Steve Does Comics

The Avengers were a big seller for Marvel in the '60s and '70s. Wanting to capitalise on the concept of adding big-name characters into one team, they created the Defenders . The difference with these guys, though, was that they weren't a team in the traditional sense. They had no headquarters and they really didn't seem to like each other at all. Only a few issues in and they'd already lost one ally - Dane Whitman , the former-Avenger known as the Black Knight - when the Enchantress turned him to stone. Unaware of the situation the Black Knight had found himself in (and of the existence of the Defenders, for that matter), the Avengers decide to investigate when they realise their repeated call to arms to Whitman during a string of crisis situations had gone unheeded. Little do they realise, they're soon to come into conflict with the newest super-group in town... [ WAR BELOW THE WAVES - Hawkeye joins the Defenders] Avengers #115 [1/2] (tie-in) Avengers #115...

The first major Marvel crossover. When Mattel decided to create a toyline based on Marvel characters, they found the two most popular words with boys at the time were 'secret' and 'war'. So, we got Secret Wars. Marvel released a twelve-issue limited series to tie-in with the launch of the figures. What they ended up with was the model for event-level stories in the Marvel Universe. And it got eight-year-old me into comics! Sure, there are issues leading in and out of the main 12-issue series, but the main series stands alone perfectly and is all you actually need to read to understand SECRET WARS . [What to read before SECRET WARS ] Marvel Team-Up #140  (tie-in) Amazing Spider-Man #251 (also see HATRED OF THE HOBGOBLIN ) Iron Man #181 Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #89 (tie-in) Captain America #292 (tie-in) Uncanny X-Men #180  (also see AWAY GAME ) Thor #341 (tie-in) Avengers #242 Incredible Hulk #294 Thing #10 Secret Wars #1-12 Fantastic Four #265 [1/2] (...