''Marvel Zombies'' is a five-issue
limited series Limited series may refer to:
*Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series
*Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered
*Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...
published from December 2005 to April 2006 by
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
. The series was written by
Robert Kirkman
Robert Kirkman (; born November 30, 1978)Löchel, Ingo"The Walking Dead: Die Comic-Serie – Robert Kirkman" Zauberspiegel. Retrieved February 17, 2013. is an American comic book writer, screenwriter and television producer. He is best known ...
with art by
Sean Phillips
Sean Phillips (born 27 January 1965) is a British comic book artist, best known for his collaborations with Ed Brubaker on comics including '' Sleeper'', ''Incognito'', the '' Criminal'' series of comics, '' Fatale'', '' The Fade Out'', and ' ...
and covers by
Arthur Suydam
Arthur Suydam (born May 18, 1953) is an American comic book artist known for his work on Marvel Zombies, Deadpool, Black Panther, and KISS Zombies. He has done artwork for magazines including '' Heavy Metal'', '' Epic Illustrated'' and '' Nationa ...
. It was the first series in the
''Marvel Zombies'' series of related stories. The story is set in an alternate universe where the world's superhero population has been infected with a virus which turned them into zombies. The series was spun out of events of the
crossover
Crossover may refer to:
Entertainment
Albums and songs
* ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album)
* ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987
* ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album)
* ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album)
* ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...
story-arc of ''
Ultimate Fantastic Four
''Ultimate Fantastic Four'' is a superhero comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running ''Fantastic Four'' comic book franchise as part of the Ultimate Marvel imprint. The Ultimate ...
'', where the zombie Reed Richards tricked his Ultimate counterpart into opening a portal to the zombie universe only for the latter to contain the former from ever coming to his universe.
Following an adaptation in the episode "
What If... Zombies?!" of the
Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...
animated series ''
What If...?'', an upcoming animated series
of the same name is in development, both of which are set in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...
.
Publication history
While writing ''
Ultimate Fantastic Four
''Ultimate Fantastic Four'' is a superhero comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running ''Fantastic Four'' comic book franchise as part of the Ultimate Marvel imprint. The Ultimate ...
'',
Mark Millar
Mark Millar (; born 24 December 1969) is a Scottish comic book writer and television producer who first came to prominence with a run on the superhero series '' The Authority'', published by DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint. Millar has written ex ...
decided to introduce an alternate Earth populated by
zombie
A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in whic ...
s in the "
Crossover
Crossover may refer to:
Entertainment
Albums and songs
* ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album)
* ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987
* ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album)
* ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album)
* ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...
" story-arc, featured in issues #21-23.
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
liked Millar's idea so, as he wrote the issues, Marvel sought out pitches for an
spin-off miniseries featuring that world entitled ''Marvel Zombies''.
To revisit the zombie world, Marvel hired
Robert Kirkman
Robert Kirkman (; born November 30, 1978)Löchel, Ingo"The Walking Dead: Die Comic-Serie – Robert Kirkman" Zauberspiegel. Retrieved February 17, 2013. is an American comic book writer, screenwriter and television producer. He is best known ...
to write and
Sean Phillips
Sean Phillips (born 27 January 1965) is a British comic book artist, best known for his collaborations with Ed Brubaker on comics including '' Sleeper'', ''Incognito'', the '' Criminal'' series of comics, '' Fatale'', '' The Fade Out'', and ' ...
to illustrate it. Kirkman was Marvel's first choice to write ''Marvel Zombies'', an offer Kirkman immediately accepted because of his love for zombies and Marvel comic books, feeling that he couldn't pass up such an opportunity. He also expressed excitement upon learning which artist would be in charge of illustrating the series; Kirkman was a longtime fan of Phillips' work, like in
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
' ''
Sleeper''.
Kirkman also didn't fear being
typecasted as "the superhero guy" or "the zombie guy" due to his work on the series, feeling that there was enough variety in his superhero work to keep things interesting.
Kirkman wrote the series in a way that would work for readers who hadn't read the ''Ultimate Fantastic Four'' issues featuring the zombified superheroes, despite noting that readers of that series would have more insight with spin-off's characters, especially
Magneto
A magneto is an electrical generator that uses permanent magnets to produce periodic pulses of alternating current. Unlike a dynamo, a magneto does not contain a commutator to produce direct current. It is categorized as a form of alternator, ...
