How to Read a Universe

We’re starting here…

Let’s start where things fell apart, with the multi-part “Chaos” story that pushed the Disassembled publishing initiative across relevant books. Strap in, shit is going to get bleak before it gets even half decent for our heroes.

Honestly, the only books from this section worth reading are Avengers 500-503, and the Finale one-shot. While other books claim they “tie-in” to the event, most of the connections are tenuous at best and misleading at worst. I’m including Thor’s Ragnarok storyline because after this, Thor will be gone from the Marvel universe for a spell so it’s worth seeing where he goes and why, but that said, it’s hard to feel invested in his final story without the context of seeing Thor’s ascension to King of Asgard.

Reading list:
* Avengers (1998) 500-503
* Avengers Finale (2004)
Captain America and the Falcon (2004) 5-7
Marvel Knights Captain America (2002) 29-32
Iron Man (1998) 84-89
Fantastic Four (1998) 517-519
Spectacular Spider-Man (2003) 15-20
* Thor (1998) 80-85

Now let’s go back, because I said so.

Now that we've seen where we are, let’s see where we were. This section will talk about the stories that happened leading up to New Avengers. Why characters were there, why some weren’t, and why any of it matters. Here we’re taking a look at more classic interpretations of Marvel characters, at least classic through the lens of anxiety at the turn of the century. This section gets long in the tooth and I get that, but these are some amazing, amazing books, so bear with it. Or don’t, and just listen to the podcast. I made this thing because I assume you hate reading anyway. I’ll mark the the weirder, more interesting books with an asterisk. Read it if you’d like, but drop it if you’re not feeling it. I’m a nerd, not a fucking cop.

Reading List:
Avengers (1998) 57-76
Daredevil (1999) 1-25
* Daredevil (1999) 26-60
* Alias AKA Jessica Jones 1-29
* New X-Men (2001) 114-116
New X-Men Annual 2001
New X-Men (2001) 117-156/New X-Men Annual 2001
* The Pulse (2004 1-5
* Marvel Knights Spider-Man (2004) 1-12
Amazing Spider-Man (1998) 503-518
Iron Man (1998) 73-83
* Marvel Knights Captain America (2002) 1-6
New X-Men (2004) 1-15
* N.Y.X. (2003) 1-7
Sentry (2000) 1-5
The Sentry/Fantastic Four (2001) 1
The Sentry/Hulk (2001) 1
The Sentry/Spider-Man (2001) 1
The Sentry/X-Men (2001) 1
Sentry: The Void (2001) 1

Let’s have ourselves a Secret War

Secret War was Marvel’s first real modern event of the 21st century. That’s to say, it was a central book published on its own that had major ramifications for the books of the characters directly involved. This one is super lean, with only the mini-series and one small tie-in, also by the author of the main event.

Reading List:
Secret War (2004) 1-5
The Pulse (2004) 6-9

Let’s have ourselves some fallout from that Secret War

Ok this is where the modern Marvel Universe really starts to take shape. A bunch of the stories you’re about to see essentially form the basis of the cinematic universe that broke every record imaginable. This is essentially a line-wide, soft reboot for a lot of Marvel’s books. and this is where shit really starts to pop off. You’ll notice that a bunch of books have multiple stories listed below. Why shouldn’t you just read them all in one big chunk?

I broke them up because A) they’re different stories and B) reading other books in between will help push the feeling of time and distance between the stories and make them feel less like a sprint. Mixing and matching and playing in different parts of the world is part of what makes comics fun. But again, I cannot stress hard enough that I am not a cop and I don’t actually care how you tackle these issues, I’m just a guy, sitting in front of an old computer, asking it to not catch on fire.

Reading List:
* New Avengers (2004) 1-6
* Young Avengers (2005) 1-6
* Astonishing X-Men (2004) 1-6
Daredevil (1998) 76-81
* Captain America (2004) 1-9
Spider-Man: Breakout (2005) 1-5
G.L.A. - Great Lakes Avengers (2005) 1-4
* Astonishing X-Men (2004) 7-12
X-23 (2005) 1-6
Fantastic Four (1998) 520-526
* Young Avengers (2005) 7-12
* Wolverine (2003) 20-32
Runaways (2003) 1-6
* New Avengers (2004) 7-10
Incredible Hulk (1999) 77-82
* The Invincible Iron Man (2004) 1-6

House-of-M-1-Joe-Quesada-Scarlet-Witch-Variant-310761624539.jpg

Enter the House of M

House of M is essentially a direct sequel to Avengers Disassembled, . The best part of House of M, is that it takes place in an altered reality, and accordingly, most of the tie-ins are self contained mini-series that don’t spill into ongoing books, barring a few minor exceptions. I really like this series not just because of its self contained nature, but because of the art; Olivier Coipel draws the crap out of this book. That said, the self contained nature is something that’ll be missed as Marvel events going forward become larger and more unwieldy.

