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The Marvel Comics Events and Crossovers List, from the ’80s Secret Wars to today

Marvel's Heroes Fall Under the Might of Knull in 'King in Black #2

Since the success of Secret Wars in the 1980s, Marvel Comics has produced many crossover stories combining characters from different comic series. This has become a significant part of both the business and the way stories are constructed. Even after the industry nearly went extinct following the speculator boom of the ’90s, major events and crossovers continued to multiply. Some are forgettable, while others have become integral to the overall mythology surrounding superheroes such as Spider-Man, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain America, and the X-Men.

This article is a list of crossover events involving superheroes and characters from different Marvel series, big and small. It will be updated with links to dedicated reading orders as they are published and, of course, with new entries as Marvel continues to announce more.

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Secret Empire Reading Order, the Evil Captain America crossover event from Marvel

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Secret Empire Reading Order

Big Marvel crossover Written by Nick Spencer (with artists Rod Reis, Daniel Acuña, Steve McNiven, and Andrea Sorrentino) published between April and September 2017, Secret Empire is one of those Universe Redefining massive event. One that started with a huge twist, as it was revealed that Captain America is—pardon my French—a f***ing Hydra Agent!

Here is the official description of the event: Captain America, Sentinel of Liberty, is living a lie! The Cosmic Cube has remade the world’s greatest hero into a secret true believer in the cause of Hydra, wholly dedicated to its mission of progress through authority and unity through adversity! Now, using the trust and respect he’s been accorded by the great powers of the Marvel Universe, Steve Rogers makes Hydra’s ideals a reality—and changes the landscape of the world dramatically! How will he take some of his biggest threats off the board? Who will remain to stand against him? And which heroes will fi ght on his side? Find out as the impossible becomes real! Hail Hydra!

What to read before Secret Empire?

This limited series event addresses the aftermath of the crossover event Avengers: Standoff! and the ongoing series Captain America: Steve Rogers, in which Captain America has been acting as a sleeper agent and covertly setting the stage to establish Hydra as the main world power.

So, before reading Secret Empire, maybe take a look at the time when we discovered that Cap is a member of Hydra. To do that, you have to read Captain America: Steve Rogers Vol. 1: Hail Hydra, and you can go after that to Captain America: Steve Rogers Vol. 2: The Trial of Maria Hill, and then Captain America: Steve Rogers Vol. 3: Empire Building. If you want to read what’s essential, Marvel published a book collecting exactly that:

  • Secret Empire Prelude
    Collects Captain America (2012) 21, 25; Captain America: Sam Wilson 7 (A story), 8; Assault on Pleasant Hill Alpha, Omega; Captain America: Steve Rogers 1-2.

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Fear Itself Reading Order, a Marvel Event with Thor, Captain America and more

Fear Itself Reading Order

Fear Itself is a 2011 crossover Marvel Comics event, consisting of a seven-issue, eponymous miniseries written by Matt Fraction and illustrated by Stuart Immonen, Wade Von Grawbadger, and Laura Martin, a prologue book (Fear Itself: Book of the Skull) by writer Ed Brubaker and artist Scot Eaton, and numerous tie-in books, including most of the X-Men family of books. Although it is a Marvel-wide crossover, the event emphasizes Captain America and Thor.

The entire planet has been seized by Fear and only chaos reigns. The Serpent, Asgard’s most ancient evil, has awakened and is feeding off the fear of Earth’s populace. Our planet’s only hope lies in the hands of heroes and villains who have not fallen into worldwide panic. But with Odin intent on sacrificing Earth, will their struggles against the Gods be enough? And how do you conquer Fear Itself?

What to read before Fear Itself?

Fear Itself is a self-contained event and doesn’t require any prior reading.

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She-Hulk Reading Order aka Jennifer Walters, lawyer and Bruce Banner’s cousin

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Meet Marvel’s own Jennifer Walters. She’s a lawyer and Bruce Banner’s cousin (aka The Hulk, see reading order). After an injury, she received an emergency blood transfusion from him and acquired a milder version of his Hulk condition. She became She-Hulk, a large, powerful green-hued version of herself and, unlike her cousin, still largely retains her personality.

Created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Buscema, She-Hulk first appeared in The Savage She-Hulk #1 in 1980, and you can read a lot more about that in our article about the origins of She-Hulk in the comic books.

During the past 40 years, she has been a member of the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, Heroes for Hire, the Defenders, Fantastic Force,  S.H.I.E.L.D., and also at the center of multiple solo series.

Where to start with She-Hulk aka Jennifer Walters? The Recommended Reading List

  • Sensational She-Hulk by John Byrne Omnibus – John Byrne’s run is quite divisive. A humorous book with Jennifer breaking the Fourth Wall, it’s not to the taste of everybody so it’s up to you to decide if it’s your cup of tea.
  • She-Hulk by Dan Slott Omnibus – Dan Slott’s run continues the characterization of Jennifer Walters as a fun and loving super-heroine but with also more focus on her career as a lawyer. It’s the inspiration behind the TV show.
  • She-Hulk by Soule & Pulido: The Complete Collection – A short but well-loved run by Charles Soule following Jennifer as she opens a new practice and still has to confront a mounting number of super villains she’s racking up as personal enemies.

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Spider-Gwen Reading Order (Gwen Stacy, Ghost-Spider)

 

Like her friend Silk, Spider-Gwen first appeared during the first Spider-Verse event. Conceptualized by long-time Spider-Man writer Dan Slott, but really created by Jason Latour and Robbi Rodriguez, this Spider-Woman is not from the main Marvel universe.

