Marvel 1602Marvel 1602 is an eight-issue comic book limited series published in 2003 by Marvel Comics. The limited series was written by Neil Gaiman, penciled by Andy Kubert, and digitally painted by Richard Isanove; Scott McKowen illustrated the distinctive scratchboard covers. The eight-part series takes place in a timeline where Marvel superheroes exist in the Elizabethan era; faced with the destruction of their world by a mysterious force, the heroes must fight to save their universe.
WakandaWakanda (wəˈkɑːndə,_-ˈkæn-), officially the Kingdom of Wakanda, is a fictional country appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the country first appeared in Fantastic Four #52 (July 1966). Wakanda has been depicted as being in East Africa. It is located in sub-Saharan Africa and is home to the superhero Black Panther. Wakanda has appeared in comics and various media adaptations, such as in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where it is depicted as the most technologically advanced nation on the planet.
Excalibur (comics)Excalibur is a fictional superhero group appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are depicted as an offshoot of the X-Men, usually based in the United Kingdom. Conceived by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer Alan Davis, they first appeared in Excalibur Special Edition #1 (1987), also known as Excalibur: The Sword is Drawn. Stories involving this team have featured elements of both the X-Men and Captain Britain franchises, frequently involving cross-dimensional travel.
Morlocks (comics)Morlocks are a group of mutant characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The characters are usually depicted as being associated with the X-Men in the Marvel Universe. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Paul Smith, they were named after the subterranean race of the same name in H. G. Wells' novel The Time Machine, but unlike in the Wells book, they are not a faceless, threatening mass of villains. They first appeared as a group in The Uncanny X-Men #169 (May 1983).
Sunfire (comics)Sunfire (Shiro Yoshida) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Sunfire is a mutant and sometime member of the X-Men. Sunfire is a Japanese mutant who can generate superheated plasma and fly. Not suited for teamwork due to his temperament and arrogance, Sunfire was briefly a member of the X-Men and has kept limited ties to the team since.
Forge (character)Forge is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with the X-Men. A mutant with an unsurpassed brilliance in technology, he has had a lengthy career as a government weapons contractor. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist John Romita Jr., Forge first appeared in The Uncanny X-Men #184 (Aug. 1984). Forge shared a romantic relationship with Storm and a brief affair with Mystique, which led him to associate with the X-Men and thus enhancing the technology at the X-Mansion.
Horsemen of ApocalypseThe Horsemen of Apocalypse are a team of supervillain characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Horsemen of Apocalypse are first mentioned in X-Factor #10 (Nov. 1986), and make their full appearance in X-Factor #15 (April 1987) where they were created by writer Louise Simonson and artist Walt Simonson. The first comic-book characters of this name were an unrelated team of aliens from the race known as the Axi-Tun that attacked Earth in ancient and modern times.
Brood (comics)The Brood are a fictional race of insectoid, parasitic, extraterrestrial beings appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, especially Uncanny X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Dave Cockrum, they first appeared in The Uncanny X-Men #155 (March 1982). According to Dave Cockrum, the Brood were originally conceived to serve as generic subordinates for the main villain of The Uncanny X-Men #155: "We had Deathbird in this particular story and Chris [Claremont] had written into the plot 'miscellaneous alien henchmen.
Image ComicsImage Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third-largest direct market comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry by market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-owned properties, in which comics creators could publish material of their own creation without giving up the copyrights to those properties. Normally this is not the case in the work-for-hire-dominated American comics industry, where the legal author is a publisher, such as Marvel Comics or DC Comics, and the creator is an employee of that publisher.
Discrimination against superheroesDiscrimination against superheroes is a common theme and plot element in comic books and superhero fiction, usually as a way to explore the issue of superheroes operating in society or as commentary on other social concerns. Often in response to this are Registration Acts, fictional legislative bills that have been plot points used in various comic books and mediums which, when passed into law, enforce the regulation of extra-legal vigilante activity vs. criminal activity, or the mandatory registration of superpowered individuals with the government.