The 100 Greatest Marvels of All Time

[Tom Foolery]

Back in 2001, Joe Quesada and Bill Jemas, the newly minted EiC and Publisher of Marvel Comics were fresh into their run of turning Bob Harras' frieght train of suck that was the late 90s around. One of the things they did was pose the question to loyal readers: What's your favorite Marvel Comic ever? Then, after 50,000 loyal readers responded, they tallied the votes and made a list of the Top 100.
Then they put out a 10 issue series showcasing the Top 25 in reprints. The first five issues were hefty 90-100 page squarebound issues with $7.50 price tags. Each of those had 4 issues in it. The final five issues counted down the final five books from 5 to 1.
Some of the stories are no-brainers. And some of them I can't fathom why they made the list. They might be culturally relevant, but as stories unto themselves they're pretty weak(and that's being diplomatic).
I also found it ironic that I actually hadn't sat down and read, from beginning to end, many of the more "iconic" issues. Oh, I knew the plot. And for many, I had seen the key panels countless times in articles. Or perhaps slightly redrawn versions in flashbacks and recaps of other issues. But, even though I OWN some of these books, I hadn't actually not just thumbed through them quickly and sat down to really Read the issue.

I'll go through the Top 25 first, then go back and list and comment on the 100-26. And comment on why they made the list, and perhaps whether they deserve to be there. But first, here's issue 1 with 25 through 22.

25. Uncanny X-Men 141. Days of Future Past. One that I'd never actually read. Dystopian Future timeline stories are goddamn cliche nowadays. And they certainly weren't new when this came around. But its still a damn good story. Claremont was at the top of his game back then. And to think that so much of the X-Men's 'mythology' stems from their collective fear of this timeline happening and trying to prevent it. Also, cool coincidence; the "future" Kitty Pryde came from back to 1980? It's the year 2013. Which is like 100 days away.

24. Fantastic Four 48. The coming of Galactus. Another one I'd never actually read. Half the book isn't even dealing with SS and Galactus. Their dealing with the Inhumans from the previous issue and Johnny is all mopey about Crystal. I love how nonchalantly Uatu breaks his oath and tries to hide Earth in a cocoon of meteor rocks! And the reveal of Galactus' ship is some kind of trippy photograph of some waffle iron or something that Kirby whipped up. Classic Stan and Jack all the way.

23. Amazing Spidey 1. It still cracks me up that the entire rescue of Col. Jameson hinges on the fact that a creepy teen dressed head to toe in red long johns breaks onto a military base and a pilot goes "I got a good feeling about you!" and agrees to fly Spidey up near the rocket. (A rocket that gets launched from like, what, Flushing NY?) This issue makes the list ONLY because of the 1 on the cover. Not based on the merits of the story inside.

22. Daredevil 181. The Death of Elektra. I've read this issue before but glossed over it. Basically only reading the actual stabbing of Elektra part, and never really reading the rest of the issue. It's a damn fine read. The entire thing is the 'inner monologue' of Bullseye. I love how he gets put on a talkshow as part of his therapy. And then promptly kills everyone and escapes. I also found it interesting upon rereading that the infamous fight between Bullseye and Elektra takes place about halfway through the issue, rather than as the climax. And even though it's all Bulleye's Caption Boxes, the art masterfully captures everything Matt is feeling, through the funeral and then the subsequent fight with Bullseye. This totally deserves to be on the list. And should probably be higher.

[Tom Foolery]

Issue 2 had 21-18.

21. Avengers 1. Goofy Silver Age story. I've read it before, but it makes me laugh how disjointed the reasons for the Avengers coming together are. Loki using the Hulk to get back at Thor. Rick Jones calling the FF and the message getting intercepted by Tony Stark and Hank Pym. Then the Hulk hiding as a Robot! in the circus. The whole damn thing is convoluted and goofy.

Uncanny X-Men 350. The Trial of Gambit. Aside from the Ultimate books(which were hot shit at the time of the list making) I think this is the newest issue on the list. Gambit is put on trial for gathering the Maurauders at Sinister's behest and leading them into the tunnels before the Morlock Massacre. A bunch of faux-drama retcon BS. Considering the company it's keeping on the list, I personally don't think this one rates.

