Okay, let's get right down to business There's over 70 years worth of stories I could have gone through, but cutting down to just the best of the best in a measly 25, I left out a lot of great stuff. I might pull out an honorable mentions list later, but for now, this is what we're getting.
Anyway, here's my first 5.
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Thor #136 "To Become an Immortal"
The relationship between Thor and Jane Foster was one of the most well-developed in the earlier days of super heroes. While it took over half a century for Lois Lane to put two and two together and realize that "Smallville" is the guy who has been saving her in more ways than one for all these years, Jane's affections for Donald Blake slowly started to shift to the mighty Thor, which eventually lead to Blake not only revealing his identity to Ms. Foster, but even proposing to her. Of course she accepted and the rest should be history, right?
Not during the days of Stan Lee. The story starts off well enough, with Thor taking Jane to Asgard, making her be in awe of the mythical land. In a romantic gesture that Grant Morrison would rip-off decades later in All-Star Superman, Odin, who seemingly approves of Foster, allows for her to become a goddess, with a costume fit for one, and the ability to fly. However, Odin demands that Jane must face the Unknown, a creature whose form is true to its name, to prove her worthiness. Without spoiling too much, the results of this battle sets the stage for Thor/Donald and Jane's relationship for now on.
You might have guessed that things don't work out too happily for either, and sadly, that is the case. This shows Odin's strategic side, since he had an ingenious plot set the entire time to benefit his will, and also highlights one of the key components to Marvel's success- nothing ever quite seems to work out the way our heroes want them to. This is especially true for more "human" characters like Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four, but even gods shouldn't be exempt from the pain of loss and heartache that we all go through at some point in our lives.
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Avengers #57 & #58 "Behold... The Vision!"/"Even an Android Can Cry!"
As much as I love how the Avengers movie and cartoon have turned out so far, if I got to make my own, I would have started off with this storyline. The first issue is the real meat of the story, but the emotional core in the second make it just as worth reading. The first introduces Ultron-5 (although not technically; it was a big part of the previous, an automaton created by Hank Pym inexplicably gone horribly wrong. Bringing back a forgotten Marvel hero from the Golden Age, it creates the Vision, which it commands to destroy the Avengers. Thankfully, Vision rebels against Ultron and destroys it.
The second part delves into the character of the Vision, and already begins to humanize him, even having the team let him join. It's a really sweet story, full of tons of memorable moments, including a fitting reciting of Percy Bysshe Shelley's "Ozymandias" and this powerful final panel.
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The Vision eventually lead on to become one of the most popular and most interesting Marvel characters, even marrying the Scarlet Witch. This gave him a solid introduction and one of the greatest stories with Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
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Silver Surfer Parable
An odd combination, this miniseries was written by Stan Lee and drawn by the late, great Moebius in the 80's, but easily makes for one of Norrin Radd's greatest tales. The Surfer has been walking around to a slightly-apocalyptic Earth in secret, while Galactus makes a long-delayed return to the planet, demanding that humans bow down to him as the planet-devouring god he is In some thinly-veiled religious allegorism, we see a self-righteous TV evangelist attempt to consider himself the highest power in the word of Galactus, and somewhat succeed at his attempts.
However, things come to a violent hault when Galactus discovers that his previous herald not only walks among man, but opposes of Galactus' reign of terror. You see some epic action between the two, which result in some downright shocking pre-9/11 destruction. But it's the last few mostly dialogue-oriented pages that put the tale on this list, containing some of Lee's best writing. On top of Moebius' toned down artwork, this makes for an incredible, conflicting tale featuring the power cosmic and his former master.
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Daredevil #47 "Brother, Take My Hand"
A rather overlooked tale, this is one of my personal favorite Lee-written Daredevil adventures. It starts out with the Man Without Fear showing up to support the troops in 'Nam. During the show, Willie Lincoln, a semi-blinded soldier, is able to just barely make out Daredevil's outlines as he performs for the troops. it's the greatest show in his life... until Lincoln becomes completely blinded during the middle of it. While discovering this, Double D shows up to his bedside to lift up the wounded solider's spirits. Of course, Daredevil can't exactly tell Lincoln just how he empathizes and relates to him, but he does tell the solider about a blinded lawyer named Matt Murdock for him to befriend when he returns to New York.
It turns out that DD made a good call here, since before being drafted, Lincoln was a cop that got framed by a mob out to get him for supposedly taking a payoff, and needs Murdock to help clear his name. Murdock takes the case, and I'll just leave it at that.
There's plenty of action and courtroom drama, just as you'd expect for a story like this. While it's all solid enough, I added the issue in as a bit of humanity for Daredevil. The hero has been a big aspiration in the blind community ever since his introduction, and tales like this make it easy to understand just why. He understands the angst Lincoln must be going through with his recent handicap, but doesn't try to talk down to him or give him unneeded help. There's a mutual respect here that truly makes you appreciate the character, and Daredevil continues to be as awesome as ever.
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Fantastic Four #51 "This Man, This Monster"
This is another gentle story, just like my Daredevil choice. But hey, considering what it just followed in the comics, Stan and Jack were totally entitled to tell a more gentle story with Marvel's First Family.
Ben Grimm has been sulking all day, feeling abandoned by his girlfriend, Alicia Masters, by the Silver Surfer and his own rock-like complexion. Somehow, he inexplicably arrives in the house of a mad scientist whose goal has been to prove to the world that he is Reed Richards' superior. He gives the Thing a cup of coffee laced with sleeping pills, and does a body swamp with him, giving the scientist the body of the Thing, while Grimm returns to his old body before the fatal spaceship crash that turned him into a gargoyle.
The scientist, disguised as Thing, arrives at the Baxter Building just as Reed and Sue are planning a trip into the Negative Zone, and need Thing to let Reed out after he goes in for what he needs. This would be his chance to let Richards get stuck into the Negative Zone and prove his superiority to the scientist, but this being a Stan Lee tale, things obviously don't work out that way, Conversely, Ben attempts to come into Alicia's apartment and see if she can tell the Thing from the original Ben Grimm (remember, Alicia Masters is blind). Again, being Lee, we don't get a happily ever after tale for Grimm, but we do get a genuinely sweet moment at the end.
