Superman was the first mainstream superhero introduced in 1938, which laid down the foundations of
what it means to be a symbol of justice and hope. But also, he was very essence of who we could not be.
The marvelous trio Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko challenged the status quo and gave their
superheroes vulnerabilities that made them human. And just like that, everyone could see a little of
themselves in these fantastic stories. Expanding on that connection, they weaved in aspects of the
real world into the comics, creating a world that blurred the lines between reality and fantasy.
That was the core of Marvel's storytelling prowess
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The Marvel Experience
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It is said that the universe had already gone through five cycles of death and rebirth. The Dweller in Darkness, a demon that embodied fear itself, was born in the sixth iteration of the universe. He sought to usurp the power of creation by fracturing the M’kraan Crystal, an artifact that is said to house all realities.
Oscillating Universe Theory is one of the cosmological models brought forth by theoretical physicists, most notably Albert Einstein, that suggests the universe follows an infinite, indefinite, self-sustaining cycle that expands for a period of time before collapsing onto itself.
Beginning of Time
13.8 billion years ago
The Phoenix is an immortal bird originating from Ancient Egypt/Greek mythology, that cyclically dies in a grand combustion and obtains new life from the ashes before.
The Crystal’s guardian, the Phoenix Force, managed to stop the Dweller in Darkness at the expense of destroying the universe.
Beginning of Time
13.8 billion years ago
The Cosmic Egg/World Egg/Orphic Egg has its roots in deep mythology and the earliest idea comes from some of the Sanskrit scriptures in Buddhism. The concept was figuratively adopted by modern science in the 1930s, noting that everything we know about the current universe originated from a primeval atom.
The sentience of the multiverse merged itself with the last living thing, Galan of Taa, at the point of universal collapse, forming the Cosmic Egg. Eventually, the egg amassed enough energy and exploded outwards, forming the current universe. Galan was reborn as Galactus, one of the first cosmic beings who would go on to play an important role in the balance of powers in the universe.
Beginning of Time
13.8 billion years ago
Time and Space are two key aspects in the theory of relativity proposed by Albert Einstein , building on the framework laid down by Isaac Newton. The four fundamental laws of nature - Gravitation, Electromagnetism, Strong and Weak Interactions are also given physical forms in the Marvel Universe.
The residual energies from the rebirth manifested cosmic beings that represented different aspects of the universe such as Eternity who embodied time, Infinity who embodied space, Oblivion who embodied nothingness, Death who embodied the end of life, and many more.
Beginning of Time
circa 10 billion years ago
The Watchers, at its core, is no different than a mix between a historian and archivist. In the What If series, they also take on a narrator/critic role, breaking the fourth wall.
The universe continued to expand to a multitude of races. Some of them gained immortality, banding into a group called the Elders of the Universe. The rest went to pursue technological supremacy. One race in particular, sought to help the other races advance, but eventually caused their demise. In remorse, this race became The Watchers, vowed to observe and never interfere again.
Beginning of Time
circa 10 billion years ago
The concepts of the Celestials and their world-building efforts were likely inspired by Erich Von Daniken’s wildly popular early ‘70s book Chariot of the Gods. In this book, he proposed that ancient civilizations like the Mayans were aided by aliens. Furthermore, the battle between the Aspirants and Celestials heavily mimic the biblical "War in Heaven" that pitted the Angels against the Fallen Angels.
Another race known as the Celestials, transcended into a higher level of existence as pure states of energies. They pursued a role as scientists and explorers, planting seeds inside of planets which in turn would yield more Celestials. And Galactus became a check and balance for them as he destroyed worlds, ensuring that the Celestials don’t overtake the universe in their proliferation initiatives.
Beginning of Time
circa 10 billion years ago
Similarly, our Earth was formed 4.5 billions years ago, following the ocean’s creation and the start of life. The concept of Demiurge comes from the same material in Platonism, proposing an artisan-like figure who fashioned and maintained the physical universe. The Elder Gods Gaea, Set and Cthlon originated from mythos Earth Mothers, Lemaean Hydra and Cthulthu respectively.
