Marvel Zombies Return
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''Marvel Zombies Return'' is a weekly five-issue
comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
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 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 ...
in late 2009. It is part of the ''
Marvel Zombies ''Marvel Zombies'' is a five-issue limited series published from December 2005 to April 2006 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Robert Kirkman with art by Sean Phillips and covers by Arthur Suydam. It was the first series in the ''Marve ...
'' series of comic books.


Publication history

''Marvel Zombies Return'' is a weekly series of five
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 ...
comic books. Editor Bill Rosemann described how the concept came about: Unlike the other series, the series consists of a number of one-shots and linked by two bookend issues written by Fred Van Lente. As Van Lente was committed to other writing assignments, Marvel invited three authors who have written books on zombies to contribute the other issues: David Wellington ('' Monster Island''),
Jonathan Maberry Jonathan Maberry (born May 18, 1958) is an American suspense author, anthology editor, comic book writer, magazine feature writer, playwright, content creator and writing teacher/lecturer. He was named one of the Today's Top Ten Horror Writers. ...
(''Patient Zero'' and ''Zombie CSU'') and Seth Grahame-Smith (''
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies ''Pride and Prejudice and Zombies'' is a 2009 parody novel by Seth Grahame-Smith. It is a mashup combining Jane Austen's classic 1813 novel ''Pride and Prejudice'' with elements of modern zombie fiction, crediting Austen as co-author. It was fi ...
''). The issues are: *''Marvel Zombies Return:
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 ...
'' by writer Fred Van Lente and artist Nick Dragotta *''Marvel Zombies Return:
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 ...
'' by writer David Wellington and artist Andrea Mutti *''Marvel Zombies Return:
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 ...
'' by writer
Jonathan Maberry Jonathan Maberry (born May 18, 1958) is an American suspense author, anthology editor, comic book writer, magazine feature writer, playwright, content creator and writing teacher/lecturer. He was named one of the Today's Top Ten Horror Writers. ...
and artist
Jason Shawn Alexander Jason Shawn Alexander or J. Alexander (born c. 1975) is a Painting, painter, illustrator and drawing, draftsman from Portland, Tennessee. Alexander has produced illustrations for Dark Horse Comics, Warner Brothers, DC Comics, Hasbro, White Wol ...
*''Marvel Zombies Return:
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' ...
'' by writer Seth Grahame-Smith and artist
Richard Elson Richard Elson (born 1962) is a British comic book artist best known for his work on ''Sonic the Comic'', '' 2000 AD'' and ''Thor''. Biography Richard Elson is a fine art graduate with over sixteen years experience as an artist and illustrator ...
*''Marvel Zombies Return:
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 ...
'' by writer Fred Van Lente and artist Wellington Alves


