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Trying to guess the age of a comic book character can be considered a sport in itself, as the timeline is never completely fixed, and relaunches and retcons often disrupt the timeline. It becomes yet more complicated when your character is shrouded in a little bit of mystery.

It worsens when your character has a particular relationship with the truth, like Deadpool. It’s not completely his fault, though. Deadpool’s brain doesn’t function normally because of the regenerative nature of his cells and the bizarre experiments he was subjected to, with drugs, virtual simulations, death, and memory implants.

Some rumors on the web imply that Deadpool was born Wade Wilson in Regina Saskatchewan, Canada, in 1973, but that information has never been verified (and comes from the movie, anyway). He may have had an ordinary childhood. Or not. He may have killed his parents. Or maybe they’re alive.

Wade Wilson has a lot of pasts, making it difficult even for him to know the truth about himself. If we’re not sure when and where Wade Wilson was born, what do we know?

Read More »How old is Deadpool in the comics?

Less than ten years after Namor made his debut, his female counterpart was introduced on the pages of Marvel Mystery Comics #82. Namora – full name Aquaria Nautica Neptunia – is, like her cousin Namor, a hybrid and one of Marvel’s first mutants.

Soon played by Mabel Cadena on the big screen in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Namora was created by artist Ken Bald (and an unknown writer), though several of her Golden Age appearances were written by Bill Everett who also designed her costume.

She’s the daughter of an Atlantean father and a human mother who lived several adventures next to her cousin in the Golden Age but was unfortunately killed off in the ‘60s. Namora continued to appear in a number of flashbacks but only made her permanent return to the Marvel Universe in 2006.

Though Namora didn’t have the chance to become a major player in the Marvel Universe, she still had the time to become a hero and make the undersea world safer!

Read More »Namora: The Origin and History of Namor’s Cousin

1972 was a year of transition for Marvel Comics. Stan Lee was promoted and started handing over his management responsibilities to his protégé, Roy Thomas, who became the new editor-in-chief of the company. This was also the year that Marvel finally surpassed DC Comics in terms of overall sales. Superheroes were not that widely popular at the time. Their popularity was waning, so Marvel diversified to stay relevant.

Taking advantage of the loosening of the Comics Code, Marvel launched new horror titles like The Tomb of Dracula, Ghost Rider, The Man-Thing, and Werewolf by Night, of course. Back then, Roy Thomas was trying a lot of new concepts.

The title Werewolf by Night was not entirely new when it debuted as an ongoing series in the 1970s. Marvel Comics had previously used the title in 1953 for a short horror story published in Marvel Tales #116, during the company’s Atlas Comics era. However, the 1970s Werewolf by Night introduced an original character and mythology, marking a significant departure from the earlier standalone tale. Conceived by Roy Thomas and co-plotted with Jean Thomas, the series was scripted by Gerry Conway and illustrated by Mike Ploog.

As was common practice at the time, the new Werewolf by Night character was first introduced through an anthology title—Marvel Spotlight #2 (February 1972). The initial storyline unfolded over three issues, concluding with Marvel Spotlight #4. Following a positive reception, the character was given his own ongoing comic book series, launching with Werewolf by Night #1 in September 1972. This not only solidified the presence of supernatural horror within Marvel’s publishing line but also paved the way for the introduction of other monster-themed characters and series throughout the 1970s.

Read More »Werewolf by Night Comics: Origin, History, and Reading Order Explained!

In 2021, Marvel published a new Heroes Reborn storyline. The company loves confusing readers by using the same titles over and over. But why Heroes Reborn? The 1996 original storyline was not a success and does in fact has not the best reputation. Let’s take a look back at that strange pure 1990s experiment.

Everything started in 1992 when Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane, Rob Liefeld, Erik Larsen, Whilce Portacio, Jim Valentino, and Marc Silvestri left Marvel to form Image Comics. Those creators found big success at Marvel. In fact, they were quite famous and wanted the company to recognize that in ways that were not agreeable for Marvel—they wanted better treatment, pay, and rights.

Everybody thought that they were coming back quickly, but Image became an instant hit that changed the industry forever. And then, the comic speculator bubble burst in 1993, changes in the distribution of comics created cash flow difficulties for some publishers, and poor sales numbers certainly didn’t help.

In fact, 1996 was a very bad year for Marvel. In January, the stock price dropped, and 275 staffers were laid off, and it was not the first time nor the last that year. In December, Marvel Comics declared bankruptcy—in truth, that was mostly the result of a battle to control the company between leaders that didn’t care for comics.

Read More »Heroes Reborn: Marvel Heroes, Image Style, the famous 1996 relaunch