About 4.5 billions years ago, the Earth began to take form along with our solar system. Demiurge, the sentient life force of Earth’s biosphere, seeded the planet with pieces of its essence, giving birth to the first Elder Gods - Chthon, Set, Gaea and Oshtur. Each of them
continued to gain mastery over a cosmic power as
they proliferated across the planet over million of years.
continued to gain mastery over a cosmic power as
they proliferated across the planet over million of years.
Our Blue Sphere, the Earth
4.5 billion years ago
Atum is one of the most important deities in Egyptian mythology, and is thought to be the one to end the creation cycle. Demogorgon however, comes from Greek mythology and is often associated with the underworld.
Set discovered that he could grow his power considerably by consuming fellow gods, inciting the rest of the gods to follow in his footsteps. However instead of gaining power, they were transformed into the first forms of demons. Gaea, who wanted to protect life on Earth, mated with Demiurge to give birth to Atum. Atum had the power to transform into the Demogorge, which he used to defeat Set and the other demons.
Our Blue Sphere, the Earth
circa 3 billion years ago
Amun Ra was the creator god of Ancient Egypt and the antecedent of many gods to come. Gaea’s role takes reference from Mother Earth/Nature from Greek mythology, who was in charge of nursing all life. While the Darkhold was an original idea, it gave birth to all forms of black, chaos and dark magic. On the other hand, the Vishanti established the rest of the magic foundation in the Marvel Universe, powering the Sorcerer Supremes over the ages.
After the battle, Atum merged with the sun to become Amon Ra, while Gaea merged with the Earth itself, dedicating herself to guiding evolution. Escaping destruction, Set and Chthon fled to a pocket dimension, leaving behind the Darkhold artifact. Oshtur travelled to the cosmos before the conflict and met with Hoggoth, and together with their offpsring Agamotto, established the Vishanti.
Our Blue Sphere, the Earth
circa 1 billion years ago
The K-T extinction event was what killed the dinosaurs, and the most well-known theory is that a mountain-sized meteor slammed into Earth, drastically altering the climate. The impact zone was also discovered in the very same Chicxulub.
Millions of years later, Gaea decided to allow the dinosaurs to become extinct as they were influenced by Set and did not show evolutionary potential unlike the mammals. Set rallied the dinosaurs to kill off the mammals but Gaea called upon Atum’s help. Set and Atum fought for millions of years that resulted in an asteroid that was drawn from space, causing the Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction Event. The impact site became known as the Chicxulub Crater located in Yucatan Mexico.
Our Blue Sphere, the Earth
circa 65 million years ago
Much of the Savage Lands draws very similar settings from the book Tarzan of the Apes from Edgar Rice Burroughs released in 1912, and Marvel even had a character named Ka-Zar which was not unlike Tarzan himself.
Not all dinosaurs were killed off, as an alien race named Nuwali rescued some to create the Savage Lands, a sanctuary in Antarctica. The Age of Mammals began shortly after.
Our Blue Sphere, the Earth
circa 65 million years ago
Both the Xorrians and Celestials are often mixed up as creators of mankind due to the obscurity references in the comics. However, both of them take references from the same origin material from “Chariot of the Gods”.
And while life thrived on Earth, the cosmic expansion was beginning to take form. A race known as the Xorrians, traveled the spaceways seeding life throughout various planets, spawning the Krees, Skrulls and Humans from their genetic code.
Beyond the Cosmic Horizons
more than 100 million years ago
The experimentation done by the Celestials involving genome alteration, which parallels our understanding of DNA and its molecular structure .
Following this, the Celestials continued their journey of exploration across the Cosmos, and began experimenting on these races to create the Deviants with limitless mutation, the Eternals as perfectly evolved versions who possessed cosmic powers, and injected latent genes into the prime race that allowed for genetic potential.
Beyond the Cosmic Horizons
circa 100 million years ago
Much of Marvel’s cosmic stories are original characters based on the limited understanding we have of the universe. The Andromeda Galaxy is the nearest largest galaxy to our own Milky Way.
