10 Best Marvel Stories of the 80s

Marvel has held the comic sales chart in a stranglehold for a long time now, but it’s a bridge too far to say that Marvel’s the best superhero comic publisher. Marvel has often gone for style over substance but when the publisher focuses on writing, they do amazing work. The best example of this is the ’80s. Marvel in the ’80s was a creative force to reckoned with, giving readers some of the best comics of all time. Part of this was the tenure of editor in chief Jim Shooter; he pushed everyone at the company to do the best work they could. Marvel in the ’80s boasted some of the greatest creators of the modern era — Chris Claremont, Louise Simonson, Ann Nocenti, Frank Miller, Roger Stern, J. M. DeMatteis, Marc Silvestri, John Romita Jr., Mike Zeck, David Mazzucchelli, Mark Gruenwald, John and Sal Buscema, Bill Sienkiewicz, and many, many more. Reading ’80s Marvel comics shows just how great the Marvel Universe can be.

DC gets a lot of credit for the superhero comic creative renaissance of the ’80s, but leaving Marvel out of that conversation is foolish at best, and ignorant at worst. There are some amazing Marvel comics from the ’80s, with the publisher’s creators giving readers stories unlike anything they had experienced before. This was Marvel’s creative peak; many people will point at the ’00s, but without the ’80s, the ’00s wouldn’t have been possible. These ten ’80s Marvel stories are amazing, and every Marvel fan should check these stories out.

10) Wolverine (Vol. 2) #10

Chris Claremont made Wolverine the most popular character of the ’80s. Wolverine became a superstar and after the massive success of his 1982 miniseries (more on that later), it took Marvel ages to give him his own ongoing series, which would kick off in 1988. Claremont wrote the first ten issues of the book, working with Marvel legend John Buscema, and there are some excellent stories from this run. However, the best of them is Wolverine (Vol. 2) #10, by Claremont and Buscema, with Bill Sienkiewicz on inks and the cover. This issue revealed the first time Wolverine and Sabretooth fought in their long lives, and established Sabretooth’s yearly tradition on Wolverine’s birthday. This is an outstanding comic, full of action and emotion, made all the better because of the art of Buscema and Sinekiewicz. Buscema is a legendary penciler, and Sienkiewicz’s inks make the art that much better. This is an amazing story, and deserves more credit than it gets.

9) “The Demon Bear Saga”

When people talk about X-Men books in the ’80s, they usually just talk about Uncanny X-Men, but New Mutants deserves it flowers as well. There are some amazing stories throughout the book’s history. However, only one of them belongs among the best Marvel stories of the ’80s and that’s “The Demon Bear Saga” from New Mutants #18-21, by Chis Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz. The story was built up throughout much of the early issues of the book, as Dani Moonstar has to deal with monster from her dreams coming into the real world. When the Demon Bear finally attacks, the New Mutants have to put everything they learned to the test. This story is nothing short of brilliant at all times, but what really makes it special is Sinkiewicz’s art. His unique art style brings the tale to life, and it definitely fits this story. This is the story that showed everyone how great the New Mutants can truly be, and it remains one of the greatest mutant stories of all time.

8) “Kraven’s Last Hunt”

Spider-Man had some amazing moments throughout the ’80s, but there’s one that stands above all of the others — “Kraven’s Last Hunt,” by J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck. The story ran through Web of Spider-Man #31-31, The Amazing Spider-Man #293-294, and Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #131-132, and pit Spider-Man against Kraven, as the hunter decided that it was time to show Spider-Man that Kraven was his better. DeMatteis and Zeck give readers a clinic in how to do a great Spider-Man story, and this is easily the best Spider-Man story of all time. There are so many spectacular moments in this story, from Kraven defeating Spider-Man and burying him to Kraven proving that he was better than Spider-Man to Kraven’s final moments. This story spun a web of awesome, and it still hasn’t been topped all of these decades later.

7) Captain America (Vol. 1) #247-255

Captain America (Vol. 1) #247-255 isn’t technically a story in the way we currently consider superhero comics to be a story nowadays. It’s not an eight issue story arc, but multiple little stories across its run. However, it’s best read together. Marvel put Roger Stern and John Byrne on the book, and readers got some of the coolest Captain America stories ever, as the Sentinel of Liberty battled Dragon Man, Mr. Hyde, Baron Blood, and more, all while contemplating a run for president. Stern and Byrne’s work together was sensational, and gave readers one of the best conceptions of Captain America ever. The Baron Blood story is worth the price of admission alone. This run on Captain America is one of the best Cap runs of all time, with only Ed Brubaker’s ’00s run clearing it. These are what Captain America comics should be — great writing, gorgeous art, and the action that redefined what Captain America could be.

6) “Under Siege”

Roger Stern and John Buscema’s run on Avengers is exactly what an Avengers run should be. It has amazing character work, mind-blowing action, and the kind of universe-shaking threats that make the Avengers worth reading. I would recommend the entire run, but the best story is obviously “Under Siege,” from Avengers (Vol. 1) #273-277. This story sees Helmut Zemo bring together the largest and most powerful roster of the Masters of Evil, with the perfect plan to defeat the Avengers. What follows is one of the most harrowing Avengers stories ever, as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are outclassed at every turn. However, the Avengers are the A-list for a reason, and this story shows them overcoming the odds to strike back. It’s the best Avengers story ever, bar none.

