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Winter Soldier (Bucky Barnes) Reading Order

From the beginning, Captain America wasn’t fighting AXIS alone. He had a sidekick: Bucky. Created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, Bucky made his first comic appearance in Captain America #1 (March 1941) and didn’t leave Cap’s side during the war.

James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes Jr. lost both of his parents when he was quite young. Soon, he was separated from his sister Rebecca and grew up at Camp Lehigh as a ward of the state. There, he became a camp mascot before receiving special training in England.

His life took a turn when he met Steve Rogers and discovered he was Captain America. He joined him in his first mission against Red Skull, then underwent another intensive training program to become the sidekick known as Bucky. With Cap, he fought Nazi operations, joined the Invaders, formed the Young Allies, and more.

Toward the end of the war, Captain America and Bucky Barnes vanished and were declared dead during a classified mission. And it stuck for a very long time. Bucky was part of a very small circle of comic book characters (with Jason Todd and Uncle Ben) known to stay dead.

Like Jason Todd, Bucky was brought back to life. Or more precisely, after a long period of time, it was revealed that he hadn’t died at all. After being retrieved by a Russian submarine, he was brainwashed to become the deadly assassin called the Winter Soldier.

Back among the living, a whole new chapter was being written for Bucky, from the brainwashed killing machine to Captain America and a quest for redemption, and back to the Winter Soldier.

A popular hero in the MCU where he is played by Sebastian Stan, Bucky Barnes is a Golden Age character that has been smartly reinvented in the Modern Age. Below, you’ll find a reading guide exploring Bucky’s history in the Marvel Universe.

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Spider-Man Dark Web Reading Order, a Marvel crossover featuring Spider-Man and the X-Men

Barely one month after the A.X.E.: Judgment Day event, the X-Men are caught in a new crossover. However, this one also revolves around Spider-Man. Written by Zeb Wells and drawn by artist Adam Kubert, Dark Web is about clones. Here is the official synopsis:

“The worlds of Spider-Man and the X-Men collide, thanks to the unholy alliance of Madelyne Pryor, AKA the Goblin Queen, and Ben Reilly, now known as Chasm! The two most famous and famously wronged clones are back…and they’re going to claim what’s rightfully theirs! The Dark Web they spin over Manhattan is going to change the NYC skyline forever!”

So, the Dark Web event involves Spider-Man and the X-Men, but also Mary Jane Watson, Black Cat (Felicia Hardy), Venom (Eddie Brock), Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan), and Scarlet Spider (Ben Reilly).

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Earth 2 New 52 Reading Order

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Earth-Two (or Earth 2) is famously known as the home of DC Golden Age heroes, including the Justice Society of America. The setting was, after all, introduced in The Flash #123 (1961) to explain the differences between the Golden Age and the Silver Age versions of the characters.

When Crisis on Infinite Earths happened, Earth-Two was merged with other planets into one, and thus was the end of the Multiverse… for a time. The Multiverse was indeed reborn following the events of Infinite Crisis, although Earth-Two was not the same world.

It was the first time, but not the last time that the setting of Earth-Two was revised. The DC Universe was rebooted following another event, Flashpoint. The series changed the DC Status quo and lead us into New 52 and a new Earth-Two, now called Earth 2.

Earth 2’s history was different with an added tragic backstory. This was the home of a group of superheroes named the Eight Wonders of the World, led by Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. They have defeated grave threats from Apokolips, but not at a grave price.

Left in their stead is a group of young, untrained heroes who pick up the pieces in the dusty aftermath. The Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl and the Atom are humanity’s nascent guardians, but not the ones we’ve all known and revered. These are different heroes, in a strange and foreign world with dangerous new villains.

Dive into Earth 2’s history during New 52 with the following reading order!

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Duke Thomas Reading Order (member of the Batfamily, The Signal)

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This has been less than ten years since Duke Thomas made his debut in the DC Universe. Created by writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo during their already classic run on Batman, Duke first appeared in Batman (vol. 2) #21, as an unnamed character, then he made his real entry in Batman (vol. 2) #30 as Duke Thomas.

Raised in the Gotham Narrows by his mother Elaine, a social worker, and Doug Thomas, a humble construction worker, Duke had an ordinary childhood. He was then unaware of who his biological father was (a villain named Gnomon) and that he was a metahuman and had powers.

Anyways, no one in Gotham can claim to have an ordinary life too long. Like so many Gothamites, Duke’s life was changed by the Joker during the events of Endgame with the disappearance of his parents. He was placed into the foster system and soon after, became the leader of a youth movement inspired by Robin.

