They don’t call Marvel Comics the “House of Ideas” for nothing. Since introducing a wave of newer, more relatable superheroes in the 1960s, Marvel has been unafraid to shake things up, introducing milestones and shocking changes galore over its many years of existence. Some shake-ups have even had a strong impact on both the comics industry and the world at large.
Yet that doesn’t mean that Marvel isn’t above playing it safe sometimes. In certain cases, that has meant rejecting pitches or ideas before they reach the publication stage or abruptly reversing course when a status quo change is viewed as a little too extreme or risky.
10 Not Sticking With Walt Simonson's Unique Avengers Team
With the “main” Avengers team having disbanded, no East Coast branch of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes existed to protect the city during the events of “Inferno.” Luckily, Steve Rogers (then going by “The Captain”) teamed up with Mister Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, and Gilgamesh to fend off the demonic hordes, along with Nanny and the Orphan-Maker. The group later ran into Thor, joining forces with him to protect the Black Knight and defeat the Growing Man.
At the Captain’s suggestion, the five heroes became the new Avengers. Yet they barely lasted three issues together before Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman quit to rejoin the Fantastic Four.
9 Rejecting An Approved Graphic Novel Where Spider-Man Had An Affair With A Woman Married To A Mob Boss
Creator Bob Layton had an idea for a graphic novel that would have introduced Peter Parker’s most shocking romantic partner yet. The pitch, approved by Jim Shooter, would have featured Spider-Man being shot repeatedly while protecting Carla DelVeccio, whose husband Jack was a noted gangster. Carla would have obtained medical attention for Peter and then house him at her mansion while he recovered; during that time, they would have fallen for each other and briefly had an affair.
Shooter’s replacement, however, Tom DeFalco, canceled the story, believing it would have altered Peter’s life too dramatically.
8 “Resurrecting” Magneto Mere Months After His Death In New X-Men
In Grant Morrison and Phil Jimenez’s New X-Men #150, Magneto, who had taken over New York City after infiltrating the X-Men as the made-up mutant Xorn, was decapitated by Wolverine for killing Jean Grey.
Morrison had killed off Magneto because he felt the villain’s methods were outdated and hypocritical. Yet the character was brought back five months later in Chris Claremont and Aaron Lopresti’s Excalibur #1, while Chuck Austen and Salvador Larocca revealed that Xorn was not only real, but two different people, and that the “Magneto” who had been killed was actually one of the Xorns in disguise.
7 Not Making More Marvel Heroes Skrulls During Secret Invasion
New Avengers #31 by Brian Michael Bendis and Lienil Yu shocked fans by having Echo kill Elektra—a surprise doubled when “Elektra’ turned out to be a Skrull. Elektra’s imposter was part of a wider Skrull plot to invade Earth by replacing key Marvel heroes and villains. The mystery deepened in Secret Invasion #1, when dozens of superheroes appeared in a Skrull ship, claiming they’d been kidnapped and replaced years ago.
Yet other than Spider-Woman, Yellowjacket, and a few others, the number of characters swapped for Skrulls proved quite small. Secret Invasion’s repercussions were still notable but could have been even more widespread.
6 Going Back On “Dead Means Dead”
As editor-in-chief and president of Marvel Comics, respectively, Joe Quesada and Bill Jemas sought to address comics’ infamous habit of resurrecting characters by introducing the infamous “dead means dead” edict: if a Marvel hero was killed off, then they stayed that way.
However, exceptions were made since the rule’s earliest days. Magneto’s return after his first apparent New X-Men death (in “E is for Extinction”) for instance, was planned from the start. Shortly afterward, dozens of characters returned to life, including Psylocke, Colossus, Hawkeye, Mockingbird, and Johnny Storm. In recent times, writers have even been required to create resurrection “backdoors” before killing a character off.
5 Resurrecting Major Characters And Replacing Successors With The Originals In Marvel Legacy
The early 2010s saw a massive change for Marvel, as several of its classic heroes were replaced by new characters or longtime allies. Others, like Wolverine and the Hulk, were killed off in high-profile events, while some, like the Fantastic Four and Iron Man, were partially retired or incapacitated.
However, these changes soon came undone as part of the Marvel Legacy relaunch, which was designed as a “back to basics” revamp for Marvel. Many of the replacement superheroes remained active, however, with some returning to old identities, like the Falcon, or claiming new ones, like Amadeus Cho becoming Brawn.
4 Making Peter Parker The Spider-Clone… And Going Back On It
Spectacular Spider-Man #214 by Tom DeFalco and Todd Dezago resurrected Spider-Man’s clone from the famous The Amazing Spider-Man #149 by Gerry Conway and Ross Andru. The clone soon established his own life as Ben Reilly and became the superhero the Scarlet Spider.
However, Spectacular Spider-Man #226 shockingly “revealed” that Ben was the real Peter Parker—while “Peter” was the Spider-Clone. Though viewed by DeFalco, the issue’s writer, as a misdirect, other Spider-creators saw an opportunity to restore Peter’s single, everyman status. Ultimately, the Clone Saga’s growing unwieldiness, along with a growing desire to see the married Peter return, led to the reveal being undone.
3 Having Steve Rogers Denounce Violence, Killing Him Off, And Replacing Him With A Native American Captain America
Writer J.M. DeMatteis’ plans for Captain America were revolutionary even by modern-day standards. The writer planned to commemorate the anniversary issue #300 by killing off the Red Skull and having Steve Rogers swear off violence shortly thereafter. The story would have also had Jack Monroe, a.k.a. the third Nomad, seemingly murder Rogers, while Jesse Black Crow would have replaced Steve and become the first Native American Captain America.
Other than the Red Skull’s death, however, DeMatteis’ major ideas were nixed by then Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter. Some of DeMatteis’ plans, however, evolved into his creator-owned series The Life and Times of Savior 28.
2 Bringing Marvel’s Heroes Back At The End of Heroes Reborn
In 1996, Marvel made the daring move of having the Avengers and the Fantastic Four (among others) seemingly sacrifice their lives to stop the nearly omnipotent Onslaught. In reality, however, the heroes were sent to a universe created by Franklin Richards and rebooted in the “Heroes Reborn” line, which was produced by WildStorm Productions and Extreme Studios.
Originally, Heroes Reborn was viewed as open-ended, so long as WildStorm founder Jim Lee continued to pencil one of the series. He chose not to, however, and nearly every hero and villain sent to Franklin’s pocket universe returned to Earth-616 just one year later.
1 Restoring (But Not Rebooting) The Marvel Universe After 2015’s Secret Wars
Hearts sank when it was announced that 2015’s Secret Wars would end the Marvel Universe. However, word soon came that a new Marvel Universe would emerge from the crossover, with certain news outlets believing it was a reboot combining elements of the Marvel and Ultimate Universes, akin to DC’s New 52 in 2011.
Then Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso, however, later clarified that the “All-New, All-Different Marvel” was not a reboot. Furthermore, while several Ultimate characters and items did appear after Secret Wars, the Marvel Universe that emerged from the event was essentially the same version that had existed before.
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