This works great as both a Thing story and a one-off showing the power of human emotions. There are plenty of great Thing stories, but this usually tops the lists, and for good cause.
That's a really well put-together list (well, what you've listed down so far, anyways ;) ). I would love to read some of these stories. Doesn't Marvel have some online subscription service now that lets you read specific issues like that at will? I mean, sort of like a Netflix for comic books, if that makes any sense. Because if they don't they really should do something like that. It'd make hunting down stories like this A LOT easier and probably a lot more affordable as well. In fact, I think I'll look into it right now, actually. :thumbup:
As for the stories you mentioned, surprisingly enough that Daredevil story seems to be the most appealing one to me. I really like stories that put a lot of focus on the man behind the mask rather than just the superhero themselves. It makes for some great drama, IMO.
The other stories all sound suitably great, though. The story you mentioned for Thor sounds like it could be particularly tragic if it ends how I think it does.
Here's the next five.
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Amazing Spider-Man #32 & 33 "Man on a Rampage" and "The Final Chapter"
It's mostly the second issue that's on this list, but I figured that I should put the first one in for completion's sake. Although technically I could also add the previous one too. But I'll catch you up instead.
Peter Parker is at his breaking point. After a hectic past year or so, Betty Brant wants to settle with someone safe, which she can't have with Parker if he's still Spider-Man. Jamison has been harsher than ever on his photos. But note of this matters compared to his Aunt May, who after needing a blood transfusion, Peter had no choice but to volunteer his radioactive blood, and she lies in critical condition. When the doctor tells Parker that she may or may not make it, this causes Peter to snap. After finding out that Curt Connors, aka the brilliant scientist formally known as the lizard which Spidey saved all the way back, is in town and able to make a serum to save Aunt May, Spidey abuses his powers to help Connors with his formula.
All goes well, until the Master Planner has the finished serum stolen before Connors is able to obtain it. Spider-Man attempts to find him, discovering that the Master Planner has been Doctor Octopus the whole time and takes him on one-on-one.
That's the first part. The second, where the iconic cover comes from, and let me just say that the first few pages is exactly why the story is on here. One of Spidey's most powerful moments, Ditko's tense artwork perfectly builds up to everything he's been suffering against over the past few issues. Things work out as well as they can for Spider-Man. A great personal story for Peter Parker, but it's not like there isn't much.
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Thor #337-340 "The Ballad of Beta Ray Bill"
Very few people have been able to hold Mjolnir besides Thor. Captain America is one. Wonder Woman, during a Marvel vs. DC miniseries in the 90's was another. And then there's Beta Ray Bill.
A Korbinite, which are alien creatures designed to look similar to the skull of a horse, Beta Ray Bill's existence relied on fighting to defend his people. When Bill lands on Earth, Thor investigates as the two begin to clash, with Bill picking up Thor's mythical hammer shortly after knocking him cold. It's very rare for the Norse gods to approve of someone to take such a powerful weapon in their hands, so that someone like BRB (lol...) is able to do so with no problems proves that there's more to him than meets the eye.
Thor, being the hotheaded demigod he is, doesn't take kindly to someone else holding Mjolnir, as the two continue to compete for its sake. Eventually Odin reaches a compromise in that Thor can keep his hammer, while Bill gets a similar one of his own to help with his cause.
I'm really paraphrasing here, but that's basically the gist of the story. This was Walt Simonson's introduction to Thor, and among the best stories done by arguably the best writer in the Norse God's comic book history. It shows that Thor isn't the only worthy one out there and set the stone for one of his most interesting supporting characters to debut.
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Avengers #93-97 "The Kree-Skrull War"
So if you're watching the cartoon or have read an Avengers comic in the past 10 years, you probably have an idea of just how important this war was to Marvel. The Kree were a group of almost human-like aliens which kept on eye on our planet for their own gain, while the Skrull are shape-shifting creatures who can turn into anyone we know at any given moment without us knowing. With these two alien species coexisting in the galaxy and not being able to evolve due to the human race overshadowing them, it was about time that war were declared (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQkaD6fG8mk), and that's precisely what happened.
Earth's Mightiest Heroes took it upon themselves to intervene between this war, where all the stops were pulled. From the Vision nearly dying by a Skrull attack, to the shape-shifters turning into the Fantastic Four to trick the team to even having good ol' Rick Jones bring back Golden Age Marvel heroes to help save the day, you name it, it happened.
This war will come back multiple times in the Marvel Universe to remind us of just how powerful it can become, and also shows how essential the Avengers are to the entire universe. Without their help, this would've had a very different ending.
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Iron Man #120-128 "Demon in a Bottle"
Despite how this might be one of the most popular Iron Man stories, we're never going to see this adapted in the movies considering just how dark it gets.
Tony Stark's alcoholism is all but ignored in the movies, but its been an issue that has haunted him for years. Stark initially dons the Iron Man gear here when the plane he's on gets attacked by a falling military tank. He lands the plane to safety and learns that Namor was supposedly responsible for the tank attack, only for the Sub Mariner himself to tell Stark that this wasn't the case. After the two team up and take care of business, Stark is invited to meet a foreign ambassador as Iron Man, and all goes well... until the suit malfunctions, killing the ambassador. In a compromise, the police tell Tony that he has to give up his Iron Man suit for the time being, as the Avengers request that he steps down as leader. Tony complies, but goes back to his alcohol consumption.
The rest of the arc shows all of these things happen to the close ones in Stark's life as he continues to ignore them with the bottle. It gets downright horrifying at times to see how far Stark falls, and his saving isn't even all that glorious. Hell, he still occasionally swallows more than his own weight from time to time. Can the Marvel Universe handle a world without an Iron Man? I think this proves that they probably could, but it wouldn't be the same.
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Wolverine's very first miniseries + Uncanny X-Men #172 & 173
With an ace script by Chris Claremont and killer artwork by Frank Miller, elements of this story were added into X2 and Wolvie's own solo film and make for one of Logan's greatest tales.
