Skip to content

Marvel

Scarlet Witch Reading Order, The Wanda Maximoff Story

Also known as Wanda Maximoff, Scarlet Witch first appeared in the comic book The X-Men #4 (March 1964) by legendary Marvel writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. Initially, her powers were limited to probability manipulation, but over time, she evolved into one of the most powerful sorceresses in the Marvel Universe—capable of reshaping reality itself. For decades, she was considered a mutant, but her origins were retconned in recent years.

Wanda’s journey has been full of important transformations. She debuted as a reluctant supervillain alongside her twin brother, Pietro Maximoff (Quicksilver), as members of Magneto’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. However, disillusioned by Magneto’s ruthlessness, the twins soon abandoned the Brotherhood and switched sides, joining the Avengers and becoming true heroes.

Her personal life has been just as tumultuous. She married her fellow Avenger, the android Vision, in 1975 and later found a way to have children—only for it all to end in tragedy (they would later reappear and are now the heroes called Wiccan and Speed). Over time, Wanda’s story took darker turns, involving brainwashing, newfound abilities, struggles with mental instability, and a reality-altering catastrophe that changed everything.

Read More »Scarlet Witch Reading Order, The Wanda Maximoff Story

The Defenders Reading Order (Marvel Comics)

  • by

The Defenders Reading Order

When the Dr. Strange series was canceled in the middle of a story arc in 1970, Roy Thomas searched for a way to tell the end of his crossover storyline. This led to  Marvel Feature #1 (December 1971) in which Doctor Strange, Namor, and The Incredible Hulk formed a team named The Defenders to battle the alien techno-wizard Yandroth. The Silver Surfer soon joined them, as well as Valkyrie.

Steve Englehart, Len Wein, Steve Gerber, Gerry Conway, David Anthony Kraft, J. M. DeMatteis, and more wrote The Defenders series for a long time and, after 124 issues, the title was renamed The New Defenders – a roaster that didn’t include the Strange, Namor, Hulk and the Surfer. The first three will later reunite in pages of The Incredible Hulk, then again a bit later with Silver Surfer in a crossover storyline.

It was nevertheless necessary to wait a bit longer to see The Defenders come back, in 1993, but with a new formula and a different roaster – Wolverine, Darkhawk, Spider-Woman, Spider-Man, Hulk, Ghost Rider, and others. At that time, even the name was not the same as they were called The Secret Defenders.

During the 2000s and 2010s, there were multiple attempts at launching a new Defenders series, even one that was an echo of the TV series – that was The Defenders only by name.

Read More »The Defenders Reading Order (Marvel Comics)

Punisher Reading Order

Created by Gerry Conway, John Romita Sr., and Ross Andru, The Punisher is a Marvel anti-hero who made his first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 in February 1974. Initially, he was portrayed as a bloodthirsty vigilante hired to make Spider-Man’s life miserable. The Punisher set himself apart from other Marvel characters by having no objection to killing people, something superheroes don’t do. And he was determined to kill Spidey, who was wanted for the alleged murder of Norman Osborn.

But the Punisher is no ordinary killer. Also known as Francis ‘Frank’ Castle, he is an Italian-American vigilante and war veteran. Like many Marvel characters, he is driven by tragedy, and in his case, by the deaths of his wife and two children, murdered by the mob for witnessing a killing in Central Park. However, Frank is driven by more than vengeance, the man follows a moral code: in his view, he kills only those who deserve to die.

Originally destined to be a second-tier character, The Punisher was a hit among readers and went on to make regular appearances in the Spider-Man comics and a famous arc on Daredevil before headlining his own miniseries, and his multiple ongoing comic series since then. Easily recognizable by the skull motif on his chest (a motif that has recently changed), the character reached the height of his popularity by the late 1980s-beginning of the 1990s with four monthly publications.