Interestingly enough, years after House of M was published, a bunch of prequel miniseries that take place decades before the series. I don’t think those are necessary, but they’re definitely worth a read after if you enjoyed the main event. Again, I’ll highlight the more important books with an asterisk.

Reading List:
Civil War: House of M (2008) 1-5 (prequel)
House of M: Masters of Evil (2009) 1-4 (prequel)
House of M: Avengers (2009) 1-5 (prequel)
Excalibur (2004) 11-14 (Prelude, not a prequel)
* House of M (2005) 1-8
Fantastic Four: House of M (2005) 1-3
Spider-Man: House of M (2005) 1-5
Iron Man: House of M (2005) 1-3
Mutopia X (2005) 1-5
New X-Men (2004) 16-19
Hulk (1999) 83-86
Black Panther (2005) 7
Cable & Deadpool (2004) 17
Uncanny X-Men (1963) 462-465
The Pulse (2004) 10
New Thunderbolts (2004) 11
Captain America (2004) 10
Wolverine (2003) -35
Exiles (2001) 69-71
* Decimation: House of M - The Day After (2005) 1

No More Mutants

So, we’ve spent a lot of time messing around with the heroes of the Marvel Universe and it’s been a blast. Since House of M was a shared event that saw the X-Men bear the brunt of the event’s fallout, we’re going to spend sometime in the now much different X-world. Just when it seemed like things couldn’t get any worse for Marvel’s most hated group of people, it does, all because of three little words. Some new plotlines will be left dangling after this section, but they’ll be picked up soon enough, I promise. As always, I’ll mark the more interesting books with an asterisk.

Reading List:
X-Men (2004) 177-181
New X-Men (2004) 20-23
* X-Men Deadly Genesis (2005) 1-6
* Uncanny X-Men (1963) 475-486
* X-Factor (2005) 1-6
* X-Men Endangered Species
* Son of M (2005) 1-5
* Wolverine (2003) 36-40

But the world turned on

The X-Men just got their teeth kicked in, but the wheels of the main marvel universe were still turning. These aren’t tie-ins, but the following stories were definitely dealing with House of M’s repercussions, but despite appearing in 25 books a month, not every story can star Wolverine. Some truly classic stories happen here - Winter Soldier, Breakworld, Dr. Strange: The Oath and a really fun out-of-nowhere miniseries called Spider-Woman: Origin that I’m a huge fan of. There were also a few stinkers, like Spider-Man: The Other, and Iron Man’s Execute Program that really aren’t important when looking at line with a wide-eye lens.

This is going to sound strange given the nature of comic books, but this is the last time things are… well, normal for a while. Shit is about to hit the fan in a big, big way and this is the last calm before the storm.

Reading List:
Incredible Hulk (1999) 87-91
* New Avengers (2004) 11-15
* Amazing Spider-Man (1999) 519-524
* Runaways (2003) 7-12
* Young Avengers Special
* Captain America (2004) 9-14
Sentry (2005) 1-8
Fantastic Four (1998) 527-535
Spider-Man: The Other - Evolve or Die
Amazing Spider-Man (1999) 525-528
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (2005) 1-4
Marvel Knights Spider-Man (2004) 19-22
* Astonishing X-Men (2004) 13-24
* Giant-Size Astonishing X-Men (2008) 1
* Spider-Woman: Origin (2005) 1-5
The Pulse (2003) 11-14
* Captain America (2004) 15-21
The Invincible Iron Man (2004) 7-12
* New Avengers (2004) 16-20
* New Avengers Annual (2006) 1
* Dr. Strange: The Oath (2006) 1-6

The Road to Civil War

Civil War was a massive, unprecedented event that rocked Marvel’s entire publishing slate down to its foundation and the earth below it. It was a huge story that affected every corner of the Marvel Universe, heroes big and small, known and unknown, even good and evil.

But before we get there, we have to set the stage. Rather than how things were listed above, I’m placing this one in a specific reading order, because it’s actually kind of important due to twists that happen to characters. That said, I’m going to try to anchor each list/episode around a specific issue of Civil War
I’m also going to break it down according to two sources; Marvel Unlimited and Comic Book Herald, which preserved the original list as MU presented it on their site.

