Marvel Comics For Dummies Cheat Sheet

Marvel Comics' Universe of Iconic Characters

You can divide the many legendary characters of Marvel Comics into several different groups, and many of them are associated with various super-teams.

Gods

Some of the heroes of Marvel Comics emerged from Earth’s myths and legends.

• The most notable is the mighty Thor, who comes from the pantheon of Norse gods and goddesses who live on Asgard. The tales of Thor were legendary for centuries before he began his adventures with the costumed heroes of Earth.
• Another heroic god out of legend is Hercules of Olympus. The powerful strongman features in many myths about his labors on Earth; he even crossed paths with Thor in the distant past.

Of course, villains have stepped out of the mists of time to plague the people of Earth, too. Perhaps none is more infamous than Thor’s brother, Loki, the God of Mischief. Though he has occasionally fought on the side of right, Loki’s schemes have caused enormous trouble for the heroes of Earth, even if one did accidentally lead to the formation of the Avengers.

Mutants

Mutants are humans who are born with super-powers. In the Marvel Universe, mutants have existed for centuries, but because of the overall increase in the Earth’s background radiation that began with atom bomb testing in the 1940s, more and more children are being born with mutant, or X, genes. In the vast majority of these children, powers don’t appear until they hit puberty. But when they do, the powers can be shocking and terrifying not only to the child but also to the people around them. That’s why Professor Charles Xavier founded his School of Gifted Youngsters — so that he may find mutants and train them in their powers to coexist with the rest of humanity.

Aliens

The Marvel Universe is home to vast galaxies full of inhabited planets. And though some alien races, like the Kree, can look a lot like humans, other alien races can have wildly different appearances and natural abilities that are the equivalent of super-powers. Take the Skrulls, for instance. Skrulls have the ability to change their shape and appearance, a talent that’s caused more than a little trouble on Earth over the years. The Flora colossus called Groot looks like a walking, talking tree on Earth, but on his homeworld, Planet X, he just looks like the other inhabitants.

A secondary group of aliens are cosmic beings, characters of enormous power who sometimes participate in the adventures of Earth’s heroes. The Silver Surfer is one such being, created when the planet-eating Galactus imbued alien Norrin Radd with the Power Cosmic. Another one is the Phoenix, avatar of the Phoenix Force, who has played a significant role in the lives of the X-Men.

Enhanced/altered humans

Although mutants are born with their powers, enhanced or altered humans have acquired their powers through advanced science, and quite often by accident. The Hulk was originally unleashed when Bruce Banner was exposed to a gamma bomb blast; that incident caused the change in Banner’s body that led to his transforming into the green goliath whenever he got angry. The original members of the Fantastic Four got their powers from exposure to cosmic rays while in space. Then you have Spider-Man, possibly the most famous recipient of an irradiated spider bite.

High-tech heroes

Many, many heroes and villains employ advanced technology in their suits and weapons. Some heroes aren’t just born; they’re built:

• Though he originally constructed his first pieces of armor as a device to save his own life, Tony Stark has become that most famous of high-tech heroes, Iron Man.
• The mutant Wolverine’s adamantium-covered skeleton and claws are the results of experimentation by the Weapon X program.
• Spider-Man has those handy web-shooters that he built himself.
• Hawkeye amplifies his unparalleled bowmanship with his tech-loaded trick arrows.

Robots, androids, and more

In a super-tech world like you find in Marvel Comics, finding artificial beings that have made the leap to heroics or villainy isn’t unusual. One of the Avengers’ most implacable foes is the menace called Ultron. Ironically, in his various efforts to destroy the Avengers, Ultron created two synthetic beings that became solid members of that super-team: Vision and Jocasta.

Magic and supernatural beings

With so many cosmic forces at play in the Marvel Comics, you probably aren’t surprised to discover that magic is real in the Marvel Universe. One of the greatest of all magic practitioners is the Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Stephen Strange. He learned his discipline through rigorous study. Other heroes have been enhanced by supernatural beings, like Moon Knight, who has operated as an agent of Khonshu, the Egyptian god of the moon.

Some people have been unfortunately cursed by the supernatural, like Jack Russell, the Werewolf by Night. These heroes face many enemies that come from the dark shadows and darker dimensions. The Dread Dormmamu has been one of the Doctor Strange’s most bitter foes, and the demonic Mephisto has never stopped trying to add the souls of heroes to his infernal collection.

Highly-skilled characters with no powers

Many high-tech heroes lack super-powers, but a number of unpowered heroes rely on advanced training and only the occasional gadget to wage their war on the baddies. Hawkeye deploys a variety of trick arrows, but they’re just extensions of the rigorous training he received from The Swordsman and Trick Shot and the incredible skills he developed over years of experience. Though his arsenal occasionally drifts into advanced science, he’s just as content employing conventional weapons in his war on crime. Fierce fighters like Elektra are products of incredible discipline and intense training rather than any otherworldly power.

The Big, Bad Villains of Marvel Comics

Of course, the need for heroes in such numbers wouldn’t be as great if not for the major threats to be found on- and off-world. Whether their challenges come from outer space or the outer boroughs, the dark of night or the Dark Dimension, the heroes of Marvel Comics have no shortage of enemies to battle.

Doctor Doom

In terms of Earth-born villainy, you can find perhaps no greater challenge than Doctor Doom. Ruler of Latveria, scientific genius, and master sorcerer, Doom’s long-standing vendetta with Reed Richards made him an implacable enemy of the Fantastic Four. On many occasions, his plots entangled lots of other heroes, including the Avengers, the X-Men, Spider-Man, and even the Guardians of the Galaxy. Doom has always been driven by two major motivations: to prove that his mind is greater than Reed’s and to free the soul of his mother from the clutches of the extradimensional demon Mephisto. Despite his propensity for misdeeds, the citizens of Latveria love him, and Doom does, sometimes grudgingly, step up to protect the Earth when necessary. He just happens to think that everything would be better if he were in charge.

Galactus

Though the Fantastic Four were already established as heroes, their encounter with the world-devouring Galactus (see Figure 1-11) proved to be one of their greatest victories. When Galactus came to Earth with the intention of consuming it, the FF, with the help of Galactus’s own herald, the Silver Surfer, managed to turn the world-eater away. The heroes of Earth encountered Galactus many times through the years. And though he occasionally helped them, the lingering possibility of his unleashing his cosmic might against them was always present in their minds.

Loki

One of the greatest recurring enemies of Earth is the Asgardian God of Mischief, Loki. Years of enmity with his brother, Thor, provoked Loki to spread his mischief to Earth. Though he has actually made moves for the side of good, his schemes have caused more than their fair share of trouble for the Avengers and the people of Earth.

Magneto and enemies of the X-Men

Questionable ideals were central to the struggle between the X-Men and Magneto’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. The X-Men fought in favor of living peacefully with humanity, but the Brotherhood professed to rule it. Over the years, many members of the Brotherhood, including Magneto himself, began to lean toward Xavier’s way, or at least a middle path where they defend humanity but not at the expense of mutant rights.

The completely opposite side of that coin were Orchis and the various creators of the mutant-hunting robots, the Sentinels; those opponents advocated mutant extermination, putting the X-Men in the position of fighting for their very existence.

Red Skull and other enemies of Captain America

Less ambiguous about their villainy were many of Captain America’s foes. Enemies like the Red Skull, Baron von Strucker, Arnim Zola, and the first Baron Zemo had all been Nazis or agents of Hydra and, as such, were enemies of everything Cap represented. Though many of those enemies were vanquished over time, new enemies with the same hateful ideals, like Sin and Crossbones, rose for Cap to battle.

Spider-Man’s rogues’ gallery

Possibly no single hero possesses a rogues’ gallery as varied, wild, and dangerous as Spider-Man’s. You know that Spidey’s enemies list runs deep when people openly debate which villain is actually his greatest foe. Is it the Green Goblin, who was responsible for the death of Spider-Man’s first love, Gwen Stacy? Is it Doctor Octopus, who actually took over Peter Parker’s body for a time? What about Venom, the symbiotic alien whom Peter wore as a costume until Venom made his move to take him over?

Spider-Man’s drive to protect New York has seen him run afoul of organized crime figures like the Kingpin, revenge-driven scientists like the Jackal, and the crazed spawn of Venom, Carnage. He’s also had to contend with various combinations of his enemies uniting as the Sinister Six to try to take him down.

Thanos

Another seemingly unstoppable threat from the stars is Thanos. The Mad Titan has battled the Avengers, Adam Warlock, and other Earth heroes for years. One of his long-held obsessions has been his love for the incarnation of Death itself. It was that heartache that drove him to assemble the Infinity Gauntlet and nearly succeed in snuffing out half the life in the universe. Since then, Thanos has returned time and again — sometimes alone, sometimes leading his Black Order, but always dangerous.