighting off the villains who have to come slay him. With the enhanced strength provided to him by Mephisto, the Thing easily trounces all the villains who have come to slay the Beyonder. Horrified by this turn of events, Mephisto destroys the contract that he forced the Thing to sign in order to reverse the power he gave to the Thing, willing to give up the hero's soul to succeed in destroying the Beyonder. Even reduced to his regular strength, the Thing manages to prevent the last villain, the seemingly unstoppable Juggernaut, from touching the Beyonder. With all of the villains defeated, they are teleported away as the Beyondersbane reaches critical mass and explodes. This is a great defeat for the Beyonder, who is furious at this loss. When Death abandons him, his grief causes those tortured souls in his realm to experience a moment of joy, and Eternity -- unscathed from the Beyondersbane's destruction -- departs from Mephisto's realm as well. Across the universe the powers that be mull over the outcome of the battle while Owen Reece breaths a sigh of relief that the Beyonder survived. Back on the island, the Thing passes out from his ordeal, having been pushed to his limits. With the battle over, the Beyonder realizes that he had managed to make the Thing realize his true potential as a hero, and decides that his mission in life should be attempting to better the lives of others. Secret Wars II continues in New Mutants Vol 1 36, Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1 273, Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man Vol 1 111, Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 202 and New Defenders Vol 1 152...