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Secret Origins (2014) #5-11
Secret Origins, Volume 2
At last, the SECRET ORIGINS of the World's Greatest Heroes in The New 52 can be revealed! The beginnings of the most popular characters in the DC Universe are finally told here, in stories that fans have been clamoring for since September 2011. The latest explosive origins from DC Comics - The New 52 include Wonder Woman by Brian Azzarello, Cyborg by Marv Wolfman, Red Hood by Scott Lobdell, and others.
Collects: Secret Origins #5-11.
Collects: Secret Origins #5-11.
272 pages, Paperback
First published August 18, 2015
About the author
Marv Wolfman
2,307 books309 followersMarvin A. "Marv" Wolfman is an award-winning American comic book writer. He is best known for lengthy runs on The Tomb of Dracula, creating Blade for Marvel Comics, and The New Teen Titans for DC Comics.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
June 11, 2020
2.5 stars
"There are no origins . . . only a never-ending series of events that continually shapes and reshapes us." -- from the opening panel of the chapter on Guy Gardner's Green Lantern
While Vol. 2 beefs up the numbers - covering 21 origin stories of DC characters (compared to the mere thirteen in Vol. 1) in almost 300 pages, mostly superheroes but with a stray supervillain or two in the mix - it still didn't improve the series. While there were a handful of good brief bio chapters - Cyborg, Jason Drake's Robin / Red Hood, Babs Gordon's Batgirl, and Barry Allen's Flash come to mind - there were outnumbered by the more forgettable or awkward ones. Sometimes the artwork was atrocious - such as the sections on Animal Man (unpleasant) and John Stewart's Green Lantern (he occasionally looked insane) - as well. The whole thing is just sort of problematic in that it's not really detailed enough for newbies, but on the other hand doesn't exactly bring anything new to the table for the long-time readers. So it begs the question - who are these volumes really meant for?
"There are no origins . . . only a never-ending series of events that continually shapes and reshapes us." -- from the opening panel of the chapter on Guy Gardner's Green Lantern
While Vol. 2 beefs up the numbers - covering 21 origin stories of DC characters (compared to the mere thirteen in Vol. 1) in almost 300 pages, mostly superheroes but with a stray supervillain or two in the mix - it still didn't improve the series. While there were a handful of good brief bio chapters - Cyborg, Jason Drake's Robin / Red Hood, Babs Gordon's Batgirl, and Barry Allen's Flash come to mind - there were outnumbered by the more forgettable or awkward ones. Sometimes the artwork was atrocious - such as the sections on Animal Man (unpleasant) and John Stewart's Green Lantern (he occasionally looked insane) - as well. The whole thing is just sort of problematic in that it's not really detailed enough for newbies, but on the other hand doesn't exactly bring anything new to the table for the long-time readers. So it begs the question - who are these volumes really meant for?
October 28, 2015
It took me several days to read this tombstone. I am just going to do one line impressions of each story, 'cause I've had a long day and this is not worth it.
Chapter 1: In which the Stone family is introduced through some lame dialogue and DC screws up their own timeline while Victor deals with anger management issues.
Chapter 2: In which Bruce Wayne has a George Clooney chin but not the vinyl suit and Jason goes for ninja training to deal with anger management issues.
Chapter 3: In which we get gratuitous cleavage of Mera while she thinks furiously about Aquaman to deal with her exiled kingdom's anger management issues.
Chapter 4: In which Diana and Aleka have a fun, wrestling-while-you-talk, loaded-with-homosexual-undertones conversation while Hippolyta tries not to tell her daughter about Hera's anger management issues.
Chapter 5: In which the plotline swings back-and-forth even more than Deadman, who is left dealing with the fallout of his parents' anger management issues.
Chapter 6: In which we have the most interesting story so far thanks to a megalomaniac's childhood obsession with Legos and unresolved anger management issues.
Chapter 7: In which it takes longer to tell us how Barry became a CSI over Flash, all the while somehow not finding his mother's murderer who probably had anger management issues.
