Summary
- Marvel's greatest events are defined by their dedication to character and personal consequence, shaping the stories that follow for decades.
- Many of the best Marvel comics are worth reading today for their technical and artistic prowess, advancing the medium and genre of superhero comics.
- From "The Galactus Trilogy" to "Secret Wars," Marvel events have a wide range of themes and settings, but they all maintain a connection to personal rivalries and character dynamics.
Due to its unique, unbroken continuity, the most notable events in Marvel's 60+ years of publishing have continued to shape the stories that follow for decades. Based in the tradition set by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the greatest and most influential Marvel events are defined not simply by their big science fiction ideas. Instead, they work off a dedication to character and personal consequence.
It's what makes the long continuity worthwhile, as the repercussions of big events are seen in how they evolve characters over time. On top of that, many of the best Marvel comics are worth reading today for their technical and artistic prowess, as well as how they advanced the medium and genre of superhero comics.
10 "The Galactus Trilogy" From Fantastic Four
By Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Created by Marvel's originators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, this classic three-issue story arc from Fantastic Four sees the arrival of Galactus, come to consume Earth. The astral entity is a visualization of Kirby's idea of God bringing about the end of the world. In a classic Lee soap-operatic touch, the Fantastic Four find themselves without a science-based plan and must appeal to the sympathetic qualities of the great destroyer's herald, the Silver Surfer. Also introducing the Watcher, the story set the foundation for future Marvel events, with connections to a larger cosmic landscape and heroes facing entities they can barely comprehend.
9 "The Dark Phoenix Saga" From Uncanny X-Men
By Chris Claremont and John Byrne
The dramatic climax of the first portion of Chris Claremont's run on Uncanny X-Men, "the Dark Phoenix Saga" sees the X-Men returning from a mission in space, only for Jean Grey to be taken hold of by a powerful cosmic entity. This force unleashes her full potential mutant power, while also unhinging her mind. With the Hellfire Club aiming to bring Jean under their mental control, the X-Men attempt to save their founding member before she becomes too dangerous. The story was foundational to both the X-Men mythos and Marvel cosmic lore. Contemporary Marvel comics regularly reference or make use of elements from the saga.
8 "Kraven's Last Hunt" From Spider-Man
By J. M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck
Though it features no major threat to the time stream, Earth, or even New York City, "Kraven's Last Hunt" sees both Kraven and Spider-Man on the edge and in personal crisis. Reeling from the deaths of allies Jean DeWolff and Ned Leeds and adjusting to married life with Mary Jane, Spider-Man finds himself hunted by Kraven. Battling inner demons, his body and mind begin to fail him, and Kraven resolves to take the Spider-Man identity for himself as one final test. Featuring iconic imagery of Spider-Man tearing his way out of a grave, the crossover is notable for its expert visual pacing and sense of dread.
7 Infinity Gauntlet
By Jim Starlin, George Pérez, and Ron Lim
The action-packed '90s event and the culmination of Jim Starlin's work on the Marvel cosmic books for almost 20 years, Infinity Gauntlet sees Thanos succeed in gathering all the Infinity Gems and using them to wipe out half of life in the universe. As a repercussion, the all-powerful Thanos fights his way through the remaining Avengers, cosmic players like the Silver Surfer and Adam Warlock, and finally, the primal universal beings like Galactus and Eternity. It's a wild event in of scale, but it remains tied down by Thanos' character, his obsession with impressing the spirit Death, and his eternal weakness for self-sabotage.
6 JLA/Avengers
By Kurt Busiek and George Pérez
JLA/Avengers sees the DC villain Krona on a quest to destroy universes to discover the truth of creation. In an effort to stall him and save the Marvel universe, the Grandmaster challenges Krona to a game of pitting the Avengers of his universe against the JLA of Krona’s. It’s a seemingly predictable set-up, in which Busiek and Pérez build suspense towards expected fan service, but a major twist halfway through throws the story into a wildly creative unknown. The crossover investigates the edges of Marvel's reality and sees the Avengers with the of an ensemble of Marvel favorites up against an enemy that seeks to consume their universe whole.
5 Annihilation and Annihilation: Conquest
By Keith Giffen, Dan Abnett, and Andy Lanning
In the early 2000s, Keith Giffen led a team of writers to streamline, unify, and rejuvenate Marvel's then disparate cosmic characters into one cohesive world. Beginning with Annihilation, a wide-ranging ensemble of Marvel's space-faring characters came together to fend off the despot Annihilus' invasion from the Negative Zone. Notable for never involving Earth as a setting, Annihilation and its sequel Annihilation: Conquest redefined Marvel's cosmos as a landscape independent of the publisher's earth-bound stories. Though drawing from Marvel history, the writing team crafted what felt like a novel science fiction landscape pushing up against the edges of known space.
4 X-Men: Deadly Genesis
By Ed Brubaker and Trevor Hairsine
Deadly Genesis rewrites the origin of the modern X-Men, returning to the Krakoa mission that gave birth to the All New, All Different X-Men team that first partnered characters like Wolverine, Storm, and Nightcrawler. Brubaker reveals that Professor Xavier had already attempted to send in a previous team to fatal consequences. Not only that, but their secret team leader possessed vast powers and bore a hidden relationship to a longtime X-Man. Beginning with the X-Men hunting for a missing Xavier in the wake of House of M, the series sent Xavier down the more Machiavellian path he's been on for the past couple of decades and introduced Vulcan.
3 "Everything Burns" From Mighty Thor and Journey into Mystery
By Matt Fraction and Kieron Gillen
The finale to Fraction and Gillen's runs on Mighty Thor and Journey into Mystery respectively, "Everything Burns" sees the reborn young Loki's various ploys and schemes come to a head as the ancient Asgardian foe Surtur is released from Hel. The series is a major turning point for the reborn young Loki, who's been struggling throughout Gillen's run with if he can resist his nature and "go good" or if his reputation dooms him to a life of villainy. In crossing over with The Mighty Thor, the story foregrounds the only Asgardian whose opinion ultimately matters to Loki and the only one who's ever held out hope for him: Thor.
2 Infinity
By Jonathan Hickman
In Infinity, the Avengers find themselves in deep space, attempting to unite the various fractured empires of the cosmos to defend the universe from the extra-universal Builders, who seek to destroy Earth. Taking advantage of the Avenger's off-world status, Thanos arrives on Earth with his forces, searching for his lost Inhuman son, Thane. A race to find Thane ensues between Thanos and the Illuminati, who simultaneously attempt to stop an incursion. A chaotic storm of events deftly woven together by Hickman, the series is epic in scale, drawn with beautiful art, heavy on thrills, and a lot of fun.
1 Secret Wars
By Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribić
The crossover event to end all crossover events, Secret Wars saw the destruction of the Marvel Universe and its rebuilding by Doctor Doom. The finale to Hickman's epic run of Marvel books including Fantastic Four and Avengers, the event included a long list of tie-ins exploring every corner of Doom's new Battleworld. Like all of Marvel's best events dating back to "the Galactus Trilogy," Secret Wars shines because while it is multiversal in scope, it remains tied to the personal rivalries between characters like Doom and Reed Richards or T'Challa and Namor. Plus, there's a fresh, wild idea on every page, from the Thor Corps to Groot the World Tree.
