Iron Fist: “Immortal Iron Fist: Seven Capital Cities of Heaven” by Matt Fraction & Ed Brubaker and David Aja
One of my personal favorite comic books bar none. The Iron Fist is the hero of the magical city of K’un-L’un, but there are more magical cities and there are more heroes. Seven of them in fact, and when the planets and stars align, the cities must battle in a good-natured martial arts tournament. But not all is as it seems and Iron Fist must battle for the honor of his adopted people, and the future of all the Capital Cities of Heaven. Worth it for the names of the kung fu moves alone.
Iron Man: “Tony Stark: Iron Man” by Dan Slott and Valerio Schiti
Tony Stark used to be a second stringer until he became the star of the biggest movie series of all time. With his new popularity, his comics either doubled down on the weirdness or the familiarity. It wasn’t until very recently that an Iron Man comic found a new way to tell its story, basically as one about a robotocist Willy Wonka. In this story, Tony hires an old school rival to come work for him, and we get to see exactly how wild it would be to work for a cutting edge technology company in the Marvel universe. This story has everything from disputes over food in the break room to enormous mecha battles.
Luke Cage: “Power Man and Iron Fist” by David Walker and Sandford Greene
The last 20 years have been eventful for Luke Cage. He’s led the Avengers, gotten married (to Jessica Jones), had a kid. He’s come a long way. This story takes all of that into account, but throws Luke into a familiar conflict against an old enemy, teamed up with his oldest partner. What makes this comic stand out is that it has a unique style, largely because of the work of artist Stanford Greene. After reading this, you won’t be able to look at Luke Cage, Harlem, or three-piece suits in the same way ever again.
Magneto: “Magneto: Testament” by Greg Pak and Carmine Di Giandomenico
You may think you know the story of Erik Lehnsherr, the Master of Magnetism, but did you know that his real name isn’t even Erik? It’s Max Eisenhardt. That’s just one of the secrets revealed in this dark story, set during Magneto’s childhood during World War II. You can easily see a story about such a sensitive subject going right off the rails, but writer Greg Pak has done his research and his approach has rare levels of compassion. This isn’t a fun story, but its a gripping one, and it’s the definitive origin story for the most tragic villain in all of comics.
Miles Morales: “Spidergeddon” by Christos Gage et al.
Since his creation, Miles Morales has mostly been written by his co-creator Brian Michael Bendis. And while there are lots of good Bendis stories, most of them are either predictable or inscrutable. How many times can you read the characters origin story? How eager are you to see Miles taking part in a gigantic crossover event? “Spidergeddon” is a major event, but its incredibly easy to understand. All of the heroes from throughout the Spider-Verse must come together to battle evil interdimensional vampires. One of them has a score to settle with Peter Parker, and that leaves the Spider Heroes without a leader. In this story, Miles needs to step up and show what makes him special and unique. Plus you get to see him team up with the Peter Parker from the recent PS4 game. It’s fun superhero antics, and a great character piece for Brooklyn’s own Spider-Man.
Ms. Marvel: “Ms. Marvel” #1-50 by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona
The shapeshifting Kamala Khan is the greatest new superhero of the decade, and she headlined in a universally good run by her co-created G. Willow Wilson. Every one of Wilson’s fifty issues are stellar. Think on everything you love about Spider-Man: the relatable struggles, the tragic villains, the delightful supporting cast. Kamala has all of that in spades. But by staying specific to her struggles, this story is truly special. You will learn to love her family, her neighbors, her classmates, even her villains. And Kamala Khan is from Jersey City. Any comic that can make New Jersey seem like such a magical place is truly magnificent.
Continue on to the next page to see more of our favorite comics from the characters of MUA3…