Chapter 8: In which the daughter of the Cat and the Bat becomes a half-hearted archer hero after being tossed on another planet with major anger management issues.
Chapter 9: In which a Mowgli look-alike Superboy with a weird name goes through teen angst disguised as anger management issues.
Chapter 10: In which Starfire pioneers the really strapless and claspless bra, and Nightwing has to deal with the fallout of everybody's anger management issues.
Chapter 11: In which the writer and penciller try to kill the reader through rippy artwork and a rickety plotline aboutDr.Doolittle Animal Man because of their anger management issues.
Chapter 12: In which we get the best story of the collection, where Katana finds a simple solution to a knotty problem and reveals herself to be the only hero without anger management issues.
Chapter 13: In which the actual hero of the story doesn't turn up until 6 pages later, understandably, because the position seems to be plagued by opponents with anger management issues.
Chapter 14: In which we get an interplanetary origin for Power Girl which we (read: Jeff) can thank a horde of demons for, invading due to someone's anger management issues?
Chapter 15: In which may be the ugliest art of the book, also John Stewart has the Guardians on tenterhooks, because they may inadvertently give him anger management issues.
Chapter 16: In which the storyline completely makes no sense, the art is cute and Barbara makes an algorithm that sees the future from her hidden anger management issues.
Chapter 17: In which a random girl is narrating the origin story of the heroes, who are two diametrically opposite teen boys who get trapped in an entity with anger management issues.
Chapter 18: In which some spectacular graphics give way to a weird parental abuse story for Poison Ivy who uses seductive plants to deal with her anger management issues.
Chapter 19: In which, despite going through all colors of rings, Guy Gardner does not deal with his anger management issues.
Chapter 20: In which, depending on what you wanted to hear, Constantine, his sister or some demon may have had anger management issues.
Chapter 21: In which a pointless story tells us how Dinah got her last name, and makes her badass hero name a twisted product of unresolved grief and anger management issues.
Not a one star book just because of the Katana and Poison Ivy stories.
Chapter 1: In which the Stone family is introduced through some lame dialogue and DC screws up their own timeline while Victor deals with anger management issues.
Chapter 2: In which Bruce Wayne has a George Clooney chin but not the vinyl suit and Jason goes for ninja training to deal with anger management issues.
Chapter 3: In which we get gratuitous cleavage of Mera while she thinks furiously about Aquaman to deal with her exiled kingdom's anger management issues.
Chapter 4: In which Diana and Aleka have a fun, wrestling-while-you-talk, loaded-with-homosexual-undertones conversation while Hippolyta tries not to tell her daughter about Hera's anger management issues.
Chapter 5: In which the plotline swings back-and-forth even more than Deadman, who is left dealing with the fallout of his parents' anger management issues.
Chapter 6: In which we have the most interesting story so far thanks to a megalomaniac's childhood obsession with Legos and unresolved anger management issues.
Chapter 7: In which it takes longer to tell us how Barry became a CSI over Flash, all the while somehow not finding his mother's murderer who probably had anger management issues.
Chapter 8: In which the daughter of the Cat and the Bat becomes a half-hearted archer hero after being tossed on another planet with major anger management issues.
Chapter 9: In which a Mowgli look-alike Superboy with a weird name goes through teen angst disguised as anger management issues.
Chapter 10: In which Starfire pioneers the really strapless and claspless bra, and Nightwing has to deal with the fallout of everybody's anger management issues.
Chapter 11: In which the writer and penciller try to kill the reader through rippy artwork and a rickety plotline about
Chapter 12: In which we get the best story of the collection, where Katana finds a simple solution to a knotty problem and reveals herself to be the only hero without anger management issues.
Chapter 13: In which the actual hero of the story doesn't turn up until 6 pages later, understandably, because the position seems to be plagued by opponents with anger management issues.
Chapter 14: In which we get an interplanetary origin for Power Girl which we (read: Jeff) can thank a horde of demons for, invading due to someone's anger management issues?
