5 Marvel Comics Sequel Events That Lived Up To The Original (& 5 That Fell Short)

Marvel Comics seems to live and die with its crossover and event series. It seems there are more and more every year, with 2025 seeing Imperial, Age of Revelation, and One World Under Doom all flooding the market with significant events. It has been this way since the ’80s, when Marvel saw massive success with Contest of Champions and Secret Wars. However, with numerous event series in Marvel Comics, there have also been several sequels and follow-ups to the most significant events. While some of these were even better than their predecessors, and while the originals might have been groundbreaking when released, some of the follow-ups didn’t always meet expectations.

From direct follow-ups to major Marvel Comics events to straight-up sequels, here is a look at the five best follow-ups and five sequels that left most fans disappointed.

10) Best: Annihilation Conquest

When Annihilation was released in 2006, it changed everything about the Marvel Cosmic universe. The first series followed characters like Nova, the Silver Surfer, Super-Skrull, and Ronan the Accuser, as they battled an invading Annihilus and his Annihilation Wave. This, above all else, made the Marvel Cosmic Universe mean something for the first time in a long time.

This led to a direct sequel in 2007 called Annihilation Conquest, and it might have been even better than the first crossover event series. One big thing about the sequel was the introduction of a new version of the Guardians of the Galaxy, specifically the team’s incarnation in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This also showed how great Star-Lord and Nova were when they were working together in the comics. Add in the return of Adam Warlock, and this sequel was a big win for Marvel Comics.

9) Worst: Infinity Crusade

While Annihilation Conquest was a great cosmic crossover sequel, the third part of the Infinity Gauntlet storyline was not. This is also hugely disappointing since The Infinity Gauntlet was a masterpiece, and The Infinity War was a highly praised Marvel Cosmic crossover series. The first story saw Thanos snap out half of existence and battle Adam Warlock and the surviving heroes, while the second saw Warlock corrupted by the Infinity Gauntlet, and Thanos had to team with the heroes to stop him.

Sadly, the wheels fell off with The Infinity Crusade. This time around, Adam Warlock expelled the good and evil parts of his being, the evil being Magus (the villain from Infinity War) and the good being the Goddess, which ended up just as bad. The problem is that the series was slow-paced and the stakes were not as high (similar to House of M’s issues), resulting in a massive drop-off in quality after such a great start.

8) Best: Secret Wars (2015)

Secret Wars was the follow-up storyline to Time Runs Out. Still, at the same time, it was also a slight sequel to the original two Secret Wars series, as Doctor Doom created his own version of Battleworld (from the first Secret Wars) when he stole the power from the Beyonders (from Secret Wars I and II). With all those connections, this version of Secret Wars was fantastic, allowing Marvel Comics to deliver an interesting fantasy tale with the heroes reimagined in different roles.

From God Emperor Doom and Sheriff Strange to the Thor Corps, there is a lot to love here. The characters are either combinations of the variants from different Earths (616, Ultimate Marvel, 2099, Age of Apocalypse, 1602, etc). This crossover spanned most Marvel series, offering something interesting and fresh, and it might be the best world-altering event series in Marvel Comics history.

7) Worst: Contest of Champions II

The first Contest of Champions was a nice precursor series to Secret Wars, with the same format but with heroes fighting against each other. This was the first Marvel miniseries ever produced, and it was a huge success, allowing readers to see their favorite characters battle it out to determine the strongest. The series also pitted the Grandmaster against the Collector to set the battles in motion. Contest of Champions received a sequel 17 years later, and it was a colossal disappointment.

The biggest problem here is that Contest of Champions II was a sequel in name only. Released in 1999, the Brood planned this battle and tricked the heroes into taking part in a series of contests with the promise of advanced technology. Every hero is drugged to only care about fighting and killing each other, except for Iron Man, who is the only hope of saving them. Instead of the fun battles from the first series, this sequel had a weak story, and the actual superhero fighting ended early in the series.

6) Best: King in Black (Sequel to Absolute Carnage)

While it seems set as a crossover series all to itself, the events in King in Black actually started in the crossover series Absolute Carnage. That earlier crossover spun off events from the Venom solo comics, and it featured Cletus Kasady’s return as Carnage in a story involving everyone who has worn a symbiote in Marvel Comics history. This then led Eddie Brock to create a Necrosword to kill Carnage and save his son, Dylan. This one act of violence freed Knull, who then set out on his path of destruction.