In part of Wolverine's very convoluted origin story, he makes a long-delayed return to Japan to meet with his former love, Mariko, whom resents his animalistic side. When arriving, Logan discovers that her father kidnapped her in order to keep Wolvie away from her. He fights to get her back, but we also see him fall in love with Yukio, another Japanese woman who is more accepting of his being. It's a great contrasting love story with some intense action.
The other two issues are a bit of a follow-up to the story, as they bring the X-Men over to Japan to meet Logan's fiance just before the wedding. Of course, there's turmoil in the area, which leads to Wolverine and Rogue having to team up to solve the case. This is the first teaming up between the two, which helps to not only break the ice between them, as Rogue was still considered to be a, well, rogue to the team, but also began to establish the big bro/little sis relationship Wolverine has always needed and would share not only with Rogue, but Kitty Pryde and Jubliee. This is a very bittersweet story, but an essential follow-up to a classic miniseries. This entire arc will help you to really appreciate Wolverine's character, a it delves into his more human side while still containing plenty of action.
Seeing that 12 cent price on all the covers saddens me in comparison to what we have to pay now.
Yeah, the jump to $4 was one of the final straws for me to stop buying new comics. At this point, I'll either wait for the graphic novels or for them to hit the $1 bin, if that.
Quote from: Brak's Dad on May 12, 2012, 12:08:23 PM
Yeah, the jump to $4 was one of the final straws for me to stop buying new comics. At this point, I'll either wait for the graphic novels or for them to hit the $1 bin, if that.
Yeah, and along with the story format in most recent Marvel comics, TPBs seem like the only way to go for reading them.
Quote from: Dr. Insomniac on May 12, 2012, 12:14:35 PM
Quote from: Brak's Dad on May 12, 2012, 12:08:23 PM
Yeah, the jump to $4 was one of the final straws for me to stop buying new comics. At this point, I'll either wait for the graphic novels or for them to hit the $1 bin, if that.
Yeah, and along with the story format in most recent Marvel comics, TPBs seem like the only way to go for reading them.
Seriously. Idiotic crossover stories made me ragequit mainstream comics forever.
Quote from: Foggle on May 12, 2012, 12:17:47 PM
Quote from: Dr. Insomniac on May 12, 2012, 12:14:35 PM
Quote from: Brak's Dad on May 12, 2012, 12:08:23 PM
Yeah, the jump to $4 was one of the final straws for me to stop buying new comics. At this point, I'll either wait for the graphic novels or for them to hit the $1 bin, if that.
Yeah, and along with the story format in most recent Marvel comics, TPBs seem like the only way to go for reading them.
Seriously. Idiotic crossover stories made me ragequit mainstream comics forever.
Yeah, but there are some good mainstream comics though, like Waid's Daredevil series and Snyder's Batman run (which is ironically enough, going through a crossover story as we speak).
Quote from: Dr. Insomniac on May 12, 2012, 12:20:09 PM
Quote from: Foggle on May 12, 2012, 12:17:47 PM
Quote from: Dr. Insomniac on May 12, 2012, 12:14:35 PM
Quote from: Brak's Dad on May 12, 2012, 12:08:23 PM
Yeah, the jump to $4 was one of the final straws for me to stop buying new comics. At this point, I'll either wait for the graphic novels or for them to hit the $1 bin, if that.
Yeah, and along with the story format in most recent Marvel comics, TPBs seem like the only way to go for reading them.
Seriously. Idiotic crossover stories made me ragequit mainstream comics forever.
Yeah, but there are some good mainstream comics though, like Waid's Daredevil series and Snyder's Batman run (which is ironically enough, going through a crossover story as we speak).
Buying the actual issues, I mean. Deadpool limiteds and Punisher MAX are pretty mainstream. ;)
I mean, crossovers aren't exactly new, and there are always exceptions to the rule, but I know what you mean. People like Bendis ruin things for everyone.
Quote from: Brak's Dad on May 12, 2012, 12:22:47 PM
I mean, crossovers aren't exactly new, and there are always exceptions to the rule, but I know what you mean. People like Bendis ruin things for everyone.
I liked Bendis' work on early USM. What's he doing wrong?
Quote from: Foggle on May 12, 2012, 12:21:52 PM
Quote from: Dr. Insomniac on May 12, 2012, 12:20:09 PM
Quote from: Foggle on May 12, 2012, 12:17:47 PM
Quote from: Dr. Insomniac on May 12, 2012, 12:14:35 PM
Quote from: Brak's Dad on May 12, 2012, 12:08:23 PM
Yeah, the jump to $4 was one of the final straws for me to stop buying new comics. At this point, I'll either wait for the graphic novels or for them to hit the $1 bin, if that.
Yeah, and along with the story format in most recent Marvel comics, TPBs seem like the only way to go for reading them.
Seriously. Idiotic crossover stories made me ragequit mainstream comics forever.
Yeah, but there are some good mainstream comics though, like Waid's Daredevil series and Snyder's Batman run (which is ironically enough, going through a crossover story as we speak).
Buying the actual issues, I mean. Deadpool limiteds and Punisher MAX are pretty mainstream. ;)
Oh, yeah. Single issues are a lost art at this point.
Quote from: Brak's Dad on May 12, 2012, 12:22:47 PM
I mean, crossovers aren't exactly new, and there are always exceptions to the rule, but I know what you mean. People like Bendis ruin things for everyone.
And Johns, sadly enough. Fucking Flashpoint.
Quote from: Foggle on May 12, 2012, 12:23:20 PM
Quote from: Brak's Dad on May 12, 2012, 12:22:47 PM
I mean, crossovers aren't exactly new, and there are always exceptions to the rule, but I know what you mean. People like Bendis ruin things for everyone.
I liked Bendis' work on early USM. What's he doing wrong?
Secret Invasion, Dark Reign, Siege, etc.
Quote from: Foggle on May 12, 2012, 12:23:20 PM
Quote from: Brak's Dad on May 12, 2012, 12:22:47 PM
I mean, crossovers aren't exactly new, and there are always exceptions to the rule, but I know what you mean. People like Bendis ruin things for everyone.
I liked Bendis' work on early USM. What's he doing wrong?
