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Meet the Web-Warriors, the protectors of the Spider-Verse

Thanks to the animated movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and its sequel Across the Spider-Verse, it is no secret that the Marvel Universe contains an infinite number of versions of Spider-Men, Spider-Women, and Spider-villains.

Before Miles Morales and company web-slung onto the big screen, a Spider-Army was created on the pages of Marvel Comics. During the Spider-Verse event, their mission was to protect the Spiders from the Inheritors, a vampiric family who hunt Spider-Totems to access what is called the Web of Life and Destiny, which can be described as a celestial map of the multiverse – and with Spiders created to repair, maintain, and expand it.

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DC Comics’ Prez, America’s First Teen President Is The Politician of Another Time

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The chaotic world of comic books is full of oddities. On that survived in a strange way is Prez, America’s First Teen President!

The year was 1973. DC Comics had a problem: Marvel was publishing many comics that the newsstands were full of them and DC Comics was barely visible on the racks. Publisher Carmine Infantino had to do something and he ordered more series, most of them were collections of reprints, but a few contained original characters, like Prez.

Created by writer Joe Simon (Captain America‘s co-creator) and artist Jerry Grandenetti, Prez: First Teen President of the U.S.A. introduced a teenage boy named Prez Rickard. He was named “Prez” because his mother dreamt of him becoming President one day. How prescient of her.

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The Inhumans: Unraveling the Origins of Marvel’s Enigmatic Royal Family

The story goes that during the 2010s, Marvel decided to push the X-Men to the side in favor of the Inhumans, as they preferred properties for which they had full screen rights at the time. Their attempt to position the Inhumans as replacements for the X-Men didn’t pay off and, worse, gave the public a misleading image of this superhuman race, which is not comprised of mutants. This effort was further hampered by the failure of the 2017 Inhumans TV series.

However, a look back at their origins in comic book titles reveals that the Inhumans are quite different from the X-Men. Originally conceived with Jack Kirby’s psychedelic aesthetic, they were weirder, their powers crazier, and their stories more otherworldly.

It all started twenty-five thousand years ago when Kree scientists, drawn to Earth beings’ incredible potential, experimented on them to create a superhuman army. These experiments ultimately resulted in the development of the Inhumans, a species with superhuman strength and long lifespans.

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Who Is Mister Terrific? A DC Comics Superhero

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There is not one, but two superheroes named Mister Terrific in the DC Comics Universe. Like many others, the original was created during the Golden Age Era and the second one took up the mantle decades later, reviving the legacy of a–probably forgotten–member of the Justice Society of America. 

Terry Sloane, Golden Age’s Mister Terrific 

Like Wildcat and the Gay Ghost, Mister Terrific first appeared in Sensation Comics #1 (1942). Created by Charles Reizenstein and Hal Sharp, this superhero was mostly thought of as just another masked mystery man, but he had a darker start than others.

You see, Terry Sloane may have had everything you’d ever want, but the thing that was missing led him to contemplate suicide. Known as “The Man of 1,000 Talents,” Terry was rich, he possessed a photographic memory and the skills of an Olympic athlete, and he was a master of the martial arts. He was a highly intelligent, natural-born leader, and an accomplished businessman. All of that in his early 20s!

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What Is the Marvel Method?

Roy Thomas explained the Marvel MEthod in the backup story in Avengers Annual #2

There is not one and only proven way that every cartoonist follows to make comics. In mainstream comics, it’s common for a writer to produce a full script that the artist follows to produce the illustrations—then the inker, colorist, and many more people add to it.

This was not the standard for a long time at Marvel Comics. There, writers and artists worked together by following what is commonly known as The Marvel Method.

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What is the Speed Force? Understanding the Origins of The Flash’s Powers

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It’s no secret that The Flash is the fastest man alive! But how can he be capable of such an amazing prowess? The Flash’s speed is derived from the Speed Force, which is defines as ‘a strange other-dimensional energy field that gives all speedsters their power‘ and ‘a mysterious ancient power that caused the extinction of the Mayans and sped up the evolution of a tribe of gorillas in East Africa‘ (DC Encyclopedia, 2021.) 

Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo created the Speed Force 30 years ago, in The Flash (Vol. 2) #91, after speedster Wally West attempted to travel faster using Johnny Quick’s super speed formula and began going so fast that he stopped time. At this moment, Wally’s mentor and Golden Age Speedster, Max Mercury, informs him of his link to the Speed Force. For Wally West, it was some « Zen Mumbo Jumbo », unaware that the Flash Mythology had just been drastically transformed.

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Who is Ra’s al Ghul, Batman’s Nemesis?

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The Joker may be considered by most as the ultimate enemy of Batman, but he certainly is not the only deadly threat in the Dark Knight’s rogues gallery. One that also stands apart among other DC Comics supervillains is Ra’s al Ghul.

Ra’s al Ghul’s First Apparition

Created by writer Dennis O’Neil and artist Neal Adams in the story “Daughter of the Demon” (Batman #232, 1971), Ra’s al Ghul was named by DC editor Julius Schwartz–in Arabic, the name means “the Head of the Demon.” If we are to believe Talia al Ghul, Ra’s chose this name himself, it was not given to him.

Ra’s al Ghul first entered Batman’s world after his daughter Talia, whom Batman had recently rescued from the League of Assassins, was kidnapped. He appeared suddenly in the Batcave to reveal to the Detective that the people responsible are the same as the ones who just took Robin (Dick Grayson). Once the shock passes, the two team up to go on a series of adventures, following the criminal to the other side of the world.

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Fullmetal Alchemist, a Classic Fantasy Manga

With a total of 108 chapters, Fullmetal Alchemist chronicles over nine years the epic, fun, and dangerous journey of the famous Elric Brothers.

Their story began in Japan in 2001 in Square Enix’s Monthly Shōnen Gangan. Readers were introduced to Edward and Alphonse Elric, two brothers living in a 20th-century-inspired world where alchemy is one of the most practiced sciences. Following a forbidden alchemical ritual gone wrong, Edward Elric lost his right arm and left leg while his younger brother Alphonse lost his entire physical body and now exists as a soul alchemically bound to a large suit of steel armor.

In a quest to restore their bodies (especially for his brother), Ed joined the military and became a State Alchemist. His research led him to search for the Philosopher’s Stone, a mystical object that could help him attain his goal. But now, war is on the horizon and the two brothers have no choice but to face the moral complexities of their actions, the harsh realities of war, and human suffering, as well as to deal with powerful and menacing adversaries with their own ambitions.

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Who is Red She-Hulk? The Origin Story of Marvel’s Red Monstress

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The Hulk Family Tree has expanded as more people got poisoned by Gamma radiation. The Marvel Universe is full of monsters, but all are certainly not green ones. Since the first incarnation of Red Hulk (also known as Rulk) first appeared in 2008, we know they also can be red ones.

Announced in a shroud of mystery during the 2009 Comic Con, Red She-Hulk followed Red Hulk’s path as his real identity was hidden for some time (nearly two years). Once again, Marvel threw a few “red” herrings on the readers’ path with clues leading to Domino of X-Force and Elektra. So, at the beginning, there only was the character design:

What [Jeph] Loeb did reveal was the process by which the character was created by [Ed] McGuinness and “Code Red” arc artist Ian Churchill. “Ed did the design, but Ian certainly made it his own. The two of them sent stuff back and forth until everyone was happy. Ed’s big contribution to it was that he wanted this big, long, flowing mane of hair that was black and had a red streak in it -sort of like the Bride of Frankenstein. It makes her look super cool. We worked a long time on what it is that she wears because we didn’t want her to be wearing what Jen wears, and we didn’t want her to be wearing a white torn shirt. What she has on is very specific.” —Introducing… Red She-Hulk (CBR.com)

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The History and Legacy of Crisis on Infinite Earths

Imagine the whole universe is in peril. I mean Universes! An unprecedented menace is coming, worlds are being annihilated, and nothing and nobody can’t stop it, except maybe if all the superheroes and supervillains unite. No, it’s not the pitch for next week’s major comics crossover event at Marvel or DC, because it’s 1985 and nothing as ambitious and of that scale has ever happened before.

It was Crisis on Infinite Earths, the story that changed the DC Universe and the American comic book industry forever.

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