10 Best Marvel Stories of the ’90s

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Marvel in the ’90s is more well-known for failures than successes, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some great comics from the decade. Marvel still had some amazing creators doing brilliant work. While the ’90s never reached the overall level of quality that Marvel fans had gotten in the ’80s or later in the ’00s (not to mention the ’60s and ’70s), there are still excellent stories. These 10 ’90s Marvel stories are the cream of the crop, excellent stories that have stood the test of time.

10) The Incredible Hulk -1

The late great Peter David’s run on The Incredible Hulk came to a close in 1997, but that doesn’t mean that the book’s quality was going to suffer. I would recommend all of David’s run (my favorite sections of it are the ones drawn by Gary Frank and Adam Kubert), but if you just want one issue to read to see why it’s such a great comic, then The Incredible Hulk -1 is where to go. Marvel’s “Minus One” month was a cool idea, taking readers to times before the beginning of the Silver Age Marvel Universe and telling cool little stories about our favorite heroes before they were heroes. The Incredible Hulk -1, by David and Kubert, took readers back to when Brian Banner was released and Bruce tried to rekindle a relationship with his abusive father. This was a mistake, and it led to a fateful rainy night at the graveside of Bruce’s mother. This is outstanding storytelling from start to finish, a heartbreaker of a comic that shows one of the many formative moments in Banner’s life. It’s excellent. This is the kind of work that Peter David could do, and it’s amazing.

9) Thunderbolts #1-12

Much like the previous entry, I would definitely recommend reading the entire ’90s run of Thunderbolts from Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley. It is an outstanding superhero comic. However, it’s hard to argue against the first 12 issues being the best. The Thunderbolts had already appeared in The Incredible Hulk, and they were a perfectly serviceable superhero team. However, readers didn’t expect much when they picked up Thunderbolts #1. The issue’s closing twist set the world on fire — that the Thunderbolts were the Masters of Evil in disguise, in Baron Zemo’s most audacious plan (it’s been almost thirty years, so I think the statute of spoilers has run out) yet — and suddenly people who hadn’t bought the book were rushing to their comic store to hopefully get a copy. Busiek and Bagley are on fire during the book’s first year, as the Thunderbolts begin to doubt Zemo’s plan and actually start to enjoy their new lives. These twelve issues are the heart of the story, and after reading these, you will definitely want to keep reading.

8) The Waid/Garney Run on Captain America

So, this isn’t a story, but multiple stories from one of the best teams in ’90s Marvel. Captain America had a tough time of things in the X-Men dominated ’90s, but eventually Marvel got writer Mark Waid, going through a career renaissance because of his work at DC on The Flash, and teamed him with artist Ron Garney for some outstanding, back to basics Captain America. The two of them worked together on Captain America (Vol. 1) #444-454, Captain America (Vol. 3) #1-6 and 12, Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #1-6, and gave readers perfect Captain America. Their first run got people talking about Cap again, but was cut short because of the Heroes Reborn deal with Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld. Fans were outraged by this, and when Heroes Reborn ended, Waid and Garney were tapped for the newest volume of Captain America, which led to them teaming up for Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty. Waid and Garney understood what made Captain America stories work, and there are some tremendous Cap stories in their 21 issue run. I’m partial to Captain America (Vol. 3), but it’s all good.

7) The Inhumans (Vol. 2) #1-12

The Marvel Knights imprint reinvigorated Marvel’s B-list in the late ’90s. Kevin Smith, Joe Quesada, and Jimmy Palmiotti’s Daredevil was fantastic and Reginald Hudlin and Mark Texeira’s Black Panther began the process of rebuilding the character, forging him into the character we know today (we don’t speak of the first Marvel Knights Punisher series). However, the best book of the bunch was The Inhumans (Vol. 2) #1-12, from Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee. When territorial issues pit the Inhumans against their human neighbors, things begin to fall apart inside Attilan, as the Royal Family has to face an enemy who is holding all of the cards. This is a near perfect story, and it shows how to make the Inhumans work as a concept in their own series — focusing on the politics and culture of the Inhumans, using the Royal Family as our touchstone. This story is casually brilliant, a perfect representation of how to get the Inhumans right. This is the last time the Inhumans were great, with this story laying out the blueprint to make them work.

