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Groot Reading Order

A well-known member of the Guardians of the Galaxy, Groot didn’t start out as a hero, but as a villainous alien intent on capturing humans for experimentation. He first appeared in Tales to Astonish #13 (November 1960), created by writer Stan Lee, artist Jack Kirby and scripter Larry Lieber. Of course, this is not the Groot we know today.

In 2006, he was reimagined as a heroic character in Annihilation: Conquest – Star-Lord #1 (2007), written by Keith Giffen. Hailing from the planet X, a world characterised by sentient plant life, Groot belongs to the Flora Colossus species. Distinguished by his arboreal physiology and limited verbal expression, he primarily communicates through tone, inflection, and context, which is understood by those familiar with him, such as his friend Rocket Raccoon. Despite his linguistic limitations, Groot exhibits considerable emotional depth and intelligence, as well as formidable strength and regenerative capabilities. He often serves as both protector and moral anchor within his narrative contexts.

Throughout his cosmic adventures, Groot has demonstrated several unique abilities, including regenerative healing, size manipulation, limited photokinesis, and the power to grow and control plant matter. He has died and regenerated multiple times, with each incarnation sometimes being treated as a rebirth or a new version of the character. The cinematic version, voiced by Vin Diesel, introduced in 2014 in the Guardians of the Galaxy movie directed by James Gunn, made that element quite popular with “Baby Groot” and later “Teen Groot.”

In solo or with his friends, Groot certainly went through epic adventures in space during the last two decades. So, let’s follow the guide!

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Avengers Disassembled Reading Order, the beginning of Brian Michael Bendis’s era

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After having found success at Marvel Comics with Ultimate Spider-Man, Daredevil, and Alias, Brian Michael Bendis took over The Avengers more than twenty years ago. The writer started his run with Avengers Disassembled, a story that concluded the previous era, before he relaunched the team with New Avengers — the start of the modern era for the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

More than that, it was the beginning, like it or not, of one of the most impactful runs in Marvel History. Because, soon enough, the arc became simply the first part in a trilogy of events orchestrated by Bendis that would continuously reshape the Marvel Universe for almost ten years. From one event to another, superheroes would die, lose their minds or their powers, or reveal they are not what they seemed to be. And it all started with Avengers Disassembled, called “The Worst Day in Avengers History.”

Avengers Disassembled is often presented as a perfect entry point in the world of Marvel, in particular the Avengers, as things are blown up before being completely rebuilt. To help you in your Marvel Journey, following is our reading guide to the Avengers Disassembled story, exploring the main event and all the tie-ins!

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Age of Apocalypse Reading Order, an X-Men crossover event

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The 1995 crossover storyline Age of Apocalypse was one of the most ambitious crossover events in X-Men history. Much like The Clone Saga in the Spider-Man titles, this story became an era-defining milestone within the broader Marvel Universe.

Unlike traditional crossover events, which build upon existing continuity, the Age of Apocalypse storyline temporarily replaced the main X-Men titles with entirely new series set in an alternate universe. These included X-Calibre, Gambit and the X-Ternals, Generation Next, Astonishing X-Men, Amazing X-Men, Weapon X, Factor X, X-Man and X-Universe. Each of these limited series explored different aspects of a dystopian timeline dominated by the ancient mutant Apocalypse, offering radically altered reimaginings of familiar characters and dynamics.

The story kicks off when Legion (David Haller), the mentally unstable son of Professor Charles Xavier, travels back in time intending to assassinate Magneto in the hope of preventing the ideological conflict that would later erupt between Magneto and Xavier. However, Legion’s mission ends in tragedy when he inadvertently kills Xavier instead. This assassination fractures the timeline, giving rise to an alternate reality in which Apocalypse begins his conquest of Earth a decade earlier than in the original continuity.

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Thor by Jason Aaron Reading Order

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In 2012, Jason Aaron took over writing duties on Thor. Before that, Matt Fraction was writing The Mighty Thor, while Kieron Gillen was in charge of the Loki-focused title Journey Into Mystery. This was during Marvel’s Heroic Age initiative, which gave way to Marvel NOW! later that same year.

As part of Marvel NOW!, Aaron began his run with Thor: God of Thunder, with artist Esad Ribić. While Ribić didn’t stay on the book, which was renamed multiple times throughout the run, Aaron went on for almost seven years, finally ending in 2019 with the crossover event The War of the Realms. During that period, he explored multiple eras of Thor’s life, juggling between storylines in the past with a brash Young Thor, the present Avenger Thor, and the future All-Father King Thor at the end of the universe. 

During this period, the series introduced iconic characters such as Gorr the God Butcher and Jane Foster as the Goddess of Thunder. After being deemed unworthy of wielding Mjolnir, Thor Odinson experienced a prolonged identity crisis that explores his ‘worthiness’ as a God and a leader in Asgard. 

This era is now considered one of the most influential, next to Walt Simonson’s. It put back the emphasis on the Gods and focused on epic fantasy and cosmic adventures storytelling. 

