The Marvel Cinematic Universe had a pretty big mandate in front of it when it debuted back in 2008. Marvel has always been the home of the biggest events in comics and the movies had to find a way to capture the big event feel that Marvel’s best comics had. Luckily for fans, the MCU has delivered, adapting many of Marvel’s biggest event stories. However, just because MCU fans have watched the big screen versions doesn’t mean they shouldn’t give the source material a try. Marvel’s comics are home to some excellent events, some that have been adapted and some that are completely new to MCU fans.
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Over the years, Marvel’s event comics have wowed readers and there are some that MCU fans need to experience. Some of them are the source material for the best MCU films, and others may one day find their way to the big screen. These ten Marvel event comics are perfect for MCU fans, giving them the kind of action and intrigue that the movies have gotten them used to.
Siege
Siege, by Brian Michael Bendis and Olivier Coipel, is the blow off to the “Dark Reign” publishing initiative. Dark Reign revolved around Norman Osborn, the former Green Goblin, being given control of the superhero community. Osborn becomes the Iron Patriot using repurposed Iron Man armor and creates his own team of Avengers, staffed by villains posing as heroes along with the God of War Ares and the all-powerful Sentry. Loki convinces Osborn to attack Asgard, which is on Earth at this point, which leads to the underground heroes defending the home of the Asgardians.
In the ’00s, Bendis was basically Marvel’s head writer and he was responsible for writing multiple events. Siege is his best one, but for a strange reason: it’s only four issues. Bendis’s writing style can get drawn out, and some of his longer event books drag a bit. Siege is all killer, no filler, and much stronger for it. It’s full of amazing superhero action — the battle between Ares and the Sentry must be seen to be believed — and shows off just how powerful the Sentry, soon to be debut in the MCU, can be. The MCU could be going in a Dark Reign-esque direction, so Siege is perfect for the MCU fan who wants to try to see where things might go.
Secret Invasion
Secret Invasion, by Brian Michael Bendis and Leinil Yu, is both very familiar to MCU fans and also completely different from what they know. Secret Invasion is one of the more panned MCU installments, more of a spy thriller starring Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury as he deals with the Skrulls, than a major event. The comic, though, is the culmination of years of build-up. After Galactus destroys their homeworld, the Skrulls begin an invasion of Earth, infiltrating S.H.I.E.L.D. and the superhero community before beginning their attack, taking advantage of the superhero community’s division after Civil War.
Secret Invasion is one of Bendis’s more drawn-out comics, but for MCU fans, that’s actually a good thing. The book does a great job of presenting the status quo of the Marvel Universe at the time, which will help MCU fans who aren’t familiar with the late ’00s of Marvel comics. The real treat of the book is Yu’s art. His action scenes are breathtaking and the Skrull designs are brilliant. This is what the MCU’s Secret Invasion could have been and the ending will drop the jaws of MCU fans.
Original Sin
Original Sin, by Jason Aaron and Mike Deodato, doesn’t really get the credit it deserves. The reason for this is simple: it was supposedly going to change the way the heroes looked at each other, but the reveals in the tie-ins never really changed anything. The premise of the book is simple — someone has killed the Watcher and cut out his eyes, spurring the heroes to try to figure out who did it and to stop them before they can use the information contained in the eyes to destroy the heroic community. A group of heroes is chosen by Nick Fury to investigate the murder, leading to some major discoveries.
Original Sin is a murder-mystery event comic, and it delivers on its premise wonderfully. Aaron has several characters he loves to throw into his writing — the Orb, Oubliette, and Dr. Midas all make appearances — and he’s at his best in this book. It changed the way that everyone looked at Nick Fury for years to come and has some amazing scenes. Deodato’s art is breathtaking, as the Brazilian artist is one of the best modern creatives Marvel has to offer and his art is worth it for MCU fans alone. Original Sin is Marvel madness in the best possible way, and it will change the way that MCU fans look at the Marvel Universe. Plus, it has one of the best Thor moments of all time, one that leads into the Jane Foster Thor years, which MCU fans should definitely check out.
