Irene Adler, aka Destiny, became one of the most important players in Marvel’s X-Men comics with the Jonathan Hickman written House of X / Powers of X
Marvel Characters
Echo (Maya Lopez) Reading Order!
When hearing the news that Marvel Studios is developing an Echo show, one could be forgiven for asking “a who show now ?”. Although Maya Lopez has been around in the Marvel universe for the past 20 years, she’s mostly been a secondary character for heroes such as Daredevil, Moon Knight, or Captain Marvel; only getting a central focus in the past year thanks to recent events in the pages of Jason Aaron’s Avengers. And now that she’s under Marvel’s MCU Hawkeye spotlight and hopefully here to stay, it’s time to take a dive in Echo’s comic book history.
Created by David Mack and Joe Quesada in 1999, Echo is both one of Marvel’s few Native American characters, and one of their only deaf heroes. She was raised by the Kingpin, and after turning against him, she became a superhero and an Avenger, using her photographic reflexes to fight crime across the Marvel universe. And now, she is becoming a main player both in the comics and in the MCU, as played by actress Alaqua Cox. [Read more…] about Echo (Maya Lopez) Reading Order!
America Chavez (Miss America) Reading Order!
It’s always exciting to see Marvel try to embrace new non-legacy characters (yes, there was a Miss America in the 40s, but the two characters have nothing in common outside of the name). It’s even more exciting when those characters bring new representation to the Marvel universe, as the House of Ideas is in desperate need of more queer and non-white characters. This all makes America Chavez, Marvel’s first LGBTQIA+ Latine character to ever get her own ongoing series, one of the most interesting new characters to have come out (no pun intended) of Marvel Comics in recent years.
From dimension-hopping teen hero to Avenger and Ultimate, Ms. America has quickly become a mainstay in the Marvel universe; soon both on the page and on the big screen, with Xochitl Gomez set to play the character in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. [Read more…] about America Chavez (Miss America) Reading Order!
The Watcher Reading Order!
At first glance, the idea of needing a reading order for a character whose sole purpose is to never actually do anything might seem strange. However, as you’ll soon find out if you open almost any of Uatu’s appearances throughout Marvel history, the Watcher can’t help himself but intervene all the freaking time. Whether it’s because he cares too much about humans, or because he wants to feel like the heroes he spends all of his time observing, Uatu’s actions have influenced the fate of the Marvel universe (and even multiverse) as he has broken his oath over and over again. [Read more…] about The Watcher Reading Order!
Dracula (Marvel) Reading Order!
In the 1970s, after having spent more than a decade as a juggernaut of superhero comics, Marvel expanded their line in a new direction, going back to their 50s Atlas Comics tradition of horror and supernatural stories. But instead of Kirby-esque creatures from outer space like “Xemnu the Living Hulk” or “Groot from Planet X,” Marvel found its new monsters in literary and cinematographic icons such as Frankenstein’s monster, the Werewolf, and — most notable among them — Dracula.
The Tomb of Dracula became the most successful of Marvel’s 70s horror comics, telling the story of the continued struggle between a group of vampire hunters and the titular villain. Count Dracula is presented as a villainous – although at time sympathetic – figure, sometimes fighting alongside the heroes, but always motivated by his hunger for blood and power.
For most of his initial series, Dracula stayed in his own part of the Marvel universe, very rarely crossing over with other titles, and mostly with similarly horrific or supernatural characters. But this started changing in the 2000s, when the Lord of the Vampires became a villain for the whole Marvel universe, encountering characters like Captain Britain, the X-Men, or even Deadpool. Most recently, since 2019, Dracula has become the leader of his own Vampire Nation, serving as an antagonist for the Avengers as well as Wolverine. [Read more…] about Dracula (Marvel) Reading Order!