The Marvel story is a gigantic mountain smack in the middle of contemporary culture. Thousands of writers and artists have contributed to it. Everyone recognizes its protagonists: Spider-Man, the Avengers, the X-Men. Eighteen of the hundred highest-grossing movies of all time are based on parts of it. Yet not even the people telling the story have read the whole thing--nobody's supposed to. So, of course, that's what Wolk did: he read all 27,000+ comics that make up the Marvel Universe thus far, from Alpha Flight to Omega the Unknown.And then he made sense of it--seeing into the ever-expanding story, in its parts and as a whole, and seeing through it, as a prism through which to view the landscape of American culture. In Wolk's hands, the mammoth Marvel narrative becomes a fun-house-mirror history of the past sixty years, from the atomic night terrors of the Cold War to the technocracy and political division of the present day--a boisterous, tragicomic, magnificently filigreed epic about power and ethics, set in a world transformed by wonders.As a work of cultural exegesis, this is sneakily significant, even a landmark; it's also ludicrously fun. Wolk sees fascinating patterns--the rise and fall of particular cultural aspirations, and of the storytelling modes that conveyed them. He observes the Marvel story's progressive visions and its painful stereotypes, its patches of woeful hackwork and stretches of luminous creativity, and the way it all feeds into a potent cosmology that echoes our deepest hopes and fears. This is a huge treat for Marvel fans, but it's also a revelation for readers who don't know Doctor Strange from Doctor Doom. Here, truly, are all of the marvels.

    In the wake of the Stamford disaster, the public cries out for super-hero registration. This title collects stories from Civil War: Front Line numbered 1 to 6.

    The Marvel Universe is no more! The interdimensional Incursions have eliminated each and every dimension one by one - and now, despite the best eff orts of the scientists, sages and superhumans of both dimensions, the Marvel Universe and Ultimate Universe have collided with one another...and been destroyed! Now, all that exists in the vast empty cosmos is a single titanic patchwork planet, made of the fragmented remains of hundreds of devastated dimensions: Battleworld! And the survivors of this multiversal catastrophe must learn to survive in this strange new realm! What strange creatures inhabit this world? Which familiar faces will make their return? And what happens when the various realms go to war? The Marvel Universe is dead...and the victors of the Secret Wars will determine what comes next!Collecting: Secret Wars 1-9 & materiel from FCBD 2015: Secret Wars 0

    But now Spidey’s got his hands full with a very special student class — and a maniacal merger of the X-Men’s rogues’ gallery with his own! Sauron and Stegron the Dinosaur Man team up to take over Staten Island! Chameleon and Mojo cast Spidey and the X-kids in a live death match against the Sinister Sixty-Six! And Deathbird teams the Brood with the Symbiotes! But as Spidey faces the Beast in a no-holds-barred science fair, someone at the school discovers his secret identity! All betrayals, deceptions and misunderstandings fall into place as the mole is revealed — but will Spidey and his students survive to learn the truth?Collects: Spider-Man & The X-Men (2014) #1-6.

    Now, the Marvel Masterworks proudly present the complete Luke Cage, Hero for Hire — the historic first title to headline an African-American super hero — in one hardcover volume! Cage’s adventures depicted New York City’s 1970s grit and the plight of its people unlike any other, all while incorporating larger-than-life villains including Black Mariah and Doctor Doom.Collects Luke Cage, Hero for Hire (1972) #1-16.

    It's a Marvelous case of mistaken identity as Deadpool kills the wrong secret agent and has no choice but to take his place and finish his mission! Pitted against the deadly terrorist organization called GORGON, it's up to Wade Wilson to stop them from getting an object of paradoxical power in their grasp!

    Gear up for the upcoming Avengers movie with these official in-movie-continuity stories starring Avengers mainstays Iron Man, Captain America and the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.! First, it's an expanded re-imagining of the original Iron Man, featuring bonus scenes not in the movie! Then, it's an all-new Iron Man adventure! What happened between the events of Iron Man and Iron Man 2? How did Tony Stark put a new chapter in the history books? And how did Iron Man break and rewrite all the rules? Then, it's Black Widow, Nick Fury and Agent Coulson in espionage action! Think you know S.H.I.E.L.D.? Check out what you DIDN 'T see in the movies! And finally, it's the official comics prequel to the blockbuster Captain America! Steve Rogers is the inspiration for millions during the dark days of World War Two - but where did he get his inspiration from? How did he meet his best friend, "Bucky" Barnes? And what set him on the path to becoming the First Avenger? Experience an all-new Cap adventure on the European battlefields!COLLECTING: Iron Man: I Am Iron Man! 1-2, Iron Man: Security Measures, Iron Man 2: Public Identity 1-3, Iron Man 2: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Captain Am erica: First Vengeance 1-4

    If the Avengers cannot stop him, his flawless, most desperate plan yet will put the entire world under his armored thumb.And the Avengers will be the first to fall.

