Marvel Comics took the reins of comic industry in the 1960s and held them tight for years. While many have opined that the ’60s were the greatest time in the publisher’s history, an argument can be made that the 1980s were easily the best for the House of Idea. The ’80s were a time when comics changing, and Marvel had assembled some of the greatest writers, artists and editors of their entire existence in the decade to meet this new epoch. The ’80s were when the X-Men and Wolverine took control of everything, but we also got amazing runs from the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, Captain America, Spider-Man, Thor, Iron Man, Daredevil, Power Pack (yes, Power Pack), and basically every other Marvel character you can think of.
The ’80s were one of the most exciting times in comic history, and the House of Ideas was on the forefront of it. Not every ’80s Marvel classic holds up, but there are some of them that keep getting better. These seven Marvel classics have aged like fine wine, and they are some of the best comics ever.
Frank Miller made Daredevil into one of the greatest vigilantes ever, and the master stroke of his time with the character was “Born Again”, with artist David Mazzucchelli. Karen Page, now a heroin addict tricking for drug money (Miller has always had… issues with women) sells Matt Murdock’s secret identity and the Kingpin decides to dismantle his entire life. This is generally considered the greatest Daredevil story of all time, and has remained atop the heap despite the stellar runs that dropped in the years ahead. Every Daredevil story that came after this one was inspired by it in some way, with the MCU even trading on its name for their new DD series.
Wolverine comics are in a bad place, which is the opposite of the ’80s. The character became a superstar thanks to his place in Uncanny X-Men under the pen of Chris Claremont, and he would get his first solo miniseries with Wolverine (Vol. 1) #1-4. Claremont and Frank Miller planned out the story in a car ride to a convention and gave readers a tale that has been referenced and homaged ever since. This book feels like a modern comic, but it came out 44 years ago, and remains one of the greatest examples of how to do a perfect story starring the ol’Canucklehead. It shows exactly what can be done with the character when creators actually try with the character, and comparing it to the current Wolverine (Vol. 8) or Ultimate Wolverine shows just how amazing it truly is.
Chris Claremont made the X-Men into stars, but they wouldn’t become superstars until artist John Byrne joined the creative team. Claremont and Byrne were electric together, establishing everything that fans love about the group. “Days of Future Past” from Uncanny X-Men #141-142 brought the dystopian Sentinel ruled future idea to the men and women of X, changing the course of the team forever. This is basically the ur-superhero dystopian future yarn, and it still influences every story of its kind today. It’s a masterpiece and shows how far the art of dystopian stories have fallen.
The Squadron Supreme was created so that the Avengers could beat up a Justice League pastiche, but the ’80s would see them finally used in an intelligent way. Squadron Supreme, by Mark Gruenwald, Bob Hall, John Buscema, and Paul Ryan, was a 12-issue series that saw the team decide that the only way to stop evil on their Earth was to take it over and institute a benevolent dictatorship, something not every superpowered individual is on board with. This story was one of the first example of a mature take on superheroes in a realish world, presaging the classics of 1986 like Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns. It’s a masterpiece that doesn’t get the credit it deserves.
Silver Surfer was Stan Lee’s favorite character to write, which makes the fact that his best story without Jack Kirby or Steve Ditko stars the Sentinel of the Spaceways even better. Silver Surfer: Parable is a two-issue series that teamed American legend Lee with French legend Jean Giraud, the artist known as Moebius, for a book that melded two different worlds of comic sotrytelling. The story is a standard Surfer plot, with Galactus coming to Earth and Norrin Radd standing in his way, but this time a twisted religion has sprung up around the World Devourer. This is Lee’s finest work, with the legend using ideas he usually didn’t touch. Moebius’s art is gorgeous, giving this story the kind of bombast and emotion it needed to impress. It’s a classic that keeps getting better.
Spider-Man has starred in amazing stories, but for many the best of them is “Kraven’s Last Hunt”. The six-issue story ran through Web of Spider-Man #31-21, The Amazing Spider-Man #293-294, and Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #131-132, by J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck, and saw the titular villain decide to prove that he was better than Spider-Man once and for all. What follows is one of the Wall-Crawler’s most grievous losses and Kraven’s greatest – albeit final – moment. Nothing from the modern day even matches this story; Spidey hasn’t been able to rise to this level since, making this tale look better and better after every failed modern story with the character.
“The Dark Phoenix Saga” is Marvel’s finest moment. Chris Claremont and John Byrne wrapped up the Phoenix saga that has been running since issue #101 with this one, creating an unimpeachable legend in the process. Running through Uncanny X-Men #129-138, this is a story that every Marvel fan knows by rote. It’s amazing, but a lot of people don’t realize how important it was to the maturation of the medium. This is big cosmic space opera, but it’s also a story about someone falling to darkness and their loved ones fighting for them. It’s a deeper story than it gets credit for being, and it set the stage for the more mature stories that would be coming down the road.
What’s your favorite ’80s Marvel comic not on the list? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
