Reading comics is a hobby as beautiful as it is complicated (and expensive). Hundreds of issues come out every month. If you read superheroes, manga, indie comics, some French BD and Spanish comics you could spend the whole month between issues without having time to do anything else, but, for whatever reason, you also need to eat, hydrate, work and go outside to step on the grass. That’s why we’ve decided to tell you what’s been going on at Marvel in the last few months, to make catching up a lot easier. Watch out, because curves are coming (and spoilers if you’re a little behind on the American editions, you’ve been warned).
Spiderman
After Ben Reilly, Peter Parker’s clone, became Spider-Man for a while while the original was in the hospital (Peter ended up dying in his battle against the Sin Eater, but he’s better now), he ended up losing his memory and becoming Abyss, a supervillain who swears revenge against Peter. Typical Parker luck. Taking advantage of the juncture and clone friendship, the new villain allied with Madelyne Pryor, Jean Grey’s clone and current Goblin Queen.
During the battle, Abyss locked Peter and his allies in a replica of New York in Limbo until our hero surrendered and decided to return his memories in exchange for losing them himself. It didn’t happen, of course: with the help of the X-men, a demon-turned-version of Spider-Man named Rek-rap and Pryor herself after losing control of Limbo, Ben Reilly was locked up in the prisons of his dimension.
On the other hand, Mary Jane is married to a certain Paul and has a son, she gets along regularly with Peter and still nobody knows what exactly could have happened, what did Spiderman do to turn everyone against him. Right now we only know that Mary Jane and Peter were trapped in an alternate dimension: she sacrificed herself so he could get out: the return trip caused a near-nuclear explosion. Upon returning to the dimension where he left MJ stranded, where time passes faster and the days are weeks, he found that she had taken a new boyfriend and had two children. Still no more is known about this temporal gibberish, which is written, all things considered, regulinchi.
Oh, yeah: and Peter Parker now works for Norman Osborn, who no longer has Green Goblin powers (apparently). Just another day at Marvel.
The Fantastic Four
The 4F, Marvel‘s oldest group, has split up. No one quite knows why, but they’ve all decided to go their separate ways – even the Human Torch has been posing as a salesman named Jonathan Fairweather! However, when the time comes to reunite they discover that the Thing and Alice have turned into a giant stone dome.
Finally, it is discovered what happened to make them separate and before the stone dome: the whole block next to the Baxter Building disappeared by Reed Richards to appear a year later without them noticing anything. Among those who disappeared were the children of Ben and Alice who, for whatever reason, did not like the invention. After Sue, Ben, Reed and Johnny settled their differences and freed themselves from the dome, they went on a journey between dimensions with which they brought a bacterium that could cause global extinction by turning the water poisonous. They could have stayed put.
Iron Man
After an explosion ripped through his house and killed his neighbors, Tony Stark went back to drinking (and how). But he couldn’t relax too much: Feilong, one of his greatest enemies, wants him dead at any cost, not only literally… but also figuratively. Maybe that’s why he’s bought Stark Unlimited, discovered its secrets and set about creating Sentinels to wipe out mutants. Put down that scotch, Tony, it’s been sitting on you pretty good. Or at least take refuge in your new love… Emma Frost!
X-Men
Just to read the adventures of the X-Patrol in Krakoa you need a master’s degree. Over the last few years they have founded their own country, they have taken over Mars, they have discovered the secret of infinite resurrection. For once since their birth in the 60s, mutants are happy. Of course it’s all going to go down the drain at the next Hellfire Gala, because apparently we can’t allow these people to live peacefully.
Hulk
Okay. Believe it or not, after a fatal accident in El Paso, Bruce Banner has turned the Hulk into a galactic ship using his body as a form, Bruce Banner piloting and the Hulk’s rage as an engine. He finally arrived on a planet crawling with Hulks who promised him a home, but instead of staying, he let out a devil that lived inside him and had to be placated by Doctor Strange. Don’t worry: Bruce Banner is still alive and under control. Sort of. Personally, I’d rather read ‘The Immortal Hulk’ again.
Daredevil
The President of the United States is dead. Well, rather, he has been assassinated. By Daredevil. Reread those last three sentences before continuing and digest them: Daredevil, now married to Elektra, has taken over the power of The Fist, the organization that fights the ninjas of The Hand (the real architects of the assassination in question). To do so, he has freed a bunch of criminals with the intention of saving them from themselves, convinced of the futility of prison. With Elektra trapped by The Avengers and Matt Murdock being enemy number one, it doesn’t look like the best future for the Little Horned One. He’s come out of worse.
Doctor Strange
Stephen Strange died. But he’s better now. He lost his love, Clea. But she found him again, transformed into the new Sorceress Supreme. And now, after her hardest moment, she is back to her sanctum sanctorum as never before. Wong, meanwhile, has founded a new group of superheroes searching for the paranormal called WAND. Of course, happiness will be short-lived for Stranger. That’s all it takes.
Captain America
Right now there are two Captain Americas: Sam Wilson and Steve Rogers, with interconnected stories. To put it simply (as simple as it can be): Ian, Steve’s son from Dimension Z, has arrived on earth 616, becoming Sam’s partner. Meanwhile, Bucky the Winter Soldier, who intends to create a revolution with the help of an organization created by Arnim Zola, has betrayed Steve and is going to take Ian back to his original dimension using the White Wolf’s portal technology. Not even the AI would make it so complicated.
So, to avoid being caught, he’s unleashed a whole bunch of monsters from Dimension Z into ours… And, in the meantime, he’s started to psychologically torture Cap’s son. Oh, yes: the Black Widow has shown up to get everything she knows out of Bucky. Well, here we all are.
If you got stuck in the Mefistazo or in one of the many crossovers with the symbiotes, as you can see, there is still a lot to scratch: following the Marvel news is not just about watching the movies… Take note before everything changes again (this time, for real) forever!
