Marvel Comics has given people some of the greatest runs in comics. Over the decades, some of the best creative teams of all time have worked on the various Marvel characters, and they’ve helped make the publisher what they are. The House of Ideas was the first publisher to push their creators, creating the myth of the Marvel Bullpen, and since then they’ve created numerous superstars. Longtime Marvel fans can name some amazing runs off the top of their head — anything by Stan and Jack, the Chris Claremont run on X-Men, Bendis’s time on the Avengers, Busiek/Perez Avengers, Roger Sterns’ time on The Amazing Spider-Man, and numerous others. However, there are some that don’t get the credit they deserve.
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Marvel has hired some of the greatest creators ever and put them together for runs that have helped define what a superhero can be. There are some underrated/older runs out there that most modern fans have never even read. You haven’t read these ten Marvel runs, and you need to fix that right now.
10) Alan Davis’s Excalibur
There are lots of X-teams out there and one that doesn’t get the credit it deserves is Excalibur. The British mutant team was awesome, or at least the original version of the team brought together by Chris Claremont and Alan Davis was (the various reboots of the team haven’t been great). The two kicked off the group’s book, but both would leave eventually. With the big X-reboot of 1991, Davis returned, writing and drawing issues #42-52, 54-58, and 61-67. Davis expanded the mythos of Otherworld, added members to the team, and basically nailed the humorous, quirky tone of their aventures. This is one of the most underrated X-runs out there, and more fans need to read it.
9) John Ney Reiber/John Cassaday Captain America
Captain America is Marvel’s most storied soldier, and has had some amazing runs over the decades. Back in 2002, in the days after 9/11, Marvel decided to relaunch Cap and they chose John Ney Reiber, of Books of Magic fame, and John Cassaday, who at the time was known for Planetary, for Captain America (Vol. 4). The two of them only did six issues of the book, with Cap going after a terrorist and dealing with the aftermath, and it is phenomenal. Ney Reiber nailed the character and Cassaday’s art is outstanding. Cassaday left after that, and Ney Reiber was replaced by Chuck Austen after issue #8, ending their time on the Sentinel of Liberty. However, their short time together was outstanding.
8) Tom DeFalco Spider-Girl
Spider-Girl first appeared in What If… #105 and fans loved her. She would soon get her own series, which was written by her co-creator Tom DeFalco for a hundred issues. DeFaloc is a former Marvel editor in chief and has runs on some of the publisher’s greatest characters, so he’s got the goods and proved it with every issue. The book took place in the future, with May Parker as the leader of a new generation of heroes while dealing with her life as a second generation hero. This run is just good old-fashioned superhero goodness, with art from greats like Pat Oliffe and Ron Frenz. This was the little book that could, escaping cancellation numerous times, and is a classic.
7) Tom DeFalco/Ron Frenz Thunderstrike
Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz worked together both on The Mighty Thor and Fantastic Four, and made for an excellent team. They wrote the God of Thunder during the period when Eric Masterson held the hammer, a different version of the Thor than fans know now, and it was great. Eventually, the Odinson would return and Eric was given a magic mace and a new identity. This was the premise of Thunderstrike, a book starring him as he continued his superhero life. DeFalco and Frenz worked on issues #1-10 and #12-24. Their run was a solid superhero run, with the kind of big fights and drama that defined old school Marvel.
6) Fabian Nicieza/Mark Bagley New Warriors
The New Warriors were meant to be ’90s superstars, and if you read New Warriors (Vol. 1), you could believe it. That book kicked off with an amazing run from Fabian Nicieza and Mark Bagley, two creators who were about to become superstars. The two of them worked on issues #1-25 and wowed readers. Marvel has rarely had popular teen heroes who weren’t mutants, and Nicieza and Bagley did a fantastic job with this new team. Fans loved their work so much, that Nicieza would start working on X-Men (Vol. 2), becoming one of the bestselling writers at Marvel, and Bagley would take over The Amazing Spider-Man. Marvel trusted them after these 25 issues because they proved that they were amazing talents.