Chapter 15: In which may be the ugliest art of the book, also John Stewart has the Guardians on tenterhooks, because they may inadvertently give him anger management issues.
Chapter 16: In which the storyline completely makes no sense, the art is cute and Barbara makes an algorithm that sees the future from her hidden anger management issues.
Chapter 17: In which a random girl is narrating the origin story of the heroes, who are two diametrically opposite teen boys who get trapped in an entity with anger management issues.
Chapter 18: In which some spectacular graphics give way to a weird parental abuse story for Poison Ivy who uses seductive plants to deal with her anger management issues.
Chapter 19: In which, despite going through all colors of rings, Guy Gardner does not deal with his anger management issues.
Chapter 20: In which, depending on what you wanted to hear, Constantine, his sister or some demon may have had anger management issues.
Chapter 21: In which a pointless story tells us how Dinah got her last name, and makes her badass hero name a twisted product of unresolved grief and anger management issues.
Not a one star book just because of the Katana and Poison Ivy stories.
November 21, 2018
I never read too much of New 52 & this book underscores why. For each character they “get” & craft a good story, there’s 2-3 others that end up a Frankenstein’s monster of pieces of the character with other stuff grafted onto it.
I’m all for reimagined characters but only when they’re true to the core concepts & respectful of what’s been done before
I’m all for reimagined characters but only when they’re true to the core concepts & respectful of what’s been done before
September 14, 2023
Read: #5 & #6, #7, #9 & #11.
Much like the first this is an unnecessary volume. In most cases they try to cover too much history in too few panels, making it very much tell not show (how is that even possible for a comic!)
Art is different for every character, so even within issues in the volume art runs from great, good, mediocre to downright awful.
Much like the first this is an unnecessary volume. In most cases they try to cover too much history in too few panels, making it very much tell not show (how is that even possible for a comic!)
Art is different for every character, so even within issues in the volume art runs from great, good, mediocre to downright awful.
August 24, 2016
I thought this would be a fun book that would serve as both a refresher course on DC heroes and a way to catch up on the background stories of a few I was unfamiliar with. Instead I got nothing but a volume full of tedium. For a book made up of short stories about superheroes, this sure wasn't much fun. Some stories aren't so much origins as they are recaps of the character up to a certain point. Also there is way too much telling and very little showing here. This book is laden with narration boxes in nearly every story, glossing over major events in a panel or two. The stories are more like lists of things that happened rather than dramatic re-tellings. Since few of the segments had any drama to keep my interest, I found thing to be a bit of a slog and pretty dull, despite some very nice art throughout.
October 25, 2025
Picked up this and a copy of Volume One today with a Father's Day gift card. I read volume One awhile back, reread it and I definitely like Volume 2 better. The only origin that I didn't like was the updated tale for Wonder Woman. It makes Hippolyta a less noble character and puts Diana in the same role as other demi-gods, diluting what made her so special from the very beginning back in the '40s. I understand this change opened up new storylines, but I didn't like the tales that followed either.
There were a few other changes I wasn't fond of in the other characters, but they were written better and get a pass. Personal opinions aside, both volumes are certainly worth your time.
Find it. Buy it. Read it!
There were a few other changes I wasn't fond of in the other characters, but they were written better and get a pass. Personal opinions aside, both volumes are certainly worth your time.
Find it. Buy it. Read it!
December 4, 2020
Kolejny w praktyce bezpodstawnie wydany tytuł, który istnieje tylko po to aby nabić trochę kasy na naiwnych. Gdybym się pod tym podpisał do tej króciutkiej serii zrobiłbym krzywdę, bo mimo wszystko przedstawia ona jakąś wartość. Gorzej, że pewnie wszystkie zeszyty wchodzą pojedynczo w skład innych imiennych serii, więc zapaleńcy kolekcjonujący jak ja serie Batman, Superman, Swamp Thing, Wonder Woman czy Aquaman część z tego tomu mają.