19. Amazing Spidey 122. The Death of the Green Goblin. Another issue I'd never actually read. Other than the scene where Spidey ducks and Goblin gets impaled by his own glider, never read the issue. The scene where Spidey is cradling Gwen's body as the crowd is watching was pretty powerful. But the part that seriously puts a lump in my throat(and I'm not even joking) is the last page. MJ come to tell Peter she's sorry about Gwen and he goes off on her and basically tells MJ to go screw. She's about to leave. Then shuts the door and stays with Pete. So damn good.

18. Captain America 109. Jack Kirby's final issue of Cap. Retells and expands his Origin story from the 1940s. I think this is more on the list because of the context of it being Jack's final issue(Marvel's publishing restrictions from the 60s had recently ended and Kirby couldn't do Full issues of FF, Thor, AND Cap. So one of them had to give) rather than the story itself being remarkable.

[Tom Foolery]

Issue 3.

17. Incredible Hulk 181. I get that it's the first appearance of Wolverine. But the character we all know as Wolverine wouldn't evolve for several years. This story by itself is fairly pedestrian. I mean, THIS Wolverine could have easily become a one appearance douche D-list hero.

16. X-Men 25. Fatal Attractions. Remember when Magneto pulled all of the Adamantium out of Logan? And then Xavier got pissed and bascially turned Erik's brain off? This was the first major Event after Claremont left where the new X-writers weren't afraid of doing BIG things. It wasn't a perfect story, but damn it had some balls on it. So kudos for that. Should it be on the list? Yes. Should it be this high? Ehhh.

15. Amazing Spidey 33. Spidey gets a building knocked on him. Then rages and breaks free before he drowns. It's become kind of a recurring
Spidey meme since then.

14. Spider-Man 1. Todd's issue. I can only assume this is this high on the list (or on it at all) because this is likely many many people's first issue of Spider-Man. And perhaps their first comic in general. Because I think we can all agree the story on its own merits...sucks some serious ass. His Webs! Advantageous!!(sorry couldn't resist)

[Tom Foolery]

Issue 4.

13. Incredible Hulk 1. Banner saves Ricks life. Gets bombarded with Gamma Rays. Yadda yadda. It's the first appearsce of one of Marvel's core characters, so it's kind of a gimme.

12. Ultimate X-Men 1. As I stated before, this 'poll' was taken right when the Ultimate books were launched, so they were hot shit at the time. Thus, derivative retellings of classic stories climbed up much higher on the list than they deserved.

11. Daredevil 227. Born Again. Frank Miller came back to DD for a seven issue run a few years after his first DD run put him on the map. This issue was the culmination of that arc. Kingpin completely fucks with Matt nine ways from Sunday, and Matt overcomes. This totally deserves to be where it is. And then some.

10. Wolverine 75. Fatal Attractions. ZOMG! Bone Claws?!?! WTF?!? That pretty much sums up this issue. Considering it opened the door for Origin and James Howlett, in retrospect, yeah pretty major. The story itself is only okay. Not sure it should be this high. Seriously, Top Ten?

[Tom Foolery]

Issue 5.

9. Ultimate Spidey 1. Again, the Ultimate line being what it was in 2001 is responsible for this issue cracking the Top Ten. It's a decent enough rehashing of a familiar story. But Ultimately it's derivative (see what I did there?)

8. [Uncanny] X-Men 1. As with most of the classic first issues, its on the list because it introduced one of the core brands of the Marvel Universe, and not because the issue itself is any good.

7. Avengers 4. The Return of Captain America. The Avengers thaw Cap out. I honestly think this is so high on the list is because everybody felt it ought to be here, but nobody has actually read it. The story is prett meh. Nostalgia propped this one up to number seven spot.

6. Amazing Spidey 121. The Death of Gwen. My only regret is that I couldn't read and experience this issue when it actually came out. I read it knowing the ending. But back in 1973, before we all got jaded with endless, mesningless comic deaths and resurrections, this issue would've punched me in the gut. Hard. It's still fantastic storytelling.

[Tom Foolery]

And the final five issues.

5. X-Men 1. As with McFarlane's Spider-Man, I can only assume this cracked the Top Five because so many many many people were introduced to comics because of it. And Jim Lee's art probably helps also.

