The Punisher Begins His War on Crime, and Other Essential Marvel Moments (1974-1976)

After finding their footing at the beginning of the Bronze Age, Marvel made some big moves to shake up the status quo of their universe midway through the ’70s. The X-Men franchise made a major comeback, establishing a new team that would rejuvenate the franchise into one of Marvel’s best sellers, Jack Kirby would return to Marvel and change the inner workings of the universe’s lore forever with the introduction of the Celestials, and a slew of fresh characters and key storylines made their debuts. Without the milestones from this period, the world of Marvel Comics would look profoundly different today.

Today we’re going to look at the most important Marvel issues from the middle period of the 1970s, and see how their effects reverberated decades later. Join us for Part 5 of our look at the essential issues of Marvel!

The Punisher Begins His War on Crime (Amazing Spider-Man #129)

Frank Castle, aka the Punisher, is one of Marvel’s most well-known leading characters, but he actually got his start during writer Gerry Conway’s run on Amazing Spider-Man. Shortly after the death of Gwen Stacy, the Jackal (later revealed to be university professor Miles Warren), hires the Punisher, a vigilante dedicated to eliminating criminals, to kill Spider-Man. Spidey and Punisher come to blows but part (somewhat) amicably when Spidey proves that he was being framed for a murder that the Jackal committed. The Punisher would make a few subsequent appearances in Spider-Man titles before striking out into his own publications. Castle’s origin was delved into in Marvel’s black and white magazines Marvel Preview #2 and Marvel Super Action #1, telling the story of how his family was murdered after witnessing a mob killing. Castle is especially notable for his backstory as a Vietnam veteran and being one of Marvel’s first proper anti-heroes, and as a character he feels wholly unique to the ’70s compared to the characters introduced in the ’60s. He’s been adapted many times in films, cartoons and video games, most notably in Jonathan Hensleigh’s 2004 film starring Thomas Jane, Lexi Alexander’s 2008 film Punisher: War Zone starring the late Ray Stevenson, and Jon Bernthal’s incarnation in the MCU television shows.

Black Panther Helps Revolutionize the Graphic Novel Format (Jungle Action #6-17)

As discussed in Part 3 of this series, Black Panther was introduced in the pages of Fantastic Four in 1966. Despite this, he would not receive his own solo comic for years, instead being a regular character in The Avengers. That all changed in late 1973 when Don McGregor started writing a Black Panther solo feature in the pages of Jungle Action. The series didn’t last long (it was canceled after issue #24), but it’s low-key one of the most important Marvel comics ever published because it helped create the format of the graphic novel. Self-stylized graphic novels as we understand them didn’t start becoming prevalent until around 1976 with Richard Corben’s Bloodstar and Jim Steranko’s Chandler: Red Tide, before the term went mainstream in 1978 with Will Eisner’s A Contract With God. Panther’s Rage, a 12-issue story arc by McGregor starring the Black Panther, pre-dates all of this. Although the story was released in single-issue chapters from 1973 to 1975, when read in sequence it becomes a self-contained 200-page narrative that finally gives full detail to the world of Wakanda and T’Challa’s supporting cast as he wages a brutal war against the forces of Erik Killmonger for control of the nation. The 2018 Black Panther film isn’t a direct adaptation of the arc, but that movie as well as numerous influential graphic novels published afterward all owe a serious debt to McGregor’s work.

Steve Rogers Defeats a Real-Life President (Captain America #175)

The first incarnation of the Secret Empire was a minor villainous faction that appeared in Tales to Astonish, but the second version became far more important during Steve Englehart’s run on Captain America. What at first may seem like just another Hydra- or AIM-alike seeking world domination instead led to one of the most politically charged Marvel comics of that decade in the culmination of a seven-issue arc where Cap finally confronted the organization’s “Number One” in the White House as he tried to seize power over the government. When Steve rips off Number One’s mask, he is shocked by who he sees, but the reveal is kept off-panel. Number One then commits suicide, and in the aftermath Steve decides he can no longer be Captain America. It isn’t directly stated, but context clues (and Englehart’s own admission) make it clear that Number One is intended to be none other than Richard Nixon. This daring story turn was a direct response to the Watergate scandal, and led to Steve temporarily taking up the identity of the Nomad for the first time, until he later realizes that his faith in his nation goes beyond the actions of any one elected official, thus resuming his career as Captain America a few issues later.