6) Wolverine (Vol. 2) #75-100

Back in the old days, before writing for the trade became the order of the day, superhero stories worked very differently. Readers would get a series of short stories — one to three issues at most — while a larger narrative was built in the background. This honestly was a much better method, hooking readers long term. In that spirit, I present Wolverine (Vol. 2) #75-100. These 25 issues start with the loss of Wolverine’s adamantium, and see him leave the X-Men on a journey to discover who is he without his indestructible skeleton. Written by Larry Hama with regular artist Adam Kubert and a small army of fill-in artists, these issues are a perfect example of Wolverine at his best. Hama and Kubert make for a tremendous team — the first five pages of Wolverine (Vol. 2) #77 are a perfect confluence of art and writing (the page layout is basically flawless; seriously, do check out those first few pages, they’re sensational) — taking readers on a road trip with Wolverine as he deals with actually being mortal. This is an extremely underrated period of Wolverine, and these 25 issues are some of the best Marvel comics of the ’90s, bar none (also pick up The Age of Apocalypse tie-in Weapon X #1-4, which was published between issue #90 and #91more Hama/Kubert goodness).

5) “Ultron Unlimited”

Kurt Busiek and George Perez were given the reins of the Avengers after Heroes Reborn, and gave readers some of the greatest Avengers stories of all time. I recommend reading their entire run together (as well as Buisiek’s Avengers Forever, which teamed him with Avengers writer extraordinaire Roger Stern and artist Carlos Pacheco), but their best story is easily “Ultron Unlimited,” which ran through Avengers (Vol. 3) #19-22. This story brought back Ultron, who mobilizes an army of adamantium Ultrons to destroy humanity. Ultron destroys the country of Slorenia in a matter of minutes as an opening salvo, putting the world on notice. The Avengers are called into action, facing off against their deadliest foe in his most audacious attack. This is perfect Avengers from the perfect Avengers team. The MCU tried to adapt part of this story and failed miserably. However, the comic is flawless. Busiek and Perez were a brilliant team, and their Avengers is better than it had any right to be.

4) Infinity War

Everybody loves Infinity Gauntlet (and you’ll be seeing it very soon), but Infinity War deserves nearly as much praise. Infinity War, by Jim Starlin and Ron Lim, is the second chapter in the Infinity Trilogy, as Adam Warlock’s greatest enemy, the Magus, returns with a fiendish new plan to become a god. Warlock is forced to team up with Thanos, as the heroes of the Earth and Galactus learn that something’s very wrong in the universe. Infinity War is a twisting, turning narrative that will drag readers in and keep them on the edge of their seat the whole time. This is an amazing Marvel event, and I’d honestly say that as a story, it’s way better than Infinity Gauntlet. However, it’s also nowhere near as important as that other story, which means that it gets ranked lower for the purposes of this list.

3) Infinity Gauntlet

Infinity Gauntlet, by Jim Starlin, George Perez, and Ron Lim, is definitely Marvel’s most important event book, as it served as the basis for the first three Phases of the MCU. Infinity Gauntlet is a stone-cold classic, telling the story of Thanos’s tenure with the Infinity Gauntlet and the war to wrest its omnipotent power away from him. Infinity Gauntlet is amazing, from start to finish. While the last three issues are better than the first three, which are slower and more deliberate, it all combines to create a story that has enthralled readers for decades. It’s really as great as its reputation.

2) Earth X

Earth X owes it existence to two things — the success of DC’s Kingdom Come and Wizard Magazine. Wizard paid Alex Ross to “Kingdom Come” the Marvel Universe, and it became so popular with fans that Marvel decided to make a comic. Earth X, by Ross Jim Krueger, and John Paul Leon, takes place in a future where everyone on Earth has gained superpowers. The Inhumans return to Earth after years in the stars after making a startling discovery, the Watcher Uatu has been blinded and asks X-51, the Machine Man, to serve as his eyes, and a villain call the Skull is cutting a swath through the US. All of this and more come together to reveal the terrible truth behind life on Earth. Earth X is a love letter to the classics of Marvel’s Silver Age, with the past informing the future. Earth X is a masterpiece, full of big moments that will stay with readers forever. Earth X is the first of a trilogy, one that became a case of diminishing returns as the years went on, but it’s an amazing story that stands tall among the best Marvel comics of the ’90s.

1) Marvels

Marvels is yet another ’90s classic from writer Kurt Busiek (also check out his Untold Tales of Spider-Man, which was the best Spider-Man book of the last few decades), and introduced readers to artist Alex Ross. Marvels is told from the perspective of Phil Seldon, a photographer for The Daily Bugle, as he watches the rise of superhumans, starting with Namor, the Human Torch, and Captain America, then showing the dawn of the mutants, the attack of Galactus, and Spider-Man’s battle against Gwen Stacy. Marvels is outstanding. It’s one of those books that you really have to experience for yourself. It recontextualizes the Marvel Universe through the eyes of a regular human, and Ross’s realistic art brings the grandeur of the superhuman to life. In the ’90s, we didn’t have the Marvel Cinematic Universe if we wanted to see realistic superheroes; we had Marvels and honestly it was better than anything in the MCU. Check it out to see what I’m talking about.

What are your favorite Marvel stories of the ’90s? Sound off in the comments below.