Marvel is the king of the comics sales charts, despite DC’s Absolute books giving them a run for their money, and a big reason they’ve stayed on top is the ’00s. The ’90s were an interesting time for Marvel. The publisher had some amazing sales successes with the X-Men books, but they let their writing suffer as they chased the big artists, and tried to replicate the style over substance approach of Image Comics. Marvel went bankrupt in the ’90s, and things got pretty dire. Things got better as the decade ended, but the true turning point was writer/artist/editor Joe Quesada becoming editor in chief of Marvel in the year 2000. Quesada brought in a lot of new blood, and Marvel made readers forget the failures of the ’90s. DC was more competitive than ever as well, and Marvel had to work hard to get readers to read their books.
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Comics in the ’00s have a lot of problems — it was easily the edgiest decade of comics ever — but it’s hard to deny how great the comics of the ’00s were. Marvel put out some amazing comics in those ten years. Marvel was on fire, and they created modern classics. These ten Marvel stories are the best of the ’00s, giving readers some of the coolest stories in the history of the House of Ideas.
10) Punisher: Born
Garth Ennis’s time on Punisher in the ’00s gave readers a lot of great stories. Ennis cleared away the dross of the Punisher concept, and boiled it down to its essence. “Welcome Back, Frank” was almost in this spot, but there is a better Punisher comic out there — Punisher: Born, by Ennis and Darick Robertson. The two of them took readers back to the Vietnam War, and showed the events that destroyed the man known as Frank Castle. It definitely lives up to its name — this is the birth of the Punisher. It was part of Marvel’s MAX line, and had all of the blood and violence that a mature readers comic should have. It’s a harrowing story with gruesome art, and it remains one of the best Punisher stories ever. Ennis gets a bad rep for his use of over the top violence and language, but it fits perfectly in this story. Ennis is a huge fan of war stories of all kinds (go back and read the Preacher letter pages, where he would talk about the war novels and comics he loved the most to see it), and he gave Marvel their best war comic ever with this one. Ennis and Robertson made an excellent team throughout the ’00s (check out their MAX Nick Fury miniseries as well), and this is their greatest work.
9) New Avengers (Vol. 1) #27-31
There are a lot of fans of Brian Michael Bendis’s New Avengers. It was one of the most important Marvel comics of the ’00s, and even people that don’t like it very much can’t deny just how integral it was to Marvel’s success. However, it’s also one of the most boring Avengers books imaginable, as Bendis’s writing style was more about character drama than it was universe-shaking action. That said, there was a legitimately great New Avengers story from the ’00s and that’s “Revolution,” which ran through New Avengers #27-31, by Bendis and Leinil Yu. This book caught up with the New Avengers after the events of Civil War. Luke Cage, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Spider-Woman, Iron Fist, and Ronin are hiding from Iron Man and SHIELD in Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum, trying to figure out their next move in the war against Iron Man. However, a distress call from Echo leads them to Japan to help her battle against Elektra and the Hand, who have taken over the Japanese underworld. This leads to a major discovery, one that will change the face of Marvel in the ’00s. “Revolution” is Bendis at his best. There’s action, there’s excitement, and great character interactions. Yu’s art is amazing, and the fight against the Hand looks spectacular. This is the height of Bendis’s work on New Avengers in the ’00s, but it wasn’t his best Avengers work of the decade. That’s…
8) Dark Avengers (Vol. 1) #1-6
Dark Avengers spun out of the aftermath of Secret Invasion. The Skrull invasion destroyed SHIELD from the inside, and death of Skrull Empress Veranke at the hands of Norman Osborn saw the US government give him control of the Superhero Initiative. Osborn recruits a team of villains — Moonstone, Bullseye, Venom, and Daken — rechristening them as Ms. Marvel, Hawkeye, Spider-Man, and Wolverine respectively, recruiting Avengers the Sentry and Ares, and bringing in Noh-Varr as Captain Marvel to form his own Avengers. He transforms SHIELD into HAMMER, and modifies a suit of Iron Man armor to become the Iron Patriot. His team of Avengers are immediately thrown into the deep end, as Morgan Le Fay targets Osborn’s ally Doctor Doom, forcing the Dark Avengers into action. Dark Avengers #1-6, by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato, is fantastic. It takes everything that Bendis does well — mainly humor and character interactions — and combines it with excellent action. Doedato’s art is always amazing, but it’s especially good in this book (if you can get past his Norman looking like Tommy Lee Jones, which some readers can’t.) This is a fun book, and it’s one of the best Bendis comics of all time.
