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Thor Reading Order

 

Based on the Norse mythological god of the same name, Thor Odinson–or simply Thor–is a Marvel Superhero created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby that was introduced in Journey into Mystery #83 (August 1962)–possibly as an unofficial equivalent to DC’s Superman.

In order to make the Asgardian god of thunder (whose enchanted hammer Mjolnir–called the ‘Uru Hammer’ at first–enables him to fly and manipulate weather) relatable for the average American reader, Stan Lee imagined a secret identity (à la Clark Kent). Partially disabled human medical student Donald Blake only had to strike his walking stick to transform into the thunder god.

As Donald Blake, the hero took care of his patient in his private practice, working with nurse Jane Foster. As Thor, he defended humanity from his numerous Evil enemies, and notably his adoptive brother Loki, but also the Absorbing Man, the Destroyer, the Wrecker, Zarrko, the Radioactive Man, the Lava Man, the Cobra, Mister Hyde, the Enchantress, the Executioner, and more.

Thor joined the Avengers, fall in love with Jane Foster, opposed his father’s will, and went on epic adventures, alone or with allies from Earth and Asgard. As the years went by, we learned more about Thor and Asgard’s real origins, the Gods, and their enemies. Also, Thor was freed from Donald Blake. Like a lot of Marvel heroes, Thor died (Loki and Odin too), but came back to life. Asgard was destroyed and rebuilt. Even Mjolnir disappeared at one point.

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Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu Reading Order

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Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu Reading Order

In the early 1970s, a “Kung Fu craze” swept across the United States, forever changing the landscape of pop culture. It was during this particular cultural time that Shang-Chi, the Master of Kung Fu, was born. Originally conceived by writer Steve Englehart and artist Jim Starlin, the character’s origin is a fascinating tale of creative ambition and corporate licensing.

The duo originally hoped to adapt the television series Kung Fu into a comic book. Because Warner Communications (DC’s parent company) owned the rights to the show, they first approached DC Comics with their proposition. The publisher passed on this opportunity, doubting the longevity of the martial arts trend. On the other hand, Marvel was all in this craze, having acquired the rights of the licensed pulp world of Sax Rohmer’s Fu Manchu. At the House of Ideas, Shang-Chi was reimagined as the villain’s rebellious son.

When Marvel eventually lost the rights to the Fu Manchu characters, Shang-Chi entered a period of relative obscurity, with fewer appearances. His father was also renamed Zheng Zu to distance the character from the expired license, and with time, the character simply transition as a Martial art hero more immersed in the world of superheroes, joining teams like the Heroes for Hire, The Avengers, and The New Agents of Atlas, and even mentoring heroes like Spider-Man. Today, Shang-Chi is even part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), played by Simu Liu. 

You can, right now, Trace the path of the Dragon, and explore the martial arts corner of Marvel  with our complete Shang-Chi comics reading guide.

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Amadeus Cho Reading Order, from sidekick to Totally Awesome Hulk and Brawn

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Amadeus Cho is a 19-year-old Korean-American genius, one of the smartest people on earth. Actually, he was credited as the 7th smartest person in the world, a title he obtained after winning the Excello Soap Company’s “Brain Soap” competition (he’s maybe only the 8th or 10th smartest person in the world, but who’s counting?). It’s also where his story begins, as the game’s creator tries to kill Cho to preserve his ranking. His attempt failed but Cho’s parents were killed, and our young man had to flee for his life.

It didn’t take long for him to run across The Hulk who saved his life. As a result, Amadeus became his sidekick, a sort of modern-day Rick Jones before moving on to Hercules. But Amadeus Cho was too smart and too cocky to stay in this sidekick role and was destined to become a hero in his own right. Cho became the Totally Awesome Hulk but lost control at some point. He was somehow depowered when he finally succeeded in destroying the rage monster inside him. Amadeus chose to be called Brawn in this new form. He has also been a member of two superhero teams: The Champions and Agents of Atlas.

This reading order was requested by one of our readers! Don’t hesitate to leave a comment or write to us with some other suggestions!

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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.

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The Defenders Reading Order, Marvel’s premier non-team!

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The Defenders are not your typical Marvel team. In fact, they are known as Marvel’s premier non-team! The group consists of powerful Marvel loners who have no interest in being part of a team, but who sometimes ally together to defend Earth. The Defenders don’t have a leader or a particular structure like a classic team; they came together through some successful team-ups!

It all began when the Doctor Strange series was abruptly canceled in the middle of a story due to low sales. Writer Roy Thomas would then tie up loose ends in Sub-Mariner (Vol. 2) #22 and Incredible Hulk #126. After that, Strange would choose to retire, but Namor and the Hulk would be reunited in a two-part story in the Sub-Mariner and allied themselves with the Silver Surfer. The trio became the “Titans Three”.

The combination of these non-conformist characters proved successful, prompting Roy Thomas to bring them together in a team series that he wanted to call The Invaders. As Kurt Busiek explained, “Stan Lee didn’t approve the name at that time and wouldn’t let Roy use the Silver Surfer as a regular member, so he launched the Defenders in Marvel Feature without him. Once the regular Defenders series had begun, Roy and Steve Englehart wanted to feature the Silver Surfer, but Lee would only allow him to appear as a guest star. Consequently, Steve featured him as a guest star as frequently as possible.” Although the Silver Surfer wasn’t an official core member of the Defenders, Roy Thomas and Steve Englehart treated him as such and made him a significant part of the team. Today, readers and writers alike treat the Silver Surfer as a core member.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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

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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…

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