The phase 5 of UCM progresses at a promising pace. Marvel Studios did not wipe the slate clean with its cinematographic universe after the premiere of Avengers: Endgame (2019). That film marked a before and after in the history of cinema, and it also did so within its own ecosystem, since its traces are still felt in the fictional world to which it belongs.
There are many viewers who have been stuck in the Infinity Saga. The pandemic and the fact of having to “start over” with characters, plots, stories and villains, added to the fact that television series make it even more difficult to keep up with the uninterrupted rhythm of superhero publications… They have put a wall between the entertainment and the viewer.
Some say this is due to “superhero movie exhaustion.” However, then you look at the numbers of movies like Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness or Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and it’s hard to stick with that argument. Defending it is something else, because in the age of social networks everything is true as long as it has “likes”.
Either way, Marvel Studios kicked off Phase 5 of the UCM with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniawhich has been closely followed by Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. With minds set on Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and the Jonathan Majors case of violence looming over the horizon like a dark cloud, the study must continue.
But where to continue, some may be wondering? To do this, we can pull the comics. Of everything that they have told us recently and some classics that can hide clues where to find the compass that directs us to the next station. A station that, for better or worse, will take us directly to the conclusion of the Multiverse Saga.
These are The 6 comics you must read to delve into Phase 5 of the UCM. Take note of all of them, because they are very interesting:
The Counter-Earth Saga The Rise of Norman Osborn The Conquest of Self Nick Spencer’s Captain America Timeless The Kang Dynasty
Warlock: The Counter-Earth Saga
One of the great novelties that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has had has been the introduction of Adam Warlock. Probably, we are in front of one of the most powerful characters that will have the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universealthough for the moment we have seen it “nerfed” and with a radically opposite tone to what is usual.
However, we warn you (without spoilers) that it will be one of the most transcendental Marvel Studios superheroes of the next few years. We would not be surprised to see how Kevin Feige develops a whole cosmic universe around him, now that he has lost his main supporter, James Gunn, in that specific area of the galaxy.
Warlock: The Counter-Earth Saga, the work of Roy Thomas, Mike Friedrich, Bob Brown and Gil Kane is a good way to delve into the history of Adam Warlock, since they were his first solo adventures. In addition, we travel to Counter-Earth, a location we enjoyed in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 with that dark and wicked High Evolutionary.
This comic has extensive biblical reminiscences and has a tone typical of the seventies, in which Marvel Comics decided to deepen its characters and stories, leaving behind the most childish and adventurous plot, and entering unknown territories to date, thanks to part to the narrative will of a whole generation of artists.
In this work you will find a Adam Warlock tortured, a disgraced hero who is drawn to a world similar to Earth. It is there that he will rise as a kind of messiah, a prophet of the stars who will eventually accept his place in the galaxy and become determined to become a protector of worlds the likes of which he has never seen before.
Thunderbolts: The Rise of Norman Osborn
Every day that passes is one day less for see thunderbolts in the cinema. This project is actually a double spin-off within Marvel Studios. On the one hand, part of the adventures that took place in the Falcon and the Winter Soldier series; and, on the other, it is a direct consequence of the events that took place in the Black Widow movie.
It’s been sold to the mass public as “Marvel Studios’ Suicide Squad,” and it’s certainly not a bad premise, considering that the Thunderbolts are basically villains or antiheroes turned into a group of professional elite that they must carry out missions while risking their lives in a reckless way and without knowing any limit.
Thunderbolts: The Rise of Norman Obsorn It’s a good way to get to know this organization in comics, and you also have the recent Marvel Must-Have edition published by Panini Cómics. None of his characters (Venom, Moonstone, Songbird, Swordsman, Bullseye, Penance, and Radioactive Man) appear in the film.
However, even though the Marvel Studios lineup is completely different from this one, Thunderbolts: The Rise of Norman Osborn will give you a rough idea of what to expect from the film. Forks work by Warren Ellis and Mike Deodato Jr.; that means that it has a superlative quality and that you are going to have a great time immersing yourself in its pages.