5) Jeph Loeb/Adam Pollina X-Force
X-Force in the ’90s doesn’t have the best reputation. Sure, it sold well and had great art (Greg Capullo and Tony S. Daniel, not Liefeld), but it’s not the most ground-breaking when it comes to writing. After Age of Apocalypse, new creative team Jeph Loeb and Adam Pollina took over with issue #44 and made the book the best it had been. The two of them worked together on issues #44-48, #50, and #52-56, with Loeb leaving but Pollina staying after that (the book stayed great, by the way). The two of them changed the group from the edgy teen team to a more standard superhero team working with the X-Men. Loeb nailed the characters, but the real MVP was Pollina. The artist’s unique style was fantastic, and he’s one of the best X-Force artists ever.
4) Erik Larsen Wolverine
Wolverine (Vol. 2) was one of the bestselling solo books of the ’90s, and had some pretty great writers. After Larry Hama left the book, a string of fill-in writers were on the book from issue #119 to #132, after which Erik Larsen took over as writer of the book. He wrote the Ol’Canucklehead from #133 to #149, working with Jeff Matsuda, Leinil Yu, and several fill-in artists. This run kicked off with an awesome cosmic adventure and ended with the return of Wolvie’s adamantium and “The Twelve”, the X-Men’s big ’90s ending story. Larsen gave readers pitch perfect Wolverine, and it’s a run that doesn’t get enough love.
3) Mark Waid/Ron Garney Captain America
Mark Waid and Ron Garney took over Captain America (Vol. 1) with issue #444 and immediately knocked readers’ socks off. The two of them were amazing from the word go, and made Captain America into one of Marve’s hottest books during a time when the X-Men and Spider-Man reigned supreme. They worked on issues #444-454, before the book was cancelled because of “Heroes Reborn”. These ten issues were some of the best Captain America you’ve ever read, perfect writing with some of the best action penciling ever. They would return to the character in Captain America (Vol. 3), working on the first five issues and #12 before Garney moved over to the Waid-written Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #1-6. They are the greatest Cap creative team of the modern day, and yet Marvel rarely reprints their work, which is a tragedy for newer generations of Cap fans.
2) Joe Kelly/Steve Seagle X-Men/Uncanny X-Men
The ’90s were all about the X-Men, with X-Men and Uncanny X-Men being the consistently bestselling books of the decade. In 1997, longtime X-writer Scott Lobdell left the titles, and was replaced by Joe Kelly on X-Men (Vol. 2) and Steve Seagle on Uncanny X-Men. Kelly wrote X-Men (Vol. 2) #70-85 and Seagle wrote Uncanny X-Men #350-365. The two of them were taking the team to interesting places, working with every major X-character of the day, until Marvel enforced an eight member limit on the team’s roster, forcing them to drop numerous plots they built. They left five issues after the roster change in “Children of the Atom” (Uncanny X-Men #360 and X-Men #80), cutting off an amazing run.
1) J.M. DeMatteis/Sal Buscema The Spectacular Spider-Man
The Spectacular Spider-Man was the B Spider-Man book in the ’90s, but it had the greatest Spider-Man creative team ever. J.M. DeMatteis had written the book for ages (and is the writer of “Kraven’s Last Hunt”), but starting with issue #178 he was joined by Marvel legend Sal Buscema. The two of them worked on #178 to #238 and it was an amazing stretch of Spider-Man. They gave readers the Harry Osborn as Green Goblin saga, and weathered the tumults of ’90s Spider-Man better than anyone, giving readers tremendous stories. Bill Scienkiewicz, another legend, became inker with issue #219, and the book’s art got even better. This is peak Spider-Man and if you’ve never read it, you’re missing out.
What’s your favorite under-loved Marvel run? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
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Courtesy of Warner Bros. Japan