4. Giant Sized X-Men 1. The introduction of Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler and the rest of Claremont's fiesty, combative, quarrelsome mutants. The X-Men dominated the sales charts for the next three decades. And it all started right here.

3. Uncanny X-Men 137. Death of Jean Grey. The ultimate story of Death, Sacrifice, and Love.

2. Fantastic Four 1. The birth of the Marvel Universe. Turned super hero comics on their ear.

1. Amazing Fantasy 15. The brilliant origin of the greatest Super-Hero ever. Nuff said.

Hard to argue with that Top Five(well maybe the fifth spot, but you could just as easily argue it deserves to be there). I now open the floor to
Comments, Questions, Issues, Concerns and Remarks.
Then I'll start counting down from 100.

[Diabolical]

1. Amazing Fantasy 15. The brilliant origin of the greatest Super-Hero ever. Nuff said.

But that isn't the first appearance of Batman...

[anarky]

I'm surprised you didn't say "Punisher."

[Diabolical]

Only because The Punisher isn't much of a hero in the typical sense.

[anarky]

True.

But Batman isn't "super" in any sense, unless he's being written poorly.

[Tom Foolery]

I agree. Batman is nowhere to be found.
And yet the original statement remains true.

Here are the first ten issues on the list. And why each issue is significant.

100. Generation X 1. Because its a first issue.
99. Captain America 444. First part of Mark Waid's 'Man without a Country' story.
98. Fantastic Four 232. First John Byrne issue.
97. X-Factor 87. The Doc Samson analysis issue by Peter David.
96. Amazing Spidey 101. First Morbius.
95. Iron Man(vol 3) 1. The Heroes Return series.
94. Fantastic Four 18. First Super-Skrull.
93. Uncanny X-Men 145. Dr. Doom beats up the X-Men.
92. Captain Marvel 34. I think this is where he fought Nitro and got cancer.
91. Uncanny X-Men 121. 2nd part of the first Alpha Flight story.

[anarky]

Funny thing is, I bet a lot of people would include a few non-MU Marvel Comics in their lists. I'd expect G.I. Joe #21 to rank especially highly if it included all Marvel-published comics ever, not just the MU and alternate versions of it.

You don't even have to know fuck-all about Joe to love that comic. Hell, it just jumps right in with no explanation whatsoever as to how it got from the ending of #20 to this point. But, goddamn, it is "comics as art" in the purest form.

[jjreason]

Mark Waid's Man Without a Country was very, very good. I remember piecing those together, the final action sequence is very memorable. Also, I would suggest Gen X #1 might be Chris Bachalo's first Marvel work. That was a good series for a fair bit honestly, I tried pretty hard to dislike it but got well sucked in.

[Tom Foolery]

The next ten. Many of these aren't exceptionally well told stories. Just the first appearance of some significant character or event. I mean, really? Secret Wars 8? He got the damn costume out of a vending machine or something. Thats not good storytelling.

90. Uncanny X-Men 283. Last part of Bishop's intro.
89. Secret Wars 8. First Black Costume.
88. Uncanny X-Men 248. First Jim Lee issue.
87. X-Factor 24. First Archangel.
86. X-Men 53. Onslaught.
85. Amazing Spidey 238. First Hobgoblin.
84. Amazing Spidey 194. First Black Cat.
83. Avengers 57. First Vision.
82. Amazing Spidey 90. Death of Capt. George Stacy.
81. Captain America 117. First Falcon.

[Tom Foolery]

The next ten.

80. Fantastic Four Annual 3. Sue and Reed's wedding.
79. Tales of Suspense 57. First Hawkeye. This issue in number one on Chux's list.
78. Amazing Spidey 31. First Gwen. First Harry. First Prof. Warren.
77. Uncanny X-Men 266. First Gambit.
76. X-Force 1. No. Just...no.
75. Punisher War Journal 6. First meeting of Frank and Logan.
74. X-Factor 6. First Apocalypse.
73. Iron Man 55. First Thanos, Drax, Starfox, etc.
72. Uncanny X-Men 162. Wolverine vs the Brood.
71. Uncanny X-Men 172. Wolverine's (non)marriage to Mariko.