The Skrulls resided within the Andromeda Galaxy, as a reptilian race. Somewhere along their timeline, they broke into a civil war, and the Deviant Skrulls emerged victorious with their shapeshifting powers. The remnants convinced the Deviant Skrulls to unite as one race and ascend into godhood, Embracing their new destiny, they sought to prevent the extinction of the Skrulls by expanding through the universe in a peaceful manner.
Beyond the Cosmic Horizons
circa 10 million years ago
The Large Magellanic Cloud is a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, which is often visible through a telescope due to their constant formation of new stars. Also, the area of Earth's moon where the Cotati and Kree built their offerings to the Skrulls, was inspired from real world too. It is a lunar impact site named Luther Crater, just northwest of Mare Serenitatis.
They eventually made their way to Hala in the Large Magellanic Cloud, home to the primitive Kree and Cotati races. The Skrulls took a group of them to the Earth’s Moon, and pitted the races against one another to prove their worth to join the Skrull ranks. In a fit of jealousy, the Krees slaughtered the Cotati and Skrull envoys, and claimed their technology and the planet of Hala to their own.
Beyond the Cosmic Horizons
circa 1 million years ago
Although not explicitly implied, the ongoing Skrull-Kree war could be a reference to the impending collision between the Andromeda Galaxy and Milky Way in 4-5 billion years.
The Skrulls hear of the betrayal and wage war against the Kree, which would stretch over hundreds of millenia. Both races continued to expand their military strength through acquisitions of artifacts such as the Cosmic Cube and Crystal of Ultimate Vision. The Kree, however, failed the test given by the sentience of these artifacts, dooming the evolution of their race forever.
Beyond the Cosmic Horizons
circa 1 million years ago
Inhumans are often confused with the X-Men due to the similarity in their powers and origin stories. While both are humans altered by cosmic forces beyond our understanding, the Inhumans are considered more second generation mutants, as they were experiments on humans post-Celestial experimentation. Attilan, homeworld of the Inhumans was established to be floating above the North Atlantic Ocean.
In an effort to save their race, the Kree experimented on the humans but eventually gave up due to their foretold destruction at the hands of their creations. Unknown to the Kree, the humans continued to prosper under a sovereign as Inhumans, until the discovery of Terrigen Mists that would unlock their latent mutant powers.
Beyond the Cosmic Horizons
circa 50,000 years ago
The introduction of the Shi’ar race was in the 1970s, where we also saw the popularity of space science fiction movies, prominently Star Trek and Star Wars. Due to its connection to the multiverse through the M’Kraan Crystal, the Shi’ar story is often woven into many of the galactic battles of more than 300 alien races.
On the other side of the cosmos, the Shi’ar were developing their own empire, originating with Sharra and K’ythri. According to the Shi’ar legends, the two possessed untold power, each existing as opposites through good and evil, waging war against one another. Forced to marry through unknown means, the two were presented with the M’Kraan Crystal, hence becoming the protectors of the artifacts and all realities.
Beyond the Cosmic Horizons
more than 10,000 years ago
The first civilizations introduced by Marvel are heavily influenced by the lost cities of Atlantis and Lemuria.
The Celestials seeded the Celestial Egg in Earth, and expanded the primitive life into the Deviants, Eternals and Prime as they did with other planets. Confused over their roles in life, the Eternals sunk into a spiral of civil wars, eventually isolating themselves in Olympia, a kingdom far in the skies away from mankind. The Deviants and Primes on the other hand, expanded and built the kingdoms of Lemuria and Atlantis respectively.
First Civilizations
tens of thousand of years ago
The Great Cataclysm draws similarities to the Book of Genesis’ flood narrative in which God decided to destroy what he has created after seeing the violence and corruption.
When the Celestials returned to check on Earth’s evolutionary progress, the Deviants attacked them, forcing the Celestials to retaliate and causing the Great Cataclysm. The destruction caused both Lemuria and Atlantis to sink to the bottom of the sea, leaving most of the Deviants dead and only a fraction of surviving humans.