Duke’s parents were later found, but permanently jokerized. Following this discovery, Bruce officially took Duke under his wings to make him his latest ward and partner-in-crime-fighting. He officially became The Signal in Batman and The Signal #1 (March 2018). He also joined the Outsiders, under Black Lightning’s supervision. You can’t miss him in the streets of Gotham with his yellow armor! 

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Sandman (Wesley Dodds), a pulp hero in the DC Universe

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Long before Neil Gaiman introduced his version of the Sandman in the DC Universe, another Sandman haunted the pages of comic books. For a long time, I mean 60 years. The original Sandman was one of the first “superheroes,” a DC Golden Age superhero.

Really, this Sandman was more of a pulp hero. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Bert Christman for Adventure Comics #40—but he appeared a bit earlier in the New York World’s Fair Comics #1 (April 1939), a book published on the occasion of the 1939 World’s Fair—, The Sandman was one of the one original mystery men, a vigilante wearing a green business suit, a fedora, and a World War I gas mask, who used a gun emitting a sleeping gas to incapacitate criminals.

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Inhumans Reading Order (with Black Bolt, Medusa, Karnak, Lockjaw and Maximus)

Not to be confused with the X-Men, The Inhumans are another group of Marvel Superpower beings created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. The difference resides in the way each group comes into their meta-human abilities. To put it simply (as nothing is really that simple in the comic book world), Mutants are a group of people possessing the X-Gene that generally comes into their powers during puberty. Inhumans are the result of a Kree science experiment and only get their powers if they are exposed to Terrigen Mist and undergo a transformation called Terrigenesis. Inhumans were created with a purpose, as weapons to assist the Kree in their war against the Skrulls.

So what is Terrigen Mist, you ask? Well, this Mist is produced when Terrigen Crystals, a rare mineral created by the Kree, are exposed to water at a specific temperature. So when an Inhuman inhales the Mist, it activates the Inhuman gene and he becomes a meta-human.

Inhumans also differentiate themselves by usually being a close-knit society preferring to trust no one but its own people. Living in isolation, they are ruled by the Royal Family and the Genetic Council. They even had their own kingdom on the moon before humanity learns of their existence.

The most famous Inhumans out there are part of the Royal Family. Black Blot is the king of the Inhumans and has a destructive hypersonic voice whose slightest whisper will release his power. For this reason, he remains silent. He is married to Medusa, Queen of the Inhumans, which has prehensile hair. Crystal, Medusa’s sister, can manipulate the elements, and Maximus, Black Bolt’s brother has the ability of mind-control and thirst for power.

There are also Gorgon with legs that can create massive shockwaves; Karnak, a martial art artist, priest and philosopher to the Inhumans who chose to never be exposed to the Terrigen Mist; Triton, who can breathe underwater; Good ol’ boy Lockjaw, a bulldog that can teleport; and more…

More recently, the NuHumans, or Inhumans Hybrids, were introduced, and with this new tribe came a lot of new characters like Daisy Johnson, Kamala Khan, Lunella Lafayette.

Introduced in Fantastic Four #45 in december 1965, The Inhumans have more than 50 years of history, where their complex origins, their relationships and their place in the Marvel Universe have been explored. Now is the time to jump into the Inhumans Reading order to know what to read!

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Deadman Reading Order (DC Comics)

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Created by writer Arnold Drake and artist Carmine Infantino for DC Comics in the pages of Strange Adventures #205 (October 1967), Deadman was a tough sell at first as the Comics Code Authority frightened the editor into staying away from potential horror material. After all, Deadman is a ghost.

It’s a bit more complicated than that as the late 1960s saw an interest in the mystic growing in America. Drake was interested to use the Zen movement, Hare Krishna, and things like that in a story to explore the “notion of a being that was neither living nor dead.”

The story begins when Boston Brand, a circus trapeze artist who performed under the name Deadman, is shot dead during a performance by the mysterious murderer known as the Hook. Brand didn’t really die as a Hindu god named “Rama Kushna” gave his spirit the power to possess any living being in order to find his killer.

Even if Arnold Drake left the title after two issues over creative differences, Deadman continued his search—and found the truth. After that, when Neal Adams took over the series, Deadman got a new mission: to establish a balance between Good and Evil. Nevertheless, Strange Adventures was canceled soon after.

Deadman became a recurring supporting character in the DC Universe. In the mid-1980s, he finally got a new series, but it was a short one. It also was not the last one as the character continued to appear in limited series as well as a guest star in other titles. He became part of the mystical part of the DC Universe, which led him to the Justice League Dark (during the New 52 era and beyond).

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Namor the Sub-Mariner Reading Order, Imperius Rex!

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Namor the Sub-Mariner is one of the first Marvel characters, even sometimes considered the very first original Marvel character. He was created by writer-artist Bill Everett for the comic Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1. The title was never released and Namor made his real first appearance in Marvel Comics #1 (October 1939), next to the Human Torch. At the time, he was one of the most popular characters of Timely Comics (Marvel’s predecessor) along with the Human Torch and Captain America.