Spider-Man, Wolverine and Doctor Strange are Avengers.
And besides what Insommy mentioned, Civil War was partially his fault.
Eh, Spidey being an Avenger just seems like a natural progression of his character to me. Wolverine, I don't get though.
Quote from: Brak's Dad on May 12, 2012, 12:25:08 PM
And besides what Insommy mentioned, Civil War was partially his fault.
I always hear about how bad Civil War is, but I've never read it. What makes it so awful? :zonk:
Quote from: Foggle on May 12, 2012, 12:28:36 PM
Quote from: Brak's Dad on May 12, 2012, 12:25:08 PM
And besides what Insommy mentioned, Civil War was partially his fault.
I always hear about how bad Civil War is, but I've never read it. What makes it so awful? :zonk:
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Quote from: Dr. Insomniac on May 12, 2012, 12:27:26 PM
Eh, Spidey being an Avenger just seems like a natural progression of his character to me.
I just don't think that Spidey works well in a team. He was an honorary Avenger before, and has helped with the Fantastic Four a bunch, but he always seems out of place. To me, he's a free agent who doesn't work well any other way.
And I still don't get why Spider-Man is stuck in his original way in New Avengers, like OMD didn't happen. I understand that Bendis didn't want to retcon Avengers like that, but he could have easily wrote him out.
Quote from: Dr. Insomniac on May 12, 2012, 12:30:36 PM
Quote from: Foggle on May 12, 2012, 12:28:36 PM
Quote from: Brak's Dad on May 12, 2012, 12:25:08 PM
And besides what Insommy mentioned, Civil War was partially his fault.
I always hear about how bad Civil War is, but I've never read it. What makes it so awful? :zonk:
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JESUS CHRIST
I need a new monitor now... :anger:
That didn't even make sense.
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on May 12, 2012, 06:16:44 PM
That didn't even make sense.
Of course it does. How can he be Captain America if he doesn't know his pop culture? .3.
What did I just read people?
Quote from: Daxdiv on May 12, 2012, 06:21:13 PM
What did I just read people?
Civil War, that's what you just read.
Err, let's get that bad taste of Captain America out of our mouth with some more good stuff out of the way. And I promise you some good Cap.
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Amazing Spider-Man #229-230 "Nothing Can Stop the Juggernaut
You do NOT fuck with Peter Parker's loved ones. No matter who you are.
The Juggernaut, Professor Xavier's half-brother, comes into Manhattan on a rampage, and by request, nearly kills Madame Web, Spider-Man's peculiar mentor. As per usual, Parker has been having a bad period going on, and this just takes the icing on the cake.
He takes on the Juggernaut one-on-one, since the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Avengers, all of which have taken him on before, are way. This is pretty crazy when you get down to it, since this guy is fucking built, and as strong and agile as Spidey is, he's no match for him. Does Spidey win? Does the Juggernaut get to complete his job? And how does Madame Web turn out? Read it to find out. All I'll say is that this is one of my favorite Spider-Man tales if only to show how intense Parker can get when he needs to be.and hey, I didn't reference that one meme in here at all... fancy that
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Fantastic Four Annual #2 & Fantastic Four #258 "The Origin of Doctor Doom" & "Interlude"
Two totally different stories, made in different decades by different teams, and they aren't even really continuations of one another. I combine them together however since to me, they both capture the best of Victor Von Doom.
The former is exactly what it sounds like- the origin of Doctor Doom. We see that Doom was raised by gypsys, and that he was born by a studier of witchcraft, burned at the cross (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJYCClXUkyE), while his father was a gypsy healer. Von Doom senior is taken to save a gypsy from dying, but fails. Karma comes back to him shortly after, as he dies and leaves Victor an orphan.
Victor eventually takes it upon himself to study medicine, like his father, and becomes a genius scientist. He leaves the village in Latveria, where he now rules, to study in the United State. The funny thing is we learn that he went to the same alma mater that Reed Richards and Ben Grimm went to, and not only did Von Doom have a potent encounter with Mr. Fantastic, but Richards once again proves why he is the biggest asshole in all of comics and that he's responsible for the creation of Doctor Doom. It's one of the greatest origin stories ever told, so much so that even though it's only 13 pages long, it's far more remembered than the main story in the Annual itself.
The second was written in the John Byrne era, basically as a simple day in the life tale for Doom. Changing pace by not showing any of the Four in it at all, we see how Doom lives his life, both the good and the bad. Byrne's run is famous for adding a bit of light-hearted humor into the action and heart that made the title so revered after all these years, and this is no exception as to why it's so iconic. Two great stories that I just have to put together.
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The Infinity Gauntlet
Wanna get pumped for Avengers 2? Read this.
Basically, everyone that ever mattered in the Marvel Universe take on Thanos when he gets rejected by his old flame, Death, and decides to use the allmighty power of the Infinity Gauntlet to fuck the universe up. Even Galactus doesn't stand a chance against Thanos. Of course, if he won, there wouldn't still be a Marvel, would there? But it's the battle that makes the story. And every string you can think of gets pulled, right down to some team-ups you'd never imagine happening, leading to an embarrassing end for Thanos.
But still, how would you describe Thanos here?
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Okay, Mephisto.
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Captain America #122 "The Sting of the Scorpion"
I have a feeling that Captain America 2 will take some themes from this tale. Here, we see Steve Rogers, still a fish out of water in present-day Manhattan, walk around town and questioning the current state of the country as we were at war and in the midst of unbelievable political turmoil. Is the American Dream dead? Or are we just going through changing times?
Cap ponders all of this, in between an admittedly average fight with the Scorpion. But it does make for some of Lee's sharpest dialogue. Perhaps we should have all battled less and questioned more. And at least there's no references to American Idol in here.
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X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills
Did you like X2? This is where the inspiration behind it came from, so you need to read this. Didn't like it? Then maybe you'd like the original take on the story here instead, so you need to read this. Have you still not seen X2? It's easily in the top 5, if not top 3 super hero movies ever made, so you need to either watch it or read this first, then get to the other.