First Civilizations
circa 18,000 BCE (Before Common Era)
The mutated Atlanteans are largely based on the stories of Sirens/Mermaids originating from Mesopotamian mythologies. Also, the Noah’s Ark is also briefly referenced by both Utnaphistim's Ark and the Eternals' spaceship that left for Saturn.
The surviving Atlanteans adapted to life underwater by mutating their skin blue and the ability to breathe underwater. One of the Eternals named Utnapishtim built an ark to save some of the humans, while the rest left Earth to colonize Saturn’s Moon instead, where the genocidal warlord Thanos would be born.
First Civilizations
circa 18,000 BCE (Before Common Era)
Much of the Hyborian Age in the Marvel Universe was a faithful reproduction of Conan the Barbarian by Robert E. Howard. Marvel did not expect the roaring success in the 1970s and basically took the next decade or so, weaving Conan into the Marvel timeline, mostly through time travel plots as well as crossover adventures.
Due to the loss of technological advancement post-Cataclysm, mankind reverted back to barbarism. Conan, a descendent from the extinct Valusia kingdom, became an champion of humanity, and later king of the land of Aquilonia. Most of the civilizations built during this Hyborian Age, were antecedents to Egypt and Greece, to name a few.
First Civilizations
13,000 to 8,000 BCE (Before Common Era)
The story of Asgard is heavily based on Norse mythology with the same names and powers.
Following the Hyborian Age, there were three groups of supernatural beings who also made Earth their home. The first group originated from a landmass split between a fiery and frozen landscape. The clash of the opposing forces eventually gave birth to the first frost giant Ymir, whose body melted to become Buri, who in turn spawned Bor. Bor was the father of Cul, Ve, Vii and Odin, as well as the founder of Asgard.
The Descent of Gods
circa 18,500 BCE (Before Common Era)
Egyptian mythology is fleshed out extensively in Marvel, with some expanding far beyond its origin such as Bast, who went on to become the Panther God, gave rise to Wakanda, and Knoshu, who manifested into the Moon Knights.
The second group of early gods in Marvel was the Ennead, the Heliopolitan race of gods who also existed in the extradimensional realm. Their descent to Earth was heavily aided by Atum, who led this group of gods as Ammon Ra. The Heliopolitans were worshiped as gods by the people of Egypt and Africa, and some of the gods like Bast and Khonshu bestowed powers to their chosen Avatars to bring peace to the world.
The Descent of Gods
circa 10,000 BCE (Before Common Era)
Drawing from the same Greek mythology, Marvel adapted the Olympian gods, keeping most of their original names and powers.
The final group being Olympus, who existed in a dimension adjacent to Earth. It housed twelve immortal and omnipotent beings led by the most powerful of them, Zeus, and were eventually worshiped as gods by the people of Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. Unlike the long-lived Asgardians and Enneads, the Olympians maintain true immortality and cease to age through a concocted ambrosia, or Nectar of the Gods.
The Descent of Gods
circa 8,000 BCE (Before Common Era)
Most of the second generation gods starting from Gaea were based off real life religions and mythologies including Diwatas, Shinto, Zoroastrian, Mongolian, Aztec, Akua, Graeco-Roman, Mayan, Aboriginal, Slavic/Russian, Mesopotamian, Vodu, Incan, Jumala, Celtic, Inua, Christanity, Taoism, Hinduism and many more.
While the first wave of gods made its way into the Marvel universe via alternate dimensions, the descendants of these deities were mostly offspring of the first wave gods and Mother Earth Gaea, under different identities. Due to that, the number of deities in mythologies expanded rapidly in the next millennia, sprouting gods of different races in different parts of the world.
The Descent of Gods
8,000 to 3,000 BCE (Before Common Era)
The return of the Celestials parallels the Second Coming or Parousia in the New Testament, when God returns to rebuild his kingdom and judge his enemies. Incidentally, a famous author Benjamin Creme advocated this ideal publicly in the 1980s, around the same time as Marvel’s adaptation.
Her efforts paid off when the Celestials returned to judge Earth’s right to continue existing. Her pantheon of gods showed the Celestials the highest ideals representing all of mankind’s achievements, winning them over.