The Punisher has become a mainstream character, known today for several adaptations. He has been portrayed by Dolph Lundgren in 1989, Thomas Jane in 2004, Ray Stevenson in 2008, and more recently by Jon Bernthal in the second season of Daredevil (2016), his own spin-off series from 2017 to 2019, and soon in Daredevil: Born Again (2025)!

Where to start reading The Punisher comics?

If you are unfamiliar with The Punisher or would like to come back to the basics before diving into more stories, you can check out the following Marvel comic books:

  • Punisher: Year One – This origin tale by Dan Abnett and Dale Eaglesham covers the days and weeks following the murder of his family.
  • Punisher Vol. 1: Welcome Back, Frank – Garth Ennis’s run on The Punisher under the Marvel Knight imprint began with this limited series, illustrated by Steve Dillon, that shows us how Frank operates among the superheroes.
  • Punisher: Circle of Blood – For those interested in classic Punisher comics from the 1980s, “Circle of Blood” was the first miniseries featuring Frank Castle. Written by Steven Grant and illustrated by Mike Zeck and Mike Vosburg, this story revolves around Castle escaping from prison to join a group of vigilantes. It did many things that Marvel had never tried before, effectively establishing the violent world of the Punisher.
  • Punisher: Born – This four-issue comic book limited series written by Garth Ennis and illustrated by Darick Robertson is not officially part of the main continuity as the story was released through Marvel’s MAX imprint. Despite that, it seems those events can be regarded as canon to the main Marvel Universe. In all cases, this acclaimed tale gives us another origin story for the character, following Frank Castle during four days of his life as the war draws to an end but will change him forever. See also Punisher: The Platoon by the same team taking place before Born and about Frank’s first tour in Vietnam.

Read More »Punisher Reading Order

Wolverine Reading Order

Created by Roy Thomas, Len Wein, and John Romita Sr. in 1974 (in The Incredible Hulk #180-181) but first drawn for publication by Herb Trimpe, Wolverine quickly became the most popular X-Man.

Described as a Canadian of small stature and with a wolverine’s fierce temper, Wolverine has a complicated past, multiple origin stories, and a lot of deaths and resurrections. In fact, he already had a long life before joining the X-Men, as we discovered over the years. He was born during the late 19th century, and his youth was marked by family secrets and tragedies. He already had claws, but they were not made of adamantium. He also already had his animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, and a powerful healing factor. That made him the perfect candidate for the mysterious Weapon X program that kidnapped him before having adamantium forcibly fused onto his bones.

Obviously, he escaped and found his way toward Professor Charles Xavier who recruited him into his new X-Men with Jean Grey and Cyclops (go to our X-Men Reading Order). With the team, he fought against many foes. He lost his claws, his adamantium, his memories, his loves, his family, and his friends, but he also got most of them back, joined other teams, and discovered even more about himself, his friends, his place in this world, and his powers.

Wolverine is so popular that he appeared in a lot of series. Too many in fact to the point that his story doesn’t always make sense. As a consequence, writing an exhaustive reading order is almost an impossible task to complete, but we can still try to write one that is usable. This is what we are trying to do here, with a focus on his solo career.

Read More »Wolverine Reading Order

Carol Danvers Reading Order, From Mrs. to Captain Marvel

Created by Roy Thomas and Gene Colan in Marvel Super-Heroes #13 (March 1968), Carol Danvers was originally an officer in the United States Air Force and a colleague of the Kree superhero Mar-Vell, the original Captain Marvel—you can see our Captain Marvel Reading Order to know more about all the incarnations of the famous superhero.

It wasn’t until 1977 that Carol got her powers and became known as Ms. Marvel (created by writer Gerry Conway and artist John Buscema). At that time, she resurfaced as the editor of Women Magazine, a spin-off of the Daily Bugle. We then discovered that the energy exposure from the explosion of a “Psyche-Magnetron” was behind the melding of Carol’s genetic structure with Captain Marvel’s. She technically became a human-Kree hybrid.

