Following the glowing success of the first Secret Wars, Marvel’s then editor-in-chief Jim Shooter decided to repeat the experience with a bit more ambition. Published from 1985 to 1986, Secret Wars II is a nine-issue comic book limited series completed with tie-ins.
Historically, this was the first time Marvel published an event crossover following that model, asking the readers to purchase multiple titles in order to read the entire story. It certainly was not the last time.
Here is the official synopsis: Last time Earth’s heroes encountered the Beyonder, they fought for their lives. This time, they fight for all existence! A year after kidnapping the most powerful beings on Earth and pitting them against one another in a “Secret War” on a distant world, the omnipotent Beyonder comes to Earth to continue his study of humanity.
However, a being so powerful and so naïve is a dangerous combination. As the Beyonder’s understanding slowly grows, so too do his own desires – and even the lord of lies, Mephisto, fears what the Beyonder might finally decide he desires. Because if the Beyonder decides he wants to end all that is, even the combined might of the universe’s cosmic powers might not be enough to stop him!
What to read before Secret Wars II?
The series was a sequel to the original Secret Wars miniseries, you can take a look at it:
Marvel Super Heroes: Secret Wars Omnibus
Collects Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1-12, Thor (1966) #383, She-Hulk (2004) #10, and WHAT IF? (1989) #4 and #114.
Some storylines are more complicated than you can think – or they just seemed weirdly confusing for no reason. In the case of Batman R.I.P., the complication (and confusion) comes from the fact that it’s connected to the Final Crisis event. This story concluded the first third of Grant Morrison’s Batman run (full reading order here), leading to a new status quo as the series was renamed Batman and Robin for a time.
Here is the official synopsis: The troubled life of Bruce Wayne seems to spin out of control when his relationship with the mysterious Jezebel Jet deepens. Soon Bruce Wayne drops out completely, having seemingly become the victim of mental illness and abandoning his Batman identity for a life on the streets of Gotham City. Capitalizing on the fall of their greatest foe, the Club of Villains begins a crime spree through the streets of Gotham that threatens to bring the city to its knees.
What to read before Batman R.I.P.?
Batman: The Black Casebook
Collects Batman #65, 86, 112, 113, 134, 156 And 162, Detective Comics #215, 235, 247 And 267, And World’s Finest Comics #89.
Batman and Son (collects previous editions Batman & Son and The Black Glove in one volume)
Collects Batman issues #655-658, #663-669 and #672-675.
Grant Morrison’s run and Batman R.I.P. take place during the Modern Age period. For more Batman’s adventures during this time, check out our Batman reading order, the Modern Age.
Since James Tynion IV stopped writing Batman, Joshua Williamson is the main writer of the series. He also writes Robin,Deathstroke, Inc., and everything linked to Infinite Frontier. This summer, he will be in charge of the Dark Crisis event, but before that he organized another crossover event in the Batmanverse called Shadow War—illustrated by Viktor Bogdanovic.
Here is how it starts: When Deathstroke assassinates Ra’s al Ghul, Talia al Ghul demands revenge and sends her League of Shadows to kill Deathstroke and Deathstroke Inc.! Batman and Robin must team up to track down Deathstroke and bring him to justice … but do they?
Expect over-the-top fights, action, mystery, and betrayal as this crossover event creates a major impact on the DCU!
What to read before Shadow War?
With this kind of event, it’s always better to be up-to-date, especially with Joshua Williamson’s writing. First, we’ve got Batman, the first story after the Fear State event, then Damian Wayne in Robin (see Damian Wayne Reading Order for more info), and Deathstroke in the new Deathstroke, Inc. series.
This year, DC Comics planned multiple short events like War For Earth-3 and now Wonder Woman: Trial Of The Amazons. Introduced as the first Wonder Woman crossover of its kind, it was developed by the teams behind Wonder Woman, Nubia & the Amazons, and Wonder Girl—written by Stephanie Williams, Vita Ayala, Joëlle Jones, Michael Conrad, and Becky Cloonan, with art by Skylar Patridge, Laura Braga, Elena Casagrande, Joëlle Jones.
Here is the official synopsis: After the events of Nubia & the Amazons, the dangers of Doom’s Doorway have found their way to Man’s World and garnered the attention of not one, but all three Amazonian tribes. The Bana-Mighdall consider it to be a weakness in the current regime and have decided to return to the shores of Themyscira to stake their claim over the island. Little do they know, the Esquecida are not far behind, but instead looking for help to combat the evil unleashed. Tempers rise and swords are brandished as the women argue about the best course of action. Now Queen Nubia must show them all the way to peace by calling for one of the most famous Amazon traditions … the Contest. Who among them is worthy of leading them into the future? Find out as the bravest, wisest, and fiercest warriors compete to be the champion of all the Amazons!