The Descent of Gods
8,000 to 3,000 BCE (Before Common Era)
While not the entirety of Egypt’s history is translated to the Marvel Universe, the culture and aesthetics drew heavily from historical artifacts we uncovered in pyramids and ruins. Also, before Kang took over Egypt, it was ruled by Pharaoh Amenhotep, which draws from same real life reference who ruled as the ninth Pharaoh in the 18th dynasty.
As mankind started to develop and rebuild culture, the first civilization to be formed after the Hyborian Age, was Ancient Egypt. The concept of time travel was also introduced here, as the man who would become Kang the Conqueror, traveled back in time to rule as Pharaoh Rama-Tut.
Conquerors and the Conquered
circa 3,000 BCE (Before Common Era)
Much of Apocalypse’s philosophy builds on Social Darwinism, particularly in the theory of evolution by natural selection, and the “survival of the fittest”.
The world’s first mutant, En Sabah Nur, who would later become known as Apocalypse, freed himself as a slave when his powers manifested. He went on, throughout the ages, inciting wars to root out the weak. His pursue for evolutionary perfection also gave rise to notable villains like Mister Sinister and the Horsemen of Apocalypse.
Conquerors and the Conquered
circa 3,000 BCE (Before Common Era)
While the supernatural properties of vibranium are purely fictitious, there was indeed a Gibeon meteorite that crashed in prehistoric Africa. The material is still being used to this day, to craft jewelry, ornaments and even meteorite knives. Furthermore, the Widmanstatten pattern found in the meteorite can be seen within the culture in Black Panther.
In the early days of Africa, a vibranium meteorite crashed into Earth and mutated those who were exposed to the radiation. The tribesman prayed to the old Egyptian god Bast, for the strength to defeat the monsters and was granted power in the form of refined vibranium, the strongest metal on Earth. The nation of Wakanda was established to guard the highly sought-after vibranium, which powers the Black Panther and all their technology.
Conquerors and the Conquered
circa a million years ago
Much of the stories told about Merlyn, Arthur and the rest of the knights are adapted from Arthurian legends, with the usual Marvel twist.
Before the Ancient One, Merlyn was the Sorcerer Supreme and was said to be a powerful entity that exists as one across the multiverse. He was the central figure in guiding King Arthur to find Excalibur and the formation of the Knights of the Round Table. He also fashioned the Ebony Blade, wielded by the Black Knight, who would go on to be cursed by bloodlust and death.
Conquerors and the Conquered
500 to 600 CE (Common Era)
Many stories have been weaved in the Marvel Universe by dramatizing real world conflicts with either interference by the gods, historical relics reimagined with mystical powers or characters who time traveled back to alter the course of history.
Civilizations rise and fall in the era of the Conquerors and Conquered, from Ancient Greece to Roman Empires to the Dark Ages in Europe to China Dynasty and more, leading all the way through the 19th century. Famous figures like Genghis Khan, Christopher Columbus, Vlad Dracula and Leonardo Da Vinci were one of the many who made history.
Conquerors and the Conquered
6th to 18 century CE (Common Era)
Through the debut of the Human Torch, Sub-Mariner and Captain America, Marvel demonstrated the power of political propaganda, as they were heavily influenced by the Writer’s War Board, a government-funded organization, to write stories to fight fascism, specifically the Axis powers. Coupled with the high accessibility to young boys in America, they served as a powerful tool to form preconceived patriotism and racial discrimination against foreign countries.
World War I and II was the definitive period where Marvel introduced the first superheroes to their shared reality. The Human Torch (The Android, not Johnny Storm), Sub-Mariner Namor and the first super-soldier Captain America, was portrayed to participate heavily in the war efforts against the Axis powers.
The Abyss of Wars
1940s to 1960s CE (Common Era)
The experimentation on super-powered individuals to unlock the true genome for humanity borrows heavily from the same "Master Race" Nazi ideologies executed by Adolf Hitler during the war. The Berlin War was also explored in the comics, with various superheroes banding together to take it down, not unlike the Allies forces in the real world.