Infinity
Infinity, by Jonathan Hickman, Jim Cheung, Jerome Opena, and Dustin Weaver, is one of the greatest Avengers stories of all time. Before we get into it, if an MCU fan wants to read this story, they need to order the collected edition of the story and not just read the six-issue miniseries; the collected edition includes the tie-ins from Hickman’s Avengers and New Avengers, with art by Yu and Deodato respectively, that fills in the holes of the story and shows every side of the conflict. The story follows the Avengers as they help battle the forces of the Builders, ancient aliens who have decided to destroy the universe. Meanwhile, the Illuminati has to deal with Thanos and his Black Order, who are on their way to Earth with their own agenda.
Hickman’s time writing the Avengers is easily one of the greatest runs of Avengers stories because the writer is able to truly capture just what the Avengers do — defend the Earth and the universe. Infinity shows the team dealing with an apocalyptic threat on a scale that MCU fans have never experienced. Infinity is the Avengers story and that’s all there is to it. It throws the most powerful roster of the Avengers ever against a threat that only they could handle and it all finishes up with an amazing battle against Thanos. It will give MCU fans a new appreciation of the Avengers.
Infinity War
Infinity War, by Jim Starlin and Ron Lim, is not at all related to Avengers: Infinity War. It’s actually the sequel to Infinity Gauntlet, taking place after that story. It revolves around the Magus, a villain who is an evil alternate version of Adam Warlock. The Magus has a fiendish plan to take over the universe, one that pulls in Warlock, Thanos, and the heroes of the Earth with nothing less than Godhood at stake. It’s the type of cosmic event that Marvel does best and there are some fans who believe that it’s actually better than Infinity Gauntlet.
Infinity War is beholden to Starlin’s old cosmic Marvel stories of the 1970s, but luckily Marvel realized that fans in the early ’90s might not have read those. The book does a great job of explaining everything that a reader needs to know about Adam Warlock and the Magus, so basically anyone can pick up this six-issue series and understand it without ever having read any other Marvel comic. It’s an amazing ride, one that has more jaw-dropping moments per issue than most stories have in their entirety. This story will show MCU fans just how amazing cosmic Marvel can be, and it deserves way more love than it gets.
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Secret Wars (1984)
The MCU is heading inevitably towards Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, and there are two comics that MCU fans need to read to get ready for them. Secret Wars (1984), by Jim Shooter and Mike Zeck, is the first of these. This twelve-issue miniseries is simple — a being called the One From Beyond brings the heroes and villains of the Earth to a place it created called Battleworld and tells them that they must fight in order to win the ultimate prize. Of course, things get insane from there, as the heroes have to deal with their own problems and battle the villains. All the while, Doctor Doom has his own agenda, one that will test everyone before the war ends.
Secret Wars set out some of the tropes that will play a huge role in the next two Avengers films. It’s a rather long comic, but that allows it to go in multiple directions. There are some amazing moments in the books — Spider-Man battling the X-Men on his own, the introduction of Spider-Man’s symbiote, and the kind of action that Marvel does so well — and MCU fans will love it. It’s one of the first major events in Marvel history, so it can feel a little rough at times but that’s part of its charm.
House of X/Powers of X
The X-Men are coming to the MCU and that means it’s time for MCU fans to learn more about Marvel’s merry mutants. The biggest X-Men event of the last 20 years is House of X/Powers of X, by Hickman, Pepe Larraz, and R.B. Silva. The “two books that are one” kicked off the Krakoa Era of the X-Men, when the team created their own nation for mutants, leading to five years of stories that changed everything about the X-Men. HoX/PoX takes place in the past, present, and future, as well as in alternate timelines, telling a brilliant story that will change the way that a new reader will look at the X-Men and their relationship with humanity forever.