, due to his larger role in the first issue. Comparing the protagonists with the "slow moving, mindless
Romero
The name Romero is a nickname type of surname for a Roman or an Italian. The name was originally derived from the Latin word Romaeus and the Greek word Romaios, which mean Roman.
#A person on a religious journey or pilgrimage from Rome (possibly t ...
style zombies" he used in ''
The Walking Dead'', Kirkman reasoned that the Marvel characters, either heroes or villains, retained their usual personalities and powers, only driven to devour flesh by their uncontrollable hunger, with the miniseries depicting how they deal with their hunger and how they interact with each other. Like all kind of walking dead, it was decided to establish how the zombified Marvel characters could specifically be killed in the story's context. Kirkman also added some
black comedy
Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...
to the story, and included some gore like most zombie stories do, expressing some shock at how Marvel allowed him and Phillips to incorporate those elements.
An early idea Kirkman had for the series involved
Luke Cage
Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in ''Luke Cage, Hero for Hire'' #1 (June 1972) and was created by Archie Go ...
surviving the zombie plague as the sole human protagonist, given the character's unbreakable skin and that Millar's scripts didn't explicitly identify some characters separately. However, after seeing the finished art for Millar's issues, Kirkman discovered that
Greg Land
Greg Land (born 1956) is an American comic book artist, best known for his work on books such as ''Uncanny X-Men'', ''Birds of Prey'', and ''Fantastic Four''.
Career
Greg Land first got a job with an independent publisher as the artist for ''Stor ...
had already drawn Luke Cage as a zombie, so he dropped the idea, which Marvel apparently didn't like anyway.
To illustrate the miniseries, Phillips used an art style similar to that he used on
Ed Brubaker
Ed Brubaker (; born November 17, 1966) is an American comic book writer, cartoonist and screenwriter who works primarily in the crime fiction genre. He began his career with the semi-autobiographical series '' Lowlife'' and a number of serials i ...
's ''Sleeper''. As the story was a
sequel
A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
to the ''Ultimate Fantastic Four'' story featuring the zombie infested world, Phillips kept the look of the characters consistent to how Land drew them, with Phillips drawing them with the same costumes Land gave them but with Phillips' own style. He particularly liked to illustrate the zombie versions of
Thor
Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...
and
Captain America
Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...
. Drawing the superheroes as zombies was the most diffult part of the process for him, as he had grown accustomed at drawing characters in street clothes but was forced to draw their muscles in spandex costumes again. Phillips overall enjoyed working with Kirkman in the series, feeling that the most enjoyable part of the process was "playing around" with the huge character cast Kirkman assembled
Plot
Within the
Marvel Multiverse is an alternate Earth designated Earth-2149, which contains alternate zombie versions of Marvel superheroes. The story begins as an
unknown superhero from another dimension, brought by the "Hunger", crash lands before infecting the
Avengers
Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to:
Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe
* Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes
**Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of ...
,
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...
,
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...
and almost all other superheroes. The infection spreads by contact with the blood of the victim, usually through a bite by an infected individual. The
zombie
A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in whic ...
superheroes largely retain their intellect, personality and superpowers, and are able to function regardless of the damage to their brain,
although they are consistently driven by the "Hunger" for human flesh.
The series begins where the ''Crossover'' story-arc ended, with
Magneto
A magneto is an electrical generator that uses permanent magnets to produce periodic pulses of alternating current. Unlike a dynamo, a magneto does not contain a commutator to produce direct current. It is categorized as a form of alternator, ...
destroying the cross-dimensional transporter after the
Ultimate Fantastic Four
''Ultimate Fantastic Four'' is a superhero comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running ''Fantastic Four'' comic book franchise as part of the Ultimate Marvel imprint. The Ultimate ...
and survivors escaped back to the Ultimate universe. After a battle with the zombies, Magneto learns that the
Acolytes and
Forge
A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to th ...
are still alive on
Asteroid M
Magneto (; birth name: Max Eisenhardt; alias: Erik Lehnsherr and Magnus) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writ ...