Doctor Strange Meets God (Marvel Premiere #14)

If you thought Steve Englehart was wilding out on Captain America, just wait until you see what he did with Doctor Strange! The Master of the Mystic Arts had a feature in the pages of Marvel Premiere in the mid-’70s, with Englehart writing and Frank Brunner on penciling duties. This run marked a major status quo shift for Strange, with the death of the Ancient One, Strange finally assuming the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme, and his first battle with the extra-dimensional villain Shuma-Gorath. Yet the creative pair took their boldest step with issue #14, which features a story about Strange and his rival Baron Mordo chasing a time-traveling sorcerer named Sise-Neg as he absorbs more mystic power the further back in time he goes. Eventually, Sise-Neg reaches the beginning of time and gains control over all the mystic energy in the universe, and only then does Strange realize that he has become the literal Abrahamic God, and that this is, paradoxically, the universe’s creation event. Sise-Neg renames himself “Genesis,” and Doctor Strange witnesses the birth of creation. The issue understandably carried some serious religious implications, to the point that Marvel almost printed a retraction. Luckily, the issue stands as is, and it remains one of the most bonkers moments in Marvel continuity.

The Immortal Iron Fist Takes Center Stage (Marvel Premiere #15)

Doctor Strange would move onto a self-titled book after Marvel Premiere #14, freeing up Premiere to introduce another Marvel icon with the next issue: Danny Rand, aka Iron Fist. Created by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane to capitalize on the martial arts craze of the time period, Danny was established as the young son of wealthy businessman Wendell Rand, who perishes along with his wife Heather during a trip through the Himalayas due to the treachery of Wendell’s business partner Harold Meachum. The group were trying to find the gateway to the city of K’un L’un, which exists in a pocket dimension and is only accessible from Earth once every 10 years. Danny is taken in by the city’s leader Yu Ti and spends the next decade becoming one of the greatest martial artists in the world, including challenging the dragon Shou-Lao the Undying to gain the mystical power of the Iron Fist, all in the hope of returning to Earth to avenge his parents. While Iron Fist’s solo series started strong, its popularity waned after a couple of years. Fortunately, the character was saved by teaming him up with Luke Cage, with the pair starring in the comic Power Man & Iron Fist. Not as fortunately, Danny received a poor adaptation in the Marvel Netflix shows, where he was played by Finn Jones. Even still, his initial series and long-running association with Luke Cage have ensured his position in Marvel’s pantheon.

The Debut of Wolverine (Incredible Hulk #181)

He’s the best there is at what he does, but what he does… well, you know the rest. Maybe Marvel’s second most popular character after Spider-Man, the clawed Canadian known as Wolverine made his first full appearance in Incredible Hulk #181, after a cameo in the last panel of #180. Created by an all-star team of Roy Thomas, Len Wein, John Romita Sr. and Herb Trimpe, Wolverine is sent by Department H (a fictitious branch of the Canadian government that deals in superpowered operatives) to bring down the Hulk and the Wendigo. His appearance in Incredible Hulk is interesting because he isn’t 100% the character you would recognize just yet; his costume is a little off, and his iconic voice isn’t quite there. Still, Logan’s grudge match with the Hulk paved the way for his recruitment into the X-Men (more on that in a bit), where he would become one of the most pivotal characters in Chris Claremont’s franchise re-defining run on the property. Wolverine has teamed up with pretty much every Marvel character under the sun and has appeared in virtually every X-Men adaptation in film, cartoons and video games, with the most famous being Hugh Jackman’s live-action portrayal in Fox’s X-Men film series.

Harry Osborn Becomes the Green Goblin (Amazing Spider-Man #135-137)

Norman Osborn may have perished in ASM #122, but the Green Goblin would live again soon enough. Osborn’s son Harry, whose fragile mental state had been a recurring subplot from the time of his substance abuse, finally broke when Harry pieces together that Peter is Spider-Man. Having already discovered his father’s supervillain equipment and desperate to avenge his death, Harry assumes the Green Goblin persona and tries to destroy Peter’s life. This battle would end similarly to the one in ASM #40, with Peter managing to get rid of Harry’s costume before handing him to the police with Harry in a delirious mental state. Harry would then be institutionalized before returning to Peter’s supporting cast without memory of his time as the Goblin or Peter’s secret identity, although he would become the Green Goblin again many years later. Harry’s turn as the Goblin was a major turning point in Peter and Harry’s relationship, and started a long-running tradition of other characters taking up variations of the Goblin persona. Harry Osborn becoming a supervillain has been adapted several times, with him adopting the Green Goblin mantle in both Spider-Man: The Animated Series and the 2014 film The Amazing Spider-Man 2, as well as becoming the New Goblin in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3.

