Marvel

Like Captain Marvel, there are several characters known as Ant-Man. As you may know, Scott Lang is Ant-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (where he is played by Paul Rudd and has actually published a memoir). No doubt about it, he is Ant-Man for a lot of people out there. But Scott Lang wasn’t the first Ant-Man to grace the pages of a Marvel Comic book.

Created by Jack Kirby, Stan Lee and Larry Lieber in Tales to Astonish #27 (January 1962), the first Ant-Man was Hank Pym, one of Marvel’s first Silver Age superheroes and a founding member of the Avengers. Despite his initial success, Hank Pym never became a top seller or had his own book. Soon, Pym began to assume other superhero identities, including Giant-Man, leaving his Ant-Man persona behind him.

Scott Lang is introduced as the second Ant-Man at the end of the seventies. Created by David Michelinie, Bob Layton and John Byrne in the pages of The Avangers #181 (1979), he was not your classic Marvel superhero. He was neither a rich guy nor a scientific guy, but an ex-convict, electronics expert, and a divorced single parent. He stole the Ant-Man suit to help his sick daughter and became the second Ant-Man after Pym discovered it and allowed him to wear the suit.

Following Scott Lang’s death, The name and costume were used by Eric O’Grady (until his own death). Created by Robert Kirkman and Phil Hester, O’Grady made his first appearance in The Irredeemable Ant-Man #1 (Dec. 2006). As the title suggested, the character had an immoral attitude and behavior.

Finally, Scott Lang, after being returned to life, took back the persona (in  2011) and is our official Ant-Man.

Read More »Ant-Man Reading Order, From Hank Pym to Scott Lang

If Nova made his first appearance in The Man Called Nova #1 (September 1976), the character originated ten years earlier by Marv Wolfman in issue #3 of his fanzine, Super Adventures.

At first, he was known as The Star, real name Denteen. He was a doctor who found a spaceship containing alien pills giving him a different superpower every five minutes. Three issues later, Wolfman and Len Wein reinvented the Star into a new hero, now a prisoner named Kraken Roo who becomes the superhero Black Nova. Black Nova’s life was short as he died in Super Adventures #9.

Black Nova was an adult wearing a black and yellow costume with 5 chest stars and a helmet antenna. There were differences alright, but no doubt that, years later, Marv Wolfman and John Romita Jr. revamped the character, with some changes to the costume and a new origin story to create Nova.

It also has to be said that Richard ‘Rich’ Rider was intended as an homage to Spider-Man (with some elements of Green Lantern). They clearly wanted to create a new character with the same essence, with his working-class origins, his tendency to banter in battle, and his inferiority complex. Though, Richard Rider was not as smart as Peter Parker, far from it, and was more of an average student

Rich was first an insecure teenager who inherited the mantle of an intergalactic Nova Centurion, became part of the Nova Corps (an intergalactic police force) and later of the New Warriors. He had to fight in a space war, experienced tragedies, loss of power, and much more.

But Richard Rider is not the only character called Nova at Marvel. There is also Samuel ‘Sam’ Alexander, who made his debut in Marvel Point One #1 (November 2011) at a point where Richard Rider was out of the picture (if we can say that). He starred in his own series beginning in 2013.

Created by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness, Sam was named after Loeb’s dead son. He was a teenager living in Arizona with his family. His father was an alcoholic who talked about being a member of the Nova Corps, though Sam didn’t really believe him. It all changed when his father disappeared, discovered he was telling the truth, and put on his father’s helmet to become, in turn, a member of Nova Corps. Sam also became part of the New Warriors, the Avengers and Champions.

Let’s dive into some comics with this Nova Reading Order!

Read More »Nova Reading Order (Richard Rider & Sam Alexander)

In the early 1970s, Marvel Comics was quick to respond to cultural trends sweeping across America. With Blaxploitation cinema captivating audiences, Marvel introduced Luke Cage, Hero for Hire in 1972—the first African-American superhero to headline his own comic. Simultaneously, martial arts were booming in popularity, thanks in part to Bruce Lee’s rise and the influx of kung fu films from Hong Kong. Marvel’s answer to this new craze was the creation of Iron Fist.

Debuting in Marvel Premiere #15 in May 1974, Iron Fist was the creation of writer Roy Thomas and artist Gil Kane. Thomas, inspired by the martial arts films he and others at Marvel were watching at the time, crafted a character who blended the mysticism of Eastern legends with the action-packed energy of superhero comics. It’s worth noting that Shang-Chi, another Marvel martial artist influenced directly by Bruce Lee, had already launched in Special Marvel Edition #15 in 1973.

Iron Fist’s origin begins with young Daniel Rand, who, after witnessing his parents’ deaths during an expedition in the Himalayas, is taken in by the mystical city of K’un-Lun. There, he trains for a decade in martial arts and gains the power of the Iron Fist by defeating the dragon Shou-Lao the Undying.

Armed with superhuman chi and unmatched fighting skills, Rand returns to the Western world to avenge his parents. Though his solo series was short-lived, he gained new life when he teamed up with Luke Cage in the popular Power Man and Iron Fist series, turning them into Marvel’s go-to street-level duo.

After a brief “death” and resurrection in the ’90s, Iron Fist starred in acclaimed runs like The Immortal Iron Fist, which expanded his mythology and introduced a long line of past Iron Fists. Most recently, in 2022, the Iron Fist mantle was passed to Lin Lie, formerly known as Sword Master. With Danny Rand having lost the power of the Iron Fist, he now serves as a mentor to Lin, showing that while the torch has been passed, Rand’s journey is far from over.

Iron Fist has also entered the mainstream thanks to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Portrayed by Finn Jones, Danny Rand appeared in the Netflix series Iron Fist, The Defenders, and the second season of Luke Cage. Though the show received mixed reviews, it brought renewed attention to the character and introduced Iron Fist to a new generation of fans.

Read More »Iron Fist Reading Order (Danny Rand and Lin Lie)

At the end of the year 2000, Marvel Comics launched a crossover event titled Maximum Security that was written by Kurt Busiek and drawn by Jerry Ordway–at least the three-issue self-titled limited series.

Here is how Marvel presents the main plot: “Welcome to Earth: penal colony for the universe’s deadliest villains! When the civilized alien races-influenced by the Supreme Intelligence and his newly-evolved Kree-tire of Earth’s involvement in their affairs, they decide to make it their new prison planet! Featuring all the world’s greatest heroes-including the Avengers, the X-Men, and the Fantastic Four–against the most bizarre and deadly threats they can conceive of!”

Influenced by Australian history, and more precisely the way the British used Australia as a penitentiary–sending their convicts so far they would never come back to England!–, Busiek’s Maximum Security introduced the idea that Earth would become a prison for the scum of the galaxy. It was introduced as a way for the Intergalactic Council to deal with Earth–and its interfering heroes.

Maximum Security is composed of a three-issue limited series and almost 20 tie-in issues.

What to read before Maximum Security?

Thor, Tigra, Starfox, Moondragon, and Monica Rambeau are the Avengers in Space in the mini-series Avengers Infinity by Roger Stern and Sean Chen that set up the events of Maximum Security.

• Avengers Infinity Classic
  Collects Avengers Infinity #1-4.

Read More »Maximum Security Reading Order, a Marvel Crossover