A lot has happened this year in Marvel comics. Some of it was great. Some of it was terrible. Some of it just was. Rather than rank the “best” moments (as storytelling quality is quite subjective), I want to look at the 10 most important moments – things that will continue to effect the Marvel Universe and its characters for the foreseeable future… or at least until a new writer comes along and changes everything.
Lest there be many an angry letter, keep in mind this article is FILLED WITH SPOILERS some of which are as recent as 12-30-20.
10. The King in Black is Here
Knull, the God of the Abyss, the creator of the symbiotes, has come to Earth and brought an army of symbiote dragons with him. The event called “King in Black” is currently in full swing, which means Knull is currently winning. As of now, the death count includes the Sentry and Eddie Brock. He’s also ensconced the earth in a sphere of darkness, which I have to imagine is having an effect on food production, not to mention peoples’ circadian rhythms. We don’t know where this is going or how it will end, but I’m hoping it’ll be as big as the hype and end up being a top 10 in 2021, too.
9. The Power Pack are Back
I’m excited about this one! Ryan North and Nico Leon are doing a Power Pack book! Remember when Ryan North wrote Squirrel Girl and it was amazing in every way? Imagine that, but with the Power Pack! They haven’t had their own book in so long, most of you probably don’t even know who they are. Alex, Julie, Jack, and Katie Power, a family of four kids all under 10 years old (whose last name is indeed “Power”), got some nifty alien powers and have to save the world without their parents finding out. Alex has been in the Future Foundation and Julie was dating Karolina Dean from the Runaways but now they’re back and altogether and it’s great! They’ve grown up an ambiguous handful of years since their inception, and I’m also excited to see how that effects their dynamic.
8. X of Swords
Does a 22 part crossover that ran through the pages of every single X book count as a single moment? It does when nothing important happens! You can listen to Episode 11 of our podcast to hear more ranting about how anticlimactic and insignificant this event was, but 3 things happened that are worth mentioning in this list. Apocalypse has left Krakoa to join his wife and 4 children in Amenth, which isn’t technically in our universe, so we may not see him for awhile. Doug Ramsey a.k.a. Cypher got married to a woman called Bei the Bloodmoon that he doesn’t know, so that relationship is starting on a healthy note. And the Captain Britain Corps reformed, which is actually rather significant, given that their job is to protect the multiverse.
See how I didn’t even mention that Rockslide and Gorgon died? It’s because those deaths are so insignificant that they don’t belong on this list.
7. Daredevil Has a Twin Brother
The Inhuman called Reader accidentally manifested a fictional twin brother for Matt Murdock, named Mike Murdock. This included a complete set of memories of Matt and Mike having grown up together. Not wanting to un-exist, Mike stole a Norn Stone from The Hood and used it to alter reality so that he isn’t just a manifestation – he has always existed. What a retcon! This means pretty much anything in Daredevil’s past is fair game for minor tweaks, or even complete rewrites. Mike’s existence also played a part in Matt’s accident and their father’s death, so his character has some great guilt guiding him. Right now, since Daredevil is in jail, Mike is pretending to be Matt and there’s absolutely no way that will go horribly horribly wrong.
6. Dr. Strange Started a School
It’s Hogwarts in the Marvel Universe! Not much has happened so far, other than meeting a cast of young magic users who (should) grow up to be important players in the Marvel Universe. Strange has also gathered a massive collection of magical talent in one place. His staff and teachers include Dr. Voodoo, Magik, Scarlet Witch, Hellstrom, and even his own teacher, The Ancient One.
I’m enjoying their shenanigans as students, but am also hopeful they’ll grow up to be real players in the universe at large.
5. Franklin Richards isn’t a Mutant Anymore
And right after we spent half of Episode 10 talking about his relationship with the mutants on Krakoa. Apparently, Franklin was just subconsciously altering his genetic structure to seem like a mutant because… well, because that’s where the story decided to go. The real change is that he burned out + used up all of his power, which is why his subconscious can no longer maintain the illusion that he has the mutant gene. He burned out warding off a mysterious cosmic force that easily destroyed the Baxter Building and is still out there somewhere being mysterious and dangerous. What I’m saying is it’s a bigger deal than one character just losing their powers.
Franklin being an omega level Powerhouse (capitalized because that’s his official superhero name) has been important to the planet, and, Frankly, all of reality.
4. Outlawed
Can anyone say Civil War 3? It’s basically Civil War 1, Redux: Kids vs Adults. There was an accident featuring underage superheroes fighting to protect a school, so the U.S. passed a law that superheroes under 21 are illegal. Of course, this means all of the young heroes like Ms. Marvel, the new Spider-Man, Nova, Viv Vision, and Ironheart just stopped fighting crime, and their titles got boring and cancelled. Oh wait, no, not that. The opposite of that. So now they all have to operate in secret and fight off government officials while doing their thing. This is having major repercussions for all the heroes mentioned, in their individual titles, in “Champions” and even in the new Power Pack.
3. Kindred: Revealed
Check out episode 4 to hear more about the 2+ year buildup that’s been going on in the background of “Amazing Spider-Man.” TLDR: a mysterious new villain from Hell who is intimately tied to Peter has been pulling evil strings. It turns out he’s Harry Osborn, and it looks like Peter is finally going to have to face the consequences of making a deal with the devil way back in “One More Day” circa 2007. Only one issue of “Last Remains” remains. Pretty much anything could happen, so this is another one that may make the list again in 2021.
2. Thor Killed Galactus
‘Nuff said.
1. The Kree-Skrull War Ended Peacefully
It’s difficult to say how much this will effect Earth on a day-to-day basis, but in terms of Marvel lore, this is a huge, gigantic, monstrously, big f**ing deal. This war has pretty much defined the galactic order of Marvel’s aliens for millennia. Now, Hulkling is the leader of their combined empire, the Alliance. And he married Wiccan, which was rad. This is playing out in the pages of “Guardians of the Galaxy” written by “Empyre” scribe Al Ewing. It will likely also spill over into Al’s new X title, “S.W.O.R.D.,” where the X-Men have established their own space station.
So there you go – those are my 10. Agree? Disagree? Want to know more? Let us know! You can use the internet to talk to us!
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