Kang the Conqueror Battles Himself (Avengers #129/Giant-Size Avengers #2)

When discussing Kang the Conqueror, the comic story most often referenced in relation to him is the 2001 epic The Kang Dynasty, written by Kurt Busiek. That’s one of the most acclaimed Avengers stories for a reason, but there’s a far earlier and shorter story starring Kang that’s also worth commemorating. That would be the two-parter in Avengers #129 and Giant-Size Avengers #2, which is one of the highlights from Steve Englehart’s run on Avengers. In this story, Kang kidnaps Mantis and Scarlet Witch (and also Agatha Harkness, which seems so wrong) because he believes one of them is the Celestial Madonna, a woman destined to give birth to a cosmic messiah, and wants that messiah to be his son. Yet before he can claim the Madonna, his older variant Rama-Tut (first introduced in Fantastic Four #19) arrives to help the Avengers battle him. It turns out Rama-Tut has regrets about his past life as a conqueror and wants to prevent his younger self from coming to power. Rama-Tut’s plan hinges on the Swordsman, a former supervillain and mentor to Hawkeye turned minor Avenger who for a long time struggled with feeling useless in a team of far more powerful members. Swordsman sacrifices himself to defeat Kang, which seems to erase both Kang and Rama-Tut from existence (they eventually would get better). This story hasn’t ever really been adapted, but since Busiek himself cites GSA #2 as a “perfect comic book”, it’s probably fair to say Kang Dynasty wouldn’t exist without Englehart’s work.

The X-Men Make a Comeback After a Five-Year Hiatus (Giant-Size X-Men #1)

As discussed in previous installments of this series, the original X-Men comic was not a major success for Marvel, ending on issue #66 and transitioning to reprints. Although the X-Men characters made sporadic guest appearances in other comics, they wouldn’t get a starring role again until 1975 with the one-shot Giant-Size X-Men #1 by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum. This is undoubtedly one of the most important single issues Marvel has ever published. Not only did it bring the X-Men franchise back to life after half a decade in the cooler, but it also marks the first appearances of Storm, Nightcrawler, and Colossus, as well as Wolverine joining the team. The aforementioned mutants (along with Banshee, Sunfire and Thunderbird) are assembled by Professor X and Cyclops to travel to the island of Krakoa to save the original X-Men team from a mission gone wrong. This issue bridges the gap between the early X-Men stories and Chris Claremont’s legendary 16-year (!) run on the title, which would begin with X-Men #94. If Marvel didn’t take a chance on this revival issue, many of their most popular comics and dozens of their most iconic characters would never have seen the light of day.

Jack Kirby Introduces The Eternals and The Celestials (The Eternals #1-3)

Although he was pivotal to Marvel’s success in the 1960s, Jack Kirby grew frustrated with the company for many reasons and left for DC in 1970. Kirby’s fascination with the idea of godlike cosmic beings and their influence on mythology, which he had previously explored in his work on Thor, developed into his Fourth World books at DC. But after Kirby’s saga was canceled for low sales before he could wrap up the stories, he revisited the concept in The Eternals for Marvel (after patching things up with the label). This was a space opera comic that posited that the entire evolution of intelligent life on Earth had been seeded and guided by gargantuan space gods called The Celestials, who had also created the immortal Eternals and the monstrous Deviants which humans had unknowingly shared the planet with. This series, which in its original form doesn’t really seem to fit with the rest of Marvel continuity (and sadly was also canceled before Kirby resolved most of his plots), would be patched and updated by later storytellers to make sense as a permanent addition to the universe’s lore. The first few issues of Kirby’s run introduce prominent Eternals like Ikaris and Sersi, as well as Arishem, the leader of the Celestials. The Eternals would be adapted as part of the MCU in Chloé Zhao’s 2021 film of the same name.

Jean Grey Becomes the Phoenix (X-Men #100-101)

As mentioned previously, Chris Claremont took over writing duties on the revived X-Men title, and one of his first milestones was a precursor to what is assuredly the most prominent X-Men story of all time. Jean Grey, who along with Cyclops was the only other member of the original team that stuck around for the beginning of Claremont’s run, was present when Steven Lang’s X-Sentinels (robotic duplicates of the original X-Men) battled the new team on Lang’s space station. In the aftermath, Jean volunteers to sacrifice herself by piloting the escape shuttle despite incoming solar flares flooding the bridge with radiation. Instead of dying, Jean awakens from the crashed shuttle as the Phoenix, sporting an all-new green and gold outfit and far greater psychic and telekinetic power than ever before. Jean’s association with the Phoenix Force would be a recurring subplot for years, finally culminating in the Dark Phoenix Saga in 1980. That story is commonly considered one of Marvel’s all-time greatest arcs. Jean’s ascension to cosmic power was one of many examples of Claremont’s interest in all-powerful female superheroes (he wrote similar stories involving Storm and Carol Danvers), and an early indication to contemporary readers that his X-Men run was shaping up to become something truly special.

Carlos Morales writes novels, articles and Mass Effect essays. You can follow his fixations on Twitter.