7) Daredevil (Vol. 2) #46-50
Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev’s run on Daredevil is one of the greatest runs on the character of all time. The ’00s were mostly a great time to be a Daredevil fan, and Bendis and Maleev’s multi-year run is amazing. There are a lot of great stories from their run, but the best one is “Hardcore,” from Daredevil (Vol. 2) #46-50. Kingpin, with the help of Typhoid Mary and Bullseye, decides to try again to destroy Daredevil. Things have gotten very bad for Daredevil, as an FBI agent has leaked his identity to the press, and Kingpin’s attack drives him over the edge. This story is the heart of the Bendis and Maleev run. The battles against Bullseye and Kingpin definitely live up to the story’s name, and it ends with a huge turning point in the life of Daredevil. This is peak Bendis, but the story wouldn’t be nearly as amazing without Maleev’s art. This story looks fantastic, and there’s really no other way to put it. Daredevil has been drawn by some amazing artists, but Maleev is probably the best of them, and “Hardcore” is proof of that. While I would definitely recommend that you read the whole run, if you want a taste of why it’s so amazing, “Hardcore” is the place to find it.
6) World War Hulk
The Hulk had a pretty good time of things in the ’00s, and the best parts of it led to World War Hulk, by Greg Pak and John Romita Jr. Marvel in the ’00s was known for their events, and World War Hulk is easily the best of them. This five issues series spun out of “Planet Hulk” (you will see that name again soon,) as Hulk decided to avenge the destruction of Sakaar by tearing apart the Illuminati, who he blamed for its destruction. What followed was issue after issue of amazing action, as Hulk tore apart everyone in his way. His fight against Hulkbuster Iron Man in the first issue is amazing, and it sets the stage for this action epic. By the time you get to the end, you’ll have seen some amazing fights and surprising twists. World War Hulk was sandwiched between Civil War and Secret Invasion, so it doesn’t get as much attention as some other ’00s Marvel events. It didn’t change the Marvel Universe “forever,” it was just a great event story that gave readers the coolest fights imaginable. In the end, isn’t that what we all want from event stories? World War Hulk is basically perfect, and I will go to my grave saying so.
5) Supreme Power
Squadron Supreme is one of Marvel’s greatest unsung stories, a twelve issue masterpiece of mature superhero action from the ’80s. The Squadron spent years in relative obscurity, but the ’00s changed all of that with Supreme Power, an 18 issue series by J. Michael Straczynski and Gary Frank. Supreme Power was a MAX book that told the story of the new Squadron Supreme. Hyperion, the Superman analogue, is raised by the government as their super soldier, and when more superpowered men and women start appearing, he finds himself in action. Supreme Power was very different from any other Squadron Supreme that came before, a mature look at the team. Straczynski wrote a lot of great Marvel comics in the ’00s (his runs on The Amazing Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, and Thor are all must-reads,) but Supreme Power is definitely his best work of the decade (at Marvel, that is; Rising Stars at Top Cow/Image is amazing but unfortunately out of print). Gary Frank’s art is amazing, giving readers amazing fight scenes, and capturing the emotion of every scene. Marvel dropped the ball after the series ended, moving it from the MAX line and taking away the violence, nudity, and language that gave it the realistic feel it had, but Supreme Power is still a best of all time series.
