THE MARVELS isn't a team. It's a concept, a universe, a sprawling world of opportunity.
— Kurt Busiek
The Marvels is a 2021 Marvel comic book written by Kurt Busiek, with art by Yildray Cinar and Richard Isanove. Per Busiek, it's meant to tell stories that involve the cast from around the Marvel Universe, without the book becoming a Crisis Crossover. "From before the Big Bang to beyond the End of Time. From the Avengers to the X-Men, from Aarkus to Zzzax, from the Kree Empire to the Dark Dimension and into the unknown it ranges, vast and deep. And there have been adventures too big for any one series. Until now."
The first story arc involves the history of Siancong, a former province of French Indochina, as it goes through the decades and involves Captain America and the All-Winners Squad, Reed Richards and Ben Grimm during their time in military intelligence, Eugene "Flash" Thompson during his army days, Spider-Man, the Punisher, the Human Torch, Storm, Aero, Iron Man, the Golden Age Vision, and cosmic beings from beyond space time. It also features brand-new characters like Kevin Schumer and the mysterious "Threadneedle."
From the Golden Age to the Modern Age, now is the time of the Marvels.
The first issue was released 28 April 2021.
Not to be confused with the Marvel Cinematic Universe film of the same name, which is a sequel to Captain Marvel. Also not to be confused with the 1994 mini-series Marvels, which was also written by Busiek.
Tropes included in The Marvels:
- Anachronic Order: The first issue begins in 1947, in the Sin-Cong Province of French Indochina, then shifts shows two different scenes from "seventeen years ago," "twelve years ago," "seven years ago," until finally showing Captain America jumping from orbit into Siancong, an event which takes place "ten days from now." After that, the book shifts again to "Now" in order to tie all the events together.
- Backstory Invader: The nation of Siancong, a Genius Loci formed by an alien Mother Nature, Shan-K'ang. It's not clear exactly when it arrived, but its early history is deliberately stolen from the nations around it.
- Barrier Maiden: The nation of Siancong has a hidden gate that's keeping world-ending beings from coming through. It also can't leave the planet because it's literally wedged between two other nations and currently inhabited. Leaving would cause devastating tectonic shifts whiles people's homes disappear form under them.
- Blood Knight: In a flashback to her childhood, Warbird is shown to be quite bloodthirsty.Warbird: "'Do?!' We kill them! Kill them all and gnaw the marrow from their bones!"
- The Bus Came Back:
- After not being seen in over five years, Aarkus
, the first Vision, returns as one of the heroes assembled by Captain America. - Melinda May, who hadn't been seen in a few years in the main continuity, returns in issue 2.
- Powderkeg returns since his last appearance in Avengers Academy #4 (November 2010).
- Issue 3 sees the return of Kro of the Deviants, who hadn't appeared since 2012, and Dr. Carlo Strange (now spelled Strang) who only showed up in Tales of Suspense #41 (February 1963).
- Ace Spencer, who first appeared in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #5 (1985), reappears for the first time since 1986. It's revealed that he is working for Threadneedle.
- After not being seen in over five years, Aarkus
- Continuity Nod: All over the place.
- The scene of Daredevil performing for the USO is directly from Daredevil #47 (December 1968).
- The opening scene has the reappearance (after quite a while) of Wong Daochu (also known as the more racist sounding "Wong-Chu"), the warlord who first captured Tony Stark, and Monsieur Khruul, who was Mantis's evil uncle. They are talking to Jacques Duquesne, a.k.a. the Swordsman, who we know will later work for Khruul, and all three end up meeting Lady Lotus, another character who hasn't been seen in ten years.
- Captain America jumps from orbit with the help of the "Wakanda Design Group," an organization whose first appearance was back during Busiek's run on The Avengers.
- The new Warbird’s parents only met because the Shi’ar sent a surveillance team to Earth after Groot was defeated.
- Spider-Man asks Ace how his sister Rosie is doing. Ace and Rosie Spencer left New York City together in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #6 (1986).
- Crossover: The book is meant to have characters from all over the Marvel Universe (and Marvel history) show up without it needing to be turned into a Crisis Crossover.
- Droste Image: The cover of #11 shows Threadneedle handing the Marvels a copy of The Marvels #11.
- The Everyman: Kevin Schumer. He's a regular guy, who also happens to be a big fan of superheroes and runs an app called "KSHOOM," where he gives people superhero tours of the city in a repurposed Fantasticar. Although his uncle (and occasional employer) is - more-or-less - a supervillain, the Tinkerer..
- Expy: Threadneedle is an observer of the various events going on in the title modeled after David Bowie. This has drawn comparisons to the Broken Man from Astro City, another Busiek book.
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Siancong is essentially a thinly-veiled expy of Vietnam, a former French colony in Asia that underwent a major conflict that ended in a communist victory. Additionally, Marvel characters that were historically tied to the Vietnam War such as Iron Man and the Punisher were established in History of the Marvel Universe to have fought in the fictional Siancong War. This is eventually justified in-universe, as Siancong being the constructed identity of a mobile genius loci assuming the form of a country and copying its history from neighboring Vietnam.
- Fictional Country: Siancong. Which turns out to be be a plot point, given its Backstory Invader nature.
- Genius Loci: The alien Mother Nature Shan-K'ang becomes the nation of Siancong, a Backstory Invader on a huge scale.
- Half-Human Hybrid: The Warbird introduced in this series is the daughter of a Wakandan man and Shi'ar woman.
- Hipster: Carol Danvers calls Steve Rogers a hipster after he expresses delight in the "artisanal food" movement.
- Holiday in Cambodia: Siancong, like Madripoor, is a Southeastern Asian country that's continually shown to be corrupt and war-torn. This book shows a bit of its history.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall. Threadneedle, for unguessable reasons of his own, decides the best way to explain what's happening is to manifest a comic shop and give the heroes the backstory via the medium of comic books.
- Legacy Character: Discussed in-universe. The new Warbird hasn’t got Carol Danvers’ blessing for using the name, and some people aren’t too happy about that.
- Logical Weakness: Aero defeats Powderkeg by using her control over air currents to evaporate his sweat, preventing him from using his powers and easily defeat him.
- Lovecraft Lite: Once there was a living consciousness of a world that became periodically razed by unstoppable, malicious alien beings. Fleeing to another reality, it settled on Earth in the form of a country and rewrote memories so everyone believed it had always existed and they always lived there. While the characters are more worried about the hostile forces following it, they're understandably just as taken aback by the implications of a being that can slip into Earth in the form of an entire country and make people believe it's always been there.
- Mysterious Watcher: Threadneedle, who appears to know about events in the past, present, and future.
- People's Republic of Tyranny: As the book goes through history, we see how Siancong changes from "the Sin-Cong Province" in French Indochina to the "Free State of Sin-Cong" to the "United Lands of Western Sin-Cong" to the "Socialist Republic of Siancong."
- Ragtag Band of Misfits: In a way. The first arc assembles a team of heroes that generally are never grouped together in stories: Avenger members Captain America and Iron Man, X-Men member (and former Avenger) Storm, Golden Age-era hero Aarkus (the original Vision), Agent of Atlas Aero, and thief/anti-hero Black Cat.
- Retraux: The backstory in #11 is provided to the heroes via a fictional issue of Marvel Mystery Comics, and is drawn in a Golden Age style.
- Rocketless Reentry: The first time we see Captain America ("ten days from now"), he is dropping from orbit above Siancong, which is covered by a giant mystical dome. Thankfully, using his shield, Power Armor designed by Tony Stark, and a mystical gauntlet given by Doctor Strange, he survives the fall unharmed.
