Secret War

The Secret War was the Lao front of the Second Indochina War[?] and lasted 13 years (1962-1975). It was the largest paramilitary operation ever undertaken by the CIA, and though not officially acknowledged, was no secret at all. Using a proxy force of some thirty thousand Laotians on the ground, mostly Hmong tribesman, supported in the air by Air America and the Royal Lao Air Force, the CIA fought North Vietnamese units in Laos and the communist Pathet Lao to a standstill.

---

In Marvel comics, the Secret War (and Secret War II) were limited series used as an excuse to drag a whole bunch of heroes and villains across the universe to make them fight. In the first Secret War, Spiderman got his alien costume, which turned out in later story arcs to be a creature which became his bitter enemy, Venom.