What to Read before Wonder Woman: Trial Of The Amazons?
First, the story takes place after the events of Nubia & the Amazons, you’ll need to read:
Nubia & the Amazons
Collects Infinite Frontier #0 and Nubia & the Amazons #1-6
Don’t know who is Wonder Girl? (she’s pretty new) Take a look at her first series:
Wonder Girl: Homecoming
Collects Wonder Girl #1-7, Future State: Wonder Woman #1-2, and a selection from Infinite Frontier #0.
What’s up with Wonder Woman lately? See her last adventures in:
Written by Robbie Thompson and Dennis “Hopeless” Hallum, with art by Steve Pugh (War for Earth-3), Eduardo Pansica, Julio Ferreira, Dexter Soy (Suicide Squad), Fernando Pasarin (The Flash), and Mike Norton (Teen Titans Academy), War for Earth-3 is a 2022 crossover storyline composed of a 2-part limited series and issues from Suicide Squad, The Flash, and Teen Titans Academy.
Here is the official synopsis: The Teen Titans, the Flash and the Suicide Squad all collide on Earth-3—home of the evil Crime Syndicate—on the hunt for former Task Force X mastermind Amanda Waller.
As Waller tries to take over the alternate Earth and dethrone evil versions of Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and other heroes that rule it, her former partner—Rick Flag—arrives on E-3 bent on making Waller pay for her crimes, while the Titans and Flash hunt for a missing academy student they believe was kidnapped by Waller to form her mysterious Justice Squad.
What to read before War For Earth-3?
First, to know more about the evil Crime Syndicate of Earth-3, you have to read the miniseries spinning out of Dark Nights: Death Metal written by Andy Schmidt with art by Bryan Hitch and Keiron McKeown:
After The War For Earth-3 crossover event, the ongoing series of Suicide Squad and Teen Titans Academy will soon be concluded, you may want to be up-to-date with this two at least (especially with Suicide Squad).
ABC launched the television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman in 1993, where the marriage of Lois and Clarke was discussed during the production. Even if the comics and the show didn’t take place in the same continuity, Warner Bros wanted the Superman brand to stay consistent across all media. They wanted the wedding of the couple to happen at the same time on screen and paper.
What did it mean for the Superman comics? After all, the creative team was planning the wedding of Lois and Clark, and they had to stop and build a whole new storyline. Writer Jerry Ordway made the joke to just kill Superman, and it became the most attractive scenario for the creative team. If they couldn’t marry the Man of Steel, they could kill him… and make comic history!
That’s how the now-classic storyline The Death of Superman was born. It is divided into a trilogy of story arcs: “Doomsday!” (or Death of the Superman) leads to Superman’s Death; “Funeral for a Friend” is focused on the aftermath; and “Reign of the Supermen!” introduced the Supermen. For Lois Lane fans, it’s also an important period, as the death of Superman puts her on the front line, and she was used as the glue between all the titles. After this trilogy, the inevitable happens, titled “The Return of Superman”.
Launched at the end of 1992, The Death (and Return) of Superman was published almost all the year 1993. The creative team consisted of Dan Jurgens, Louise Simonson, Roger Stern, Jerry Ordway, Karl Kesel, William Messner-Loebs, and Gerard Jones on the writer front. Jon Bogdanove, Tom Grummett, Jackson Guice, Dan Jurgens, Dennis Janke, Denis Rodier, Walt Simonson, Curt Swan, and M. D. Bright on the artist front.
One of the biggest best-sellers at DC, The Death (and Return) of Superman had a major impact on the company, as a similar event happened shortly after with Batman: Knightfall(reading order), followed by the deaths of numerous superheroes. Also, some characters established during the arc became recurring characters afterward.
No doubt about it, The Death (and Return) of Superman occupy a special place in Superman and DC history, and today, we revisit it with a reading order, and the different ways to read this iconic story.
What to read before The Death of Superman?
Like a lot of readers at the time of publication, you can just go straight ahead without any required reading before. A few issues teased Doomsday breaking free from his prison, and we have listed them in the issue-by-issue reading order for the occasion.
I just told you no background reading was necessary, but for those out there who like to know a little more, here are a few things to know:
The Justice League’s incarnation at the time of this storyline was Justice League International, with Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Guy Gardner, and more. It was written by Dan Jurgens.
Not long ago, Luthor faked his own death and transplanted his brain into a clone of himself, which he passed off as his unknown son, Lex Luthor II, raised by foster parents in Australia to protect him from Luthor’s enemy. The charade is completed by an Australian accent, a full head of red hair, and a beard. Luthor uses this opportunity to seduce Supergirl (Matrix at the time). Those issues where those events take place are not really well collected (between Action Comics #660 and #678).
