INTRODUCTION
(very rough draft)
The Marvel Universe, with its complex backstory, is an awesome creation—perhaps the grandest fictional universe ever conceived. Tens of thousands of stories that fit into one overarching narrative. But the very thing that contributes this greatness—its rich, complex web of lore and back-stories—also can be a hinderance to new readings hoping to get into a world that’s been shaped by x decades or comics (more if you go back to the golden age). I’ve often heard aspiring readers complain of the difficulty of. I’m hoping this website might serve as a succinct way for people to learn (or refresh their knowledge of) the rich backstory that makes up the Marvel Universe.
Obviously there is no substitute to reading the original comics themselves that these pages cover. There are a number of good reading orders available online, but the one I most highly recommend is the Complete Marvel Reading Order.
This is certainly not the first attempt at such an endeavor—although hopefully it will eventually become the most comprehensive one! Perhaps the most notable prior/existing over of the Marvel universe’s history is Mark Waid’s and Javier Rodrgiuez’s History of the Marvel Universe from 2019. Excellent as that work is, it’s only six issues, and consequentially much had to be condensed or omitted to fit within those parameters. Another inspiration for me was Robert Wick’s "The Unofficial Chronology to the Marvel Universe"—but that only goes up to the modern age and, being written in 1997, is rather outdated. (Although, given some people’s feelings about retcons, they might consider that a good thing!). I’m going to attempt to consolidate all the retconed backstories and differing versions into a comprehensive whole as much as I can in a roughly chronological order. Because new versions are constantly being published, these pages will often have to undergo revisions, which will be tracked in the Change Log.
A note about “Marvel Time”: Marvel has what’s often referred to as a “floating” or “sliding” timeline
15 years
I will try to honor the original publications while making no attempt to firmly fix…
will include topically references. as with the comics themselves, these can be dismissed as, well, topical.
ultimates, worst x-men
zak
other pages?
my own theories: fixed at 1961, recreations
Some personal information:
I was born in 1974 and am a lifelong New Yorker.
I started collecting comics in 1984 when I was 10. I had previously picked up the odd issue here and there, but it was Secret Wars, as well as the original Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe, that truly sucked me in. I became aware of this vast interconnected universe, and I wanted to learn as much about it as possible.
My first, and thus-far only, published contribution to a Marvel comic was a data correction that was published in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update '89 #8 (for the character Manikin)
Some of my other Interests include genealogy, listening to progressive rock, and collecting any sort of reference material pertaining to fictional characters/worlds/etc.
I generally go by the username “zuckyd1” on major websites.
This obviously will be a very long-term project, and there’s a good chance I will never actually catch up to the present. But that’s okay. As long as I’m having fun with this project, I’ll continue making it.
I welcome any and all comments, suggestions, corrections, or even complaints!
David A. Zuckerman
RECOMMENDED WEBSITES
Marvel Comics https://www.marvel.com
The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe http://www.marvunapp.com
The Marvel Chronology Project https://www.chronologyproject.com
Who Watches the Watchers https://whowatchesthewatchers.boardhost.com
The Complete Marvel Reading Order https://cmro.travis-starnes.com
The Unofficial Chronology to the Marvel Universe https://web.archive.org/web/20091018191609/http://geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/7160/wicksint.html
SuperMegaMonkey’s Marvel Comics Chronology http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/
Marvel Database https://marvel.fandom.com/
The Marvel Comics Guide http://marvelcrossovers.blogspot.com
An International Catalogue of Superheroes http://www.internationalhero.co.uk
Comic Vine https://comicvine.gamespot.com
Grand Comics Database https://www.comics.org
The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators http://www.maelmill-insi.de/UHBMCC/
Mike’s Amazing World of Comics http://www.mikesamazingworld.com
Midtown Comics https://www.midtowncomics.com
mycomicshop https://www.mycomicshop.com