Though Namor is not as popular today as he was in the Golden Age era of comics, the character remained a historically important figure and still a popular character, with a history spanning over 80 years of publication.

Also known as the Sub-Mariner, Namor McKenzie is the mutant son of a human sea captain and an Atlantean princess. As the current king of Atlantis, he will do anything to protect his people. For this reason, Namor can be a villain, a hero, or an antihero, depending on the circumstances, for the surface dwellers. He’s almost always a hero for the people of Atlantis.

Namor is also a very powerful character, with Superhuman strength, speed, durability, agility, senses, and reflexes. He can breathe underwater like all Atlanteans and can communicate and command sea life. He possesses vestigial “wings” on both of his ankles which permits him to fly, he is capable of manipulating the weather like Storm and much more. With all these powers comes a quite volatile and arrogant personality!

He is now played by Tenoch Huerta in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, making his live-action debut in Black: Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Let’s dive into the Sub-Mariner’s history with this Namor Reading Order!

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Ghost Rider Reading Order

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Marvel introduced a western character named Ghost Rider in 1967, but he is now known as the Phantom Rider. The Ghost Rider we are talking about here made is burning entrance in 1972 in Marvel Spotlight #5 and was created by Roy Thomas, Gary Friedrich, and Mike Ploog.

The original idea behind Ghost Rider came from Gary Friedrich as he developed a villain to be used in the page of Daredevil. Intrigued, Roy Thomas decided that the character should have his own series. He even suggested that the costume should be inspired by one Elvis wore in his comeback special in 1968. Mike Ploog took their concept and designed the biker, introducing the head on fire just because he thought it looked cool.

There is more than one Ghost Rider. The first was Johnny Blaze, a stunt motorcyclist who gave his soul to Mephisto to save his adopted father’s life. After that, he discovers that he was bonded with the demon Zarathos. Now, he is forced to punish the wicked and evil as the Ghost Rider, a violent biker with a flaming head. Though, he only transformed when he is in the presence of evil.

At the beginning of the 1990s, Marvel introduced a new Ghost Rider, the young Danny Ketch. In 2014, it was the turn of Robbie Reyes, a Mexican-American resident of East Los Angeles, who’s not a biker. His ride is a muscle car.

Others became temporarily Ghost Riders, and the mythology behind the characters, as well as its history, evolved through the years. As the host or the ride changed, the Ghost Rider’s abilities also changed. Every rider is different, but the fight against Evil never stops.

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Huntress (Helena Bertinelli) Reading Order

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The Huntress is a DC Character considered part of the Bat-family. But there is also more than one Huntress in the DC Universe, though the one that interests us today is one of the most famous women to bear the name: Helena Bertinelli. She was also the last one to date to become the Huntress…

Way before Helena Bertinelli made her debut, Huntress was a recurring villainess with no name from the Golden Age. Created in the pages of Sensation Comics #68 by artist Mort Meskin and an unnamed writer in 1947, she was retconned in the Bronze Age by writer Roy Thomas.

He gave her the name Paula Brooks and built her a real backstory in Young All-Stars, a title set in DC’s Golden Age. Over the course of the series, Thomas recounted Paula’s transformation, from the superheroine to the villainess named Huntress.

During her short stint, Paula stayed an obscure character. It was a certain Helena Wayne who popularized the name Huntress during the Bronze Age. Created by Paul Levitz and Joe Staton, she made her debut in DC Super Stars #17  (1977).

The daughter of Batman and Catwoman from Earth-2, Helena became a vigilante to avenge her mother’s death and choose the code name The Huntress when she decided to continue to fight crime. Later, Helena found herself fighting against Paula Brooks and winning the right to the name Huntress in All-Star Comics #72.

She bore the name until the destruction of the DC Universe in Crisis of Infinite Earths.

Following the reboot, Helena Wayne died and her family never existed. In this new continuity, Helena Bertinelli is introduced as the Huntress.

Created by Joey Cavalieri and Joe Staton, Bertinelli was conceived at first as a new interpretation of Helena Wayne. Making her debut in The Huntress #1 in 1989, this Helena has no link with Batman/Catwoman, but was born in one of the most powerful mafia families. She became a ruthless vigilante, ready to do justice by any means necessary. It puts her at odds with Batman, and she was for a long time the black sheep in the Bat-family, before Jason Todd/Red Hood was attributed that role. Her origins have been rewritten more than once, and she became the third member of the team Birds of Prey.

She was also recently played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead in the 2020’s film Birds of Prey.

To avoid confusion with Helena Wayne, what follows is a comprehensive reading order for Helena Bertinelli.

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