What is impressive is that King in Black surpasses Absolute Carnage in every way imaginable. Knull arrives on Earth with his symbiotes and invades the planet, leaving the remaining heroes there to protect it. Silver Surfer shows up, Doctor Strange has to find a way to deal with Knull’s powers, and it all comes down to Eddie Brock, his son, and Venom to finally stop the monster once and for all. King in Black was a fantastic crossover series that delivered the action and high stakes that Marvel needs to carry these out.

5) Worst: Secret Wars II

Secret Wars wasn’t Marvel Comics’ first miniseries, but it was easily its most successful. This series is what launched Marvel’s desire to create more and more crossovers, culminating in the place it is at today, where it releases multiple events each year. The first series saw the Beyonder abduct heroes and villains from Earth and have them fight on Battleworld, with the winning side receiving anything they desired.

However, Secret Wars II was a disappointment for the company in terms of crossover series. This time, the Beyonder showed up on Earth. He dressed in a white jumpsuit and looked ridiculous, even in the ’80s fashion era. He wanted to learn what it meant to be human, but struggled to understand the power he possessed, as he could destroy reality. By the end, nothing in this series changed things like the first miniseries did, and Secret Wars II was just a slog.

4) Best: Realm of Kings

Realm of Kings is the follow-up to the 2009 Marvel cosmic series War of Kings. The first series followed a war between the Shi’ar Empire and the Inhuman-led Kree Empire, which sucked in the Guardians of the Galaxy, Nova Corps, Darkhawk, and Star Jammers. That series ended with the Shi’ar Empire surrendering to the Inhumans, which led to this follow-up in 2010.

The follow-up series, War of Kings, introduced one of the worst places to exist in the Marvel Comics world – the Cancerverse. That is because the event ended with Black Bolt and Vulcan both temporarily lost, and the rip in space and time caused the Cancerverse. It also led to Thanos’s return to comics. However, the repercussions are only part of it, and the story itself is full of action and was a great read.

3) Worst: Civil War II

The first Civil War was polarizing. As popular as it was, it had just as many people who hated watching superheroes do nothing but fight each other for months on end. Even if the U.S. government labeled Iron Man the hero of the war, it made him one of the most hated characters in Marvel Comics for years. However, when Marvel released the sequel and started Civil War II, it ended up as one of the company’s worst crossover events ever.

The precog Inhuman with Carol Danvers following his every word was too reminiscent of Philip K. Dick’s Minority Report, and Dick knew that this was a bad thing. However, just like in the first Civil War, the government rewarded Carol for putting blind faith in the precog, even though it had her targeting a teenage hero who had done nothing but good. She wasn’t as evil as Iron Man and his allies in the first Civil War, but the entire storyline was not well thought out and seemed thrown together to capitalize on the success of the first series.

2) Best: World War Hulks

World War Hulk was a massive storyline that shed light on the Illuminati and their covert actions, which ultimately led to harm for planet Earth. They were responsible for Secret Invasion. They were aware of the Incursions before they destroyed the Earth. They also betrayed Hulk by launching him into space, which eventually led to his return and the destruction of the heroes in this group.

World War Hulks was a sequel in name only, but it had an even bigger effect on the Earth’s gamma-heroes. This revealed the origins of both the Red Hulk (General Ross) and the Red She-Hulk (Betty Ross), as well as the existence of Hulk’s second son, Hiro-Kala (who was murdered in the current Imperial storyline). The action was top-notch, and possibly better than the one-sided battles in World War Hulk, and this was a perfect end to Greg Pak’s run.

1) Worst: Brand New Day (Follow-Up to One More Day)

One More Day was a storyline that has gotten a lot of grief, and for good reason. Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson made a deal with Mephisto to save Aunt May’s life. While no one wanted to see May die, Peter making a deal with the Devil was something that never should have happened in Marvel Comics. Seeing Peter and Mary Jane’s marriage end was also widely despised by fans.

However, Brand New Day is the follow-up, and it is where fans began to really turn on the comic book title. Peter and Mary Jane had a slightly contentious relationship, and the creative teams worked hard to convince readers that this was the new status quo. No one cared about Spider-Man’s new girlfriend, Carlie Cooper, and it wasn’t until Black Cat returned that he was with someone the readers actually cared about. Things eventually turned around, but Brand New Day made it clear that Marvel Comics editors do not want Peter Parker to be happy.

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