by Denis Hundhausen
Please
note: This is part 3 of 3, dealing with the years 1993-2012. Part One can be found here, Part Two here. A
german version is to follow.
Age of Reformation
Age of Reformation
1993:
Kurt
Busiek and Alex Ross take a look at the Marvel Universe through everyman’s
eyes, creating a very intimate comic called Marvels[1],
while Harry Osborn manages to redeem
himself from his deeds as Green Goblin and dies in Spider-Man’s presence,
promising him to always be his friend[2] – events that influenced
Sam Raimi’s last Spider-Man
movie.
Meanwhile,
after releasing every inmate of the Arkham Asylum and discovering his secret
identity, the charismatic super villain Bane brakes Batman mentally as well as
physically in the events of Knightfall[3]– later mirrored in
Christopher Nolan’s 2012 movie Dark
Knight Rises.
1994:
In the
aftermath of Superman’s death (s. 1992), a Superman-replica named The Terminator destroys
Coast City. In a neverseen twist, Hal Jordan (one of DC’s a-list heroes: Green
Lantern) falls deep into madness after this massacre and kills off the whole
Green lantern Corps including the guardians, making place for a whole new era
of Green Lantern comics[4]. Thus leading to the
events of Zero Hour[5]. In the events following, Kyle Rayner
became the universe’s last Green Lantern[6].
DC’s
imprint Vertigo publishes the first issue of the acclaimed Invisibles[7].
1995:
Marvel tries
to establish Ben Reilly as new Spider-Man[8]. After previous events,
Peter Parker is led to believe that he is just a clone and that Reilly is in
fact the original Peter Parker. Since his wife, Mary-Jane, is pregnant, he
gives up his identity as Spider-Man and leaves Reilly with his alias.
1996:
Back in
1996, Mark Waid and Alex Ross teamed-up to deliver one of
the darkest, most apocalyptic visions of the future for the DC Universe – Kingdom Come tells the tale of the end of the
superhumans[9].
Meanwhile,
Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale create one of the best received Batman miniseries with
The Long Halloween[10].
In
December 1996 many writers and nearly every living artist who ever worked on
Superman[11]
worked on Clark’s and Lois’ marriage comic[12], where Clark and Lois
finally marry.
Meanwhile,
the long running Clone Saga comes to an
end, marking the return of Norman Osborn, the death of Ben Reilly and Peter
Parker’s return as Spider-Man[13].
Marvel
then outsources the publishing rights of The Avengers, the Fantastic Four,
Captain America and Iron Man to different companies and creatives such as Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld to revamp these characters – in-continuity this is
explained during the events of Heroes: Reborn[14].
1997:
 |
| JLA #1 by Howard Port and John Dell. |
Grant
Morrison & Howard Porter revamp the JLA franchise, using only DC’s A-List heroes such
as Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman[15].
Shortly
after, DC treis a new approach to its most iconic character, when Superman gains new powers along with a new
costume[16].
1998:
Jeph Loeb & Tim
Sale team up again to create Superman For All Seasons[17]. DC then makes a serious buisness
decision by buying WildStorm Comics from
Jim Lee.
Menawhile,
the oursourced heroes from Heroes: Reborn return to their original publisher as
Marvel strats each of their respective series with an #1 (now being the third
volume of each title)[18].
1999:
Among the
first Wildstorm-titles was Alan Moore’s & Kevin O’Neill’s team-up of
various famous characters from classics of world literature, such as Mina
Murray, Allan Quartermain and Mr. Jekyll etc. to fight a common foe. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen[19] is born.
Other
famous serieses launched where The
Authority (Warren
Ellis & Bryan Hitch), The Planetary (Warren Ellis & John
Cassaday) and America’s
Best Comics, specifically designed for Alan Moore.
2000:
To
modernise their heroes, Marvel launches a project that begins as an experiment
and becomes a huge success: the Ultimate Universe[20]
(UU). An alternate timeline in which their flagship heroes were stripped of
their huge backstorys and started fresh, created for the new millenium. High
achieving artists such as Mark Millar, Brian Michael Bendis, Bryan Hitch,
Adam and Andy Kubert et al. were responsible for gritty, political,
timely stories, which modern readers felt connected to.
2001:
Frank
Miller and his wife, Lynn Varley, as colorist, create the sequel to Miller’s
approach of Batman’s future: In The Dark Knight
Strikes Again[21]. Miller shows what
happend to the Batman after the events of “Dark Knight Returns”, eventough the
impact and the artistic depth were much smaller than those of the 1986-prequel.
2002:
 |
| Spider-Man: Blue #5 by Tim Sale. |
Alan
Moore & Kevin O’Neill produce the second volume of The
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen[22], marking Moore’s last work for DC
Comics, while Jeph Loeb & Jim Lee produce one of the year’s most
anticipated sagas: Hush[23].