. However, before he can reach them, he is attacked once again, killed and eaten by the zombies, though he manages to behead the zombified
Hawkeye. The
Silver Surfer
The Silver Surfer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character also appears in a number of movies, television, and video game adaptations. The character was created by Jack Kirby and first a ...
arrives on Earth and informs the zombies that his master
Galactus
Galactus () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Formerly a mortal man, Galactus is a cosmic entity who consumes planets to sustain his life force, and serves a functional role in the upkeep of ...
is en route to devour the planet. The zombies attack the Silver Surfer, who is overpowered and devoured by several of the former superheroes:
Colonel America,
Iron Man
Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...
,
Giant-Man
Giant-Man is the alias used by several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Editorial Story
Hank Pym, the first Giant-Man, with the Wasp, appeared in many superheroes stories published in the serial ''Tales to ...
,
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
,
Luke Cage
Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in ''Luke Cage, Hero for Hire'' #1 (June 1972) and was created by Archie Go ...
, the
Hulk
The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...
, and
Wolverine
The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for "gluttony, glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is ...
. After acquiring a portion of the Power Cosmic, they slaughtered most of the remaining zombies, intent on satiating their hunger despite the latters' unpalatability.
The Acolytes return to Earth to find Magneto, but instead, discover a still-living
Black Panther
A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...
. The Panther has escaped from the lab of the zombie Giant-Man, who has been keeping him alive as a food source, as a result of which the Panther is now missing an arm and a foot. Zombie
Wasp
A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...
gets into an argument with her husband when she discovers he was hoarding the Black Panther. He promptly decapitates Zombie Wasp by biting off her head, which remains sentient. After observing the Wasp's head begging for the flesh, Black Panther reasons that hunger is more psychological than physical.
Meanwhile, the zombies have decided that the flesh of other zombies just isn't satisfying.
Galactus
Galactus () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Formerly a mortal man, Galactus is a cosmic entity who consumes planets to sustain his life force, and serves a functional role in the upkeep of ...
then arrives on Earth and is attacked by the zombies, but he repels them easily. Giant-Man, Iron Man and Bruce Banner create a device that amplifies the powers they gained from the Silver Surfer, and together with Colonel America, Luke Cage, Spider-Man and Wolverine they are able to injure Galactus. The cosmic-powered zombies fight off zombified versions of several supervillains, although Colonel America is killed by the
Red Skull
The Red Skull is an alias used by several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics and its predecessor Timely Comics. The first version, George Maxon, appeared in ''Captain America Comics'' #1 and #4. The main ...
, and then proceed to devour Galactus. Giant-Man, the Hulk, Iron Man, Luke Cage, Spider-Man and Wolverine are then infused with Galactus' power cosmic', the group thus becomes collective Galacti.
Five years later, Black Panther, the Acolytes, and the Wasp, restored with a cybernetic body, return to Earth to find the planet depopulated. Unknown to them, the Zombie Galacti have taken their hunger to the stars. In the final scenes, an intelligent alien race on a distant planet is fearful of the coming of Galactus, as they can see the signs of his imminent arrival in the night sky. To their horror, the Zombie Galacti land on their world instead and immediately begin to consume the populace.
Sequels
An
intercompany crossover
In comic books, an intercompany crossover (also called cross-company or company crossover) is a comic or series of comics in which characters, that at the time of publication are the property or licensed property of one publisher, meet character ...
between Marvel and
Dynamite Entertainment
Dynamite Entertainment is an American comic book publisher founded by Nick Barrucci in 2004 at Mount Laurel, New Jersey. It is best known as the owners of '' The Boys'' franchise across several IP medias. Dynamite primarily publishes adaptation ...
, published from May to September 2007 provided information as to the source of the zombie infection in the five-part limited series titled ''
Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness
''Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness'' is a five-issue 2007 comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics in association with Dynamite Entertainment, an intercompany crossover in which Ash Williams, hero of the popular ''Evil Dead'' fi ...
'' (Marvel) and ''
Army of Darkness
''Army of Darkness'' is a 1992 American comedy horror film directed, co-written and co-edited by Sam Raimi, co-produced by Robert Tapert and Bruce Campbell and co-written by Ivan Raimi. Starring Campbell and Embeth Davidtz, it is the third i ...
'' (Dynamite). In July of the same year, a
one-shot
One shot may refer to:
Film and television
* One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so
* ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake
* ''One Shot'' (2 ...
graphic novel, ''
Marvel Zombies: Dead Days'' provided more story details, and the zombies also appear in a three-part storyline in ''
Black Panther
A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...
