5 Standalone Marvel Stories You Can Read With No Context, Even If You Only Know the MCU

Marvel Comics got a shot in the arm when the Marvel Cinematic Universe began. The ’00s were honestly a pretty great time to be a fan of the House of Ideas’ comic output and the MCU took those characters and situations to the biggest possible audience. Marvel became one of the most popular things in the world, with their films grossing billions of dollars and making a whole generation into Marvel Zombies. However, while the films were making all the money, the comics suffered. Suddenly, there were millions of Marvel fans, but still only hundreds of thousands of comic readers. The movies never brought the fans to the comic store, at least in no appreciable way.

A big reason for that is the complexity. The Marvel Universe has been going on in its current form since 1961 (its Golden Age books don’t actually count, since most of them are non-canon because of changes made in the ’60s) and that can be rather daunting for new readers. Marvel has never published as many standalone stories as their distinguished competition, but there are definitely some out there, great stories any fan can pick up and read without any added context. These five standalone Marvel books are perfect for any fan, even those who only know the MCU.

5) The Vision

The Vision is a masterpiece. This 12-issue story stars the synthezoid Avenger after he decides to create a normal life for himself. He builds himself a family, buys a house, and gets a job with the government. However, this story isn’t a robot superhero story about a hero with a family, it’s a horror story about what it means to be human and alive. Tom King and Gabriel Hernandez Walta are able to find the terror in a family of robots trying to figure out what it meant to be human, all while covering up a horrific crime. King is able to establish an unnerving tone right from the start, unlike anything you’ve ever experienced in a Vision story before. Add in Walta’s gorgeous, detailed art and you get a story that tries to lull you into a false sense of security, but you can tell there’s something deadly under it all, secrets ready to devour everyone. It’s a sensational read and any kind of Marvel fan can pick this up and love it.

4) X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills

X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills, by Chris Claremont and Brent Anderson, is one of the greatest X-Men stories ever and is in the running for the best Marvel story of all time. It was Marvel’s second graphic novel, sold only on the direct market, and it was a huge source of controversy thanks to its subject matter. This story saw the X-Men and Magneto team up against Reverend Stryker and the Purifiers, a group of bigots using religion as their cudgel against mutants, after the deaths of numerous mutant children. This story drew a pretty stark line between religion, conservatism, and racism… and it came out in 1982. This 44-year old story remains prescient almost half a century later. All you really need to know to enjoy this story is the fact that the X-Men exist, but even that isn’t really needed. Claremont wrote like every story was someone’s first and does a fantastic job of introducing everything you need in this story. Anderson’s art is gorgeous; I finally got my hands on a first printing of the book and the art is captivating. I just sat there and flipped through the pages, marveling at the panels. This is everything a Marvel book should be and anyone can enjoy it.

3) The Twelve

Golden Age Marvel isn’t nearly as well-known as it for their distinguished competition. Even hardcore Marvel fans only know Cap, Bucky, Namor, the original Human Torch, and the existence of the Invaders (themselves a Bronze Age retcon), but there was a whole ecosystem of weird Golden Age heroes that never showed up again, who are the focus of The Twelve. As the Allies take Berlin, a group of heroes are called in to investigate a Nazi bunker and end up being frozen in time until the early 21st century. They awaken in an entirely new world and decide to rebuild their lives, discovering what happened to their loved ones. This 12-issue series from J. Michael Straczynski and Chris Weston is fantastic; the characters are all interesting and well-fleshed out, the central mystery will keep you guessing til the end, and the fights are outstanding. Weston’s detailed art is fantastic, giving the world of The Twelve a realistic edge that makes the whole thing cut even deeper.

2) Squadron Supreme

When people ask me what the Marvel equivalent to Watchmen is (they do ask me, I swear!), I answer Squadron Supreme, by Mark Gruenwald, Bob Hall, Paul Ryan, and John Buscema. While this story isn’t as realistic as DC’s masterpiece, it also takes a more realistic look at superheroes in the world. The story stars the Squadron Supreme, the defenders of an alternate Earth that were created to be a Justice League pastiche for the Avengers to beat. They decided that the best way to save their world is to control it, leading them to institute a benevolent dictatorship. However, not everyone is down for their bold new world, leading to one of the greatest fights in Marvel history. This book does a fantastic job of introducing readers to the Squadron, explaining everything they need to know in the first issue. From there, Gruenwald and the artists build an airtight superhero story about superheroes doing very un-superhero things. It’s amazing in it’s own way and will impress any Marvel fan.

1) Avengers: Twilight

When people ask me what Marvel’s answer to Kingdom Come is (it really does happen! I promise! They just go to school in Canada and you don’t know them!), there’s really only one story that fits the bill and it’s not Earth X (although you should read that one too). Avengers: Twilight is a superhero masterpiece from Chip Zdarsky and Daniel Acuna, set in a future where fascists have taken over the United States with the help of Iron Man and Wasp’s James Stark and Kyle Jarvis, ever since the end of the Avengers on H-Day. However, the fight never ended and Luke Cage is able to get Captain America, retired and de-powered, back in the fight. He can’t do it on his own, though, which leads to the return of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. This story is intense; in some ways, it’s a critique on the current United States, but it’s also an amazing dystopian Marvel future epic. Acuna’s art is beautiful; he captures the tone of every scene perfectly. His fantastic action scenes are just icing on the cake. This is just a plain old amazing Marvel story and any fan of the House of Ideas would be able to read it and love it.

What’s your favorite standalone Marvel story? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!