Plot

Following ''
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 ''Marvel Zo ...
'', Earth-2149's surviving mutant and metahuman zombies (
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 ...
,
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 ...
, Giant-Man,
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 ...
, and
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 ...
) and also
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 ...
have been transported to an alternate universe by Malcolm Cortez. The first issue revolves around the attempts of Zombie Spider-Man to cure himself of his condition when he lands on an Earth similar to his own, later designated "Earth-Z". Upon becoming aware that his counterpart from this universe is still in college and that
Kingpin Kingpin or king pin may refer to: Vehicular part * Kingpin (automotive part), the pivot in the steering mechanism ** The central bolt of a skateboard, axle assembly ("truck"), around which the rest of the mechanism can flex, allowing the rider ...
has yet to steal the Lifeline Tablet, the Zombie Spider-Man tries to recover it first to see if he can use it to cure himself and become a hero again. However, alerted by his presence, Kingpin hires the Sinister Six
Kraven The Hunter Kraven the Hunter (Sergei Kravinoff; Russian: Сергей Кравинов) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' issue #15 (August 1964) as an adversary to ...
, Mysterio, Electro, The Vulture, Doctor Octopus and Sandman to create a distraction so he can steal the tablet. However, Zombie Spider-Man ends up killing Kingpin and all the Sinister Six minus Sandman, who in turn brutally kills the Spider-Man of this Earth. Due his actions, however, the zombified members of the Sinister Six kill his friends and Zombie Spider-Man kills them for good to prevent spreading the contagion. The issue also advances the overarching storyline by having Zombie Giant-Man attack and eat Earth-Z's
Uatu the Watcher Uatu (), often simply known as the Watcher, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, he first appeared in ''The Fantastic Four'' #13 (April 1963). He is a member of ...
. The second issue follows Earth-Z's Tony Stark, who is having alcoholism problems and is on the verge of selling Stark International and all patents to the Chinese, two years after Zombie Spider-Man's arrival to Earth-Z. Upon teletransporting himself to Stark International's basement in search of Stark's Inhuman technology, Zombie Giant-Man infects Happy Hogan, who in turn causes the infection of all people in the building except Tony Stark and James Rhodes, who makes his way to Tony's office and dons Stark's armor. After killing the zombified Pepper Potts with nanobots that can destroy the zombies, Tony passes on the Iron Man armor to Rhodes and stays behind to be killed by the zombies while Rhodes leaves the building to destroy the remaining zombies, precluding the contagion from spreading further. The third issue follows Earth-2149's Zombie Wolverine, who makes his way to Japan four years after his arrival to Earth-Z concurrently at the same time Earth-Z's Wolverine and Kitty Pryde are trying to dismantle the criminal operations of The Hand. As Zombie Wolverine devours Kitty's ninja pursuers, Zombie Spider-Man rescues Kitty and tells her about the origin of the plague and the vaccine he has created to control Zombie Wolverine's hunger. Meanwhile, Zombie Wolverine kills Shang-Chi, Elektra,
Sunfire Fire is a series of server computers introduced in 2001 by Sun Microsystems (since 2010, part of Oracle Corporation). The Sun Fire branding coincided with the introduction of the UltraSPARC III processor, superseding the UltraSPARC II-ba ...
and Iron Fist until Earth-Z's Wolverine appears, engaging in a fight. With the intervention of Kitty Pryde and Zombie Spider-Man, Wolverine manages to kill his zombie counterpart, his zombified victims and lets Zombie Spider-Man to get a sample of his blood to develop a cure, and while he becomes infected through unknown reasons, he resists the hunger and doesn't spread the contagion. The fourth issue follows the return of Earth-Z's
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' ...
to the Blue Area of the Moon years after Zombie Wolverine's attack on Japan and following his
banishment Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...
to Sakaar by the
Illuminati The Illuminati (; plural of Latin ''illuminatus'', 'enlightened') is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically, the name usually refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on ...
. Upon arriving along with the
Warbound "Planet Hulk" is a Marvel Comics storyline that ran primarily through issues of ''The Incredible Hulk'' starting in 2006. Written by Greg Pak, it dealt with the Marvel heroes' decision to send the Hulk away, his acclimation to and conquest of the ...
, Hulk discovers Zombie Giant-Man and the zombified Inhumans, which leads to the deaths of all the Warbound members and with the former infecting him before he makes his way back to Earth. Back on home, the zombified Hulk starts devouring all citizens he can on
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