'' (vol. 4) #28 – 30, although they make their appearance in the last page of #27 first, and encounter the
Earth-616
In the fictional Marvel Comics multiverse, Earth-616 is the primary continuity in which most Marvel Comics titles take place.
History of the term
The term was first used in "Rough Justice", a story credited to both Alan Moore and Alan Davis p ...
Fantastic Four.
A sequel to the original series, the five-issue ''
Marvel Zombies 2
''Marvel Zombies 2'' is a five-issue limited series published from October 2007 - February 2008 by comics publisher Marvel Comics. The series was written by Robert Kirkman with art by Sean Phillips and Arthur Suydam. It is part of the '' Marve ...
'', was published from October 2007 to February 2008, and ''
Marvel Zombies 3
''Marvel Zombies 3'' is a four-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics beginning in October 2008. It is part of the ''Marvel Zombies'' series. The series is written by Fred Van Lente, penciled by Kev Walker, with covers by Gre ...
'' a four-issue series, commenced October 2008. ''
Marvel Zombies 4
''Marvel Zombies 4'' is a four-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics beginning in April 2009. It is part of the ''Marvel Zombies'' series. The series is written by Fred Van Lente, penciled by Kev Walker, with covers by Greg ...
'' is a four-issue limited series published over the summer of 2009, and features characters from Marvel's horror comics (
Man-Thing
The Man-Thing (Dr. Theodore "Ted" Sallis) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writers Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and Gerry Conway and artist Gray Morrow, the character first appeared in ''S ...
,
Morbius the Living Vampire
Morbius the Living Vampire, real name Michael Alexander Morbius, Doctor of Medicine, M.D.,''Morbius the Living Vampire'' (vol. 1) #1. Marvel Comics. Doctor of Philosophy, Ph.D., is a fictional Character (arts), character appearing in American comi ...
,
Werewolf by Night
The Werewolf by Night (usually referred to by other characters simply as the Werewolf) is the name applied to two fictional characters who are werewolves appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first incarnation of W ...
, and
Mephisto
Mephisto or Mephistopheles is one of the chief demons of German literary tradition.
Mephisto or Mephistopheles may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''Méphisto'', a 1931 French film
* Mephisto (1981 film), ''Mephisto'' (1981 film), a German- ...
among others). ''
Marvel Zombies 5
''Marvel Zombies 5'' is a five-issue comic book Limited series (comics), limited series published by Marvel Comics beginning in June and ending in October 2010 in comics, 2010. It is part of the Marvel Zombies (series), ''Marvel Zombies'' series. ...
'' is a five-issue direct sequel to ''Marvel Zombies 4'', published in June and ending in October 2010. ''
Marvel Zombies Return
''Marvel Zombies Return'' is a weekly five-issue comic book limited series, published by Marvel Comics in late 2009. It is part of the '' Marvel Zombies'' series of comic books.
Publication history
''Marvel Zombies Return'' is a weekly series of ...
'' is a five-issue miniseries begun in September 2009, and is a direct sequel to ''Marvel Zombies 2'' that wraps up the original zombie plotline. Several other sequels and spin-offs have been produced.
In 2006, the October issue of ''
Wizard'' magazine featured a one-page ''Marvel Zombies'' comic by artist Sean Phillips called "Eat the Neighbors". It parodied
Hostess pastry advertisements featured in the Marvel titles in the 1970s, which showcased Marvel superheroes defeating villains by offering them snacks. In this instance, Spider-Man, Captain America and Iron Man serve two children as "Hostees Meat Pies" after the children mistake them for legitimate superheroes.
Another humorous one-shot comic book was also published in 2007 featuring the alternate universe animal hero
Spider-Ham
Spider-Ham (Peter Porker) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is an anthropomorphic pig and is a cartoon animal parody version of Spider-Man. He was created by editor Larry Hama, T ...
and titled ''Ultimate Civil War: Spider-Ham''. Spider-Ham accidentally crosses over into Earth-2149 and becomes, as
J. Michael Straczynski
Joseph Michael Straczynski (; born July 17, 1954) is an American filmmaker and comic book writer. He is the founder of Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Studio JMS and is best known as the creator of the science fiction television series ''Babylon 5'' ( ...
puts it, "Undead Ham".
