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| Marvel Mangaverse | |
|---|---|
 Cover art forMarvel Mangaverse: New Dawn #1, byBen Dunn. | |
| Publication information | |
| Schedule | Varied |
| Formats | Varied |
| Original language | English |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | 2000–2002 |
TheMarvel Mangaverse is a series of comic books published byMarvel Comics from 2000 to 2002, with a sequel,New Mangaverse, released in 2006.[1]
The series is set in an alternate universe to the Marvel universe, where its characters are portrayed in amanga-like style. Four volumes were published, with Volumes 1 and 2 being connected by a story arc featuring multiple Marvel characters and Volumes 3 and 4 having stories focusing onSpider-Man and an alternate version ofJean Grey, respectively.
The 2005 edition ofOfficial Handbook of the Marvel Universe designatesMarvel Mangaverse as Earth-2301 in the Marvelmultiverse. Most of the artwork for Volume 1 was shared between different artists, each of whom contributed to one issue, with book-ends byBen Dunn, who also did artwork for Volume 2. The artwork for the miniseriesNew Mangaverse: The Rings of Fate was done by Tom Hanks.
Three years prior to the story's events,Bruce Banner discovered theNegative Zone, a dimension containing vast amounts of energy, and was tricked by the terrorist organizationHydra into building the Energy Well, a means of harvesting the energy to power aweapon of mass destruction. When the weapon was fired, it created a massiveEMP that caused a twenty-four hour global blackout, killing thousands. During the crisis,Namor invaded the surface, but was stopped byIron Man, who disappeared soon after. Tony Stark rescued Banner, who had gone insane, and suppressed his memories using a Cerebral Driver. Various forces conspire to create a second Energy Well, resulting inDormammu invading Earth, but he is defeated by Thor and the other heroes. Serving Dormammu is a massive,Godzilla-like incarnation of the Hulk who Thor destroys.
Tony Stark later returns, having been reduced to a head, in an advisory role to theAvengers. Iron Man also appears in the form of several large robots that combine into a larger mecha, which he calls Ultimate Ironman. Ultimate Iron Man reappears in Volume 2, where it is destroyed in combat withT'Channa, the sister ofBlack Panther and the secondDoctor Doom.
Volume 2 continued the stories of the original series, which were later collected as the first graphic novel. It brings back theMangaverse version of theFantastic Four while introducing versions ofGalactus, as a parasitic life form created by theSkrulls;Captain Marvel (Marvin Ellwood), the son ofMar-Vell andAlice Ellwood; and theInhumans. An armored individual resemblingDoctor Doom appears in the first few issues before becoming the main villain for the remainder of the series. Revealed to be the sister of Black Panther, he overwhelms theAvengers before being defeated by the Fantastic Four, Doctor Strange, Tigra, andScarlet Witch.
TheX-Men first appeared in the first series of one-shots, which were later compiled in Volume 1 ofMarvel Mangaverse.Wolverine,Cyclops,Storm,Mirage andJean Grey form the core of the group, withRogue living with them but seemingly not being a member. In this version of the X-Men, Wolverine is Cyclops' brother and assembled the team rather thanCharles Xavier. He has white hair and a tattoo on his face as well as a prosthetic arm with energy claws.[2] Wolverine is also implied to have been in a relationship with Jean Grey, who began to favor Cyclops. OtherX-Men characters appear in the story, most as forces for evil, includingBeast,Amanda Sefton,Mystique, andNightcrawler.
The story follows the X-Men and theHellfire Club, who are battling due to the Club's attempts to abduct Jean Grey and bring her into their group. During the story, Storm falls in love withForge. ThePhoenix Force, which was briefly seen in Volume 1 ofMangaverse, becomes more important as Jean develops its powers. Charles Xavier is depicted as the leader of the Hellfire Club, putting him into direct opposition to the X-Men along with his daughters,Sage andEmma Frost. The X-Men are also opposed by theSentinels, mechas piloted by humans that Jean later destroys. They are aided byToad, a former friend of Xavier who is determined to destroy the Club and bring him back to the X-Men.
In the story, written byPeter David and pencilled and inked byLea Hernandez, thePunisher is a woman named Sosumi Brown who is the principal of a private school in Tokyo and operates from her base of operations hidden within the school. She fights against the Korean Skang Kee crime family, led by Skang Kee Ho. The Skang Kee family uses anoni named Oni Yew to try and stop her, but her sister Hashi learns of her secret and obtains a cursed weapon that she uses to kill the oni and save her. In the story, it is explained that they were orphaned following the death of their parents in "a tragic pogo stick accident".
The Punisher ofMarvel Mangaverse was part of the stories collected into Volume 1 of theMarvel Mangaverse graphic novels.
New Mangaverse: The Rings of Fate is the third sequel series to Volumes 1 and 2 ofMarvel Mangaverse, and takes place some time after the events of Volume 2,Legend of the Spider-Clan, andX-Men: Ronin. Direct references are made to bothLegend of the Spider-Clan and Mangaverse Volume 2, meaning that the series ignores the events ofSpider-Man Family Featuring the Spider-Clan. The continuity of the story is later ignored inSpiderverse #2, which takes places after the events of the aforementioned single issue. This implies that the series is set in a separate universe adjacent to the originalMangaverse series or theMangaverse Spider-Man series.
In the story,The Hand makes their first appearance in theMangaverse, being responsible for the deaths of approximately 99% of the superhuman population of theMangaverse and armed with theMandarin's rings.Elektra andDaredevil also make appearances; Elektra kills Daredevil before being killed byCarol Danvers, who takes a costume and shield that once belonged toCaptain America.[2]
Tony Stark returns and once again becomesIron Man. He, along with Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Black Cat, Wolverine, Iron Man, the Human Torch, and the new Captain America, form a new group of Avengers and battle and defeat the Hand, along with a mind-controlledSharon Carter. At the end of the series, the Black Cat is revealed to have been working alongsideNick Fury, who is implied to have orchestrated the decimation of the super-powered population. However, whether she is truly loyal to Fury or if he is actually Fury, who is assumed to be dead, is not confirmed.
New Mangaverse, though left open-ended, appears to have been intended as the finale for theMarvel Mangaverse, as most of its superhuman population was killed.