4) “Old Man Logan”
“Old Man Logan,” by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven, ran through Wolverine (Vol. 3) #66-72 and Giant-Size Wolverine: Old Man Logan #1. This dystopian future story is basically Unforgiven meets Wolverine, as a pacifist older Wolverine is paid by Hawkeye to escort him across the United States, known as the Wastelands since the villains teamed up killed the vast majority of the heroes. “Old Man Logan” is a masterpiece of world-building, and it’s easily Mark Millar’s best work at Marvel. Steve McNiven’s art is perfect, and is the biggest draw of the story. There are some amazing panels in this book, and the action scenes are brutal. While there are some complaints about the book — there’s no way Wolverine could kill all of the X-Men, for instance — this is still an amazing story.
3) “Planet Hulk”
“Planet Hulk”, by Greg Pak, Carlos Paguylan, and Aaron Lopresti, ran through The Incredible Hulk (Vol. 2) #92-105 and Giant-Size Hulk #1. The Illuminati shot Hulk into space, believing they were sending him to a paradise planet where he could have a better life and be left alone. However, he’s pulled into a space anomaly and ends up on Sakaar. Hulk is captured by the forces of the Red King and forced to fight in the planet’s gladiatorial games. However, Hulk definitely doesn’t like being told what to do, and joins a rebellion against the Red King. What follows is one of the greatest Hulk stories of all time, if not the greatest (sorry, The Immortal Hulk fans, but “Planet Hulk” is better.) This isn’t one of those deep Hulk stories about the relationship between Banner and the Hulk, just a wild ride of a Hulk story. It’s an amazing story, and everyone who even slightly likes the Hulk should definitely give it a try.
2) Marvel Boy
Grant Morrison is a comics wunderkind, but before the year 2000, they had done very little Marvel work. However, a dispute with DC and their parent company Warner Brothers saw Morrison leave the publisher and come to Marvel. Their first work after getting to Marvel was Marvel Boy. Morrison worked with artist J.G. Jones to tell the story of Noh-Varr, an alternate universe Kree super soldier who was captured by Doctor Midas when the collector of super-ephemera shot down his ship, killing the other members of its crew. Noh-Varr swore revenge not just on Midas, but on the entirety of the Earth. Marvel Boy is awesome from start to finish. Morrison created some amazing characters in Noh-Varr, Midas, and his daughter Oubliette, and gave readers the kind of patented big ideas that they were known for. Jones’s artwork is sensational, bringing the book to life perfectly. This story doesn’t really get the credit it deserves in the oeuvre of Morrison, and it’s about to change all of that. Marvel Boy is sensational, an infinitely re-readable Marvel masterpiece.
1) New X-Men #114-116
Morrison’s time at Marvel was rather short — only four years, all told, from 2000-2004 — ended because of clashes with Marvel editorial. However, before they left, they gave readers one of the greatest X-Men runs of all-time. Morrison’s New X-Men run ran from issue #114 to #154, and its opening story is one of the best X-Men tales ever. New X-Men #114-#116, by Morrison and their frequent collaborator Frank Quitely, is titled “E is for Extinction.” a story that changed the X-Men for years to come. Morrison re-imagined the X-Men as a mutant rescue service, doing their best to take mutants out of bad situations and teaching them to use their powers, all while defending the mutant race against all kinds of attacks. This story introduces readers to Cassandra Nova, the main villain of the first half of Morrison’s run, and brings Emma Frost to the team. This three issue story is full of Morrison’s patented brand of superhero madness, brought to life beautifully by Quitely’s quirky art. Even over twenty years later, this run still feels new and vital, bringing new ideas and energy to the X-Men that has often been missing since Morrison left the book. Morrison’s New X-Men is Marvel at its best, and this story is the perfect kick-off for the best X-Men run of the 21st century.
What do you think are the best Marvel stories of the ’00s? Sound off in the comments below.
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