At the beginning of the 1980s, Mrs. Marvel was the victim of bad writing before being mixed up with the X-Men—and especially with Rogue who absorbs her abilities and memories. This story led her to become known as Binary, the superhero capable of generating the power of a star. During the 1990s, after some cosmic adventures, she reverted to her original Ms. Marvel powers and later rejoined the Avengers as Warbird.

When Brian Michael Bendis took over the Avengers, he introduced the idea of Carol Danvers becoming Captain Marvel. This didn’t become a reality immediately as she reclaimed her place in the hero community as Ms. Marvel, playing significant roles in major events. In fact, it was in July 2012 that Carol Danvers finally assumed the mantle of Captain Marvel in an ongoing series written by Kelly Sue DeConnick with art by Dexter Soy. And now, she got her own movies!

Read More »Carol Danvers Reading Order, From Mrs. to Captain Marvel

Iron Man (Tony Stark) Reading Order

Since the 1960s, Iron Man has been a major superhero at Marvel, but his popularity drastically increased from 2008 onwards, thanks to Robert Downey Jr. playing the character on the big screen.

Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Don Heck, and Jack Kirby, Anthony Edward ‘Tony’ Stark made his first appearance in Tales of Suspense #39 before founding the Avengers alongside Thor, Ant-Man, Wasp, and the Hulk not long after.

As you well know, thanks to the movies, Tony Stark is a businessman superhero, a rich industrialist, and a genius inventor who was a weapons manufacturer and provided weapons for the Army before being captured by local terrorists. They wanted him to build weapons for them, but Tony chose to build a suit of armor for himself to escape his kidnappers instead. After that, Tony decided to upgrade his creation and put his resources to better the world as the superhero named Iron Man.

For Stan Lee, Tony Stark was a way to go against the tide, creating a character that represented everything that Marvel’s readers hated at the time: “the quintessential capitalist”. Born rich as the son of Howard Stark, also a genius inventor and the founder of Stark Industries, Tony was a ladies’ man with an invulnerable armor but with a (literally) broken heart. And before taking the looks of Robert Downey Jr., Lee based the physical and personality traits of the character on another rich (real) figure, Howard Hughes.

Read More »Iron Man (Tony Stark) Reading Order

Captain Marvel Reading Order, From Mar-Vell to Carol Danvers

  • by

There are several characters known as Captain Marvel, and we are not here to talk about Shazam. As you may know, Fawcett’s Captain Marvel was enormously popular. Too popular for DC Comics who sued Fawcett Comics for breach of copyright. It was then claimed that Captain Marvel was too similar to Superman. This led Fawcett to stop the publication of Captain Marvel (He later came back to DC under the name Shazam). In the late 1960s, Marvel Comics gained the trademark “Captain Marvel” and, to keep it, needed to publish a Captain Marvel title. So, every few years, we’ve got ongoing series, limited series, and one-shots with “Captain Marvel” on the cover.

Created by Roy Thomas and Gene Colan in Marvel Super-Heroes #12 (December 1967), the first Captain Marvel from Marvel Comics was Mar-Vell, Captain of the Kree Imperial Militia. He was sent to observe the planet Earth and became a traitor when he decided to ally himself with the humans. At one point, he even ended up in the Negative Zone, after having been exiled by the Supreme Intelligence. There, his only way of (temporarily) escape is to exchange atoms with Rick Jones through special wristbands called Nega-Bands. He was finally freed from that prison when Jim Starlin took over the title and revamped the character, making him the “Protector of the Universe.” Of course, today his death is more famous than the rest of his career because of the success of Marvel’s first large-format graphic novel, “The Death of Captain Marvel,” published in 1982.

The second Captain Marvel was Monica Rambeau. She was created by Roger Stern and John Romita Jr in the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16 (1982) and quickly became a member of the Avengers. She kept the name until the original Captain Marvel’s son entered the picture. That’s how Genis-Vell became the third Captain Marvel. His younger sister Phyla-Vell (created in Captain Marvel vol. 5 #16) became the fourth.

