Marvel Universe was a short-lived anthology series, the brainchild of writer Roger Stern and editor Tom Brevoort, that aspired to fill in the rich and varied history of our beloved canon (with numerous references to past events, only some of which are described below). The series began with a Invaders trilogy in which our three... Continue Reading →
Avengers #12, Fantastic Four #12, and Iron Man #12 (October 1997)
These oversized issues comprise three quarters of "Heroes Reunited," the crossover event between the twelfth issues of the four "Heroes Reborn" titles that serves as the official* end of the Image Comics experiment and ends with Captain America #12 (covered in a separate post, despite being included in the collected cover image above). * I... Continue Reading →
Avengers #7-11 (May-September 1997)
This post covers most of the second half of the "Heroes Reborn" run of Avengers, as the title was transferred to Jim Lee's Wildstorm Studios starting with issue #8 and written by comics legend Walter Simonson for the rest of its short run, during which the team faces a large number of new versions of... Continue Reading →
Captain America #6, Avengers #6, and Iron Man #6 (April 1997)
These three issues—plus a prologue in Fantastic Four #6—comprise the first crossover event of the "Heroes Reborn" era, which ends in Captain America #6. We'll get to our brief coverage of that story later in this post, but first we discuss the bulk of that issue, which deals with our hero meeting someone from his... Continue Reading →
Avengers #401, Uncanny X-Men #335, Onslaught: X-Men #1, and X-Men #55 (August 1996)
This post covers the first month of the Onslaught event that spelled the end of the first volumes of many Marvel titles, including Captain America and Avengers, which were relaunched afterwards as part of the "Heroes Reborn" initiative (on which more soon). In the story itself, a psionic entity known as Onslaught, formed from the... Continue Reading →
Captain America #445 (November 1995)
This issue reveals (finally) what happened to Captain America after he appeared to die and then disappeared in issue #443, his still body glimpsed only at the last page of issue #444, along with two shadowy figures whose identities are revealed here as well. All in all, this is the proper first issue of Mark... Continue Reading →
Captain America #441 and Avengers #388 (July 1995)
These issues of Captain America and Avengers complete the "Taking AIM" crossover, in which all of Captain America's friends, Avengers and otherwise, plus the Red Skull, are assembled on AIM Island to investigate Cosmic Cube-related energy blasts. Also present are Diamondback and Superia, the latter of whom gave Cap a small dose of her cure... Continue Reading →
Captain America #440 and Avengers #387 (June 1995)
These issues of Captain America and Avengers comprise the first half of the "Taking AIM" crossover, in which Captain America assembles a team of heroes to help him investigate strange energy emissions from AIM Island—which have also attracted the attentions of the Red Skull. The story begins in Captain America #440 as Cap asks his... Continue Reading →
Captain America #438 (April 1995)
After the valiant efforts in Captain America #437 and Iron Man #314 on the part of Tony Stark and Hank Pym to save Captain America's life after his super-soldier serum finally failed him, leaving him paralyzed and in cardiac arrest, this issue introduces the infamous armored exoskeleton that restores his mobility and allows him to... Continue Reading →
Captain America #436, Force Works #8, and Fantastic Force #4 (February 1995)
This issue wraps up the final trilogy in the long "Fighting Chance" arc, and in it we see Captain America finally succumb to the gradual deterioration of the super-soldier serum in his body, spelling a very uncertain future for the Sentinel of Liberty. (Don't expect a last-minute deus ex machina to restore him at the... Continue Reading →