Ultimate Marvel is maybe the most famous Marvel imprint, but not the only one. Back in 1992, a line of comics titled Marvel 2099 explored what the Marvel Universe would look like in 2099 and it wasn’t a utopia. It was the opposite, with a future overrun by mega-corporations that treated the world like a police state. The line was concluded in 1999 with a one-shot, but the 2099 world has been seen occasionally since then.
Marvel celebrated their 80th anniversary in 2019, acknowledging at the same time that there is still 80 years to go until the year 2099. For the occasion, the published has turned the spotlight towards this particular world, with a Spider-Man crossover/storyline written by Nick Spencer.
Something has happened in the year 2099 that caused the timeline to crumble. The heroes of 2099 will need the help of the present-day Spider-Man to figure out what’s going and to save their world. Discover more about it in this 2099 reading order!
Back in 2006, Marvel relaunched its Cosmic Universe with the Annihilation crossover event. It led to a series of events of the same kind, but also to a new Guardians of the Galaxy series and more. You can find here our reading guide of that era piloted by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning.
Since C. B. Cebulski became Marvel’s editor-in-chief in 2017, a lot of names associated with popular events of the past have been reused. It was the case in 2019 with Annihilation. This time though, it was not as ambitious as the first time. In fact, Annihilation Scourge works like a 6-part miniseries.
Here is the official synopsis: The Negative Zone is under siege! Now the Lord of the Negative Zone, Annihilus, makes a call for help to the very heroes he once fought against! It’s an all-out battle as Nova, Silver Surfer and some of your favorite cosmic heroes try to prevent the next annihilation.
There are multiple alternate realities in the Marvel Universe, some more famous and impactful than others. For the X-Man, nothing beats Age of Apocalypse, one of the most iconic storyline for the X-Men. With a name and a premise similar, Zac Thompson and Lonnie Nadler gave us Age of X-Man in 2019, a utopia led by Nate Grey (X-Man).
Per the official Marvel synopsis: Enter the Age of X-Man, a perfect world with perfect heroes! In this alt-universe read, the commune-dwelling X-Men live on a utopia planet where fear and hatred are things of the past… along with concepts like “love” and the nuclear family. United under the banner of mutantkind, all mutants idolize the X-Men. Then the cracks begin to show, and a rebellion grows against this weird world order…
What to read before Age of X-Man?
As writer Zac Thompson indicated at the time on Twitter, you just need to know who the X-Men are to jump into this event. For those who like to go deeper, here are some of the recommended stories to read before Age of X-Man:
Nate Grey, also known as X-Man, is an alternate version of the regular Marvel Universe hero Cable, coming from the Age of Apocalypse where he made his first appearance in 1995. This major alternate reality also serves as an inspiration for Age of X-Man, but it is not required reading to understand it. If you want to know more about it, you can consult the complete X-Men Age of Apocalypse Reading Order.
X-Men: Age of Apocalypse Omnibus
Collects Uncanny X-Men #320-321, X-Men #40-41, Cable #20, X-Men Alpha, Amazing X-Men #1-4, Astonishing X-Men #1-4, Factor X #1-4, Gambit & The Externals #1-4, Generation Next #1-4, Weapon X #1-4, X-Calibre #1-4, X-Man #1-4, X-Men Omega, Age Of Apocalypse : The Chosen and X-Men Ashcan #2.
After disappearing for a few years from the Marvel Universe, Nate Grey makes his comeback in the rebooted Uncanny X-Men, with the storyline X-Men Dissambled from which spanned out the alternate-reality event (but, despite that fact, you can go read the event without the prelude).
Damnation is a short Marvel event centered on Doctor Strange, written by Donny Cates and Nick Spencer and illustrated by Rod Reis. Published in 2018, it deals with the aftermath of Secret Empire, or to be more precise of what happens in Las Vegas. The City of Sin has been completely destroyed during Evil Captain America’s regime and Doctor Strange has raised Las Vegas up from its destruction during this event.
As expected when using magic for something major in Marvel, Doctor Strange inadvertently opens a big door for the embodiment of evil, Mephisto! The devilish villain takes the city for himself and sets his sights on the rest of the world. It’s going to take heroes from all over the Marvel Universe to defeat him, but there’s nothing simple about fighting the lord of Hell.
What to read before Doctor Strange Damnation?
Damnation builds directly on the aftermath of Secret Empire, during which Las Vegas was destroyed. To know more about this major Marvel event, you can check out our full Secret Empire reading order.
Secret Empire
Collects Secret Empire #0-9, Free Comic Book Day 2017 Defenders #1