Out of the Spider-Verse, Gwen Stacy swings into action as the Spider-Woman of Earth-65 — a neighborhood like no other! Gwen balances superhero life with being the daughter of a cop…and playing drums in an up-and-coming band, the Mary Janes! And you won’t believe her reality’s versions of the Lizard, the Osborns, Matt Murdock, Captain America, Frank Castle, and more!

The dimension-hopping Gwen joins a team-up of Spider-Women — and sparks fly when she meets Miles Morales! But troubles mount up at home, where she becomes S.H.I.E.L.D.’s most wanted…and problems with her powers lead to the introduction of Earth-65’s Venom!

Gwen would end up without a secret identity and so many more problems. This eventually led her to move to Earth-616, where she would become Ghost-Spider (because there already is a Spider-Woman on this Earth). With the help of Peter Parker, Gwen joined Empire State University, but she still went back to her own Earth, fighting villains on both fronts.

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Silk Comics Reading Order, the adventures of Cindy Moon in the Spider-verse

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Silk, whose real name is Cindy Moon, was created by writer Dan Slott and artist Humberto Ramos, first appearing in The Amazing Spider-Man #1 (Vol. 3) in 2014. Like Peter Parker, Cindy gained her powers from the same radioactive spider bite during the infamous demonstration at a science exhibit. While Peter quickly took up the mantle of Spider-Man, Cindy’s journey led her to a dark place.

Unlike Peter, Cindy had difficulty controlling her powers when they first emerged—her enhanced senses, agility, and the ability to spin organic webbing from her fingertips made her dangerous without proper training. Recognizing this, the mysterious Ezekiel Sims—a secretive man deeply involved in the mystical “Spider-Totem” mythology—approached Cindy’s family. He offered to help her harness her abilities and shield her from a far greater threat.

That threat was Morlun and his family, the Inheritors—interdimensional predators who hunt and consume beings connected to the Spider-Totem across the multiverse. To protect her, Ezekiel placed Cindy in a secure, isolated bunker where she remained hidden for six years, cut off from the outside world but honing her abilities.

Cindy is eventually freed by Peter Parker himself after he learns of her existence. Upon emerging, she adopts the superhero identity Silk. Her release, however, alerts Morlun to her presence once again, drawing her directly into the events of the Spider-verse crossover. Eventually, Cindy got to live a normal life for a superhero. She found a job, working with J.J. Jameson, and started to seek her family, who mysteriously disappeared, all the while fighting criminals in New York City.

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Yelena Belova Reading Order (Black Widow, White Widow)

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Yelena Belova is now part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, since the film Black Widow (2021), where Florence Pugh portrays her. She appeared in the first season of Hawkeye and she will soon return in a Thunderbolts movie, announced for 2025.

What about the comic book version? Created by Devin Grayson and J.G. Jones, Yelena Belova made her first appearance in the Marvel pages at the end of the ’90s in Inhumans v2 #5. Trained as a spy and assassin in the Red Room, she is first a foe of Natasha Romanova and has also used The Black Widow name.

She has been, during all these years, a member of S.H.I.E.L.D., Vanguard, HYDRA, and the High Council of A.I.M. Thanks to her part in the MCU, Yelena found herself under the spotlight in the comics, and recently opt to assume the identity of White Widow.

Despite not having a lot of appearances, her story is quite convoluted, as she’s been presumed dead on multiple occasions and clones of her exist.

So where to start with Yelena? Let’s dive into her complicated history with this reading order!

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Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy Reading Order, a Marvel/Spider-Man event

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Taking place in 2017, after the Civil War II event (no need to read it here, but reading order here anyway), Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy is a Spider-Man story written by Dan Slott, with Christos Gage, and Jim Cheung is the artist.

For more details, here is the official synopsis: Amidst a gauntlet of his deadliest rogues, an old foe returns to the fore. Loved ones lost are dead no more as Peter Parker plunges headlong into The Clone Conspiracy! The Jackal has returned, more driven and determined than ever. He’s offered Spidey’s greatest rogues a chance to reunite with their loved ones in exchange for loyalty.

But to what end? With the Rhino, the Lizard, Electro, and even Doctor Octopus at his side, things are looking bleak. But who else from Spider-Man’s past has reappeared?!

What to read before Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy?

It’s probably too much to say that you should probably start with the first Clone Saga (full reading order). It’s a big read (too big). That said, the last time we saw Jackal was during the Superior Spider-man era — it’s a really good read –, but it’s still not a necessity. Like it’s not an obligation to read The Spider-Verse Event (full reading order), but if you want to know what happened to Kaine, that’s where you should go.

Though, what you need to read to be up-to-date is:

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Original Sin Reading Order, A Marvel Crossover Event: Who Shot The Watcher?

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Original Sin Reading Order

Written by Jason Aaron with art by Mike Deodato, Original Sin is a Marvel Crossover Event published from April to September 2014. The story began when Uatu, the mysterious space-god who’s been watching mankind from the moon for as long as we can remember … is found dead. But who shot the Watcher?

As the official synopsis reveals, Nick Fury takes the lead of the murder investigation. With the help of the heroes of the Marvel Universe, he must quickly find answers as other forces are marshaling and other questions are arising. Such as why is Black Panther gathering a secret team of his own, including Emma Frost, the Punisher and Dr. Strange? Who is the Unseen? What was stolen from the Watcher’s lair? Fury’s cosmic manhunt leads to the far corners of the universe and beyond, but just when the Avengers think they’ve cornered their murderer … everything explodes, unleashing the Marvel Universe’s greatest secrets and rocking the heroes to their core! What did the Watcher see? What was the Original Sin?

What to read before Original Sin?

The Original Sin event was not one of those long-prepared universe-shattering crossover. In fact, it started quite suddenly. The only thing you’ll need to read is the “Behold the Watcher” story from Point One #1 (collected with the rest of the event).

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