The fifth was Khn’nr, a Skrull sleeper agent who is bound with Mar-Vell’s DNA to lock itself into Mar-Vell’s form, who first appeared in Civil War: The Return (March 2007). And then, as part of the Dark Reign storyline, Noh-Varr – who first appeared in Marvel Boy #1 – was contacted by the Supreme Intelligence and received a copy of the original Captain Marvel’s Nega Bands. He became the sixth Captain Marvel.

Finally (for now), in July 2012, Carol Danvers graduated from Mrs. Marvel to Captain Marvel in the series written by Kelly Sue DeConnick with art by Dexter Soy. 

Read More »Captain Marvel Reading Order, From Mar-Vell to Carol Danvers

Captain America’s First Appearance: The Origin Story of Steve Rogers

  • by

Captain America is one of the most popular characters in the Marvel Universe. Since his beginnings as a superhero, Cap — as he is sometimes affectionately called — made a name for himself as a brave and righteous man. He is known as the champion of the ideals of truth, justice, and the American way, fighting for the protection of those who can’t fight for themselves.

Working with or without the Avengers, Captain America fought against many threats to those ideals. Throughout the years, he stopped enemies such as Red Skull and HYDRA, Baron Zemo, and Doctor Doom to achieve world domination, abuse power, and destroying innocent lives. For the man named Steve Rogers, everything began in 1940-41…

Read More »Captain America’s First Appearance: The Origin Story of Steve Rogers

A.X.E: Judgment Day Reading Order (Avengers/X-Men/Eternals)

Starting this summer, Judgment Day is the latest Marvel Comics crossover event! Written by Kieron Gillen and with art by Valerio Schiti, A.X.E: Judgment Day will put the Avengers, X-Men, and Eternals in the heart of a deadly conflict.

Here is the official synopsis: The battle for the planet is here! The X-Men claim they’re Earth’s new gods. The Eternals know that position is already filled. And the Avengers are about to realize exactly how many secrets their so-called friends have been keeping from them!

Years of tension are about to lead to a volcanic eruption — and two worlds will burn! Who has leaked the X-Men’s secrets to their latest foes? Why is Tony Stark abducting an old friend? And who stands in judgment over the whole world?

What to read before A.X.E: Judgment Day?

Being an event coming from Kieron Gillen and Valerio Schiti, you certainly need to be up-to-date with their Eternals’ run:

But also with Kieron Gillen and Mark Brooks’ Immortal X-Men

  • Immortal X-Men
  • as well as other Destiny of X titles like X-Men (#11-12, X-Men – Hellfire Gala (2022) #1), X-Men Red. No Avengers reading really required.

Read More »A.X.E: Judgment Day Reading Order (Avengers/X-Men/Eternals)

Blade Reading Order, Marvel’s Vampire Hunter

Created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist Gene Colan in The Tomb of Dracula #10 (July 1973), Blade was at first a supporting character but quickly gained prominence.

Blade’s real name is Eric Cross Brooks. He is an Afro-American vampire hunter who used to sport 1970s-style Afro hair and wield teak-bladed knives. He really became a solid character during the 1990s, first in the team series Nightstalkers, then in his own ongoing series Blade the Vampire Hunter.

At first, he was presented as a human immune to vampire bites, but it was retroactively established that he was a “dhampir” (the son of a vampire and a mortal human) following his adaptation as such in Spider-Man: The Animated Series and the Blade film series. In the comics, he also became a “Daywalker” after being bitten by Morbius.

It took years to establish the definitive mythology of Blade in the comics because he never really got a long ongoing series, playing a supporting role between miniseries. That didn’t stop him from becoming a member of the Avengers.

Read More »Blade Reading Order, Marvel’s Vampire Hunter