It’s Time for Marvel to Revive the Marvel Knights Banner

Marvel has long controlled the comic sales charts, but the quality of the books hasn’t always been the best. The 1990s were a boom and bust period for Marvel, as they had some of their greatest successes with books like X-Force #1, Spider-Man #1, and X-Men #1, the best-selling comic of all time. The publisher also went bankrupt during this time, leading to a renewed focus on the quality of the books. In 1998, Marvel debuted the Marvel Knights line, which was under the control of future Marvel EIC Joe Quesada and his longtime creative collaborator Jimmy Palmiotti.

The Marvel Knights line kicked off with Daredevil, The Inhumans, The Punisher, and Black Panther, with Quesada and Palmiotti bringing in big-name talent. This included director Kevin Smith to write Daredevil, and the line’s initial books were very successful, except for The Punisher. Over the years, the Marvel Knights line got bigger, with books like The Sentry, a new volume of The Punisher under writer Garth Ennis, Fury, Wolverine, Spider-Man, and more joining the line. It eventually died out, as Marvel used the Marvel Knights idea — edgy comics with the best talent possible — throughout its line. With Marvel eyeing new publishing strategies, it’s about time for Marvel Knights to return.

Marvel Falls Behind at Comic Shops

Marvel is still riding high on the sales charts, but there have been chinks in its armor lately. The new Ultimate line, about to turn a year old this month, has been a success, but DC’s Absolute line has creeped up on it and Image’s Transformers has been selling like hotcakes. Marvel’s only real sales-chart competition has been Batman and some DC events for years now, and right now the company is facing losing their place at the top for the first time in a while. There are numerous reasons for this, but many of them come down to a lack of heat in the rest of the Marvel Universe.

The recent X-Men reboot From The Ashes has seen the X-Men retake their place atop the sales charts, but not every book is selling extremely well. The Amazing Spider-Man, which has been panned by fans relentlessly in recent years, has fallen from its lofty position. Jed MacKay’s The Avengers hasn’t allowed the team to retake their place as the number one Marvel team. Fantastic Four has been getting rave reviews from fans and critics alike, but it isn’t a massive sales success. The Incredible Hulk and The Immortal Thor are likewise beloved but also haven’t been able to rise to the heights of The Immortal Hulk, which both books are taking a number from.

Marvel Knights Could Hold the Keys to Marvel’s Future Dominance

Creatively, Marvel is in a bit of rut lately. Marvel’s place as number one for so long has seemingly made the publisher complacent. Marvel’s event cycle has seen diminishing returns for years now, and editor Tom Brevoort revealed Marvel has nixed inter-company crossovers. The publisher feels like it’s in a rebuilding phase; their bench of A-list talent is light as ever and they need something to reignite their fandom. From The Ashes and the Ultimate line show that Marvel can still move their fans when they put the effort in, and that’s what makes a Marvel Knights return so tantalizing at the current time. Marvel Knights took B-list characters and gave them the attention of the best creators possible. Now’s the perfect time for that.

Synergy between Marvel’s comics and movies is extremely important right now. Most of Marvel’s A-list non-X-Men characters aren’t going to be the focus of the MCU anymore. B-list characters are going to take an even bigger role in the movies and that means that Marvel needs to have comics for fans to devour. Marvel Knights is the best place to put these kinds of books. A Marvel Knight Werewolf by Night book or a Wiccan series, with the right creative teams, would give fans looking for more from these characters something to sink their teeth into. These are exactly the kinds of characters that Marvel Knights was made for, despite later Marvel Knights books starring A-listers like Wolverine and Spider-Man. Plus, Marvel Knights flagship character Daredevil is about to have a huge year, giving a new Marvel Knights line a well-known character to coalesce around.

A Marvel Knights Return Will Pay Dividends for Marvel

Marvel Knights was a catalyst to Marvel’s creative renaissance in the early ’00s. This approach redeemed the mistakes of the ’90s, and re-energized the fanbase. While the ’20s aren’t nearly as bad as the ’90s were for Marvel, they haven’t exactly been amazing. The publisher needs a creative shot in the arm for a lot of its line and Marvel Knights can give them that. Marvel Knights took characters that hadn’t been important in years and shined new light on them. Marvel’s B- and C-list characters could use that approach and Marvel has the power to pull in the best talent to make these characters into stars.

The Ultimate line has taken the Marvel fandom by storm, showing that Marvel still knows how to construct a new line. A new Marvel Knights line can give the publisher a place to aggrandize their lower tier characters, and help build the next generation of MCU stars into the A-list comic characters of tomorrow. Much like the Ultimate line, it has name-brand recognition and an easy mission statement. The original Marvel Knights line even has a better reputation with fans than the old Ultimate Universe, as it didn’t overdose on edginess and was more about ideas and character. Marvel could take back their dominance with a well put together Marvel Knights line.