This is the preamble to War.

Reading List:
Amazing Spider-Man 529
New Avengers: Illuminati One Shot
Amazing Spider-Man 530
Fantastic Four 536-53 7
Amazing Spider-Man 531
Civil War: Opening Shot

Civil War Part I

This is where the event gets its legs, and I’m going to break the story down in several segments because this series has a lot of moving parts.

After tragedy strikes the city of Stamford, Connecticut because of inexperienced superheroes battling a sinister villain, congress decides to push forward legislation called the Superhuman Registration Act (SRA). It basically calls on all active superheroes to register with the US Government and submit their identities to a registry before receiving official training. They’d effectively be deputized by the federal government to be a licensed hero, otherwise they’d be deemed enemies of the state.

Iron Man thinks it’s necessary to do in order to save the superhero community. Captain America thinks its a violation of personal liberty that also gives the government unprecedented levels of power and control.

They cannot reconcile these differences and split the superhero community down the middle. It’s time to have ourselves a War.

Reading List:
* Civil War 1
She-Hulk 8
Black Panther 17
* Wolverine 42
* New Avengers 21
X-Factor 8
* Civil War: Front Line 1
* Amazing Spider-Man 532

Civil War Part II

So, spoilers for a 14 year old comic book, but, the Superhuman Registration Act passes, and lines are drawn. Heroes make decisions that will shape their series for years to come. Feelings will be hurt. Ribs will be more hurt.

Reading List:
* Civil War 2
* Amazing Spider-Man 533
* Civil War: Front Line 2
She-Hulk 9
Thunderbolts 103
* New Avengers 22
Blade 4
Sensational Spider-Man 28
X-Factor 9
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man 11-13

Civil-War-2-Michael-Turner-Color-Variant-Avengers-Captain-America-Spider-Man-350685903758.jpg

Civil War Part III

This is when Civil War’s effects start to trickle out to the larger Marvel Universe. As per usual, some books are way important than others. Check the asterisks, listen to the pod when it releases to see what you missed.

Reading List:
* Civil War 3
Heroes for Hire 1
Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways 1-4
Thunderbolts 104-105
Cable & Deadpool 30
* Fantastic Four 538
New X-Men 28-32
Black Panther 18
* Civil War Frontline 4
* Daredevil 87
* Civil War: Choosing Sides 1
Black Panther 19
* Iron Man 13
Black Panther 20
* Civil War: Front Line 5
Sensational Spider-Man 29-31

Civil War Part IV

The war rages on. For the first time since the Stamford incident, there’s a significant death in the superhero community, and the bewildered X-Men are asked which side they’ll take, especially complicated by Wolverine’s involvement with Cap and Iron Man on the New Avengers.

Reading List:
* Civil War 4
* Civil War: Front Line 6
Cable & Deadpool 31-32
* Wolverine 43-45
* Captain America 22-23
Civil War: Front Line 7
* Amazing Spider-Man 534
* Fantastic Four 539
Black Panther 21-22
Civil War X-Men 1-4
Heroes for Hire 2-3
Ms. Marvel 6-8
* New Avengers 23-24
* Civil War: The Return One-shot
* Captain America/Iron Man: Casualties of War
* Wolverine 46-47
Black Panther 23
* Captain America 24
* Civil War: Front Line 8

Civil War Part V

Alliances fracture and begin to break as the war pushes people into new compromising situations that test their limits. New characters enter the fray further muddying the grey areas nearly all heroes of the Marvel Universe find themselves in as the conflict goes on.

There are some genuinely crazy twists here and some awesome smaller, intimate moments. Despite the complications, the story slows down a bit to breath here and it’s some much needed slower-pace storytelling, especially among the tie-ins, that illustrate the actual lives at stake that I really appreciate.

Reading List:
* Civil War 5
* Wolverine 48
* Fantastic Four 540
* Amazing Spider-Man 535
Punisher War Journal 1
* Fantastic Four 541
Civil War: War Crimes One-shot
* Civil War: Front Line 9
Moon Knight 7-10
* Fantastic Four 542
* Amazing Spider-Man 536
Iron Man 14
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man 14-16
Blade 5
Sensational Spider-Man 32-34
* Winter Soldier: Winter Kills 1

Civil War Part VI

While the main series Civil War was originally marred by delays towards the tail end, the pacing doesn’t miss a beat all these years later. The air gets thin as we start to amble on towards the conclusion and every decision starts to carry a little bit more weight.

