Marvel Comics’ Weirdest Events, Ranked

When it comes to comic events, few publishers have had as many as Marvel Comics. While the publisher has been providing readers with plenty of adventures in its decades-long history, every so often, Marvel decides to shake things up with events to test its heroes in incredibly challenging ways. These events have resulted in stories that have long stood the test of time, from Secret Wars to The Infinity Gauntlet. But while many events remain beloved stories, other big storylines aren’t as well-regarded among fans due to how controversial, confusing, or just plain weird they are.

For the record, I’m not calling any of these events ‘bad’ per se. After all, every story has value to someone. However, some storylines took risks or made choices that didn’t pay off, like Marvel’s Civil War II and its decision to make thought-crimes a focal point of an inner superhero schism. Or Ultimatum and how it’s high death count and confusing character choices. These stories aren’t being labeled as bad, nor am I saying one should never read them. The following 5 events are definitely weird, though, so read on to discover what makes them all so bizarre.

5. Spider-Island

This was actually a pretty fun event, and it came a few years into Dan Slott’s epic run on Spider-Man. In this storyline, the Jackal uses his insidious scientific know-how to mutate the entire island of Manhattan so that everyone develops spider-powers while Spider-Man races against time to find a cure. It’s definitely not as offensive as some of the more controversial events, and it actually has a lot of really interesting moments, like Mary Jane developing spider-powers at a crucial moment. It’s a pretty offbeat storyline, but definitely worth checking out at least once.

4. Inhumans vs. X-Men

Inhumans vs. X-Men is one of those events that really shows its age. This came out at a time when Marvel Comics was pushing the Inhumans due to a tricky rights issue with the X-Men when it came to adapted material. As a result, fans ended up getting a crossover that brought the franchises together over a battle for the Terrigen Mist, a substance needed by Inhumans, but fatal to mutants. Neither side came off well during this confrontation and in the end, this battle just felt kind of weightless, a real disappointment to fans of one or both properties.

3. Civil War II

While the original Civil War is often criticized for the way it made certain heroes act out of character, that event pales in comparison to its sequel. Civil War II pits Iron Man against Captain Marvel, the latter of whom wants to use a precongitive Inhuman named Ulysses to stop crimes before they happen. While not a dull premise, this event mischaracterizes its main characters worse than the original storyline did. It also doesn’t help that this event was largely made to capitalize on the release of Captain America: Civil War (even though the two stories weren’t similar at all).

2. Ultimatum

Where do I even start with Ultimatum? Though made as an attempt to pump new life into the Ultimate Marvel line, this book ultimately did the opposite. It has an interesting premise: Magneto seeking revenge on the world after the deaths of his children. But it was all downhill from the first issue, and the rest of the series was mired by needless deaths of popular characters and odd narrative choices. The original Ultimate line lasted for another few years, but the twilight period for the once-popular line couldn’t escape the incredibly poor reception of Ultimatum.

1. Secret Empire

Secret Empire was not a terrible idea; it was just not what fans wanted to see from Captain America. This event built off of the shocking Captain America plotline that had Steve’s reality changed to make him a secret Hydra soldier, and followed Rogers’ attempt to take control of the world. I think the idea of how fascism can easily disguise itself as patriotism was interesting, but sacrificing Cap to do so (and pulling out the most wild retcon to salvage his character) rubbed so many fans the wrong way. Few people even acknowledge this moment in Marvel history anymore.

What do you think the weirdest event in Marvel history was? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts on the ComicBook Forum!

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