Reverend Stryker, a military general-turned evangelist, conducts a TV debate with Xavier, discussing the pros and cons of mutant-dome. While Xavier is cool and collected, bring out very strong points as to why his fellow homo superiors deserve the same rights as us homo sapiens, Stryker knows how to speak to the impressionable home audience, and sounds nice and inviting, despite keeping his evil message intact. Shortly after the interview is done and Cyclops and Storm take Xavier home, Stryker orders a hit out on the three mutants to bring them over to his lair, and finds a way to break Professor X's mutant ability to read into people's minds and do the same to him, bringing God's words into his psyche. For this brief period, Xavier becomes downright scary, and it's hard to believe that he would break his intentions as easily as this.
Meanwhile, the rest of the mutants have an encounter with Magneto, who knows that Stryker is capable of much more, and convinces them to join his fight. It all culminates in a big fight in public where things don't go the way you'd expect them to in an X-Men story.
This is a shockingly graphic tale for the time being. Watchmen was still a year or two away, so it's surprising to see such intense violence and language used. Some of Stryker's actions are downright shocking, particularly his origin explaining how he began to spread "God's word". It's also such a great comic for showing the similar ideals but contrasting methods between Xavier and Magnus. Despite meaning well with hopes of world peace and unity, Magneto himself is too vengeful for Xavier to side with, even though he agrees to an extent that violence might help their cause. It also explores the theme of persecution that Lee's original run was too heavy-handed with, but Claremont handled more efficiently.
I've never read the Infinity Gauntlet, but my friend doesn't seem to like it too much. I'm not sure why, he won't really tell me.
God Loves Man Kills is probably my favorite X-Men story of all time. Nice to see it on this list.
Quote from: Lord Dalek on May 12, 2012, 08:00:00 PM
God Loves Man Kills is probably my favorite X-Men story of all time. Nice to see it on this list.
And you were partially wrong! Will your other call on #1 make it to the top?
Stick around and find out.
Quote from: Brak's Dad on May 12, 2012, 08:00:50 PM
Quote from: Lord Dalek on May 12, 2012, 08:00:00 PM
God Loves Man Kills is probably my favorite X-Men story of all time. Nice to see it on this list.
And you were partially wrong! Will your other call on #1 make it to the top?
Stick around and find out.
Well as long as it isn't a certain issue of Amazing Fantasy... so sick of that.
#15? It's one of the best origin stories to be sure, but yeah, Spidey has seen better days since his debut.
I've read a bit of God Loves, Man Kills. And it's almost disturbing how relevant it is to today's times.
Taking someone else's words and twisting them to your own cause? That will always be relevant.
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Thor #348-353 "The Surtur Saga"
Imagine seeing Thor, Loki and Odin team up together to take on one unstoppable threat. It shouldn't be that odd of a thought, but it took a while for the three to team up, and when they did, boy was it glorious. Here they take on this beast in an epic battle that only Simonson could have imagined, and we don't get a very happy ending. Sick stuff.
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Silver Surfer #3 "The Power and the Prize"
In this introduction to Mephisto, the MU's very own Devil views the Surfer from his abyss. The Surfer's never-ending quest for philosophical being and his warm intentions disgust Mephisto, which lead to his plan to obtain Norrin Radd's freewill. Mephisto finds Shalla Bal, Radd's estranged love from his home Zenn-La, and begins his ploy.
When the Silver Surfer arrives in Mephisto's lair, the supposed form of Satan makes a compromise with Radd- he can reunite with Shalla Bal, provided that he makes an alliance with Mephisto, or Shalla will be sent back to their home planet and will forever be lost to Radd. Nothing is spared in this double-length story, with Mephisto pulling out all the stops against the Surfer, with some extraordinarily rich dialogue battered between the two powerful beings. A tragic tale with a tragic hero.
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Avengers #273-277 "Under Siege"
Shit goes down in this arc. For a while in the comics, Baron Zemo has been planning his own Avengers of super-villain, the Masters of Evil, to take on Earth's Mightiest Heroes. And when they're ready, they take on the heroes in their own mansion when they least expect it. The mansion gets attacked, the heroes barely hold their own, even Jarvis gets his ass handed to him.
The sadistic part is that this goes on for DAYS, and even Hercules, the Greek god himself, nearly gets killed. Some serious damage happens to the team after this, and until the major reforming a couple of years ago, they're still paying them off.
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Web of Spider-Man #31 & 32, The Amazing Spider-Man #293 & 294, Spectacular Spider-Man #131-132 "Kraven's Last Hunt"
Poor, poor Kravinoff. He finally succeeds in what he's been aiming to do for all these years, slay the Spider, and he goes crazy right after.
Granted, it seems like he was always crazy to begin with. Just before his attack, Kraven jumps into a pit of live spiders, nude, and eats them, to taste the blood of his victim. And right after killing Spider-Man, Kraven dons a copy of his black suit and takes on the place of the webbed wonder.
While he does this, Vermin, a rat-like creature that Spidey and Captain America took down earlier, strikes in the slums of Manhattan. It is Kraven, who as Spider-Man has been uncharacteristically killing off his opponents, to take on Vermin. Just as this happens, Peter Parker, still in his black suit, returns from the dead to exact vengeance on Kraven for all he's done.
This isn't all that much about Spider-Man, although there's a sweet little subplot about him and MJ, who recently got married. This is Kravinoff's tale, and gets deep into his psyche throughout, leading right into his needed death. I hope I didn't spoil too much for you, but there isn't really any other way that I could have wrote this.
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Daredevil #168, 174-182, 187-190 "The Elektra Saga"
I sure hope that the movie didn't leave a sour taste in your mouth regarding this storyline, since this is easily Frank Miller's best work.
Here we get to meet Elektra, the first and foremost woman of Matt Murdock's dreams. It's a tragic love story, right down to its bitter end. Pretty much any reinterpretation of Daredevil attempts to tackle this at one point or another, and it's easy to see why. You'll narily catch DD in a more vulnerable scenario.
Quote from: Brak's Dad on May 12, 2012, 12:25:08 PM
Quote from: Foggle on May 12, 2012, 12:23:20 PM
Quote from: Brak's Dad on May 12, 2012, 12:22:47 PM
I mean, crossovers aren't exactly new, and there are always exceptions to the rule, but I know what you mean. People like Bendis ruin things for everyone.