''Secret Wars'' (2015)
The Marvel Zombies universe was featured in the 2015 ''
Secret Wars
''Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars'', commonly known as ''Secret Wars'' for short, is a twelve-issue American comic book Fictional crossover, crossover limited series published from May 1984 to April 1985 by Marvel Comics. The series was written ...
'' storyline where it also had its own tie-in miniseries, ''
Age of Ultron
"Age of Ultron" (abbreviated AU) is a 2013 comic book fictional crossover storyline published by Marvel Comics that involved the conquest of the Earth by the sentient robot tyrant Ultron. The storyline consisted of an eponymous, 10-issue core m ...
vs. Marvel Zombies''. The Battleworld domain of the Marvel Zombies is called the Deadlands where it, Ultron's domain, Perfection, and Annihilation's realm, New Xandar, all are separated from the other Battleworld domains by a wall called SHIELD, which is mostly made from Ben Grimm. The zombies and Ultron's drones spent several years battling until they formed an 'alliance'. They start by targeting the Deadland resistance, led by surviving heroes the Vision, Wonder Man, and Jim Hammond, who gather those exiled beyond the Wall into a secure city they have established. At the time of the attack, the three heroes have managed to rescue a version of Hank Pym exiled from a Wild-West-era zone, who is able to use his counterpart's notes to devise a means of shutting down the hive mind of Ultron's drones despite his more primitive background, at the cost of sacrificing the Vision and Wonder Man to make the machine work (although Wonder Man's android lover is reconfigured so that she can die in Hammond's place).
During the core ''Secret Wars'' miniseries,
Black Panther
A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...
uses the zombies as an army to attack the now-all-powerful Doctor Doom in the final stand, using his new 'King of the Dead' status and the Siege Perilous to take the zombies directly to Doom's castle, although even this number is merely a distraction to keep Doom occupied while Reed Richards targets Doom's power source.
Collected editions
There are several
trade paperbacks
A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, ...
collecting the various stories:
*''Marvel Zombies'' (collects ''Marvel Zombies'' #1–5, hardcover, 136 pages, August 2006, )
*''Marvel Zombies'' (collects ''Marvel Zombies'' #1–5, softcover, 136 pages, October 2007, )
*''Marvel
Zomnibus'' (includes ''Marvel Zombies'' #1–5, 1200 pages, October 2012, )
Other related collections include:
*''Marvel Zombies: The Covers'' (by
Arthur Suydam
Arthur Suydam (born May 18, 1953) is an American comic book artist known for his work on Marvel Zombies, Deadpool, Black Panther, and KISS Zombies. He has done artwork for magazines including '' Heavy Metal'', '' Epic Illustrated'' and '' Nationa ...
, hardcover, 104 pages, November 2007, )
Merchandise
There is a range of supporting merchandise based on the characters. Diamond Select have produced Marvel Zombie
Minimates
Minimates are a block-styled miniature action figure originally created by Art Asylum in 2002 and now released by Diamond Select Toys. The basic Minimate figure design has a tall body that resembles an extremely simplified human form with 14 point ...
, action figures and a number of mini-busts.
Wizkids'
HeroClix
HeroClix is a collectible miniatures game that uses the Clix system that centers on the world of superhero comic books, especially the DC Comics and Marvel universes like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, the X-Men, ...
has had appearances of zombie versions of
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
, Captain America,
Hulk
The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...
, and
Wolverine
The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for "gluttony, glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is ...
as Chase figures in the "Supernova" set. In the "Mutations and Monsters" set, there was an Iron Man, Giant-Man, Spider-Man, and a Galactus-Powered Wolverine. There was also a Janet Pym bystander token in the "Mutations and Monsters" set. More recently HeroClix released a Zombie Villains series of figures. These included
Deadpool
Deadpool is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist/writer Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (cover-dated Feb. 1991). Initially, Deadp ...
,
Kingpin, Rhino,
Green Goblin
The Green Goblin is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first and best-known incarnation Norman Osborn, created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, is generally regarded as one of the a ...
,
Electro,
Doctor Octopus
Doctor Octopus (Dr. Otto Gunther Octavius), also known as Doc Ock for short, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and first appeared in ''Th ...
,
Venom
Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...
