Marvel Universe is a 1998 comic book series from Marvel Comics with an ensemble cast, telling historical stories set in the shared Marvel Universe of the tile. It was written by Roger Stern, with a range of different artists including Steve Epting, Mike Manley, Bret Blevins, and Jason Armstrong.
The series was intended to have a different setting and core cast for each arc, highlighting events and characters that weren't being used in Marvel's present-day stories. It also took advantage of this approach to add various cameos and continuity nods.
The series was cancelled after two story arcs.
The first published arc is set towards the end of World War II, with the Invaders confronting Baron von Strucker as he plots a way for HYDRA to continue to threaten the world after the Axis powers are defeated.
The second arc is set in the 1950s, with a number of exceptional individuals joining forces to investigate attacks by unique monsters.
Marvel Universe provides the following tropes:
- Big Bad:
- Baron Von Strucker for the first arc.
- Kro, warlord of the Deviants for the second arc.
- The Bus Came Back:
- Grottu, the monstrous "King of the Insects", returns after his initial appearance from 1959 in Strange Tales.
- The Molten Man-Thing returns after its initial 1959 appearance in Tales of Suspense.
- Marvel monster Gorgilla, last seen in a 1961 issue of Tales to Astonish, plays a major role in the second arc.
- The Lizard Men previously appeared in a 1961 Tales to Astonish story.
- Butt-Monkey: Harvey Elder in the second arc. Doubles as a Start of Darkness once you know who he later becomes.
- The Cameo:
- Marvel’s most famous World War II villain, the Red Skull, makes a cameo in the first issue.
- Subverted with Fantastic Four villain the Mole Man. What initially looks like a brief cameo from Harvey Elder before he adopts the Mole Man identity becomes something much more significant as the 'Monster Hunters' arc progresses.
- The Eternal Valkin makes a cameo in the second arc, using his cover identity as a KGB officer to trick a captured agent into talking to the NSA.
- Canon Welding: The second arc introduces a number of creatures and characters from Marvel's 1950s and 1960s stand-alone monster tales into the shared Marvel universe.
- Hunter of Monsters: The second arc has a whole team of them.
- Painting the Medium: The first issue signals the setting by opening with black and white art (with just a hint of blue) as the Invaders attack a German warship. It then segues into newsreel footage before switching to colour for the next scene.
- Two Aliases, One Character: The 'Monster Hunters' arc establishes that several different characters were actually Makkari all along. And some of their enemies were actually Kro.