I liked Bendis' work on early USM. What's he doing wrong?
Spider-Man, Wolverine and Doctor Strange are Avengers.
And besides what Insommy mentioned, Civil War was partially his fault.
New Avengers felt wrong to me...and I've never even read an Avengers comic before.
Quote from: Dr. Insomniac on May 12, 2012, 12:30:36 PM
Quote from: Foggle on May 12, 2012, 12:28:36 PM
Quote from: Brak's Dad on May 12, 2012, 12:25:08 PM
And besides what Insommy mentioned, Civil War was partially his fault.
I always hear about how bad Civil War is, but I've never read it. What makes it so awful? :zonk:
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Ugh, I forgot all the name dropping. I do like the part when she tells Captain America that America is full of shit unlike what he remembers. So true.
I think the point is that someones opinion isn't worthless because of their lack of knowledge on pop culture-the most trivial and ever changing aspect of the modern world. For instance, check out the MySpace reference. How relevant is that?
Her argument is weak at best.
Anyway, that Kraven story sounds nuts. I mean, he was obviously always off his rocker, but that definitely takes the crazy cake.
QuoteI do like the part when she tells Captain America that America is full of shit unlike what he remembers. So true.
Yeah, an America where civil rights was out of the question, being gay was considered a trip to the asylum, and lobotomies were viewed as an acceptable medical procedure is absolutely better than what we have now.
But back to comics, I'm seeing a noticeable lack of stuff from up to 10 years ago. I know that no one's a fan of the Quesada era, but there's still some gems, like Marvel 1602.
Quote from: Dr. Insomniac on May 13, 2012, 02:39:47 PM
But back to comics, I'm seeing a noticeable lack of stuff from up to 10 years ago. I know that no one's a fan of the Quesada era, but there's still some gems, like Marvel 1602.
There's some definite gold in them hills, true, but I always go back to the 60's-80's for Marvel in my mind. I might just make another list for some great modern Marvel stories after I'm done with this one.
But I will say, there are 5 slots left, so who knows what'll make it in.
Clone Saga, One More Day, Onslaught Saga, and possibly something to do with wife beating.
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on May 13, 2012, 03:08:09 PM
Clone Saga, One More Day, Onslaught Saga, and possibly something to do with wife beating.
Don't forget One Moment In Time.
Quote from: Dr. Insomniac on May 13, 2012, 03:11:38 PM
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on May 13, 2012, 03:08:09 PM
Clone Saga, One More Day, Onslaught Saga, and possibly something to do with wife beating.
Don't forget One Moment In Time.
Top 5 leaked.
#1 is going to be the Transformers comic where a random bum finds Megatron in pistol form and uses it to become the next Tony Montana.
Wot? No Howard the Duck?
It's time for the top 5.
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Deadpool #11
I made it through 20 spots without a Deadpool story? What is wrong with me?
This has got to be one of the funniest stories the Merc with a mouth has appeared in. Deadpool and Blind Al arrives in an old Lee and Romita, Sr. Spider-Man comic, and attempts to find his way out of it. And boy, is this fucking hilarious. You can tell that Joe Kelly and crew are big fans of the original comics, since they treat the universe with plenty of respect, but at the same time, aren't afraid to pick out its flaws by knocking on the cheesy dialogue and dated fashions.
The amazing thing is that everything still rings true to the original story, no matter how far Deadpool and Blind Al's wit goes against the characters, and the comic even comes with a reprint of the original story to prove it. And I'll just say that Deadpool's reactions to the Osborn's hairdos alone make it top 5 material.
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Fantastic Four #48-50 "The Galactus Trilogy"
These 3 comics introduce 3 of the most important characters in the MU and put one of the biggest fights of all to Earth. With some of Jack Kirby's most vibrant artwork and Lee's biggest writing, this remains one of their greatest triumphs.
The Watcher, an all-seeing, all-encompassing divine being, comes to Earth to warn the Fantastic Four of Galactus, a planet-devouring giant, whose goal is to eat our planet. He has seen Galactus do this to other planets time and time again, and refuses to sit idly by as he devours yet another planet, which is why he warns Richards and his clan. The Watcher sens the Human Torch to Galactus' home world to take charge of things, as the other 3 stay on here to fend off against the all-mighty being if and when he shows up.
Around the same time, Galactus' herald, the Silver Surfer, arrives on Earth, riding through the planet to see if it's fit for his master. After a fatal attack by the Thing and a meeting with Ben Grimm's own girl, Alicia Masters, we see the Surfer become humbled. He's reminded of his Shalla Bal and memories of Zenn-La, and comes to realize that Galactus' will must not be done.
Epic in every sense of the word, the second Fantastic Four movie tried to tackle this plot, but failed ever-so-horribly (GALACTUS CLOUD!!!!). The original story is still the best.
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Uncanny X-Men #129-138 "The Dark Phoenix Saga"
Yet another story where the movie adaptation absolutely rapes the original tale. Let's just get this out of the way and forget that X3 exists, okay?
Well anyway, Jean Grey's transformation to Phoenix has been something going on in the pipeline for years up to this point, but the rise of Jean's evil side happened all at once, shocking comic-reading audiences the world over when it occurred. Mastermind, the head of the prestigious and mysterious Hellfire Club, invites Phoenix to join as their Black Queen, in contrast to Emma Frost, their glorious White Queen. All seems to be going well, except that Cyclops doesn't approve of the Hellfire Club and takes on Mastermind for Jean's honor and safety. When it seems like Mastermind has killed Summers in their fight (it was only his psychic image- this wasn't a real fight, but rather, a psychic brawl), Phoenix snaps, and unleashes her full potential as the Dark Phoenix.
Phoenix takes on the entire X-Men in a fit of rage, and even attacks a star, killing billions of its inhabitants in the balance. It's an intense storyarc with a shocking conclusion, in which Jean Grey pays for her actions in a way that comic readers were not accustomed to at the time- with her life. The stakes couldn't have been higher for the X-Men, and nary a better story with the mutants has been told.