Some of the key events involved saving Winston Churchill from the Nazis, introducing the idea of superhero team-ups; Adolf Hitler’s “Master Race” plan that had him kidnapped twelve super powerered individuals to study their genome; and the Holocaust subjugation of the Jews from the account of Erik Lehnsheer, which would eventually become the vengeful Magneto.
The Abyss of Wars
1940s to 1960s CE (Common Era)
The use of drugs to improve performance of soldiers or brainwashing have been around since the 1950s, with notable CIA experimentation projects like the MK-Ultra and ARTICHOKE.
While the concept of super-soldiers started with Captain America and Project Rebirth, the ongoing tampering and replication efforts for that serum went on even after the wars. This allowed Captain America to exist as a American symbol, passed through the generations. On the other spectrum, it also led to other shady operations like the Weapon Plus Program, which was the origins of characters like Wolverine, Deadpool and the mutant-killing Sentinels.
The Abyss of Wars
1940s to 1960s CE (Common Era)
One of the more controversial adaptations was definitely the JFK assassination, and there were a couple of conspiracies and retcons before they grounded it to Winter Soldier’s episonage mission. The Cold War saw a rise in episonage, and often spies from both sides infiltrated to steal national secrets, which formed the basis of Black Widow, S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA’s narrative.
Shortly after the turbulent war era, the world saw the rise of the US and the Soviet Union as two superpowers engaging in a competition for supremacy known as the Cold War. There were numerous assasination attempts of government officials and espionage missions that gave rise to characters like Hulk, Winter Soldier (brainwashed Bucky), Black Widow, Hawkeye, and secret organizations like S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA that continued behind the scenes.
The Abyss of Wars
1960s to 1990s CE (Common Era)
The accidental heroes Tony Stark, Hank Pym and Bruce Banner, were envisioned as the smartest minds on Earth, who would go on to invent contraptions for the US based on pseudo-science. Tony Stark in particular, was loosely based on wealthy industrialist Howard Hughes, who lent his eccentric genius and financial resources to accelerate theUS military efforts during the war.
The founding members Iron Man, Ant-Man and Wasp, who would later become Avengers, also joined the fray to develop military prowess against the Soviets and Communists.
The Abyss of Wars
1960s to 1990s CE (Common Era)
The Fantastic Four was Stan Lee’s first big hit as he tried to replicate the success DC had with Justice League, throttling what we know now as the Golden Age of Comics. They were envisioned to redefine the genre, by adding human qualities to the contemporary values of superheroes as well as capitalizing on the hype of the Space Race. Marvel saw so much success that they finally beat DC’s market share in the comics industry.
But the most remarkable introduction during the Cold War era was the Fantastic Four, a group of NASA astronauts who gained superpowers from a space mission gone wrong. They were Marvel’s first dysfunctional superhero family who didn’t hide behind secret identities. They would go on exploring the galaxies and expanding the cosmic universe.
The Abyss of Wars
1960s to 1990s CE (Common Era)
Not everyone knows, but Stan Lee’s idea for Spider-Man was nearly scrapped because it didn’t conform to traditional superhero tropes. He had to deal with grief from losing his uncle and struggled to keep his life in order. This resonated extremely well with young readers who saw themselves in Peter. And despite the weight of the world on him, he always chooses the good by living the moral code left by his late uncle “With great power comes great responsibility”.
The next giant step for Marvel was the introduction of Peter Parker a.k.a Spider-Man, the world’s first teenage superhero who is constantly battling his inner demon. Struggling to get through in life and dealing with grief was the two main themes of his story arc.
The Age of Superheroes
circa 1990s to today CE (Common Era)
The Punisher was a broken man who stood on the morally gray fences. Heavily inspired by The Executioner from Don Pendleton, the character showed the limitations of the justice system, which mirrored the rise of street gang crimes in the 1970s in New York. Mafia gangs like the Black Spades and the Westies were often in disputes over territories, and that contributed to the rise of contract killers, drug trafficking and other organized crimes.
It also started the reign of street-level superheroes who fights crime under the guise of vigilantism such as Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, and many more. On the flip side, anti-heroes like Punisher blurred the moral lines due to exploration of darker themes like murder, drugs and sex in his narrative.
