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The Origins of Wolverine, Before he joined the X-Men!

Created by Roy Thomas, Len Wein, and John Romita Sr.–but first drawn for publication by Herb Trimpe–in the pages of The Incredible Hulk #180-181 in 1974, Wolverine is not your typical Canadian of small stature, he is a fierce character with retractable claws, a mysterious past, an iconic design, and a popularity that surpassed most of the other Marvel superheroes.

After being introduced as an agent of the Canadian government, Wolverine made a quick comeback. In his second appearance, in the classic Giant-Size X-Men #1, he joined the new team of X-Men but stayed a mystery for a long time. In fact, the mystery past is a big part of the character as it offers a lot of space for the writers to build stories full of twists–and not told in chronological order.

Who was Wolverine before being transformed by the mysterious Weapon X program? How many lives did he have as his healing factor keeps him young and healthy?

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Spider-Man: Gang War Reading Order: Marvel’s Heroes unites against the gangs of New York

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A few months after the Dark Web storyline, Spider-Man is once again thrust at the center of a crossover event as chaos reigns in the streets of New York City with a Gang War taking place–the old Spidey fan will remember that there’s already a storyline titled Gang War in the series, in Amazing Spider-Man #284-288.

Set up during Zeb Wells’s run of Amazing Spider-Man, the Gang War event revolves around a violent conflict between the gang lords of New York City that is causing chaos throughout the Big Apple. It’s about the bad guys fighting the other bad guys to the point that even a proactive superhero like Spidey can’t keep up. Hobgoblin, Mr. Negative, the Owl, Shotgun, Diamondback, A.I.M., Hydra, and more battle with and against each other to gain total control of the city. To stop this folly, Spider-Man has to lead a group of heroes–including Spider-Man Miles Morales, She-Hulk, Daredevil, Shang-Chi, and Spider-Woman–to take down the super-gangs in under 48 hours.

But what do Mayor Luke Cage and the city’s strong anti-vigilante laws have to say about it? Will Jackpot gamble on getting involved? And is Shang-Chi a friend or foe? They’d better all figure it out before two classic villains make a game-changing return!

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The Kingpin: The Origin Story of Wilson Fisk, Daredevil’s Archenemy

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Wilson Fisk, known as the Kingpin, has established himself as one of Marvel’s most memorable comic book villains. His rise to this position, however, was not so quick. This dangerous criminal lord has progressively carved out a significant place among Marvel’s rogues’ gallery since his debut in 1967, owing in large part to Frank Miller’s famous portrayal in Daredevil and, more recently, Vincent D’Onofrio’s gripping portrayal in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Wilson Fisk commands attention with his intimidating size, bulging muscles, and fearsome combat skills. He emanates unquestionable authority and strength while wearing his suit jacket and distinctive cane. The presence of the Kingpin cannot be ignored, whether in comic books or on the screen. Today, we retrace the origins of this now iconic character.

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The Best of Emma Frost Comics, our Recommended Reading Order for the White Queen

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She started as a foe of the X-Men before becoming a superhero and one of the most important members and leaders of the team. She is one of the strongest telepaths out there and has the power to transform her body into an unbreakable diamond. Today, we’re talking about Emma Frost, a.k.a. The White Queen.

Created by Chris Claremont and John Byrne in 1979, Emma Frost is one of the most striking X-Men who found her way to the hearts of readers thanks to great character developments throughout the years. She has evolved to become more heroic without betraying who she is at her core. Importantly, Emma is devoted to her students, and the children she helps, and tries to give them all they need to survive in this cruel world.

Labeled as a femme fatale, Emma Frost is undoubtedly a complex and strong character. She never shies away from her past, but also has to endure many traumatic experiences and losses since her first appearance, more than 40 years ago!

Emma Frost finds herself right now in the spotlight with this essential reading order, listing the best White Queen comics to read to understand her character, motivations, and transformations. Beware! A Best/Essential Comic for a character can be a mediocre or okay story with great characterization or important for the character’s evolution.

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Nick Fury, the Origin Story of Marvel’s Legendary Spy

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If Samuel L. Jackson popularized and made recognizable the name Nick Fury outside comic book shops, the original character emerged sixty years ago as the leader of the elite unit Howling Commandos before becoming Marvel’s legendary spy master.

Now a key figure in the Marvel Universe, Nick Fury’s origin story has evolved and expanded over the years, from his years in the army as sergeant to the implacable Colonel and Director of the S.H.I.E.L.D.

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War Machine (James Rhodes) Reading Order

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Meet James Rupert “Rhodey” Rhodes, a skilled military pilot and one of the few people that Tony Stark trusts to use the technology of the Iron Man Armor. Created by David Michelinie and John Byrne, he made his debut in Iron Man #118 (January 1979) as a supporting player.

Who is James Rhodes aka War Machine? Born in Philadelphia, he first encountered Tony Stark when he was flying combat missions in Vietnam. After being shot down by Viet Cong rocket fire, Rhodes was trying to get his chopper back in the air when he came upon Stark, who was wearing a large powered armor prototype. The Viet Cong struck at that same time, and Stark’s outfit helped to stave them off. Rhodes and Stark traveled together to a neighboring enemy base where they stole a second helicopter and used it to return to the American lines.

When Tony relapsed into his alcoholism, James Rhodes took up the mantle of Iron Man for some time. But Rhodey was destined to be more than a replacement for another hero, he was destined to have his own alias: War Machine, and even later Iron Patriot.