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Amazing Spider-Man #121 & 122 "The Night Gwen Stacy Died"
Something you guys need to realize is that Norman Osborn lived a very tragic life during his last few years. He has repeatedly gained and regained the memory of his alter ego, the Green Goblin, and all of the turmoil that he has caused and have been caused to him by Spider-Man, alias Peter Parker. It's also worth reminding that Harry, his son, had been suffering through a drug addiction in the past couple of years.
After a tragic relapse causing Harry to be in a fatal state, Norman has come to the conclusion that Harry's roommate, the person who is supposedly the most responsible for all of these issues, must die. The Goblin arrives to Peter and Norman's apartment, only to find Gwen Stacy, his girlfriend. The Goblin takes Stacy up himself, and finds a way to tell Spidey to meet him on top of the George Washington Bridge. He does, just as Gobby drops Gwen to the water. Spidey spins a web to pull Gwen back up, but it's too late. She's dead, and there's nothing Spider-Man can do but obtain vengeance.
Spider-Man has lost many of his loved ones over the years, but Gwen's death might just be the most tragic, besides possibly his Uncle Ben. For one thing, Gwen was his first true love. Sure, Peter had a bit of a schoolboy fling with Betty Brant, but in hindsight, it wasn't too serious and was ultimately doomed from the beginning- the two had nothing in common, were too far apart in age, and had other true loves to pursue. While Peter and Mary Jane would eventually tie the knot, Gwen was and forever will be Peter's first. For another, just before the death of Captain Stacy, Gwen's father told Peter, whom he secretly knew was Spidey the entire time, to keep a close watch after Gwendolyn. Sadly, Parker wasn't able to complete this man's, who was somewhat of a father figure to him, final request.
And the most tragic part of all is that Spider-Man was partly responsible for her death. While Gwen would have still died even if Spidey didn't spin a web to save her from falling off the bridge, if you notice the panel where his web catches her leg, you can notice that her neck snapped. Maybe if he spun a web a little sooner or a little later, or built a harness for Gwen to fall on, or even jumped in himself and flew back up, Spider-Man could have still saved her. But no. Peter Parker will forever have to live with the fact that he broke Gwen Stacy's neck.
Spidey gets his vengeance in the following issue, which is why I included it in, but the fact still remains that Gwen Stacy is dead, and nothing, no clone or scandal or whatever came up ever since, can bring her back to life. The idea behind the amazing Spider-Man was that nothing ever goes right in Peter Parker's life, no matter how much he tries to do good in this world. When it seemed like things were going too well for Parker in the past few years, Gerry Conway and Gil Kane decided to pull out this story to remind us of why Spider-Man is one of the most endearing characters in all of fiction. Even the first movie took a couple of cues from these two issues, primarily with the climax between Spidey and Mary Jane (although MJ gets to live) and the Goblin's death.
And #1....
We already had our jokes, so let's get down to the real deal, k?
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Avengers Annual #10 "By Friends- Betrayed!"
I had a hard time ranking the rest of the list, but I knew right from the beginning that this would be my #1. It just had to be.
It starts off with Spider-Woman saving a woman from falling off the Golden Gate Bridge, who happens to be Carol Danvers, a big name to the Avengers. As Spider-Woman hung up with the X-Men from an earlier phone convo to get some ideas, Professor X reads into her mind, telling her that Danvers' mind has been wiped clean from a mutant by the name of Rogue, in her comic debut.
Meanwhile, we see Captain America crash into Rogue's trap in New York, as the rest of the Avengers get ambushed by Mystique and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutant in their mansion. Rogue comes over and takes on Earth's Mightiest Heroes alongside the Brotherhood. This is a bittersweet reunion for the Scarlet Witch, who was a member of the Brotherhood before reforming and joining the Avengers, but there isn't much time to dwell on this. After a brief but awesome fight, the Avengers tell Spider-Woman an abridged history of their time with Carol Danvers, and why they weren't expecting to see her again. This will come up later, but for now, the heroes take on the Brotherhood again, in an even more epic fight than before.
Just as you'd expect the comic to end, the real meat of the story arrives. Carol regains consciousness and full memory while chilling at the Xavier Mansion, as the Avengers show up to talk to her, until she snaps and tells them what really happened. I couldn't possibly give away this side of the story, but I can say this. Did you ever see Rosemary's Baby? Well, Carol Danvers had a somewhat similar story to Rosemary, but even more fucked up, and the Avengers, who were by her side the entire time, did nothing to help her in even the slightest. In fact, they ignored and betrayed her more than anything.
This story attempts to say that for all of the times that our heroes do good and save the day, there's always one or two times where they end up doing far more damage than they could imagine. The sad thing is that these heroes still mean well, but don't have the time to reflect on everything they do, or whose lives may be hurt. Carol Danvers' psyche will forever be fucked, and Earth's Mightiest Heroes are at fault for it.
This comic reminds me of why I love the Avengers. Why I love old-school Marvel. Why I love comics. For all of the good our favorite heroes cause, they're still capable of faults, and can hurt people, even their loved ones, on a regular basis. Tragedy at its best.
Well there's my list! Comments?
YES DEADPOOL #11 ILU
By far one of my favorite comic issues. Now I just have to read the rest of your list!
I really like classic X-Men. All the stuff you mentioned, the Phoenix saga (and Dark Phoenix), Days Of Future Past... Most of the stuff up to Onslaught, anyway. The X-Men were the ultimate underdogs who always tried to do the right thing, they all had their differences, but at heart they were a family. Once they started throwing in betrayal and conspiracy (major comic cliches), they sort of ruined what made X-Men work.
That said, good list. I don't read comics anymore, but the classics do have some good stories to them.
Yeah, after scouring through Dark Age and Modern Age books, I feel like I've been neglecting the previous eras. And this list might help me find something good out of them.
I was soooooo close.
Quote from: Dr. Insomniac on May 13, 2012, 02:39:47 PM
QuoteI do like the part when she tells Captain America that America is full of shit unlike what he remembers. So true.