5) “Days of Future Past”

Chris Claremont’s run on Uncanny X-Men is among the greatest comics of all time. Claremont worked with some of the best artists in the history of Marvel, but most agree that his greatest collaborator was John Byrne. The two of them gave readers some sensational X-Men stories (Uncanny X-Men #143 — titled “Demon” — is one of the best Christmas/superhero horror stories ever, and their entire run together is always awesome). One of them changed superhero stories forever, and that’s “Days of Future Past” from Uncanny X-Men #141-142. This two issue story introduced the dark Sentinel ruled future that would become the de facto future for the X-Men. “Days of Future Past” made dystopian superhero futures into the order of the day, but even if didn’t change superhero stories forever, it would still be an amazing story. It’s beautifully written with sensational art, and if you’ve never read it before, you definitely should (in fact, just read Claremont’s entire 17 year Uncanny run; it really is that great).

4) Wolverine (Vol. 1) #1-4

Wolverine jumped to the top of the popularity heap because of the work of writer Chris Claremont in the early ’80s, and it was only a matter time before he got a solo title. Marvel pulled out all the stops on 1982’s Wolverine (Vol. 1) #1-4, bringing together two of the publisher’s greatest creators. Claremont was joined by Frank Miller for the story (they tell a story of planning the book out while on a drive to a comic convention together), and readers got a story that still stands up over 40 years later. Wolverine learns that the love of his life has been married to an abusive criminal thanks to her Yakuza boss father, and springs into action where he is beaten within an inch of his life. What follows is Wolverine teaming with the wild ninja Yukio to show his enemy that he more than an animal. This is perfect Wolverine; Clarmont and Miller are amazing together. This is one of both men’s greatest works, and showed that Wolverine was definitely ready for his close-up.

3) “Born Again”

Frank Miller is widely considered the greatest creator to ever work on Daredevil, and there’s good reason for that. Miller’s run on Daredevil is one of the best comic runs of all time (and you definitely should read the whole thing), but Miller’s best moment on Daredevil was the classic “Born Again,” which teamed Miller with artist David Mazzucchelli and ran through Daredevil #227-233. Daredevil’s former girlfriend Karen Page, now a heroin addict porn star (Miller has some… problems writing women, and that’s putting it nicely), sells Daredevil’s identity for a hit of smack. Kingpin decides to dismantle the life of Daredevil, but he learns a terrible lesson — a man with nothing left to lose is a man without fear. “Born Again” is one of the most beloved Marvel stories of all time. Miller and Mazzucchelli are amazing together (the two of them would team up again in 1987s “Year One” Batman origin reboot), giving readers a perfect Daredevil story.

2) Squadron Supreme #1-12

Squadron Supreme #1-12, by Mark Gruenwald, Bob Hall, John Buscema, and Paul Ryan, doesn’t get nearly enough credit and I’ve made it my life’s work to make everyone ealize this is a Watchmen caliber masterpiece. The Squadron Supreme was Marvel’s Justice League pastiche, an alternate universe group of heroes who basically existed so that the Avengers could beat the “Justice League” in a fight. However, the late, great writer/editor extraordinaire Mark Gruenwald decided to change all of that with this maxi-series. It sees the Squadron decide that they could run the world better than anyone else, and take over. What follows is a story that shows how the best intentions can go awry, as the Squadron becomes more and more fascist as time goes on. This story took a mature look at superheroes before Watchmen did, asking the question of what would happen if superhumans were in the real world. It’s more of a traditional superhero comic than Watchmen, which is why it doesn’t get as much credit as that other story, but it definitely deserves to be talked about alongside DC’s classic.

1) “The Dark Phoenix Saga”

Marvel kicked off the ’80s with “The Dark Phoenix Saga”, the greatest Marvel story ever. Chris Claremont, along with artists Dave Cockrum and John Byrne, had built the story of the Phoenix up since X-Men #100 (this was before the title was changed to Uncanny X-Men), and it all came to a head with Uncanny X-Men #129-138. Everyone knows the story of “The Dark Phoenix Saga” by now, but I think what a lot of people who haven’t read the story in a long time forget is just how amazing it is. The writing and the art are sensational, as Claremont and Byrne showed what happens when two creators at the height of their powers work together. The poetic prose and beautiful art stand up even to this day. While everyone remembers the big fights, what really makes this story sing is the sheer emotion of the story. Stories like this are why the X-Men are so beloved — epic stories that use the relationships and characters of the cast to bring them to the next level. It’s also the debut of Kitty Pryde, Sebastian Shaw, Emma Frost, and the rest of the Hellfire Club, who would all play a huge role in the history of the X-Men. It’s a monumental story, and there’s all there is to it.

What do you think are the best Marvel comics of the ’80s? Sound off in the comments below.

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