Jest tutaj bodajże 21 krótkich opowieści, które przedstawiają różnorakich bohaterów i złoczyńców w momencie kiedy zaczynali. Mój główny zarzut do tego tytułu jest taki, że lwią część już gdzieś indziej widziałem, więc nie było tu zaskoczenia. Idealna sprawa dla osób dopiero zaczynających przygodę z DC, ale zbędna dla wyjadaczy, gdzie pojedyncze originy różnią tylko detale. I tak jak przy pierwszym tomie mamy tu gromadę dobrych, jak i słabych pozycji.
Ubawiła mnie pierwsza historia, chyba specjalnie tak dobrana po jest niezła, a która dotyczy Cyborga. Nie jest to nic nowego, bo ukazuje relacje syn-ojciec sprzed "wypadku", ale jest na tyle sprawnie napisana, iż się nie czepiam. Dobrze mi się czytało też Merę, Wonder Woman, Huntress, Swamp Thinga, Poison Ivy czy Constantine'a. Nie jest to jakiś mistrzowski poziom, jak Supermana z poprzedniego tomu, ale daje radę. Reszta jest zbędnym powtarzaniem znanych schematów lub wręcz taką pigułką co się działo w serii... Nie tego oczekiwałem.
W dodatku całość zbiorczo wypada gorzej od pierwszego tomu, więc stąd ocena niższa o oczko. Powtarzam, możliwe że dla świeżaka to będzie wartość dodana. Ja się tutaj wynudziłem.
Jest tutaj bodajże 21 krótkich opowieści, które przedstawiają różnorakich bohaterów i złoczyńców w momencie kiedy zaczynali. Mój główny zarzut do tego tytułu jest taki, że lwią część już gdzieś indziej widziałem, więc nie było tu zaskoczenia. Idealna sprawa dla osób dopiero zaczynających przygodę z DC, ale zbędna dla wyjadaczy, gdzie pojedyncze originy różnią tylko detale. I tak jak przy pierwszym tomie mamy tu gromadę dobrych, jak i słabych pozycji.
Ubawiła mnie pierwsza historia, chyba specjalnie tak dobrana po jest niezła, a która dotyczy Cyborga. Nie jest to nic nowego, bo ukazuje relacje syn-ojciec sprzed "wypadku", ale jest na tyle sprawnie napisana, iż się nie czepiam. Dobrze mi się czytało też Merę, Wonder Woman, Huntress, Swamp Thinga, Poison Ivy czy Constantine'a. Nie jest to jakiś mistrzowski poziom, jak Supermana z poprzedniego tomu, ale daje radę. Reszta jest zbędnym powtarzaniem znanych schematów lub wręcz taką pigułką co się działo w serii... Nie tego oczekiwałem.
W dodatku całość zbiorczo wypada gorzej od pierwszego tomu, więc stąd ocena niższa o oczko. Powtarzam, możliwe że dla świeżaka to będzie wartość dodana. Ja się tutaj wynudziłem.
January 19, 2021
These stories are just too short to be impactful in any way.
They speedran through Jason Todd's origin and somehow made it uninteresting. How do you even do that? Total bullshit.
I liked the relationship between Cyborg and his father in his story.
The Wonder Woman story gave me lesbo vibes. Which made me wonder, the Amazons on Themyscira have no interaction with men. Are they all lesbians? An island of beautiful, warrior lesbian women is either a dream or a nightmare depending on how you look at it. I just want to say that Aleka is an asshole for calling Diana "clay" in a demeaning way. What a shitty friend.
Helena Wayne/Huntress is kind of the chick version of Future Trunks. I like that.
This gave me an appreciation for Sinestro I never had before but in my defense I haven't read a lot of Green Lantern.
I know absolutely nothing about Katana but she seems like she could be an interesting character.
They didn't even try with Batgirl.
They speedran through Jason Todd's origin and somehow made it uninteresting. How do you even do that? Total bullshit.
I liked the relationship between Cyborg and his father in his story.