It’s doubtful that the MCU is going to bring in the Krakoa Era any time soon — in fact, there’s a good chance that they will never do so. This isn’t a story for MCU fans who want clues on where Marvel Studios will take the X-Men; instead, they should read it because it’s just that good. It’s a sci-fi/superhero masterpiece, one that will reward readers willing to go on its long strange trip. Everything about it is perfect, and it shows just how amazing the X-Men can be when creators are given the freedom to completely rework the concept.
Civil War
Captain America: Civil War is a fan-favorite MCU film, and it’s based on one of the biggest Marvel event comics of all time. Civil War, by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven, is the genesis of all of the ideas of the movie, but taken much, much further. When the New Warriors, a group of teen heroes taping a reality show, go after a group of villains, it leads to a disaster that causes the government to finally take the reins of the superhero community. Iron Man sides with the government and Captain America goes against them. Battle lines are drawn, and the superheroes come to blows over the Superhero Registration Act.
Captain America: Civil War never really captures the seriousness of the conflict between the heroes; the only time it even comes close is Black Panther and Iron Man’s hatred for the Winter Soldier. Civil War never skimps in this regard. This is more than just a fight between friends over a disagreement; it’s a battle for the soul of the superhero community in the comics. While it can sometimes portray heroes in an out-of-character manner, it works for the comic and there are some amazing battles where readers can feel the conflict in their soul. McNiven’s art is gorgeous, bringing the story to life wonderfully. Captain America: Civil War is an efficient action scene generator, but it doesn’t have anything on the comic.
Infinity Gauntlet
Infinity Gauntlet, by Jim Starlin, George Perez, and Ron Lim, is the inspiration for the first three Phases of the MCU. It’s considered by many to be the greatest Marvel event of all time and made Thanos into Marvel’s greatest villain in the eyes of many readers. The story follows Thanos after he assembles the Infinity Gems and becomes God with a capital G. His goal was to make Mistress Death love him, so he uses his power to kill half the universe. Meanwhile, his old foe Adam Warlock returns, who, along with Pip the Troll and Gamora, rallies the forces of the universe against Thanos. What follows are some of the greatest superhero battles ever put to paper.
Infinity Gauntlet is quite different from Avengers: Infinity War. Thanos is much, much, much more powerful than he is in the movie and the heroes’ battle is basically hopeless. However, in many ways, it’s a much better story. While people who haven’t read it like to mock it because Thanos is in love with Mistress Death, this is actually an important metaphor in the comic, one that plays into who Thanos is as a character. Infinity Gauntlet challenges the heroes of the Marvel Universe in a way that Infinity War and Endgame never do and its differences from its adaptations are what make it such a brilliant story. MCU fans need to read it to truly understand why it was made into the basis of the most popular years of the MCU.
Secret Wars (2015)
Secret Wars (2015), by Hickman and Esad Ribic, is the culmination of Hickman’s Fantastic Four, Avengers, and New Avengers runs. The story begins with the end of the Incursions — the destruction of Multiverse where Earths slam into each other — as the last two Earths collide. These Earths are Earth-616, the mainline Marvel Earth, and Earth-1610, the original Ultimate Universe. As the heroes of both worlds battle it out, Doctor Doom, Doctor Strange, and Molecule Man do what the heroes are unable to do — save the remnants of reality. The story then shifts to Battleworld, where Doom has become God Emperor, worshiped by the remnants of the Multiverse. However, the survivors of Earth-616 and 1610 awaken, teaming together to fix existence.
Secret Wars (2015), at its heart, is a Doctor Doom story. The story digs into who he is and how far he’ll go to prove that he’s as great as he thinks he is. It’s a perfect work of art, a character piece that also manages to tell an amazing story with a truly multiversal scope. This is the Secret Wars that the MCU will probably take most of its inspiration from, so it’s integral for MCU fans who want to know what shape that story might take. Like many of Hickman’s works, it’s casually brilliant and the art is amazing. MCU fans have never experienced Marvel like this before and, honestly, never will if they only stick to the movies.
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