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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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X-Men Reading Order – Part 1: The Silver Age & the Chris Claremont Era

Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the first X-Men series was launched in September 1963. Since then, a lot happened and it can be overwhelming to try to make sense of it all. That said, each new era began as a new entry point in this vast universe. But first, if you’ve lived in a cave during the last decades, you may not know who are the X-Men.

They are led by Charles Xavier, also known as Professor X, the X-Men are mutants, people born with superhuman abilities activated by what is called the “X-Gene.” They have incredible powers that make them, for some, dangerous people. Even if the X-Men fight for a world in which mutants and humans can be equals, they have not succeeded yet.

They must face anti-mutant bigotry, and all the powers in the world can’t seem to solve that problem. All the powerful mutants don’t see the world like Xavier and his X-Men, they want to rage war against humans. As new threats from Earth and Space continue to emerge, and enemies keep coming back, the X-Men must persevere.

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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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Inhumanity Reading Order, a direct follow-up to the Infinity Event

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Inhumanity Marvel Reading Order

Inhumanity is not a proper event, it is the fallout of Infinity and it’s not readable without it. What we have is a 2013–14 crossover storyline, where multiple titles are loosely connected by a mention or a contact with the Terrigen Mists.

More specifically, the actions of Black Bolt have affected not only his people, but the entire Marvel Universe, as a new race of Inhumans rises up!

Here is the official synopsis: For millennia, they were hidden in plain sight – forgotten descendants of a secret race transformed by alien science, living ordinary lives, never knowing their godlike potential. They could be your doctor. Your mailman. Maybe even you. But now the kingdom of Attilan has fallen to Earth. Its royal family has been torn apart. And the Terrigen Bomb has revealed the Inhumans in mankind’s midst.

As individuals across the globe manifest uncanny new abilities, the Avengers, X-Men, Hulk, Spider-Man, and more face a world forever altered. And with her husband gone, Queen Medusa must unite her scattered people and lead them into a new Inhuman Age.

What to read before Inhumanity?

As I said before, you can’t read Inhumanity without Infinity and so I guide you toward the Infinity Reading Order for more details.

  • Infinity Hardcover
    Collects Infinity #1-6, New Avengers Vol. 3 #7-12, Avengers Vol 5. #14-23, Infinity: Against the Tide Infinite Comic #1-2
  • Infinity Companion Hardcover
    Collects Captain Marvel Vol. 7 #15-16, Thunderbolts Vol. 2 #14-18, Avengers Assemble Vol. 2 #18-20, Infinity: The Hunt #1-4, Mighty Avengers Vol. 2 #1-3, Nova Vol. 5 #8-9, Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #3-4, Infinity: Heist #1-4, Fearless Defenders #10, Secret Avengers Vol. 2 #10-11, Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 #8-9, Wolverine & The X-Men Annual #1

If you want more stories about the Inhumans, check out our Complete Inhumans Reading Order!

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Empyre Reading Order, an Avengers/Fantastic Four Marvel event

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Marvel Empyre Reading Order

The first big event of the 2020s. It’s an Avengers/Fantastic Four one that takes us on the Moon, beyond, and back on Earth. And here is the official synopsis for the event written by Al Ewing and Dan Slott with art by Valerio Schiti. Old allies make a distress call to the Avengers with news of a terrible enemy that could wipe out humanity. Meanwhile, in the most unlikely of places, the Fantastic Four witness the final conflict of the Kree/Skrull War — and a long-hidden Elder of the Universe stands revealed! With the Kree and Skrulls united under a new emperor, their war fleet charts a course — for Earth!

The Avengers are ready to fight, while the Fantastic Four seek a diplomatic solution. But if they can’t work together, the world may not survive. Either way, both teams will be tested as never before! The new Marvel Space Age begins here!

What to read before Empyre?

The history of the Kree and Skrulls War is quite long, going back to the classic Avengers story “Kree-Skrull War” written by Roy Thomas with art by Sal Buscema and Neal Adams, and the “Celestial Madonna Saga” written by Steve Englehart with art by John and Sal Buscema, Don Heck, Dave Cockrum, and George Tuska.

For the Empyre, it’s probably not necessary to go back this far. All you need to know is in the Empyre Handbook. For more stories, you can also take a look at the Meet The Skrulls miniseries written by Robbie Thompson with art by Niko Henrichon. If you want to know more about the character Huckling, you can read the 2005 Young Avengers series written by Allan Heinberg with art by Jim Cheung.

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