The Wonder Woman story gave me lesbo vibes. Which made me wonder, the Amazons on Themyscira have no interaction with men. Are they all lesbians? An island of beautiful, warrior lesbian women is either a dream or a nightmare depending on how you look at it. I just want to say that Aleka is an asshole for calling Diana "clay" in a demeaning way. What a shitty friend.
Helena Wayne/Huntress is kind of the chick version of Future Trunks. I like that.
This gave me an appreciation for Sinestro I never had before but in my defense I haven't read a lot of Green Lantern.
I know absolutely nothing about Katana but she seems like she could be an interesting character.
They didn't even try with Batgirl.
January 29, 2019
Collects Secret Origins issues #5-11
This collection was a mixture of "I've read this story a thousand times" and "Oh, I never knew their origin story before." The origins tended to be hit-or-miss, so I give the volume an overall, medium rating of 3 stars.
Here are the "New 52" origin stories included in this collection:
Cyborg
Red Hood
Mera
Wonder Woman
Deadman
Sinestro
Flash
Earth-2 Huntress
Superboy
Nightwing/Grayson
Animal Man
Katana
Swamp Thing
Earth-2 Power Girl
John Stewart Green Lantern
Batgirl
Firestorm
Poison Ivy
Guy Gardner Green Lantern
John Constantine
Black Canary
This collection was a mixture of "I've read this story a thousand times" and "Oh, I never knew their origin story before." The origins tended to be hit-or-miss, so I give the volume an overall, medium rating of 3 stars.
Here are the "New 52" origin stories included in this collection:
Cyborg
Red Hood
Mera
Wonder Woman
Deadman
Sinestro
Flash
Earth-2 Huntress
Superboy
Nightwing/Grayson
Animal Man
Katana
Swamp Thing
Earth-2 Power Girl
John Stewart Green Lantern
Batgirl
Firestorm
Poison Ivy
Guy Gardner Green Lantern
John Constantine
Black Canary
August 11, 2018
Contains the origin stories of the following DC superheroes...
Cyborg
Red Hood
Mera
Wonder Woman
Deadman
Sinestro
Flash (Barry Allen)
The Huntress
Superboy
Nightwing
Animal Man
Katana
Swamp Thing
Supergirl
Green Lantern (John Stewart)
Batgirl
Firestorm
Poison Ivy
Guy Gardner
John Constantine
Black Canary
In comparison to Volume One of the series, the following edition lacks some of the masterful narration. However it does have its moments.
Cyborg
Red Hood
Mera
Wonder Woman
Deadman
Sinestro
Flash (Barry Allen)
The Huntress
Superboy
Nightwing
Animal Man
Katana
Swamp Thing
Supergirl
Green Lantern (John Stewart)
Batgirl
Firestorm
Poison Ivy
Guy Gardner
John Constantine
Black Canary
In comparison to Volume One of the series, the following edition lacks some of the masterful narration. However it does have its moments.
February 6, 2017
This was a little more meaty and had a few more stories than volume one, which is really the only reason why it keeps three stars.
These stories are fine for someone that wants to get a quick run down of the "new" beginnings of the New 52 generation, but that is about it. There is no new information, much is repeated.
These stories are fine for someone that wants to get a quick run down of the "new" beginnings of the New 52 generation, but that is about it. There is no new information, much is repeated.
May 25, 2017
Like the first volume, a bit of a mixed bag, some good stories, some not so good. The ones I really enjoyed were Animal Man, Batgirl, Constantine, Firestorm, Guy Gardner, Dick Grayson, Swamp Thing, and Wonder Woman.
March 15, 2018
Seriously love the modern takes on these origins!!! Especially a certain few!!!
July 13, 2018
An ok collection of mostly B list DC characters, and a very old retelling of the Wonder Woman "origin" story. Not as good as volume 1, but not a bad read.
September 14, 2018
Somewhat uneven telling of origins of superheroes we know.