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The Amazing Spider-Man by Nick Spencer, a Fresh Start Reading Order

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After his controversial run on Captain America, which culminated in the Secret Empire crossover event, writer Nick Spencer was chosen to succeed long-time writer Dan Slott to relaunch The Amazing Spider-Man as part of Marvel’s Fresh Start Initiative.

It was a classic back-to-the-basics approach for Marvel’s favourite superhero that stripped Peter of his credentials and work at the Daily Bugle. He was, once again, broke and had to return to the University to earn his college degree while sharing an apartment with Randy Robertson and Frederick Myers, also known as the super-villain Boomerang. On the positive side, Peter had recently rekindled his relationship with Mary Jane, the first time since their relationship was retconned during the infamous One More Day storyline.

Nick Spencer’s run lasted three years, a period during which the Spider-Family was once again in peril during Spider-Geddon, the original Doctor Octopus returned, and major events such as One More Day, Sins Past and Kraven’s legacy were revisited.

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Young Avengers Reading Order

When Brian Michael Bendis took over the Avengers in 2004, the writer started by dismantling the team in the “Avengers Disassembled” crossover storyline. The Earth’s Mightiest Heroes were no more, raising the question: who would protect the Earth? From the aftermath of this story, two new Avengers teams emerged. The New Avengers took over the place of the classic Avengers, with the creative team of Brian Michael Bendis and David Finch, while another team was introduced not long after: The Young Avengers.

Created by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung, the Young Avengers focused on teenage heroes who were either inspired by the classic Avengers or related to them. These young heroes united to fill the gap left by the original Avengers, despite facing disapproval from the Avengers themselves and skepticism from Marvel Comics and its readers!

The Young Avengers quickly gained both critical and public success, securing their place in the Marvel Universe despite only having two official runs. Since then, several members have become popular characters in the Marvel Universe.

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Galactus Origin Story, The Creation of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s Devourer of Worlds

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One of Marvel Comics’ most powerful cosmic entities, Galactus was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Fantastic Four #48 (March 1966).

Initially, Galactus was just imagined as another super-villain that was to be bigger than the previous antagonists. But in order to differentiate him from the others and avoid delivering a stereotypical bad guy, Lee and Kirby decided to reimagine the character on a grander scale. The writer wanted him to be really evil. The artist went biblical. They wanted something new and created it. As a result, unlike typical antagonists, Galactus was not a villain in the traditional sense but a cosmic force of nature, an ancient being who consumes planets to sustain his existence.

This was different to the point of creating a shift in comic book storytelling at the time. But this article is not here to talk about Galactus’ impact on the medium, but to explain who he is as a Marvel character. As he is making another appearance on the big screen this summer, it’s the perfect moment to revisit his comic book origins.

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Marvel Zombies Reading Order

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The year is 2005. At this time, The Walking Dead has not yet been adapted into a television series, but Rick Grimes and his group are in the early stages of surviving the Zombie Apocalypse in Image Comics. Undead beings were ready to infect the Marvel Universe, or at least one of its Earths. When Ultimate Reed Richards travels to another universe, he discovers a world in ruins, devastated by zombies—the Zombieverse!

Created by Mark Millar, Greg Land, and Robert Kirkman, the Zombieverse quickly expanded with a limited series, followed by a prequel and additional sequels. Since then, zombies have continued to ravage different worlds within the Marvel Universe, making regular appearances. They are set to invade Disney+ with the upcoming Marvel Zombies animated television miniseries, created by Zeb Wells and scheduled for release in October 2025.

Discover now the zombified versions of your favorite Marvel heroes and villains with our Marvel Zombie Reading Order, from the first appearance of the Zombieverse to various limited series and more recent Marvel zombie comics!

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Hercules Reading Order (Marvel Comics)

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Everybody knows Thor, the God of Thunder and one of Marvel’s most popular heroes. When the Norse God was adapted into a Marvel character in the sixties, a pantheon of deities and heroes was also introduced, such as Hercules Panhellenios. 

Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Hercules first appeared as a rival to Thor and is portrayed as a screw-up demi-god who is frequently cast out of Olympus by Zeus. From there, he quickly became a regular guest star in Thor’s adventures, went on to smash against the Hulk, and has been part of The Champions, The Avengers, and, more recently, the Guardians of the Galaxy. 

While Hercules may not be a big name in Marvel Comics, the Prince of Power has maintained a regular presence in the superhero community. From his origins to becoming The Incredible Hulk and his many battles alongside the Avengers, follow our guide to discover the Hercules comics to read!

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Fantastic Four First Appearance: A Look Back at the First Family’s debut

Marvel’s First Family is making her first steps (again) this summer on the big screen with a new adaptation set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While the MCU officially launched in 2008 with Iron Man, the Fantastic Four laid the groundwork for the Marvel Comics we know today.

Now is a good time to take a look back at the debut of the Fabulous Foursome in The Fantastic Four #1, which hit the shelves on August 8, 1961—64 years ago.

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