The Age of Superheroes
circa 1990s to today CE (Common Era)
The X-Men was conceived during the height of the Civil Rights Movement and was inspired by the values held by martyrs Martin Luther King Jr and Malcom X. Professor X dreamed of a world of peace between the mutants and humans, which mirrored how Martin Luther King Jr advocated that all men are created equal, judged by not the color of their skin by the content of their character.
At some point in time, the latent gene left by the Celestials in humans began to manifest rapidly, granting extraordinary powers and branching evolution into mutantkind. They were despised, hated by the humans throughout the years. Having seen the animosity towards mutantkind, a telepath by the name of Professor Charles Xavier established a school to help them control their powers, hoping for a peaceful coexistence between mutants and humans one day.
The Age of Superheroes
circa 1940s to today CE (Common Era)
Magneto on the other hand, embodied the radical values from Malcom X on black empowerment and supremacy, similarly to the mutantkind. We also get to see through details of the Holocaust through his eyes as he was held captive in the Auschwitz concentration camp.
However, another mutant who would go on to become Magneto, started the Brotherhood. Having lived through the atrocities during the Holocaust, Magneto believed that humans are innately evil and inferior to the mutantkind, and that they should be the dominant species on Earth. This would eventually lead to the many clashes between Xavier’s X-Men and the Magneto’s Brotherhood in the years to come.
The Age of Superheroes
circa 1940s to today CE (Common Era)
While most of the tie-ins were tongue-in-cheek at best, the inauguration of Barack Obama was considered one of the most monumental moments in US history, as he was the first Black president to take office. Thus, this also impacted the comics in a big way, as we started to see more black superheroes representation, new and retrospectively.
Apart from superheroes, US presidents have mostly made their way into the universe over the years but the most impactful one was definitely Barack Obama, who was replaced by Chameleon and unmasked by Spider-Man before the actual ceremony. Other celebrity cameos also include magicians Penn and Teller, David Letterman, Jeremy Lin, a resurrected zombie Princess Diana, and even… the Beatles!
The Age of Superheroes
circa 1940s to today CE (Common Era)
With that, the Marvel Universe began to expand to over 50,000 comics to date and it would take the average reader about 3 years to finish reading everything.
From the chart below, you will see that although the two main pillars are evidently the X-Men and Spider-Man, the explosive growth is contributed by 3 major factors - bankruptcy recovery in 1996, Spider-Man movies in 2000s and Disney takeover in 2009.
House of M was where we saw for the first time, the extent of Scarlet Witch’s reality-bending powers. Her traumatic mutant childhood and the loss of her kids, triggered
A TOTAL MENTAL BREAKDOWN
that made her alter the fabric of reality to create a mutant utopia and trapped everyone within their deepest desires.
She was stopped eventually but not without her decimating
the mutant population through her famous words,
“NO MORE MUTANTS"
Collateral damage from superhero fights have
always under scrutiny and the tipping point
was the DEATHS OF 60 CHILDREN
This divided the superheroes, one led by Iron Man
advocating for accountability and control, the other by
Captain America fighting for freedom and protection.
The negative public sentiments and the
disharmony between the heroes eventually
led to the next biggest Marvel comic event.
Secret Invasion was another provoking narrative that built on the previous Civil War’s theme. This event elevated the trust issues by introducing the alien shape-shifting Skrulls who had swapped bodies with superheroes and politicians alike, pulling the strings of events in Marvel Universe for years.
"WHO DO YOU TRUST?"
With almost a century of interweaving stories, it may be daunting for any newcomer to simply jump in. Thanks to the brilliant minds at Marvel Studios today, we have the curated Marvel Cinematic Universe that builds on that same framework that the late Stan Lee established.
Truth be told, people saw the beginnings of MCU as a failure because of the B-lister Iron Man. And yet, he was the cornerstone of the franchise, giving us the most emotional redemption character arc.
THE CAST
Python and Excel (mostly)
Tableau shenanigans
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Look ma, I know Adobe stuff
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