until the Illuminati contact the Sentry to stop him. However, reverting to his zombified human form, Hulk takes advantage to infect Sentry as well, leading Zombie Spider-Man to realize that things have gone too far and that they must act now. The fifth issue ties these threads together, resolving the fates of all of the original Marvel Zombies. Years after Hulk's attack on NYC, Earth-Z has suffered the same fate Earth-2149 endured and there is no longer life on it, with 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 ...
(Sentry,
Moon Knight Moon Knight is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Doug Moench and artist Don Perlin, the character first appeared in ''Werewolf by Night'' #32 (August 1975). The son of a rabb ...
,
Thundra Thundra is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is often aligned with the Fantastic Four. She is a powerful, red haired, amazon-like warrior, or Femizon, from a matriarchal, technologically a ...
,
Quasar A quasar is an extremely Luminosity, luminous active galactic nucleus (AGN). It is pronounced , and sometimes known as a quasi-stellar object, abbreviated QSO. This emission from a galaxy nucleus is powered by a supermassive black hole with a m ...
,
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 ...
, Namor,
Quicksilver Quicksilver may refer to: * Quicksilver (metal), the chemical element mercury Arts and entertainment Music * Quicksilver, a bluegrass band fronted by Doyle Lawson * "Quicksilver" (song), a 1950 hit for Bing Crosby * ''Quicksilver'' (sound ...
) revealed to have killed Earth-2149's Wasp, Luke Cage and Black Panther while Zombie Giant-Man is working on a dimensional teleporter to devour more universes. However, thanks to Earth-Z's zombified
Professor X Professor X (Charles Francis Xavier) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as the founder and sometimes leader of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writ ...
, the Avengers are led to a trap and engage in a battle against Zombie Spider-Man and the New Avengers (Earth-Z's Wolverine, Hulk, Iron Man and Sandman). Zombie Giant-Man then teletransports all of them to Uatu's laboratory to use Sentry to power the teleporter. However, the nanite-infused Sandman ends up killing all zombies present minus Sentry, who is trapped on the teletransporter. At the end, Earth-Z's Uatu reveals himself to be alive and sends the Sentry, the last Earth-Z Marvel Zombie, back through time and space to his arrival on Earth-2149 (the original ''
Marvel Zombies ''Marvel Zombies'' is a five-issue limited series published from December 2005 to April 2006 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Robert Kirkman with art by Sean Phillips and covers by Arthur Suydam. It was the first series in the ''Marve ...
'' universe). In doing so, it closes a time loop, which keeps the virus contained on Earths 2149 and Earth 91126, both of which it has devastated, since (according to the Watcher himself) no one has the ability to destroy it outright, so there is no other option than let the hunger devour itself. Given the number of ''Marvel Zombie'' sequels since then, however, that conclusion would seem to be one of Uatu's few misjudgments. There is also the fact that the original mini-series had two contradictory explanations as to how the Zombie Sentry first arrived on Earth-2149. Falling through an interdimensional portal, from the "
Pearly Gates ''Pearly gates'' is an informal name for the gateway to Heaven according to some Christian denominations. It is inspired by the description of the New Jerusalem in : "The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate being made from a single pearl ...
," alongside
Ash Williams Ashley Joanna "Ash" Williams is a fictional character and the protagonist of the '' Evil Dead'' franchise. Created by Sam Raimi, he is portrayed by Bruce Campbell and is the only character to appear in each entry of the series, including a post- ...
; and materializing aboard the Asteroid M of Earth-2149's Magneto (who subsequently—and misguidedly—exploited him as a bio-hazard weapon against the normal humans of the latter world). It must, therefore, be concluded that one of those Zombie Sentries must have been from still another parallel-Earth, where a similar outbreak occurred or, at the very least, was narrowly averted.


Collected editions

The series has been collected into a single
volume Volume is a measure of occupied three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units (such as the cubic metre and litre) or by various imperial or US customary units (such as the gallon, quart, cubic inch). The de ...
: *''Marvel Zombies Return'' (120 pages, Marvel Comics, January 2010, hardcover, , softcover, )


Reception

James Hunt reviewed the first issue for
Comic Book Resources ''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion. History Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...
and expressed concerns that "the zombie fad is winding down, and the joke here seems to be how long a one-joke concept can be kept walking even though it's dead on its feet." However, he does praise Van Lente's comedic writing and Dragotta's art for evoking the Silver Age feeling but wonders if over-the-top violence does not "sit rather uneasily alongside the tone that the dialog and art are delivered in".


References


External links

* * * {{Marvel Multiverse Marvel Zombies Comics by Fred Van Lente Seth Grahame-Smith