Reading List:
* Civil War 6
* Amazing Spider-Man 537
Black Panther 24
Punisher War Journal 2-3
* New Avengers 25
* Civil War: Front Line 10

Civil War Part VII

With the Civil War finally over, all that’s left to do is take stock of everything once the dust has settled. There’s a pretty remarkable death that happens in one of the books, and to Marvel’s credit, the character stays dead a lot longer than you’d expect, which is nice, because it shows a foresight in editorial planning that was unexpected from such a large publisher.

Reading List:
* Civil War 7
* Amazing Spider-Man 538-539
* Fantastic Four 543
* Civil War: Front Line 11
Ghost Rider 8
* Captain America 25
* Civil War: Fallen Son 1-5
* Civil War: The Initiative One-shot
* Civil War: The Confession One-shot

Marvel’s Power Cosmic - Annihilation

That was a lot of earth based drama. Around the same time as Civil War, Marvel essentially saw a soft-reboot of its cosmic properties. The old order of things was completely upended when an old fan-favorite villain comes back to break the universe.

What’s great about this series is how self contained it is. There’s a one-shot to introduce the event, four different mini-series (which I highly recommend reading), and the main event is a short, six-part series where every issue is meaningful and carries serious weight.

It should be noted too that Peter Quill, of the MCU Guardians of the Galaxy fame, is in this series but not in any recognizable way. That said, this is where he’s reintroduced as a main part of Marvel cosmic before he better starts to resemble his film counterpart.

Reading List:
Drax the Destroyer: Earthfall 1-4
* Annihilation Prologue 1
* Annihilation: Nova 1-4
* Annihilation: Ronan 1-4
* Annihilation: Super-Skrull 1-4
* Annihilation: Silver Surfer 1-4
* Annihilation 1-6
Annihilation: Heralds 1-2

The Initiative

Back on Earth Civil War has changed things. Iron Man is in charge of S.H.I.E.L.D. and The Initiative, an idea that puts a registered Super Hero team in every state, is put into effect nationwide. Half the heroes are on the run and certain mysterious elements from the New Avengers’ past are brought to light.

Reading List:
* Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. 15-20
* Captain America 26-45
* Avengers: The Initiative 1-3
The Order 1-10
* Thunderbolts 110-121
Irredeemable 1-12
Ms. Marvel 9-24
Ghost Rider 20-35
Ghost Rider: Heaven on Fire 1-6
X-Factor 10-24
Runaways 25-30
New X-Men 33-43
Heroes for Hire 4-10
* Silent War 1-6
Wolverine 50-72
* Mighty Avengers (2007) 1-11
* New Avengers 26-37
* New Avengers Annual 2

Annihilation II Fast II Furious

Things got crazy at the end of Annihilation, and at the end, it was clear the galaxy had to make big changes to protect itself from future attacks. Unfortunately, that also means the galaxy was incredibly vulnerable… which is a really good time, y’know, for future attacks.

Annihilation is rare in that it’s a sequel event. It’s even more rare in that it’s a good one well worth your time. Keep in mind, you should read the first arc of Mighty Avengers since that’s something of a pre-amble, that’s why it’s listed below for a second time.

Reading List:
* Mighty Avengers 1-6
* Annihilation: Conquest Prologue 1
Annihilation: Conquest - Starlord 1-4
Annihilation: Conquest - Quasar 1-4
Annihilation: Conquest - Wraith 1-4
Nova 4-7
* Annihilation: Conquest 1-6
Nova 8-12
Nova Annual 1
* Guardians of the Galaxy (2008) 1-6

Planet Hulk

In case you didn’t notice, Hulk was absent throughout the entire Registration Act Civil War, and that’s because the Illuminati, the secret cabal of heroes making decisions for the Marvel Universe at large decided enough was enough and sent him to a peaceful planet where he couldn’t hurt anyone to live out the rest of his days.

Except obviously something went wrong because it’s comics and comics are always about something going wrong. Some weird wormhole sent him to the planet Sakaar where he was immediately enslaved and forced to be an arena fighter. This was all happening concurrently with Civil War and offers a total palette cleanser. While CW was asking people if their safety was worth a loss in liberty, Planet Hulk was asking if it was cooler to smash face with fists or swords.

Reading List:

The Initiative Part II

While only a few of these books really deal with the initiative proper, there was a big influx of new books between events that don’t really fall into another category, but since the world was still observing the Registration Act, this feels as appropriate a place as any to start/finish reading them.

Reading List:

World War Hulk

Reading List:

The X-Men Strike Back - Messiah Complex

Reading List: