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For decades Marvel Comics has been telling noteworthy fictional stories. The following is a list of the major plotlines, detailing such things as first appearances of characters, character deaths (though those tend to be less permanent in superhero comics) and other important developments. Note that all of these events take place within a sliding timescale, which means that they are assumed to have taken place in a period of up to fifteen years before the current date, regardless of when they were actually published.

For a list of events before the "Modern Era" see Timeline of the Marvel Universe.

Contents 1 Events 1.1 Golden Age 1.2 1960s 1.3 1970s 1.4 1980s 1.5 1990s 1.6 2000s

[edit] Events

[edit] Golden Age

Event	Date	Developments
Emergence of the Original Human Torch	1939	The Original Human Torch appears in Marvel Comics #1
Emergence of Namor	1939	Namor appears as a back up feature in Marvel Comics #1
Emergence of Captain America	1941	Steve Rogers receives the Super Soldier Serum, his first shield, and a partner by the name of Bucky, becoming the first and one of the most famous incarnation of Captain America.
World War II and the emergence of the Invaders	1941-45	Captain America, Bucky Barnes, the Original Human Torch and his mutant ally Toro, and Namor form the primary members of the Invaders alongside British heroes Spitfire and Union Jack. Back in America, the Liberty Legion protects the homeland from incursion and Axis plots. In the final days of the Second World War, Steve and Bucky attack an island stronghold held by Baron Zemo and are apparently killed.
Emergence of the All-Winners Squad	1946	A short lived creation, this team was comprised of Captain America, Bucky, The Original Human Torch, Toro, Sub-Mariner, The Whizzer, and Miss America. As President Harry S. Truman does not wish the American people to know of the death of Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes following the recent death of President Roosevelt, Captain America and Bucky are actually the Spirit of '76 and a young man named Fred Davis.
Namor Hurt	1958	An incident causes Namor to lose his memory, which he will not regain until soon after the formation of the Fantastic Four.

[edit] 1960s

Event	Date	Developments
Emergence of the Fantastic Four	1961	After a trip to space, Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm develop fantastic powers.
Re-emergence of Namor	1962	the Sub-Mariner gets his memories back after a meeting with the Human Torch and vows to destroy the human race after discovering the ruins of Atlantis and believes his race to be dead. The Fantastic Four manage to stop him on this and several occasions.
Emergence of Doctor Doom	1962	Victor Von Doom makes his first appearance and threatens the Fantastic Four, later teaming up with Namor in an attempt to destroy Reed Richards, the man he blames for forcing him to hide his face under his metal mask.
Emergence of the Incredible Hulk	1962	After being bombarded by gamma rays in a nuclear explosion, Dr. Bruce Banner becomes a rampaging creature.
Emergence of Spider-Man	1962	Peter Parker is bitten by a radioactive spider and embraces a super-hero career.
Emergence of Thor	1962	The thunder god Thor awakens inside the body of mortal Donald Blake.
Emergence of Iron Man	1963	Tony Stark creates his first suit of Iron Man armor following capture and a piece of shrapnel becoming dangerously close to his heart.
Emergence of Doctor Strange	1963	After years of mystical training following a quest to repair his broken hands, Stephen Strange becomes Earth's greatest defender against supernatural threats.
Emergence of the X-Men and Magneto	1963	Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Iceman, Beast, and Angel are brought together for the first time by Professor X. They go public while fighting mutant criminal Magneto for the first time, who soon after will forge the Brotherhood of Mutants.
Emergence of the Avengers	1963	Iron Man, Thor, Ant Man, the Wasp and Hulk assemble for the first time in an effort to stop Loki.
Emergence of Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D.	1963	Colonel Nick Fury and his espionage agency get involved in super-human affairs for the first time.
Re-emergence of Captain America	1964	Steve Rogers is awakened from suspended animation by the Sub-Mariner and found by the Avengers following their battle with Namor and a now enraged Hulk. He becomes a member of the team.
Emergence of Daredevil	1964	As a young boy, Matthew Murdock was blinded in a tragic accident, which also honed his senses to super-human levels. Now an adult, he embraces a super-hero career.
Cap's Kooky Quartet	1965	With the exception of Captain America all of the Avengers resign, and he recruits a new team consisting of the Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver (both former members of the Brotherhood of Mutants), and Hawkeye, a mistaken villain by Iron Man.
The Galactus Trilogy	1966	The Silver Surfer arrives on Earth with plans for his master Galactus to destroy it, forcing the Fantastic Four to stop him and the Watcher to seriously break his code for the first time.
Emergence of Captain Marvel	1967	The Kree Empire sends Captain Mar-Vell to Earth as a spy. Coming to empathize with humanity, Mar-Vell betrays his orders and is welcomed as a hero by the people of Earth.

[edit] 1970s

Event	Date	Developments
Emergence of The Defenders	1971	The Defenders are first organized, originally led by Dr. Strange and including The Hulk, Namor, and the Silver Surfer.
Emergence of Ghost Rider	1971	Johnny Blaze summons Mephisto and makes a deal with him to save his mentor's life.
Kree-Skrull War	1971 - 1972	The Avengers are involved in a millennia-old interstellar war.
Death of Gwen Stacy	1973	During a fight with the Green Goblin, Gwen Stacy is killed when Spider-man is unable to save her.
Secret Empire	1974	Captain America follows a conspiracy all the way to the White House.
Emergence of Wolverine	1974	Wolverine first appears. He attacks the Hulk, but is knocked out.
The Celestial Madonna Saga	1974	Kang the Conqueror invades Earth in an attempt to find the woman destined to birth the savior of the universe.
Giant-Size X-Men	1975	Professor X assembles a new team to rescue the original X-Men. First appearance of several major characters.
The Magus Saga	1975 - 1976	The Magus first appears as an evil future version of Adam Warlock.
Phoenix Saga	1976 - 1977	The Phoenix is released for the first time in the Marvel Universe, in the form of Jean Grey.
The Korvac Saga	1978	The Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy track down a mysterious threat from the future.
The Proteus Saga	1979	Proteus, the son of Moira McTaggart, attempts to escape his imprisonment on Muir Island in order to find his father.

[edit] 1980s

Event	Date	Developments
Dark Phoenix Saga	1980	Jean Grey becomes the Dark Phoenix after being controlled by the Hellfire Club.
The Kingpin Must Die	1981	The former Spider-Man villain the Kingpin encounters Daredevil for the first time.
Days of Future Past	1981	Kitty Pryde from a dystopian future travels back in time to prevent the event that created her timeline.
Contest of Champions	1982	The Grandmaster and Death manipulate the heroes of Earth in a game to decide the fate of The Collector.
Death of Captain Marvel	1982	The original Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell) falls victim to what the Kree call "the Blackend", or what is called Cancer on Earth.
Secret Wars	1984 - 1985	The Beyonder kidnaps selected heroes and villains of Earth to battle on a planet of his creation. Spider-Man finds his Symbiote costume. Doctor Doom steal the powers of the Beyonder, becoming almost god-like in the process, but is ultimately defeated by the present heroes.
Hulk in Exile	1985	The Hulk had come to control his rage, but when it begins to slip away from him and he goes on an uncontrollable rampage, Dr. Strange banishes him to another dimension, while the Hulk and Bruce Banner become separated.
Surtur Returns	1985	Surtur forges a powerful mystic sword and returns to destroy Asgard against Thor, Loki, Beta Ray Bill, and Odin.
Secret Wars II	1985 - 1986	The Beyonder heads to Earth in a bid to understand humanity, creating a human form for himself in the process.
Daredevil: Born Again	1986	Karen Page returns as a heroin addict and the Kingpin learns of Daredevil's secret identity.
Mutant Massacre	1986	The Marauders kill most of the Morlocks. This event saw the first encounter between Wolverine and Sabretooth, though the pair had battled many times before.
The Fall of the Mutants	1987	The X-Men are slain in Dallas during a cataclysmic battle against the Adversary; Cypher (of the New Mutants) dies battling the Ani-Mator; X-Factor (the original X-Men) battles Apocalypse and his Four Horsemen.
Kraven's Last Hunt	1987	The final battle between Kraven the Hunter and Spider-Man.
Armor Wars	1988	Iron Man embarks on a mission to destroy armored suits that were created from his own stolen technology.
The Evolutionary War	1988	The High Evolutionary unleashes attacks all over the world to guide the way of human evolution.
Inferno	1988 - 1989	Demons from Limbo invade earth.
Atlantis Attacks	1989	Under the influence of Set the Serpent God, the Atlanteans launch a massive assault on the surface world.
Acts of Vengeance	1989 - 1990	Major villains unite to fight each others' enemies.

[edit] 1990s

Event	Date	Developments
The X-Tinction Agenda	1990	The New Mutants and the X-Men are kidnapped and taken to Genosha, which culminates in their escape; the Genoshan government is overthrown.
Infinity Gauntlet	1991	Thanos uses the power of the Infinity Gems to become Supreme Being.
Thor gains the Odin Force	1991	At long last Thor becomes the Ruler of Asgard, but at the cost of his father Odin who dies in a final battle with Surtur.
Operation: Galactic Storm	1992	The Avengers become involved in a war between the Kree and the Shi'ar.
Infinity War	1992	Magus, Adam Warlock's "Evil Side", creates evil doppelgangers of Earth's heroes to gain ultimate power.
X-Cutioner's Song	1992	Stryfe arrives in the present to take vengeance against Cable & the X-Men. The Legacy Virus is released during its epilogue.
Infinity Crusade	1993	Goddess, Adam Warlock's "Good Side", recruits an army of heroes to fight her holy war. Thanos and Adam Warlock unite to stop her.
Maximum Carnage	1993	The Carnage Family massacres downtown New York only to have Spider-Man and Venom in their way.
Fatal Attractions	1993	Magneto returns more powerful and determined than ever, ripping the adamantium from Wolverine's bones and enraging Professor X. Colossus defects to Magneto's side.
Phalanx Covenant	1994	The Phalanx race attacks Earth. Generation X is founded in its aftermath.
Clone Saga	1994 - 1996	The clone of Spider-Man, who was long thought dead, returns. His creator, the Jackal also returns to wreak havoc in Spider-Man's personal life.
Age of Apocalypse	1995	Legion travels back in time to kill Magneto, but accidentally kills his own father, Charles Xavier, creating a dystopian alternative timeline in which Apocalypse rules the world.
Atlantis Rising	1995	The Fantastic Four and others battle against forces who are literally raising the city of Atlantis from the depths of the ocean.
Avengers: The Crossing	1995	One of the Avengers is brainwashed and turns into a murderer.
Ultimate Nullification	1995	The Silver Surfer battles his own demons, while Morg, Tyrant, and Galactus head towards a showdown with the Ultimate Nullifier.
Onslaught	1996-1997	The seed was planted when Xavier mind-wiped Magneto during Fatal Attractions, and he was born by the time warp of the Age of Apocalypse. Onslaught has arrived.
Operation: Zero Tolerance	1997	In the aftermath of Onslaught, the U.S. government begins to round up mutants.
Heroes Reborn	1997	The heroes who died during the Onslaught saga return from a Limbo created by Franklin Richards.
Contest of Champions II	1998	Earth's heroes are abducted and brainwashed with nanoprobes to participate in a fighting competition.
The Hunt for Xavier	1998	Xavier has gone missing after he was imprisoned following Operation: Zero Tolerance. The X-Men move to find him, but so does a rogue Cerebro.
The Magneto War	1999	Magneto's destiny is determined when his mindless body goes missing, and a mysterious man arrives by the name of Joseph.
Avengers Forever	1998 - 2000	Avengers from different time periods are assembled to participate in the Destiny War, a conflict between Kang the Conqueror and his future self, Immortus.

[edit] 2000s

Event	Date	Developments
Apocalypse: The Twelve	2000	Apocalypse emerges once more, along with a mysterious prophecy of 12 powerful mutants capable of destroying him.
Maximum Security	2000	Fed up with Earth's interference in intergalactic affairs, the starfaring alien community quarantines the Sol System and turns Earth into a prison for the universe's worst criminals.
Dream's End	2001	Mystique, leading the new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, plots an assassination against anti-mutant presidential candidate Robert Kelly, and releases a new strain of the Legacy Virus.
Eve of Destruction	2001	A cure for the Legacy Virus has been released, providing Magneto with a brand new army of healthy mutants ready to wage a final battle against humanity.
The Kang Dynasty	2001-2002	Kang and his son Marcus declare war on present-day Earth, killing everyone in Washington DC and briefly taking over the planet.
Infinity Abyss	2002	Mad partial-clones of Thanos try to destroy the universe.
Avengers Disassembled	2004	Scarlet Witch goes insane and kills or incapacitates the current Avenger-roster, bringing to an end the Avengers as we knew them. In addition Captain America and Iron Man face individual crises, while Thor brings about the end of Asgard
Secret War	2004 - 2005	Nick Fury brainwashes several heroes in secret to start a secret war against Latveria, who he believes has been selling high-tech weaponry to super villains.
Planet X	2004	The mutant Xorn causes massive destruction in New York City. At the end of the storyline, he kills Jean Grey. Professor Xavier steps down as Headmaster of the Xavier Institute and leader of the X-Men.
New Avengers	2005	Captain America reforms the Avengers after a mysterious attack at The Raft, a supermax prison, which freed dozens of super powered criminals.
House of M	2005	Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver alter reality, creating a world in which mutants are in charge, and ultimately resulting in M-Day. The aftermath is revealed in the events of Decimation.
Spider-Man: The Other	2005	Spider-Man goes through a mysterious, life changing event after facing the super villain Morlun.
Annihilation	2006 - 2007	Silver Surfer, Super-Skrull, Nova, and Ronan face the Annihilation Wave.
Civil War	2006 - 2007	Heroes are divided when the U.S. government passes the Super-human Registration Act. Captain America seeks freedom, while Iron Man seeks to institute The 50 State Initiative.
Annihilation: Conquest	2007 - 2008	Nova, Starlord, Wraith, & a new Quasar (Phyla-Vell) lead a group of cosmic heroes against the Phalanx, who threaten to conquer and annihilate all of Kree space.
World War Hulk	2007	The Hulk returns to Earth to exact revenge on those who exiled him.
Messiah Complex	2007 - 2008	Beast had spent several months leading up to this event searching for a cure to mutant extinction during Endangered Species, when the first new mutant since M-Day is suddenly born and the X-Men, Purifiers, and Mister Sinister go after it.
One More Day	2007 - 2008	Spider-Man accepts a devilish choice to rewrite his own history in order to save the greatest love of his life while sacrificing his other great love forever in the process.
Secret Invasion	2008	A stealthy invasion by the Skrull race has gone unnoticed for years, but there is an even more secret purpose behind it.
Dark Reign	2009	In the aftermath of Secret Invasion, a terrible tragedy leads the Earth's villains to become more powerful than ever, while the New Avengers battle the mysterious new group known as the Dark Avengers.
War of Kings	2009	Vulcan is rapidly expanding the Shi'ar Empire, while Black Bolt and the Inhumans become active following the events of Secret Invasion, and a cosmic war begins, drawing in Nova, Darkhawk, the Starjammers, and the Guardians of the Galaxy, as well as Blastaar - the current King of the Negative Zone.