Earlier this week, Marvel Comics announced that they would be combining the Ultimate Universe with the 616 Universe in ‘Secret Wars’ to create an all-new Marvel Universe. The reactions from True Believers around the world have fallen all over the spectrum, but fans aren’t the only ones who are weighing in. A number of the architects of the House of Ideas recently shared their thoughts on the new status quo for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes coming later this year. After Marvel Editor-In-Chief Axel Alonso made “the announcement to end all announcements” on Tuesday, Newsarama spoke to some of the most iconic figures from Marvel Comics history to see what they thought about the upcoming crossover event. Gerry Conway, the man responsible for the death of Gwen Stacy and the co-creation of the Punisher, took a very realist approach by being cautiously optimistic about Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic’s series:

“I think like with any idea, the execution will matter more than the idea itself. The idea of a reset is, by itself, not a bad idea. The only issue creatively is to be consistent in however you choose to define it. Make sure it doesn’t feel patched together.”

As we saw from the recently revealed Alex Ross cover, issue two of ‘Secret Wars’ will heavily feature many incarnations of Thor, so who better than to comment on these happenings than the man who arguably defined the Asgardian God of Thunder? Though he uses the dreaded “R” word that management has seemed to be avoiding, Walter Simonson says that he sees things as both a fan and a comics professional:

“As a fan, the Marvel Universe has changed enormously since the days when I was a major reader in college. Sometimes costumes, names, or backstories might be the same, usually they’re a little different. They’ve evolved over time. As a professional, I totally understand the idea of rebooting stuff, of trying to find a new way to tell stories. I separate my fan life from my professional life. I understand why they want to do it.”

Unlike Simonson, legendary Spider-Man artist John Romita doesn’t take the business approach. Instead, he shares probably the most cynical opinion of the bunch since he’s not a huge fan of these “goofy things”:

“My guess is new fans will be okay with it, and old fans will grumble. I’m not a businessman, but I do know that comic companies, for almost 100 years now, do whatever they can for shock value. They grab attention. Personally, I hate all the goofy things they do. When I was there, I used to fight stuff like this. But you can’t stop them.”

Finally, Stan Lee (in a completely separate article because he deserves it), the man most associated with Marvel Comics in mainstream culture, conveyed his thoughts on the event. Based on the positions that he has held in the company, he knows a thing or two about the massive responsibility Marvel has to honor the tradition of it’s mythology while keeping things fresh and new:

“It’s probably good. Anything they do that’s unexpected and different usually captures the attention of the fans. People will want to follow it to see what happens and where it will lead. Marvel cannot keep doing the same stories over and over again. You always have to come up with new angles and new approaches to things. I think it’s probably a good idea. It sounds intriguing to me.”

No matter where you stand on ‘Secret Wars’, it’s clear that some big changes are coming to Marvel Comics. Now that you’ve heard what the venerable old guard thinks, let us know your thoughts in the comments below.