How did this all start, for one thing. Last thing I was reading was Amazing Spider-man, and then out of nowhere there's a Spider-verse book and a book where he's got a daughter. There was no build-up, just a change to this, I feel.

You might just want to dive down the wiki hole. The set up has been years in the making.

To be brief....During Age Of Ultron Wolverine Broke time. This led to a collapse of the multiverse. The last worlds remaining were Earth 616 and Ultimate Verse and even though the brightest minds tried to stop it they failed. A few got into a lifeboat and have emerged unscated but somehow out of the destruction Doom and Dr Strange created a new World that is a pastich of hundreds of Alternate Earths (such as the Earth Where Spidey stayed married and had a Kid or the Old Man Logan etc)

This is the best answer. This has been set up since at least 2012.

Just got through Ultimate End, 1602, and Marvel Zombies, and all were pretty solid books. I dug 1602 most of all, as it's friggin' gorgeous.

What was 1602 like? Is it set before, during, or after the actual 1602 series? (I always thought the New World with the Fantastic Four, X-Men, Hulk and Spidey would be cool to explore in more depth.)

My take below:

Ooh you read Marvel Zombies...somebody said Elsa Bloodstone was in it....please tell me if its true...and hopefully that she lasted longer than she did last time she was in a MZ book

Does anyone know what issue Tony Stark Was captured by the Cabal? I thought it would be in Avengers World flashbacks but that stuck to Sunspot, Cannonball, and Smasher.

So, which BattleworldSecretWarzone is each title based in?

My whole thing is if Doom is all knowing why the bleep did he bring Zombies along....he should know how things with them go

whoah, what an awesome issue. RIP the two guys that just kicked the bucket hardcore

he isn't all knowing, only all powerful. very key difference