Marvel Comics To Read Before Secret Empire

Avengers: Standoff

Avengers: Standoff is the 2016 Avengers crossover event that began the March towards Secret Empire.

Prior to Avengers: Standoff, Steve Rogers had the super soldier serum removed from his system.

His physiology reverted to that of his actual age and he lost of the enhancement that helped make him Captain America. He decided tp step aside and pass the mantle of Captain America onto his former partner, Sam Wilson the Falcon.

Avengers: Standoff introduce Kobik, the sentient cosmic cube in the form of a 4-year-old girl. SHIELD was using Kobik to rewrite the identities of supervillains so that they could be placed in Plesant Hill, a prison that appeared to be a perfectly idyllic small town suburb.

When hacker called the Whisperer, Rick Jones, discovered and leaked information regarding Pleasant Hill, the various Avengers factions sprung into action.

During the event, in order to save Steve Rogers from being killed by Crossbones, Kobik restored the youth and vigor he had as Captain America.

It was later revealed that she did more than just give Cap a physical boost.

Captain America: Steve Rogers

This one may be obvious, but if you only read one series leading into Secret Empire, it should probably be Captain America: Steve Rogers.

In this series, Secret Empire architect Nick Spencer follows Steve Rogers after Kobik recreates him in Avengers: Standoff.

Half of the series is spent watching Captain America play his fellow heroes and SHIELD agents, who all trust him implicitly and look to him as a role model.

The other half of the series follows Steve Rogers as a boy and reveals how he was inducted into Hydra and traces his history as rewritten by Kobik.

The series sheds a light on the role that Hydra leaders like the Kraken, Madame Hydra, Baron Zemo, and Dr. Faustus have played in Steve Rogers' new life.

This is the one series, more than any other, that will lead directly into Secret Empire.

Captain America: Sam Wilson

Steve Rogers isn't the only Captain America in the Marvel Universe these days.

Even though Steve Rogers has regained his super soldier powers, Sam Wilson is still operating as a Captain America.

Where Steve Rogers has been mostly operating as an agent of SHIELD, Sam Wilson's ties with the security organization were broken when he criticized the organization's Kobik program.

Since then, Sam has been operating as a street level Captain America, battling the likes of the Sons of the Serpent.

He isn't without allies, though. He's still a member of the Avengers, and he's built up his own support operations team consisting of Misty Knight, D-Man, and the new Falcon.

Captain America: Sam Wilson is also written by Nick Spencer, and Spencer has made clear that both Captain America comics will be integral the Secret Empire experience.

Uncanny Avengers

Uncanny Avengers, written by Gerry Duggan and drawn by Ryan Stegman, Pepe Larraz, and other artists, is the Marvel Comics series that follows the Avengers Unity Squad.

The Unity Squad was originally conceived of following the events of Avengers vs. X-Men to be a symbol of cooperation between mutants and humans.

With the boom in Inhuman population following the events of Infinity, and the rising tensions between mutants and Inhumans follow the events of Death of X, the Unity Squad expanded its mission statement to include Inhumans.

Following Secret Wars, Steve Rogers - then without his super soldier powers - was leading the Unity Squad, which consisted of Deadpool, Rogue, Brother Voodoo, Quicksilver, the Human Torch, and the Inhuman called Synapse. The team soon added Cable to its ranks, and the Wasp joined in more recent issues.

Steve Rogers' attitude towards the teamed changed drastically after his encounter with Kobik. Rogers' even went as far as disbanding the team over acts of insubordination by the mutant members, though the Unity Squad has continued operating without Rogers' mandate.

Uncanny Avengers has been leading up to a major conflict between the Unity Squad and the Red Skull, who still possesses Professor X's brain and telepathic powers and was responsible for coaching Kobik into altering Steve Rogers' history.

The Unity Squad very likely has a role to play in Secret Empire.

Thunderbolts

The new Thunderbolts series, from writer Jim Zub and artist Jon Malin, spins directly out of the events of Avengers: Standoff.

The Winter Soldier was among the first to discover the truth about Pleasant Hill, and he aided several of the villains imprisoned there in escaping.

Now he leads them on missions involved in Bucky's duties as the "man on the wall," a post he inherited from Nick Fury Sr.

The villains weren't the only ones who escaped with Winter Soldier, though. The group has also been caring for Kobik, the same sentient cosmic cube that rewrote Cap's history.

In the most recent storyline, Captain America has sent his best friend from Hydra boarding school, Baron Zemo, and the new Master of Evil against the group.

The Thunderbolts have already brushed up against Captain America's plans during some of their missions before Zemo attacked. It seems like only a matter of time until the team and Captain America cross paths more directly.

Extra Credit: Civil War II

Civil War II was big Marvel Comics event of 2016, and while it doesn't lead directly into Secret Empire in quite the same way that the other series we've listed do, it may be worth checking out anyway.

Every series that we've already listed in the feature tied into the events of Civil War in some way. Reading the core event may just make it a little easier to get an understanding of exactly what was going on in those issues.

Civil War II was written by Brian Michael Bendis with art by David Marquez. The series chronicled the Second Superhero Civil War, which was fought between factions led by Iron Man and Captain America. The battle is fought over the use of an Inhuman's precognitive powers to dish out "predictive justice."

While Civil War II stands alone, it does foreshadow Secret Empire pretty heavily. The Inhuman in question, Ulysses, has an important vision involving Captain America, and the standalone issue Civil War II: The Oath is a prolog to Secret Empire.

You can probably get the context of Civil War II that is most relevant to Secret Empire just from reading the tie-in issues for the series already mentioned.

That said, the experience may be more enjoyable if you just go ahead and read the core event.