July 6, 2026
Like the first vol i only read the stories i was interested in
October 26, 2019
This is a compilation book, and, as such has a wide variety of authors, stories, and quality of titles. Some are very well done, like Constantine's Secret Origin, or Lemire's retelling of the Animal Man volumes. Some are not so great, such as Ann Nocenti's Katana origin that hurt my brain to read. Some of the art is wonderful, some is not (the John Stewart Green Lantern story had a really weird style that just didn't work for me). And some are just strange choices, like Azzarello's Wonder Woman story that goes for silly romance style comics instead of anything in keeping with his actual volumes on the character. I'd say overall there are more hits than misses, but also be warned that the collection will spoil significant events in the characters' lives if you're not caught up. But if you want quick bites of DC characters, this is a good place to get them.
August 12, 2016
A book that (besides Flash and Wonder Woman) seems to focus on the lesser lights of the DC Universe and supervillains. Overall, I actually enjoyed this book more than Volume 1.
There are some very good origins in here (Swamp Thing, Super Boy, Poison Ivy, and Constantine which has a surprise twist) are stand outs along with some lesser stories (Guy Gardener, Cyborg, and Black Canary are among the least interesting.) The others are passable which makes for a decent quality book.
Overall, the quality and style and very but like the previous Volume, Secret Origins, Volume 2 is invaluable for those wanting to understand the current DC Universe.
There are some very good origins in here (Swamp Thing, Super Boy, Poison Ivy, and Constantine which has a surprise twist) are stand outs along with some lesser stories (Guy Gardener, Cyborg, and Black Canary are among the least interesting.) The others are passable which makes for a decent quality book.
Overall, the quality and style and very but like the previous Volume, Secret Origins, Volume 2 is invaluable for those wanting to understand the current DC Universe.
March 28, 2016
A mix of good and poor origin stories. Standouts include:
Mera - Jeff Parker and Daniel HDH
Wonder Woman - Brian Azzarello, Cliff Chiang and Goran Sudzuka
Sinestro - Cullen Bunn and Igor Lima
Animal Man - Jeff Lemire, Duffy Boudreau and Travel Foreman
Swamp Thing - Charles Soule and Alessandro Vitti
Poison Ivy - Christy Marx and Stjepan Seijic
Constantine - Ray Fawkes and Richard Isanove
Mera - Jeff Parker and Daniel HDH
Wonder Woman - Brian Azzarello, Cliff Chiang and Goran Sudzuka
Sinestro - Cullen Bunn and Igor Lima
Animal Man - Jeff Lemire, Duffy Boudreau and Travel Foreman
Swamp Thing - Charles Soule and Alessandro Vitti
Poison Ivy - Christy Marx and Stjepan Seijic
Constantine - Ray Fawkes and Richard Isanove
January 3, 2017
7/10 Good story on Jason Todd; Deadman was interesting. Superboy story doesn't add up. Dick Grayson identity revealed by crime syndicate and now some agent. Animal Man is avatar of red, swamp thing is green, felt like some stories shows end state, not origin. Kara is powergirl from alternate universe. Guy gardner becomes red lantern, black canary was in team with waller. Important stories
October 26, 2015
For someone who has read the New 52 pretty completely...lots of lots of reruns.
And most have been published in other collections as a Secret Origins piece also.
So good catchup for a new reader.
And most have been published in other collections as a Secret Origins piece also.
So good catchup for a new reader.
September 11, 2015
Always love Secret Origin!
September 22, 2015
this was so good! So many origin stories, so many interesting characters! I learned new things and am eager to pick up on some new comics.
October 13, 2015
The new origins of several DC heroes, told in a variety of ways with a variety of artwork, some excellent, some mediocre, none, to me, badly done
February 24, 2016
with the exception of green lanter a great book
August 31, 2016
DC has once again revamped their entire universe and started over. This collection of origin stories puts a fresh face on some of DC's most classic characters.
August 30, 2016
This volume makes me think that I don't really like a good deal of DC comic book characters. Also: that Green Lantern Corps. seems overwhelming.
February 24, 2016
Soo good!!!!
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews