70 Years of Marvel - 2003

Another year, another new brand. 2003 was the year of Tsunami Comics, a line of books aimed at appealing to the Manga market, a source of prime dollars of which Marvel was thus far not getting a slice. The idea of the line was to produce books which would be reprinted in the digest format of Manga books, rather than the full-size trade paperbacks normally used.

We got some good books out of it. Sentinel (above) was the Iron Man / Iron Giant with a mutant-hunting robot instead of a a big friendly robot, whilst Runaways was the story of a group of teenagers who discover their parents are eeeviiiillll! Other than those sparks of originality, though, mostly it was just the same old, same old: a relaunch of New Mutants; an attempt at a solo book for bad / good mutant, Mystique; the teenage adventures of Emma Frost; and new books for Venom, Sub-Mariner, and the Human Torch. The line wasn't a great surprise: most people can presumably tell the difference between real Manga and Marvel's pseudo-Manga, and those that couldn't just weren't gripped by what they saw.

2003 also saw the legendary Neil Gaiman doing his first work for Marvel, with 1602, which had the Marvel Universe transposed to Elizabethan times. A fine tale in its own right, I'm sure the numerous non-Gaiman sequels, prequels and sidequels, haven't detracted from its impact at all.

Finally, 2003 also saw the definitive origin of Spider-Man, in the Mark Millar-penned Trouble. Or maybe it didn't. After all the hype about this book, no-one really seems sure what the point of it all was.

In the real world, 2003 saw the Columbia shuttle disaster, the downfall of Saddam Hussein, and the return of Dirty Den, all of which kept the internet chattering.

70 Years of Marvel - 2001

Fans of parallel universes got a boost in 2001, with the introduction of the Exiles. Dimension-hopping mutants from various different worlds, the Exiles were led, mostly, by Blink, who was a throwaway character from a mid-90s X-Crossover, who, after being killed off, had proved unexpectedly popular with the readers. The Exiles, although a standalone book, had enough ties to the Marvel Universe proper, to keep the fanboys happy, at least until the book was killed off earlier this year.

2001 also saw the Powers-What-Be at Marvel decide to tell the origin of Wolverine, apparently in order to prevent the X-Movies from beating the books to the punch. Although, some might argue, that since Editor-In-Chief Joe Quesada and Publisher Bill Jemas each got a writing credit on the book, it might just have been in order to make them some ready cash, helping to tell a story that some fans had been waiting 30 years for.

Finally, it was all change at the X-Books this year, with Grant Morrison taking over the reigns of the Adjectiveless X-Men, henceforth renamed New X-Men, and Peter Milligan relaunching X-Force with an entirely new, entirely bonkers, set-up. Chris Claremont found himself turfed off Uncanny X-Men, again, but got a new book out of it: X-Treme X-Men. Most other titles found themselves facing the axe, as part of a plan to reduce the number of X-Books to a manageable level.

Incidentally, for those of you who care, in January 2001 there were 12 ongoing X-Books (Bishop, Deadpool, Gambit, Generation X, Mutant X, Uncanny X-Men, Wolverine, X-Force, X-Man, X-Men, X-Men: Hidden Years, and the quarterly X-Men Unlimited), whilst December had 8 (Deadpool, Exiles, Uncanny, Wolverine, X-Force, New X-Men, X-Treme, and Unlimited). The solicitations for January 2010 show the following regular X-Books: Dark Wolverine, Uncanny, X-Force, X-Men Legacy, Cable, New Mutants, Deadpool, Deadpool: Merc With A Mouth, Deadpool Team-Up, Wolverine: Weapon X, Wolverine: Origins, X-Factor, Uncanny X-Men: First Class, X-Men Forever. 14 in total. So much for progress.

In the real world, of course, 2001 was the year the World Trade Centre came down.

70 Years of Marvel - 1994

Can you believe there was a time when we weren't all just a bit tired of Alex Ross' painted artwork? Or when hardly anyone had heard of Kurt Busiek? Marvels made stars of both men, and deservedly so. A retelling of some of the most iconic moments from the 60s and 70s of Marvel Comics, through the cynical eyes of a photojournalist, Marvels managed to make events like the coming of Galactus and the death of Gwen Stacy come to life in a way that even Jack Kirby and Gil Kane could only dream. Like all classics, it's probably a bit overrated, but it holds up a damn site better than most modern classics, much like the source material that Busiek and Ross were studying.

1994 was also the year that saw Avengers West Coast shut down and replaced with the much more EXTREME Force Works. It featured some of the earliest Marvel US work by the 2000AD team of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, who would do much better on books to come. Mostly made up of disaffected ex-Avengers, Force Works handled cases too EXTREME for other super teams. I'd take the piss out of this more, but it doesn't really deserve it. Not compared to the awful terribleness that was Fantastic Force, an attempt to create an FF franchise. This starred mysteriously grown-up Franklin Richards leading a team of heroes so obscure that they arrived without trace, and vanished the same way a year or so later. Interestingly, the team was brought together by the Black Panther, who somehow managed to wriggle out of membership. Good choice, T'challa.

Less terribly awful, at least at first, was Generation X, an attempt at the whole "mutant kids learning to adjust to their powers in a school environment" concept, that the New Mutants had tried a decade or so back. This saw the transformation of Emma Frost from White Queen of the Hellfire Club to the sarcastic schoolmistress we've all come to know and love.

Another new book, and one which whilst somewhat better regarded, would vanish without trace after barely a handful of issues, was Clan Destine, Alan Davis' follow-up to his Excalibur work. Quirky does not usually equate with longevity, and this was no exception.

Oh, and was there something else? I'm sure there was some other event. Oh, yes, of course. Spider-Man began to share book space with a young man calling himself Ben Reilly. Disaster lay ahead...

In the real world, or close to it, Kurt Cobain broke teenage grunge hearts all over the world, Ayrton Senna crashed into a wall at 135mph, and John Smith died, giving God's Gift To Labour a chance to rule Britain in a couple of years.

70 Years of Marvel - 1991

Having been pretty much solely responsible for turning Wolverine into the biggest star Marvel Comics had, Chris Claremont must have been delighted when, deciding to give the feisty Canadian some sort of origin story, Marvel decided to ask someone else to write it. That it was comics legend Barry Windsor-Smith who was tapped to write and draw the book may have been of some comfort, as it at least guaranteed that the book would look beautiful. Thankfully, BWS turned in one of the best X-Minis ever, certainly the best one of the decade, and for a few brief months, Marvel Comics Presents - generally the home of inventory stories and worse - became the most exciting book on the shelf.

1991 also saw the debut of annoying wisecracking assassin, Deadpool, as Rob Leifeld and Fabien Nicieza transformed the cute and fluffy New Mutants into the grim and gritty X-Force. Darkhawk, currently enjoying a revival as part of Marvel's cosmic line, made his first metal-armoured appearance, as did Sandman-lite, Sleepwalker. X-Factor got a new line-up, the X-Men got a second core title, and mutant from the future, Bishop, showed up to kick arse and take names.

In the real world, Operation Desert Storm was kicking off in Kuwait, Boris Yeltsin was taking charge in Russia, and another Gandhi was being assassinated. Everyone was going to see Terminator 2 at the pictures, while on tv, Dallas was limping to a conclusion.

70 Years of Marvel - 1989

The X-Universe was getting busy by 1989, with 5 full-time books: Uncanny X-Men (under the control of Chris Claremont and Marc Silvestri); Excalibur (Claremont and Alan Davis); Wolverine (Claremont, again, and John Buscema); X-Factor (written by Louise Simonson, and drawn mostly by husband Walt); and New Mutants (Simonson, again, and mostly Bret Blevins, although the issue above was drawn by John Byrne). Of course, had we known what was ahead of us, in terms of the apparent exponential expansion of the X-universe, we'd have counted ourselves lucky to just have five books.

The New Mutants themselves were pretty busy too. They started 1989 by being embroiled in the Inferno saga, with Magik going crazy and turning into a demon. They lost the school and their headmaster, Magneto, turned back into a villain, and they finished the year stranded in Asgard, trying to save the 9 Realms from Hela. By this point, the book had abandoned any of the notion of being a story about school kids who just happened to be mutants, in favour of standard superhero stuff. We weren't quite at the annual "event" stage yet, but we were getting there.

Speaking of events, 1989 saw the "Acts of Vengeance" storyline, where some of Marvel's biggest bad guys decided the best way to beat their foes was to trade opponents. This led to such fights as Doctor Doom versus the Punisher, Daredevil versus Ultron, and the Fantastic Four versus Plantman. That storyline also saw the introduction of the New Warriors, another team of teenage superheroes, whilst, back over at the X-Books, future X-Woman, Jubilee, made her first appearance. Thor had a new secret identity, in the person of Eric Masterson, who'd later become the pseudo-Thunder God, Thunderstrike.

The real 1989 saw author Salman Rushdie get into a spot of bother, the introduction of the somewhat unpopular Poll Tax in the UK, and the decline and fall of the Berlin Wall. Yay!

70 Years of Marvel - 1986

In 1986, rising comics superstar Frank Miller was just finishing up his second run on Daredevil. The "Born Again" saga, by Miller and David Muzzicchelli, began with the Kingpin discovering the secret identity of his blind foe, and ended with Daredevil teaming up with Captain America to battle a deranged supersoldier. along the way, Miller took us into the hearts of Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk, as well as their numerous friends and associates, and set a standard that successive writers, try as they might, have never quite been able to match.

Elsewhere in 1986, Magneto was taking charge of the New Mutants. Jean Grey was back from the dead, prompting the original X-Men to reunite as the mutant-hunting X-Factor Investigations. Private investigator, Dakota North, was introduced to the Marvel Universe, as was Sharon Ventura, the new Ms. Marvel. The Scourge of the Underworld was wiping out hordes of second and third-tier villains, whilst the Marauders were wiping out hordes of Morlocks. And Baron Zemo and his Masters of Evil were doing a decent job of destroying the Avengers. But all this would pale into insignificance in the face of the coming of the New Universe titles. More on that later.

Outside of comics, 1986 was the year of the Challenger Disaster, and I don't really have anything else to say about that year.

70 Years of Marvel - 1985

1985 saw the conclusion of the original Secret Wars series, a particularly well-received mini-series, in which the Beyonder, an all-powerful alien, kidnapped Spider-Man, the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men, and sent them to a planet to fight a variety of supervillains, including Galactus, Kang, Doctor Octopus, and of course, Doctor Doom (pictured, above, getting a kicking from the Beyonder). The series, written by then editor-in-chief, Jim Shooter, was followed up by Secret Wars 2, in which the Beyonder came to Earth to study humanity, meeting pretty much every hero along the way. Secret Wars 2 was pretty much universally reviled, which shows that even in the 80s, Marvel didn't know how to quit while they were ahead.

Secret Wars 2 did have one long-term effect, that of the introduction of Tabitha Smith, who, under the alias, Boom Boom, would become one of the New Mutants. Also, Longshot, hollow-boned alien mutant X-Man, made his first appearance in this year, whilst Firestar, who'd been one of Spider-Man's Amazing Friends on tv a few years previously, made it into the Marvel Universe proper.

In the real world, 1985 was the year of Live Aid, in which the great and the good of pop music sang their little hearts out for famine relief. Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in the USSR. Coca Cola released New Coke; it didn't last.

On the telly, Eastenders, an ordinary tale of simple London folk, had its debut, as did the Australian soap, Neighbours. Action hero, MacGuyver, made his first appearance, Bruce Willis was becoming a star in Moonlighting, and Elmo joined the cast of Sesame Street. In the cinema, Out of Africa was scooping up Oscars like candy, but Back to the Future was the film people actually wanted to see.

70 Years of Marvel - 1984

Introduced in the pages of X-Men as former allies of Wolverine who were keen to bring him back to Canada, Alpha Flight got their own book despite the reservations of their creator, John Byrne. Byrne claims he never really knew what to do with the book when he had it, but despite that, Alpha Flight's first 28 issues are remembered with some fondness, particularly compared to the numerous failed attempts at relaunching the team and the title ever since. The issue above featured Alpha's leader, Guardian, taking on the evil Omega Flight, with unfortunate consequences.

1984 also saw the New Mutants gain four new members: Magik, Magma, Cypher and Warlock. Pre-school super group, Power Pack, also turned up, as did sometime X-Man, Forge. Transformers became the latest, and some might argue, greatest, toy tie-in comic, and Hawkeye formed his own West Coast Avengers team, as the Avengers became Marvel's third franchise.

in the real world, 1984 saw Ronald Reagan announce "My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes". Despite, or possibly because of this epic mispronounciation, he was later re-elected President. Go figure.

70 Years of Marvel - 1982

Cloak and Dagger were introduced in the pages of Spectacular Spider-Man, courtesy of Bill Mantlo and Ed Hannigan. Teenagers who were experimented on by gangsters, who gave them a synthetic version of heroin, which inexplicably gave them super powers. As someone once said, "Your secret origin is drugs? That doesn't set a very good example to children." That may explain why, despite being a neat concept, with a neat name, and a neat look, Cloak and Dagger have never really made it big.

1982 was also the year of the Death of Captain Marvel, in which Mar-Vell died of cancer. Not very superheroey, but a decent read, nonetheless. Before comics fans could get too depressed, or any trademarks could elapse, there was a new Captain Marvel, the amusingly-named, big-haired Monica Rambeau. Another recycled hero name arrived, with the debut of the new female Nova, in the pages of Fantastic Four. More imaginative was the arrival of Rocket Raccoon, a talking animal who, against the odds, continues to be (minor) player in the Marvel U. Marvel was launching its first limited series, Contest of Champions, which featured everyone beating everyone else up. And the New Mutants (don't call them the X-Babies!) made their first appearance.

In the real world, Argentina and the United Kingdom were going to war over a tiny island somewhere in the middle of nowhere. The USSR had a new gaffer, Yuri Andropov. And the Mary Rose, sunk 450 years earlier, was back.

TV fans could choose between Knight Rider, TJ Hooker and Remington Steel, depending on how they liked their leading man. Meanwhile, at the movies, everyone was going to see ET, The Extra Terrestrial. Suckers.

70 Years of Marvel - 1980

Ghost Rider, the flaming-skulled motorcycle stuntman-demon, had been around since 1972, when he met the original Ghost Rider, in a time travel crossover stunt. The other Ghost Rider, the one in the white cloak and hat, had only predated the modern one by about 5 years, and was one of the later additions to the Marvel Western genre. With the arrival of his modern-day replacement, the 19th century of version started calling himself the Night Rider. Then, later, after he died, his brother became the Phantom Rider, and subsequently drugged and raped Mockingbird, before she threw him off a cliff. Who said comics were more wholesome back in the day?

All this is a long way of saying I have nothing to say about the 70s incarnation of Ghost Rider. Not really into bikes. Or Satan. Instead, let's see what else 1980 brought the world of Marvel Comics, shall we? Well, for starters, there was the disco-roller-skating Dazzler, notable for being one of the first "created by committee" Marvel characters. Then there was the Savage She-Hulk, cousin to Bruce Banner, who was the first new Stan Lee creation in a good long time, and pretty much the last new Stan Lee creation to appear. We also saw the introduction of Emma Frost, then a member of the naughty Hellfire Club. Oh, and speaking of Mockingbird, after years hanging around on the periphery of comics, SHIELD agent Bobbi Morse got her own costumed identity. Finally, 1980 also saw the first appearance of future X-Man, Kitty Pryde, and of future New Mutant, Karma.

There may well have been some male heroes introduced in 1980, but darned if I could find any.