Marvel comics Highlights #1: 1961-1964

Over the years I have red a decent amount of X-men and Avengers comics and I have seen all the Marvel cinematic universe movies, as well as following various channels and sites that explain certain events and characters. Calling the whole thing convoluted is not enough to describe what a mess the comic books are, since they are constantly contradicting and retconning events to suit the tastes of the established fanbase. So, being the geek I am, I decided to give you the most important events in Marvel comics thus far, and also a few not so important events that are interesting to analyze from a socio-political standpoint, as well as writing in general.

Let’s begin with how Marvel was founded under the name of Timely Publications in 1939, and how they were trying out all sorts of styles and themes as means to attract as many readers as possible. This was a very lax time with every title being its own thing. Without cross-overs a characters would die as soon as the audience would lose interest in his stories. That is why from everything they made in the first 20 years, only two characters managed to remain relevant in the 60s. Captain America, who was created as propaganda against the Nazis during World War 2, and Namor the Sub Mariner which I will never mention again because everything he did was fucking boring.

It was during the 60s when Marvel got the name it has today and began the serialization of all the heroes that are still famous up until now. If you’re wondering why all other heroes from the 40s and the 50s didn’t make it, it simply has to do with the readers losing interest in everything besides sci-fi. Those heroes had to do with detectives, Wild West, or WW2, and the new generation didn’t care much about them as they did for the brand new space exploration age that was unfolding before their eyes. That was the logic behind the creation of the Fantastic Four in 1961, who travel in space and get superpowers by cosmic rays and fight alien invaders.

It was also the time when Marvel realized that it needed far more relatable characters for the audience to care, and that was the logic behind the creation of Spiderman in 1962. Unlike conventional superheroes who up until then were usually adults with a goofy teenager as a sidekick, Peter Parker was your average teenager, making mistakes, trying to have a normal school life, while still having to fight crime and protect his loved ones, without giving in to the dark side of having too much power. Yes, it’s an overused formula today found in every fighting shonen, but back then it was pretty fresh. And what you need to understand about Spiderman is that is one of the less powerful Marvel heroes. The threats he is facing are never that big, and he can never defeat someone who is too strong. His stories were closer to a coming of age than non-stop action about saving the world from cosmic horrors. Despite that, his stories were far more relatable than most other famous heroes of that time and that is why he is one of the most likable superheroes of all time.

1963 had the creation of the X-men, tackling the theme of racism as Professor Xavier was promoting the co-existence of mutants with homo-sapiens, while Magneto was all about mutants are being hunted down for being different when they deserve to be the masters of the world. Although the concept was great, the character appeal was not. The comic didn’t sell much because the stories were too simple and they were often ending with Xavier brainwashing the enemy into forgetting what happened. I mean, just look how dumb this image is. Everybody looks lame and they have very basic powers. Iceman is closer to a snowman. It was boring as a spectacle and the classic team didn’t have much of a personality.

While the X-men had a very rough start, in the very same year the Avengers come together to form the most amazing canon fan fiction any geek ever hoped for. Unlike the X-men theme, which was always mutants versus mutants, the Avengers could be about anything and anyone, from mythological gods, to robots, aliens and monsters, at the same time. Because that was the reason behind their creation, to have constant cross-overs, promoting the individual comics of each hero. It is pure fan service and a way to hype characters instead of letting them die out when the interest is gone, like they did in the 40s and the 50s. By the way, this idea was stolen from DC, which had the Justice League doing the exact same thing. Marvel is always copying DC.

1964 can be summed up as the return of Captain America. The creators realized that the Hulk was not a good team player and had to be replaced by someone else, and that someone else was a character that lost his glamour as soon as WW2 was over. Through the mystic powers of retcon they excused why he was absent all these years, as he de-freezes after decades and joins the Avengers, mainly for avenging the death of his sidekick. He was no longer the Gary Stu walking propaganda of before, as now his ideals were constantly challenged by a world where American ideals are not as pure as he thought, and his driving force was personal revenge. By updating his persona, he managed to outlive the purpose he was originally created for.

Now for something that will be important later on, but I have to mention it now or else the chronology will be messed up. In the very same year, Captain America finds Baron Zemo, the one responsible for the apparent death of Bucky. And I said apparent because he’s not dead, nobody dies permanently in Marvel comics. And yes, Zemo is a Nazi agent and part of Hydra, blah, blah, corny shit, we still need a Nazi knock-off messing around. What matters is that he had a powerful warrior on his side named Wonder-man, who although seemed to be able to defeat the Avengers, he was a good guy in heart and was only siding with evil so he can treat his decease. He eventually refuses to kill the Avengers and dies for not getting the treatment Zemo promised if he did. But because this is Marvel we are talking about, nobody stays permanently dead, so keep him in mind for later.