Yeah, an America where civil rights was out of the question, being gay was considered a trip to the asylum, and lobotomies were viewed as an acceptable medical procedure is absolutely better than what we have now.
But back to comics, I'm seeing a noticeable lack of stuff from up to 10 years ago. I know that no one's a fan of the Quesada era, but there's still some gems, like Marvel 1602.
:D I know but I didn't want to get into because I didn't want to derail this topic, jackass.
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on May 13, 2012, 03:08:09 PM
Clone Saga, One More Day, Onslaught Saga, and possibly something to do with statutory rape .
*Fixed...or wait, wasn't that the 80s? :sweat:
Quote from: gunswordfist on May 13, 2012, 07:10:15 PM
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on May 13, 2012, 03:08:09 PM
Clone Saga, One More Day, Onslaught Saga, and possibly something to do with statutory rape .
*Fixed...or wait, wasn't that the 80s? :sweat:
There's a lot of bad examples.
Like Cannibalism.
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on May 13, 2012, 07:22:57 PM
Quote from: gunswordfist on May 13, 2012, 07:10:15 PM
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on May 13, 2012, 03:08:09 PM
Clone Saga, One More Day, Onslaught Saga, and possibly something to do with statutory rape .
*Fixed...or wait, wasn't that the 80s? :sweat:
There's a lot of bad examples.
Like Cannibalism.
And incest.
A pre-cursor to The Hunger Games, really.
^^Haha, cannibalism. I was decided between that and statutory rape but the memory of something about Teen Titans The Judas Contract decided for me.
On to Brak's Avaitor Dad's top 5:
I rarely laughed as much in my adult years as I did Deadpool #11 and I clearly have never laughed so much during a comic book. I doubt another comic book will be able to poke as much fan at its own medium.
I heard they retconned Jean Grey's actions. Someone compared it with how Hal Jordan going mad and killing all those Green Lanterns' in Emerald Twilight was retconned in I believe Rebirth (I read both Emerald Twilight and Rebirth) with how a villain basically made him go on that killing spree so I'm guessing it's something like that. What's not heard to guess is the motives behind both retcons. "Heroes do no bad. Me good!"
So...so that's exactly how Gwen didn't. Everywhere I heard about it, it was kind of vague. I think I heard about how Spidey tried to save her with a web. Everyone here needs to read Spider-Man Blue. Not a single soul dies or even gets any kind of bad injury and Gwen's death isn't shown or detailed at all but it's still probably the saddest comic I've read to date. All you need to know is it's about Peter first meeting Gwen (don't know if that's a retcon or not, honestly doesn't matter because it'd be a great retelling at worst) and how her death still affects him even after he married Mary Jane (and especially on a certain holiday)
While digging through my collection, I found a great little epilogue to my #8 choice that I might just tag along- Avengers #280. Ir shows Jarvis in his hospital bed, still suffering from the attack by the Masters of Evil, as he's not spared the possibilities of his downsides. Right after, Tony Stark arrives to tell Jarvis that he would gladly pay for his loyal butler to retire with his full salary in check.
Jarvis seriously contemplates this, as he goes through flashbacks of his entire course with the Avengers. As many highs and lows as you can imagine from the beginning to that current point in time are brought up, straight down to Jarvis' final answer. It's a sweet little story, and a good introduction piece for newbies, since it contains a lot of recaps.
The next 5 issues right after it also lead to a great arc where Zeus brings the current team over to Olympus to pay for the near-death of his son. Thor is especially on trial, since Zeus considers him the most responsible for Hercules' pain. Also worth checking out if you can find them.
Hmm. Seems poignant.
On other good Marvel comics, you ever read Ruins? I really like what Ellis does to the entire Marvel Universe there.
Ruins just makes Marvels ever funnier. Poor Phil.
Nope, I have not.
Great job, Avaitor. Your list certainly made me want to dig deeper into the Marvel-universe, since I've only read a few of the comics mentioned on it.
The Surtur Saga contains one of my favorite moments. It's when Thor, Odin and Loki are about to go to battle with Surtur and each one of them cries out his battlecry:
Thor: For Odin!
Odin: For Asgard!
Loki: For me!
It's "For myself!", but it's such a great scene nonetheless. And there's also a great epilogue story right after the arc finished, I believe Thor #355.
And for just about all of these, there's at least one or two very interesting What If's... to look up. But those may require more knowledge of the MU than just the stories I posted in question, which is why I didn't mention any of them.
My mistake. In my defense, it's been years since I last read that particular comic.
Quote from: Pharass on May 14, 2012, 01:09:24 PM
Great job, Avaitor. Your list certainly made me want to dig deeper into the Marvel-universe, since I've only read a few of the comics mentioned on it.
The Surtur Saga contains one of my favorite moments. It's when Thor, Odin and Loki are about to go to battle with Surtur and each one of them cries out his battlecry:
Thor: For Odin!
Odin: For Asgard!
Loki: For me!
:D
Avaitor, my comic book list is low (I'm down to reading Samurai manga) so I need some recommendations. May I get a reading order based off of this thread's list and any comics I should read in between them?
Quote from: gunswordfist on December 14, 2012, 10:24:51 AM
Avaitor, my comic book list is low (I'm down to reading Samurai manga) so I need some recommendations. May I get a reading order based off of this thread's list and any comics I should read in between them?
Read in order from 25-1, cause it only gets better from then on. ;)
But yeah, I can give you more essential stuff to look up later.
Well, since Star-Lord is cast in the Guardians of the Galaxy film (Chris Pratt is going to play him... yes, Andy from Parks and Rec), I'm reminded of a story that I really enjoy, and would like to pull up as an honorable mention.
(https://animationrevelation.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages2.wikia.nocookie.net%2F__cb20080803003329%2Fmarveldatabase%2Fimages%2Fc%2Fcd%2FMarvel_Preview_Vol_1_11.jpg&hash=630adc92da305235df508a6990faa575581b6a41)
This one's original cover name drops Robert A. Heinlein, but I personally prefer it to any of his novels.
Ah! I read a newer comic with him it. The one with Rocket Racoon.
Hopefully GOTG is half as good as the greatest modern comic book event, Annihilation.