Loeb also
colaborates with Tim Sale once again to create the acclaimed retro story of
Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy in Spider-Man: Blue[24].
2003:
As part
of Marvel’s Tsunami imprint with aimed at younger readers, Brian K. Vaughan
& Adrian Alphona create the Runaways[25].
This year’s September features the team-up not only of comic all-star team Kurt
Busiek & George Perez but also of the JLA and the Avengers in an epic
crossover[26],
marking their first in-continuity meeting ever.
Comic’s Counter-Reformation
2004:
TV author
and fan favourite Joss Whedon
gets to write a new X-series especially launched for him: The Astonishing X-Men[27] – it ran for 24
issues and won an Eisner Award in 2006.
Meanwhile,
DC initiates the return of Silver Age Hero Hal Jordan[28] (s. 1994), while DC’s WildStorm imprint publishes Ex Machina[29], despicting the stories of the first
superhero that runs for the mayor’s office of New York City.
In Sins Past it is revealed that Gwen Stacy (s. 1974)
and Norman Osborn fathered two children, a boy and a girl, while Gwen was in Europe[30].
2005:
DC’s Infinite Crisis was not that well received, but
triggered a lot of events in the DC Universe, such as the reduction of the
amount of Multiverses to 52[31].
The
Marvel Universe gets reshaped during the events of House
of M[32],
which leaves Marvel’s mutant population heavily decimated.
2006:
In an
alternate universe, All-Star Superman[33] reinvents the myth of
Superman with so much nostalgia and impetus that it ranked among the best
comics of the year in almost every list.
 | ||||
| Captain America (vol. 5) #25 by Ed McGuiness | . |
Meanwhile
Marvel unleashes the Civil War[34] over its heroes, working with the
premise that the Government forces the superheroes to registrate legally in
order to preserve their activities as masked vigilantes. Ultimately, this leads
to the demasking of Spider-Man to a wide public and the death of Captain America[35].
2007:
No recent
story has received so much echo (mostly negative) amongst critics and fans as One More Day[37]: In this story arc, Peter
Parker tries to save the life of his Aunt May, who is suffering from a gun
wound, and blames himself for her condition (the bullet was meant for him).
However, all his attempts fail, thus leaving one last opportunity: A deal with
Mephisto, Marvel’s equivalent of the devil or somesuch. He offers to heal Aunt
May, if Spider-Man is willing to sacrifice his marriage to Mary-Jane. She is
ultimately the one to take this offer, Aunt May survives, and their marriage is
revoked from everyone’s memory. This arc was clearly a publisher’s decision, to
set Spider-Man back to a state where he is neither married nor in a
relationship, in order to approach a younger audience who couldn’t relate to a
married Peter Parker. However negatively received, this story still had a huge
impact on the Spider-Man comics as well as certain other recent Marvel events,
retconning not only the marriage, but also Harry Osborns fate (who now never
died) and the revelation of Spider-Man’s secret identity to the public.
2008:
 |
| Kick-Ass #1 by John Romita Jr. |
In one of
the most complex Batman runs ever told, Grant
Morrison and various artists kill Bruce Wayne, or at least make it look
like that: Batman: R.I.P.[38] - these events where
interwoven with this year’s summer crossover Final
Crisis[39].
Also: Big
changes in Marvel’s Ultimate Universe: The crossover Ultimatum[40]
changed the UU lastingly.
Under the
Icon Comics imprint, Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips create Incognito and Mark Millar & John
Romita Jr. Kick-Ass,
eventually being made into a movie.
2009:
The
events leading to the return of Barry Allen, the second Flash, as seen in the pages of
Final Crisis (s. above), are explained in detail[41]. This year’s crossover Blackest Night[42]
brings back the dead in more than one way. While various fallen friends and
foes rise from there graves to fight the heroes, the Blackest Night ends with
twelve previous dead heroes and villains being resurrected (among them Martian Manhunter, Hawkman
and Maxwell Lord).
2010:
Following
last year’s events, the crossover Brightest Day
explains why those twelve individuals were ressurection: each has an assignment
which he needs to fulfill.
Mark
Millar creates Superior
with Lenil Yu and Kick-Ass
2 with John Romita
Jr. for Marvel’s Icon Comics.
2011:
The
summer event Flashpoint[43]
ultimately leads to a relaunch of DCs whole comic universe – The New 52[44]. They start with publishing
fiftytwo new titles, all beginning with a #1, leaving (almost) nothing as it
was. As of August 2012, the impact of this relaunch cannot be measured yet, but
the move itself is bold.
Also in
2011, Peter Parker died. Not the classic
one, but the ultimate Peter Parker from Marvel’s Ultimate Universe[45]. Creatives and publishers
both promise, that his death will be permanent and also immediately came up with
a succesor: Miles Morales[46], a teenager with Latino
and African-American heritage.