,
Sabretooth, and
Juggernaut
A juggernaut (), in current English usage, is a literal or metaphorical force regarded as merciless, destructive, and unstoppable. This English usage originated in the mid-nineteenth century and was adapted from the Sanskrit word Jagannath.
...
from the "Deadpool" set. Additionally, a generic Skrull,
Super-Skrull
The Super-Skrull (Kl'rt) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, generally as an enemy of the Fantastic Four, the powers of whom he possessed. The character, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, first appeared ...
,
Mole Man
The Mole Man (Harvey Rupert Elder) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Mole Man is a recurring foe of the Fantastic Four and was the first villain they ever faced. His schemes usually consist of ...
,
Morbius,
Gladiator
A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...
,
Red Skull
The Red Skull is an alias used by several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics and its predecessor Timely Comics. The first version, George Maxon, appeared in ''Captain America Comics'' #1 and #4. The main ...
,
Magneto
A magneto is an electrical generator that uses permanent magnets to produce periodic pulses of alternating current. Unlike a dynamo, a magneto does not contain a commutator to produce direct current. It is categorized as a form of alternator, ...
, Doctor Doom, and a Zombies Team Base were released in the "Guardians of the Galaxy" set. The "Wizkids Marvel" set contains a zombie Galactus colossal figure, which does not have the same Z-Virus keyword as the rest of the Marvel Zombie characters. These newer Z-Virus figures are all of rare 'Chase' or 'Convention Exclusive' with the exception of Headpool who is also the only figure who does not fit on the Zombies Team Base.
In the
Vs. System
Vs. System (short for Versus System), also written as VS System and abbreviated as VS, is a collectible card game designed by Upper Deck Entertainment (UDE). In the game, players build and play a deck of Vs. System cards in an attempt to win a g ...
trading card game
A collectible card game (CCG), also called a trading card game (TCG) among other names, is a type of card game that mixes strategy game, strategic deck building elements with features of trading cards, introduced with ''Magic: The Gathering'' in ...
, the Marvel Zombies have three cards in the tournament Promo set Age of Apocalypse. If a player won the tournament where they came from, he or she would get a copy of Spider-Man as a Zombie. If a player comes in second place, he or she would get a card of Captain America. All participants got a copy of the Marvel Zombies card. The zombies in the game had a unique theme of destroying themselves to activate an effect. At the end of the turn, they would return to play.
In other media
Television
* The ''Marvel Zombies'' series was adapted into the fifth episode of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) /
Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...
series ''
Marvel's What If...?'',
What If... Zombies?!. In this version of events, the zombie outbreak is caused by
Janet van Dyne, who became a zombie after contracting a Quantum virus that corrupted her brain while she was trapped in the Quantum Realm, and infecting
Hank Pym
Dr. Henry Jonathan "Hank" Pym () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by penciller Jack Kirby, editor-plotter Stan Lee and writer Larry Lieber, the character first appeared in ''Tales to ...
.
** Following the airing of "What If... Zombies?!", talks of a spin-off series based on and named after ''
Marvel Zombies'' was announced.
Video games
*
Frank West's ending in ''
Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3
is a fictional crossover, crossover fighting game developed by Capcom in collaboration with Eighting. It is an updated version of ''Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds''. The game features characters from both Capcom's video game franchises ...
'' sees him witnessing an alternate universe featuring zombified versions of Marvel superheroes similar to ''Marvel Zombies''.
* Zombie Venom appears in ''
Marvel: Future Fight''.
See also
*
DCeased
''DCeased'' is a six-issue comic book miniseries published by DC Comics from May to October 2019. It was created by writer Tom Taylor and the artistic team including penciler Trevor Hairsine and inker Stefano Guadiano. The story takes place in a ...
- a similar storyline published by
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
.
*Infestation - released a series similar to Marvel Zombies by IDW Publishing
References
External links
*
''Marvel Zombies'' full cover gallery*
*
*
*
Newsarama
Newsarama is an American website that publishes news, interviews, and essays about the American comic book industry. It is owned by Future US. In June 2020, Newsarama was merged with the website GamesRadar+, also owned by FutureUS.
History
N ...
, October 3, 2005
*
{{Marvel Zombies
Comics by Robert Kirkman
Comics set in New York City
Fictional zombies and revenants
Marvel Comics undead characters
Undead supervillains