Character arcs are a contentious yet essential part of comic books. Most of Marvel and DC’s superheroes are designed as the protagonists of never-ending stories, meant to lead self-contained and expansive tales for decades on end. As such, those characters cannot change too much from who they are, as they risk becoming unrecognizable. In contrast, these characters can’t remain stagnant forever, either. Variety is the spice of life, and watching our heroes develop and grow over the course of years and decades is a fantastic privilege. One of the most unique and valuable parts of comics is how you can watch the idea of a hero develop over the course of generations, which almost no other media can provide.
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Although heroes always reset back to a status quo eventually, and a new writer is liable to take a beloved arc and throw it in the trash without thought or care, that doesn’t mean character development isn’t important. The ways these characters change and become better people reflect who we are, and their journeys can have a fundamental impact on readers of all kinds. Today, we’re going to celebrate the often-overlooked art of the comic book character arc by dissecting five of the best ones that Marvel has given us in the past ten years. With all that said, let’s contemplate some character arcs.
5) Magneto
The Master of Magnetism has flip-flopped between hero, anti-hero, and villain ever since Chris Claremont introduced his WWII origin story. He evolved from a needlessly evil villain to a broken man fighting to save his people from what he saw as inevitable genocide. The 1990s and 2000s recemented him as a villain, but Krakoa forever changed Magneto’s wishy-washy morality. After his death, which the Five could not revive him from, he went to a limbo-like space where he was tormented by the countless lives he’d taken in the pursuit of mutant salvation.
The Resurrection of Magneto miniseries detailed Storm’s descent into this realm to save Magneto from his own judgment. She forced him to look not at all the lives he’d taken, but all the ones he’d saved. This restored his will to continue one, and Magneto returned to life with the determination to save instead of oppress. After decades of fighting, he was finally aligned with Charles Xavier’s dream of fighting in his own way, which wasn’t as peaceful as Charles’s, but wasn’t as violent as his past. Magneto became a true hero and mutant icon in the best way possible.
4) Elektra
For decades, Elektra has been Daredevil’s on-again, off-again partner and assassin. She was as likely to slit his throat as she was help him, but she’d been a bad influence on him since their breakup in their college days. That all changed when Matt chose to turn himself in for manslaughter. Elektra, needing his help to stop the Hand once and for all, decided to earn his trust by protecting Hell’s Kitchen in his stead. She became the new Daredevil, the Woman Without Fear, and set to work.
While this started as her putting on airs, Elektra came to understand why Matt did what he did. She grew loving being a hero, fighting for what was right despite everything. By the time Matt finally left prison, Elektra had become a hero in her own right and shunted her evil past. She’s still New York’s second Daredevil to this day, fighting with and without Matt to keep their home safe. Elektra went from another femme fatale assassin to one of Marvel’s most nuanced characters, practically overnight, and it was a wonderful journey to see.
3) Scarlet Witch
Wanda Maximoff’s journey over the past decade has been tumultuous. Scarlet Witch (2015) revealed that she and Pietro were not actually Magneto’s children or mutants at all, which is a retcon that most fans still seethe about, myself included. Still, that kick-started her journey of self-discovery, which led to her embracing her calling as a witch of chaos and mastering Chaos Magic like nobody else before her. Wanda has been defined by her actions during House of M for twenty years at this point, but finally, after so long, she’s forgiven herself and been forgiven for her mistake.
The Scarlet Witch has only grown more now that she’s no longer bound by the past. In fact, she’s constantly charging forward, and nowhere is that more obvious than in her becoming the new Sorcerer Supreme. Wanda’s journey to being the respected witch she is was very long and very painful, but she’s finally reached a point where she’s happy with herself, and the world respects her. Becoming Sorcerer Supreme felt like the natural next step in her journey, and it constantly leaves me excited to see more.
2) Norman Osborn
Norman Osborn will always be remembered for being Spider-Man’s archnemesis. Nobody gets under Peter’s skin like the Green Goblin. He’s the one who killed Gwen Stacy, after all, but still, Norman’s changed a lot since then. He had his sins and evil purged from him in Amazing Spider-Man (2018) #49, leaving him a grieving, broken man over the atrocities he’d committed. Even after those sins were restored to him, Norman strove to be a better person than he was. He became a full-time ally for Spider-Man, standing beside him when nobody else would.
The best part of Norman’s arc started when Peter was shunted into space. Norman knew that New York needed a Spider-Man, so he stepped up to protect Peter’s legacy while he was gone. In turn, Norman learned how much Spider-Man meant to New York and himself, and realized how desperate he was to be a better man. He managed to fill Peter’s shoes spectacularly, even if he definitely needed to hand them back over when Peter returned. Norman Osborn being a hero has been the most interesting thing done with his character since Dark Reign, and I’m excited to see it continue to develop.
1) The Hulk
The character development for Bruce Banner, the Hulk, and all of their alters established during Immoral Hulk was nothing short of revolutionary. It reimagined the Hulk as being connected to the One Below All, the One Above All’s dark half, and firmly centered him in the magic realm. Usually, making a character deeply baked in science fiction shift to magic for their origin makes everything feel hollow, but it worked for the Hulk. It tied all of his past retcons together and pulled from every part of his storied history to ask a single question: Is Bruce Banner a good man?
In the end, this was a story about the Hulk learning to forgive himself, and saw Bruce and his main Hulk personas work together in a way they never had before. He learned to accept every part of himself, and, in turn, accept the unfortunate parts of other people, too. He learned that everyone had their own Hulk, and that meant he had to look after everyone, because Hulks supported each other. It was a phenomenal arc that, even though it’s been undone since, remains one of the most moving stories of the past decade.
Which Marvel character arc is your favorite? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
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