2012:
The event
with the most public attention in 2012 so far is without a doubt the gay marriage
between superhero Northstar and his long-time boyfriend[47]. This reacts to the
Marriage Equality Act, finally allowing couples of the same sex to marry in the
state of New York.
The comic led to huge praises, but, unfortunately, to protests as well.
Also: When
the Avengers fight the X-Men[48], this will eventually
lead to Marvel NOW!, a fresh coat of
paint for the Martvel Universe (though not a reboot)[49].
(Written in
August of 2012.)
Sources
[1] Marvels#1-4 by Kurt Busiek & Alex Ross.
[2] The
Spectacular Spider-Man #200 by J.M. DeMatteis & Sal Buscema.
[3] Bane
brakes Batmans back in the iconic Batman #497 by Doug Moench
& Jim Aparo.
[4] Green
Lantern (vol. 3) #48-50: “Emerald Twilight”, Ron Marz & various artists
[5] Zero Hour
#4-0 (not a typo, they really counted the issue numbers backwards to create a
countdown-effect) by Dan Jurgens.
[6] Green Lantern (vol. 3) # 48
by Ron Marz & Bill Willingham.
[7] The Invisibles #1 by Grant
Morrison & Steve Yeowell
[8] Sensational
Spider-Man #0 by Dan Jurgens.
[9] KingdomCome #1-4 by Mark Waid & Alex Ross.
[10] Batman:Long Halloween #1-13 by Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale.
[12] Superman: The
Wedding Album – see link for full artist credits.
[13] Spider-Man #75 by Howard
Mackie & John Romita Jr.
[14] This is
title is an umbrella term. The single issues and creative teams can be found
here: http://marvel.wikia.com/Heroes_Reborn
[15] JLA #1 by Grant Morrison
& Howard Porter.
[16] Superman (vol. 2) #123 by
Dan Jurgens & Ron Frenz.
[17] SupermanFor All Seasons #1-4 by Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale.
[18] This
events were triggered by Heroes Reborn – The Return, starting in 1997, s. http://marvel.wikia.com/Heroes_Reborn:_The_Return_Vol_1
[19] The League of
Extraordinary Gentlemen #1-#6 by Alan Moore & Kevin O’Neill.
[20] UltimateX-Men #1 (Mark Millar & Adam Kubert) and Ultimate Spider-Man #1 (Brian Michael Bendis & Mark Bagley) marked the start of the UU.
[21] The DarkKnight Strikes Again#1-3 by Frank Miller.
[22] The League of
Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol. 2 #1-6 by Alan Moore & Kevin
O#Neill
[23] Batman #608-619 by Jeph
Loeb & Jim Lee
[24] Spider-Man: Blue #1-6 by
Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale.
[25] Starting
with Runaways #1 by
Brian K. Vaughan & Adrian Alphona.
[26] Avengers/JLA #1-4 by Kurt
Busiek & George Perez.
[27] Astonishing
X-Men (vol. 3) #1 by Joss Whedon & John Cassaday.
[28] Green Lantern: Rebirth
#1-6 by Geoff Johns & Ethan Van Sciver.
[29] Ex Machina #1 by Brian K.
Vaughan & Tony Harris.
[30] The Amazing
Spider-Man #509 by J. Michael Straczynski & Mike Deobato Jr.
[31] InfiniteCrisis #1-7, Geoff Johns & Phil Jimenez et al.
[32] House of M #1-8 by Brian Michael Bendis & Olivier Coipel.
[33] All-StarSuperman #1-12 by Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely.
[34] Civil War
#1-7 by Mark Millar & Steve McNiven
[35] In the
years to follow, those events where further developed in Captain America (vol.5) #25-42, by Ed Brubaker and various artists.
[36] Criminal#1 by Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips
[37] Amazing Spider-Man #544, Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man #24, Sensational Spider-Man
#41 by J. Michael Stracynszki & Joe Quesada:
[38] In: Batman#676-681 by Grant Morrison and various artists.
[39] Final Crisis #1-#7 by Grant Morrison & J.G. Jones Carlos Pacheco and Doug Mahnke
among others.
[40] Ultimatum
#1-5, Jeph Loeb & David Finch.
[41] Flash: Rebirth by Geoff
Johns & Ethan Van Sciver
[42] Blackest Night #1-8 by Geoff Johns & Ethan Van Sciver et al.
[43] Flash: Flashpoint #1-5 by Geoff Johns & Andy Kubert.
[44] The New-52
#1 and many more issues by various writers and artists
[45] UltimateSpider-Man #160 by Brian Michael Bendis & Mark Bagley.
[46] UltimateFallout #4, Brian Michael Bendis, Jonathan Hickman, Nick Spencer & Sarah
Pichelli.
[47]
Astonishing X-Men #51 by Marjorie Liu & Mike Perkins.
[48] Avengers Vs. X-Men
by Brian Michael Bendis & John Romita Jr., among others
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