Let’s simply say that Rhodey has lived many adventures with Tony Stark on the comic book pages, and even on the screen where he has been played at first by Terrence Howard, and by Don Cheadle since Iron Man 2 (2010). He should even soon headline his own film, Armor Wars (TBA).

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The Best of Cyclops Comics, Your Essential Scott Summers Reading Order

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He is an X-Men founding member. He stands out among many mutants due to his unique eyewear and deadly optic rays. Yes, we’re talking about Scott Summers, a.k.a. Cyclops.

Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1963, Cyclops is a polarising X-Man who is as much loved as he is hated, and who is frequently misunderstood. Scott Summers, who was first regarded as the archetypical hero, has never been without flaws or weaknesses. This resilient but very effective leader suffered from poor self-esteem and a tendency to dwell on his mistakes. He was also not the type of man to express his feelings and had difficulties verbalizing his problems. You guessed it, Cyclops has had to make some difficult decisions, make sacrifices, put his life in peril several times, and live in some crazy situations in the sixty years since his initial appearance!

His love life is also complicated, as he has been married to Jean Grey and her clone Madelyne Pryor, as well as being in a long-term committed relationship with our favorite White Queen, Emma Frost.

As the character celebrates the sixty anniversary of his first appearance, Scott Summers/Cyclops finds himself right now in the spotlight with this essential reading order, listing the best Cyclops comics to read to understand his character, motivations, and transformations. Beware! A Best/Essential Comic for a character can be a mediocre or okay story with great characterization or important for the character’s evolution.

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Sentry Reading Order, the Golden Guardian of Good

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Who is Sentry? It’s a question that has been asked more than once since his first appearance in Marvel Comics—and one that has come up again with Lewis Pullman playing him in the upcoming Thunderbolts movie.

Created by Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee, Sentry—also known as Robert Reynolds—made his debut in The Sentry #1, published in September 2000. Often presented as a psycho Superman, Robert Reynolds took a strengthened version of the Super Soldier Serum (from Captain America) and gained the power of a million exploding suns! He then became Sentry, one of the greatest superheroes who ever existed, with the Void as his archenemy…

Or maybe, all of this is false? The truth is far more convoluted since Robert Reynolds was actually a drug addict with mental health problems, including paranoid schizophrenia. Taking the serum transformed Robert into a reality warper. The man can subconsciously alter reality and give way to Sentry – the best Robert can be – and Void – the worst Robert can be.

Robert Reynolds/Sentry is undeniably one of the most complex and intriguing characters introduced in the past two decades. His complex persona and intriguing journey can clearly be the subject of a whole other article.

For the moment, you can simply discover Sentry’s history with this reading order!

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Captain Britain Reading Order, Marvel UK’s Superhero

Captain Britain Reading Order

At the beginning of the 1970s, Marvel Comics expanded its business by opening a new branch in Great Britain: Marvel UK. At first, and for a few years, it was just a way to reprint American comics in a magazine format in order to establish the brand. It didn’t really work. It was then decided that a real line of British comics was needed. This led to writer Chris Claremont being asked to come up with a British character. With artist Herb Trimpe, they created Captain Britain who made his debut in Captain Britain Weekly #1 in 1976.

Brian Braddock was chosen by the sorcerer Merlyn himself to become a hero. Between the sword of might and the amulet of right, Captain Britain emerged as the United Kingdom’s greatest champion from the streets of London to the mystic realm of Otherworld.

In the beginning, the Captain Britain series was written by tourists, Americans who only visited the UK. This didn’t help the book speak to British readers. The first issues are nevertheless important for the introduction of memorable characters like psychic Elizabeth “Betsy” Braddock, Brian’s twin sister, and their older brother Jamie Braddock—The Queen also appeared! The sales didn’t go up so Captain Britain was buried in a Spider-Man reprint title after 39 issues. The two heroes “really” met though, as Brian Braddock made his debut on the American market in a issue of Marvel Team Up.

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Maya Lopez Reading Order (Echo, Ronin, Thunderbird)

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While Matt Murdock/Daredevil became blind following a childhood chemical accident, Maya Lopez was born blind. Her great ability to lip reading when she was young has delayed her diagnosis. Following her father’s death, a Native American of the Cheyenne Nation and a mob enforcer, Maya was taken care of by Wilson Fisk, the one and only Kingpin. She was sent to a boarding school for special children and discovered she has photographic reflexes – the capacity to memorize anything and copy the exact movements of anything. Her education was then pursued in a school for prodigies.

With a special relationship with Kingpin, this is no surprise that Maya made her debut in Daredevil #9 in December 1999. Created by David Mack and Joe Quesada, Maya was manipulated by Fisk who was using her to destroy Matt Murdock and feeding her lies about Daredevil. Maya took the codename Echo to fight Daredevil before discovering the truth and the Kingpin’s manipulations.

After those events, Maya took the road to find herself and this will lead her to take another alias: she was the first person to be Ronin (before Clint Barton), wearing a suit that conceals her identity, and later joined the Avengers. As Ronin and Echo, she participated in many missions, including a fight against the Hood and Secret Invasion.

Following in the footsteps of characters like Monica Rambeau or Hank Pym, Maya tends to change her alias following her circumstances. Recently, she took Thunderbird as a mantle after being chosen by the cosmic entity known as the Phoenix Force to be her new host. She was then gifted with new abilities including telepathy, flight, superhuman strength, and more.

Maya’s place in the Marvel Universe is clearly expanding, thanks to her introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She was introduced in the series Hawkeye (2021), portrayed by Alaqua Cox, and her own spin-off, Echo, is planned for 2023!

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