Kang the Conqueror: Conquest of Self
Taking into account that Kang the Conqueror is the axis on which the rest of the elements of Phase 5 of Marvel Studios orbit, we could have filled this list with comics starring the villain played (for the moment) by Jonathan Majors on the big screen. Obviously, we are going to recommend some so that you can catch up with it.
Kang the Conqueror: Conquest of Self It may not be the best comic this character has starred in, but it is a perfect guide for the new reader and an extraordinary way to discover the true potential of the legendary Nathaniel Richards, who has lived as many lifetimes as you can imagine.
The comic by Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing and Carlos Magno is based on a premise: “Kang has defeated time”. He marvel comics villain he is locked in an infinite cycle of creation and destruction, and both at the same time. A cycle that, at the same time, serves to explain and justify who he is, and why he does the things he does.
Nick Spencer’s Captain America
We fired Steve Rogers at the end of Avengers: Endgame. The viewers were able to verify with satisfaction that the Sentinel of Freedom had kept his word and he returned to the past to dance with Peggy Carter and enjoy the life that the world, violence, conflicts and war had taken from him. A dream life… that also ended.
On his return, an aging Steve Rogers handing over Captain America’s shield to Sam Wilson, who accepted the legacy of his valued friend and made the decision to become the new symbol of the United States. A symbol that reaches its maximum expression when he appears with his new suit at the end of Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Nick Spencer’s Captain America It is the most suitable way to immerse yourself in the history of that generational change that Sam Wilson deals with after picking up the inheritance from Steve Rogers. Not only is Nick Spencer a terrific superhero writer, but his fascination with politics brings extraordinarily fresh storytelling elements to the superhero tale.
Political debate, public opinion, the meaning of the legacy, doubts. It all comes together in Nick Spencer’s Captain America, and it does so in a unique and unusual way. Taking into account that we are on the way to Captain America: New World Order, reading this fabulous modern stage of the Sentinel of Liberty becomes practically mandatory.
Timeless
We return to Kang the Conqueror and board Timeless. This comic by Jed Mackay, Greg Land, Kev Walker and Mark Bagley is very modern, and probably a direct consequence of the influence of Marvel Studios films on the comic book industry sector. After all, the market rules, and the market has been dictated by cinema for years.
The truth is that Timeless is more of a special than a comic itself, but it also anticipated what the characters of the House of Ideas were going to experience in the coming months. Obviously, it has to do with Kang the Conqueror. The villain has returned to the lives of the heroes and has declared war on all of them… But also on himself!
The fact that Kang the Conqueror is constantly at war even with their own identities or multiversal variants perfectly exemplifies what we can expect from this formidable enemy in the movies. So far, we’ve seen only a few glimpses of his true potential; but his comic book heritage speaks for itself.
The Avengers: The Kang Dynasty
Indeed, there is a Marvel comic that has the same title as the future Avengers 5 movie. And not only that, but it is also the work of such an amazing creative tandem as Steve Ditko, John Buscema, Danny Fingeroth and Roger Stern. Can there be a greater incentive than that? If you’re a comic book lover, I doubt it.
Kang has returned. The Roger Stern and John Buscema’s stage with The Mighty Avengers reaches its climax when the greatest enemy the great Marvel superheroes have ever had meddles in their lives again. Be careful, because this time he is more serious than ever and is willing to push the borders of the Multiverse to the limit, blurring them if necessary.
He great villain of the Marvel Universe has decided to conquer an entire reality that is controlled by its multiversal variants. Another war with himself? Indeed. But what do the Avengers paint in all this? Basically, it’s collateral damage from your desire to protect any living thing that needs help or is in danger.
if you have never read Avengers: The Kang Dynastythis comic will leave you with your mouth open and counting the days until the film adaptation that Destin will be led by Daniel Cretton will arrive, who will be at the service of the script written by Jeff Loveness and will open the door to the conclusion of the Multiverse Saga in Avengers: Secret Wars.