    But can he teach the young K'un-Lun native how to fit in at a New York City public school? And what about all the mysterious monsters that keep trying to destroy New York? Trouble is coming, but thank goodness this city is big enough for both Iron Fists, because it's gonna need them! Get ready for an action-packed tale with twice the Iron Fists: crushing demons and crushing on classmates.Collecting: Iron Fists #1-6

    Spider-Man has been operating in New York City for years; shunned or reviled, he has touched most of its eight million citizens. And each of them has a story.It's an entirely different way at looking at Spider-Man, the way he operates and the world he lives in. Each story is by a different set of today's top comics creators, starting with "The Thousand," which introduces a new threat to Spider-Man courtesy of Garth Ennis (Punisher, Preacher, Hitman) and John McCrea (Hitman, Jenny Sparks, Hulk Smash!). What's it like to work for the Kingpin? It's answered in "Severance Package" from crime novelist Greg Rucka (Shooting at Midnight, Black Widow) and Edward Risso (100 Bullets). "Flowers for Rhino" is an offbeat look at one of Spider-Man's oldest foes, from Peter Milligan (X-Force, Shade the Changing Man) and Duncan Fegredo (Jay and Silent Bob).

    Follow Squirrel Girl's complete adventures with the GLA (or is that GLI? GLX? GLC? It changes a lot!) COLLECTING: GLA 1-4, GLX-MAS SPECIAL, THING (2006) 8, CABLE & DEADPOOL 30, DEADPOOL/GLI SUMMER FUN SPECTACULAR; MATERIAL FROM MARVEL SUPER-HEROES (1990) 8, I HEART MARVEL: MASKED INTENTIONS, AGE OF HEROES 3, I AM AN AVENGER 1

    When gangster Orville Halloran arrives on the scene, fresh from a stretch in Sing Sing and eager to stretch his wings, Hell's about to get hotter. For P.I. Foggy Nelson and his loyal assistant Matt Murdock, it all starts when a desperate woman comes to their office with an irresistible story about her and Halloran. To Foggy, she's a client - to Murdock, she's enough to make Halloran Daredevil's next target. But Murdock is about to find out that half-truths are poison truths, and that the Kitchen is full of history that will put him on a collision course with both the old Kingpin and the man who wants to replace him. Collects Daredevil Noir #1-4.

    An ancient, evil dragon awakens from his subterranean slumber once again to menace a world that's forgotten that such monsters of flame and guile ever existed. But the new world of today has its own Round Table of protectors in the form of the JLA.When Wonder Woman goes to the infallible Amazon oracle and learns that the JLA is destined to die in battle against the dragon, she must make the most difficult decision of her life; embarking on a terrible, unwinnable quest to thwart fate, putting her at odds with those she loves most. In JLA: A League of One, Superman, Batman and the rest of the League learn that while some heroes maybe Wonder Woman's match, none surpass her. JLA: A League of One is a sumptuous visual feast, a rich tapestry of storytelling that is poetic in its soaring beauty.

    Jess is no stranger to unusual circumstances, but getting held captive by Skrulls in the center of a black hole with a bunch of extraterrestrial moms-to-be might take the cake! Expectations won't be disappointed in the mother of all Spider-stories!Collecting: Spider-Woman 1-5

    For Logan, the century-old mutant known as Wolverine, that time is now. The loss of his healing factor and the traumatic events of "Three Months To Die" have all led to this, the single most important X-Men event of the decade. Over the years, Logan has been a warrior, a hero, a renegade, a savage, a samurai, a teacher - and so much more. Logan has spent decades being the best there is at what he does...but even the best fade away eventually. And now, the greatest X-Men hero will play a role he's never played before in this solemn special event brought to you by industry superstars Charles Soule and Steve McNiven.Collecting: Death of Wolverine 1-4