''Marvel Apes'' is a four-issue

limited series In the field of comic books, and particularly in the United States, a limited series is a comics series with a predetermined number of issues. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is finite and determined ...

by comics publisher

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

which started publication in October

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

. The series is written by

Karl Kesel Karl Kesel (; born January 7, 1959) is an American comics writer and inker whose works have primarily been under contract for DC Comics. He is a member of Periscope Studio and is known for his collaborations with fellow artist Tom Grummett on ' ...

with art by Ramon Bachs and covers by John Watson. The Marvel Apes reality is designated as Earth-8101.

Premise

''Marvel Apes'' was first suggested as a successor to ''

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 ''Ma ...

'' by artist and fan Mark Walsh during a convention Q&A session with

Joe Quesada Joseph Quesada (; born January 12, 1962'' Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1650; February 2009; page 107) is an American comic book artist, writer, editor, and television producer. He became known in the 1990s for his work on various Valiant Comics books, ...

. As with ''Marvel Zombies'' before it, ''Marvel Apes'' takes place in an alternate universe, in this case a

simian The simians, anthropoids, or higher primates are an infraorder (Simiiformes ) of primates containing all animals traditionally called monkeys and apes. More precisely, they consist of the parvorders New World monkey, Platyrrhini (New World mon ...

-dominated counterpart to Earth-616 that hosts anthropoid versions of popular Marvel superheroes and villains. As with the introduction of ''Marvel Zombies'' in ''

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 ...

'', the ''Marvel Apes'' universe is visited by an existing Marvel character, in this case

Gibbon Gibbons () are apes in the family Hylobatidae (). The family historically contained one genus, but now is split into four extant genera and 20 species. Gibbons live in subtropical and tropical forests from eastern Bangladesh and Northeast Indi ...

.NYCC '08: Marvel Apes

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 Future US. Hi ...

, April 20, 2008 He is accompanied by a female scientist named Fiona Fitzhugh in what has been described by Kesel as a "''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...

''-style sprawling epic".

Plot

Martin Blank, the

, having been restored to his simian appearance, is left with his personal life in shambles. His attempts to side with the heroes are frustrated by his ineptitude and even Princess Python, previously a caring and deeply devoted wife, is now fed up with the meek loser that Gibbon has become. Out of boredom and depression, he replies to an ad posted in the ''

Daily Bugle The ''Daily Bugle'' (at one time ''The DB!'') is a fictional New York City tabloid newspaper appearing as a plot element in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The ''Daily Bugle'' is a regular fixture in the Marvel Universe, most ...

'' by Fiona Fitzhugh, a spunky and cheery young scientist hoping to study the nature of super-powered individuals. Upon hearing that Gibbon had his powers since birth (as opposed to the majority of mutants who gain their mutation during puberty), Fiona analyzes his aura and hypothesizes that Gibbon may come from another reality in the

Multiverse The multiverse is the hypothetical set of all universes. Together, these universes are presumed to comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, energy, information, and the physical laws and constants that describ ...

. While attempting to contact such a reality, Fiona and the Gibbon are sucked into a portal that takes them to a world populated by intelligent simians. Gibbon manages to help Spider-Monkey and the Ape-Vengers, simian versions of the

Avengers Avenger(s) or The Avenger(s) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Sag ...

, subdue Doctor Ooktavius, and he is inducted into the Ape-Vengers. Fiona is sent to ask for Reed Richards' help in returning to

Earth-616 In the fictional Multiverse (Marvel Comics), Marvel Comics multiverse, Earth-616 is the primary continuity (fiction), continuity in which most Marvel Comics titles take place. Origins of the term The designation "Earth-616" has its origins in ...

; she discovers that in the Marvel Apes reality the cosmic storm that gave the Fantastic Four their powers also gave a human appearance to Susan Storm. Gibbon is at first excited to become a member of the Ape-Vengers, but after witnessing the brutal lynching of Doctor Ooktapus, he questions the Ape-Vengers methods. Meanwhile, Fiona and the ape Mr. Fantastic are able to recreate a gateway back to Earth-616. Captain America then reveals that he is actually the simian counterpart of the vampire

Baron Blood Baron Blood is the name of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first incarnation of Baron Blood, John Falsworth, first appeared in ''The Invaders (comics), The Invaders'' #7 (July 1976), who has ...

, who in this reality was able, by sampling Captain America's blood in the forties, to take over his appearance and powers. The super-soldier serum also removed Baron Blood's vulnerability to sunlight. After turning the Invaders into vampires as well, Blood became the leader of the Ape-Vengers and uses their bloody lynching of supervillains as a way to feed. Gibbon, with the help of a cadre of dissident heroes, finds the real Captain America, still frozen in ice, and thaws him to lead the last free heroes against their vampiric foe. Baron Blood and the vampiric Invaders are destroyed, but the portal is destroyed after Gibbon, Fiona, and the ape version of Speedball are sent through. Recovering from the battle, they prepare for the possibility of residents of the ape universe finding another way into their reality.

Sequel

''Marvel Zombies: Evil Evolution'', a sequel that pits Earth 2149's

against their alternate meta-simian equivalents entitled, was released, as well as four other one-shot issues: ''Speedball'', ''Amazing Spider-Monkey'', ''Grunt Line'', and ''Prime Eight''.

Collected editions

In other media

The ''Marvel Apes'' incarnation of Spider-Man, known as the Spider-Monkey, appeared in the 2023 feature film '' Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse''. He is depicted as a member of Miguel O'Hara's Spider-Forces.

References

External links

Monkey Business: Karl Kesel on Marvel Apes

Comics Bulletin Comics Bulletin is a daily website covering the comic-book industry. History Silver Bullet Comicbooks In January 2000, New Zealand-based publisher/editor Jason Brice founded then named Silver Bullet Comicbooks. During this period, the site ...

, April 20, 2008
Review of ''Marvel Apes'' #1
,

{{Marvel Multiverse 2008 comics debuts Animal superheroes Comics about anthropomorphic apes Comics about talking animals Comics set in New York City Gorilla characters in comics Marvel Comics animals Marvel Comics dimensions