Jim Shooter’s 5 Best Comic Book Stories

Jim Shooter passed away on June 30, 2025, leaving behind a significant legacy in comic book history. The man got his start in comics as a teenager, lying about his age and selling comics to DC when he was only 14. After writing Superman, Supergirl, and The Legion of Super-Heroes comics, he transitioned to Marvel, where he was named the ninth editor-in-chief in two years. He then helped turn the company around and improve its entire comic book line. He introduced the idea of graphic novels and crossover miniseries, two things that helped make Marvel the most successful comic book company in the world.

However, he also wrote for Marvel before taking over as editor-in-chief and even helped create a company called Valiant when Marvel fired him. Along the way, he was not only a great editor but also wrote some great comic book stories.

5) What If? (Vol. 1) #3

Some of Jim Shooter’s fun comics while writing for Marvel were in the pages of What If…? One of these issues was the third-ever comic in the series, “What If The Avengers Had Never Been.” Jim Shooter wrote the script, while Gil Kane was the artist. This issue arose after the Avengers had defeated Loki and decided to form a team. However, when Hulk quit the team, instead of pursuing him, Ant-Man and Thor both decided they shouldn’t force Hulk to remain a member. Ant-Man, Thor, and The Wasp then decided they didn’t want to be in The Avengers either. Iron Man, however, decided he needed to seek out the Hulk anyway, which drove Hulk to team up with Namor, and it all ended in tragedy.

4) Avengers (Vol. 1) #213

Jim Shooter was writing several issues of The Avengers in the early 1980s while also serving as editor-in-chief. These issues featured several different stories, but there was also an ongoing storyline that happened behind the scenes concerning Hank Pym. In this issue, the Avengers forced Hank to face a court-martial due to his poor decision-making as a member. This issue saw Hank attempt to prove his worth, and he created an android to attack the Avengers that he could then defeat to save them. The issue was controversial because Shooter wrote that Pym accidentally knocked his wife away, but Bob Hall’s art made it look like it was Hank backhanding Jan, and his reputation was ruined forever. However, Shooter’s script was great, and this was an integral issue for the Avengers and Hank Pym, and one that has stood the test of time.

3) Star Brand #1-7

One thing that people often overlook is Jim Shooter’s original creations while working at Marvel Comics. He created the character Star Brand as part of the New Universe realities in 1986. Star Brand is Ken Connell, a car mechanic who received his powers from the mysterious “Old Man” on Earth-148611. Jim Shooter created eight titles in the New Universe, and the best of them was Star Brand. The series was written very smartly, with Star Brand struggling to understand how to control his powers, which ultimately led to tragedy for his home. Star Brand still exists in Marvel Comics, but not in the way that Shooter wrote the character.

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2) Adventure Comics #346-349

It seems incredible that Jim Shooter impressed DC Comics so much that they bought his stories and hired him to write for them when he was only 14, although he did lie to them about his age at the time. The reason that Shooter started sending DC stories was because he felt its comics were not as good as what Marvel was putting out at the time. His idea was to revamp The Legion of Super-Heroes by updating them with more character-driven stories, and it impressed DC Comics. Starting in 1966, Shooter began writing Adventure Comics, featuring Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes as they invited new members, and Shooter had the opportunity to make his mark as a teenager.

1) Secret Wars #1-12

The most important comic book that Jim Shooter ever wrote was Secret Wars. After Shooter introduced the idea of crossover event miniseries with Contest of Champions, he upped the stakes even more when he introduced Secret Wars, where Marvel’s heroes and villains were abducted and forced to battle for the amusement of a cosmic character known as The Beyonder. This series was what ensured that Marvel would rely on crossover series almost every year to improve interest and sales. This series was easily Shooter’s best story and also the last one before his eventual downfall from Marvel Comics. Regardless of his future, this series ensured Shooter’s legacy.