2020s Marvel Key Issues

MARVEL COMICS: 2020 KEY ISSUE CATALOG

ISSUE TITLE & NUMBER CREATORS WHY IT IS A KEY COVER DATE
Thor #5 (Vol 6) Donny Cates, Nic Klein 1st full appearance of the Black Winter (Entity that killed Galactus' universe). Aug 2020
Strange Academy #1 Skottie Young, Humberto Ramos 1st appearance of Doyle Dormammu, Emily Bright, and the Strange Academy students. May 2020
King in Black #1 Donny Cates, Ryan Stegman Start of major event; Knull arrives on Earth; Introduction of Symbiote Dragons. Feb 2021*
X of Swords: Creation #1 Jonathan Hickman, Pepe Larraz 1st appearance of the Swordbearers of Arakko (Isca the Unbeaten, Pogg Ur-Pogg, etc.). Nov 2020
Wolverine #6 (Vol 7) Benjamin Percy, Viktor Bogdanovic 1st full appearance of Solem (Arakko counterpart to Wolverine). Dec 2020
Captain Marvel #18 (Vol 10) Kelly Thompson, Cory Smith 1st appearance of Lauri-Ell (Carol Danvers' half-sister/The Accuser). Nov 2020
Thor #1 (Vol 6) Donny Cates, Nic Klein Start of Donny Cates' run; Thor becomes the Herald of Thunder. Jan 2020
Spider-Woman #1 (Vol 7) Karla Pacheco, Pere Perez Jessica Drew debuts a new costume; 1st appearance of Aeturnum (Michael Marchand). May 2020
X-Men #4 (Vol 5) Jonathan Hickman, Leinil Francis Yu Famous "Magneto is Right" speech at the World Economic Forum; Krakoa asserts global dominance. Mar 2020
Black Widow #1 (Vol 8) Kelly Thompson, Elena Casagrande Start of Eisner-winning run; 1st appearance of the villain Apogee. Nov 2020

*Note: King in Black #1 released Dec 2020, Cover Date Feb 2021.

MARVEL COMICS: 2021 KEY ISSUE CATALOG

ISSUE TITLE & NUMBER CREATORS WHY IT IS A KEY COVER DATE
Star Wars: The High Republic #1 Cavan Scott, Ario Anindito 1st comic appearance of Keeve Trennis, Sskeer, and Avar Kriss; Start of High Republic era. Mar 2021
The United States of Captain America #1 Cantwell, Trujillo, Eaglesham 1st appearance of Aaron Fischer (Captain America of the Railways). Aug 2021
Moon Knight #1 (Vol 9) Jed MacKay, Alessandro Cappuccio 1st appearance of the Midnight Mission and Hunter's Moon (Dr. Badr). Sep 2021
Amazing Spider-Man #75 Zeb Wells, Patrick Gleason Ben Reilly returns as Spider-Man (sponsored by Beyond Corp); Death of Doctor Strange prelude. Dec 2021
Death of Doctor Strange #1 Jed MacKay, Lee Garbett Death of Stephen Strange; 1st appearance of The Three Mothers. Nov 2021
Kang the Conqueror #1 Kelly, Lanzing, Magno Definitive origin story of Kang; 1st appearance of Nathaniel Richards (younger self). Oct 2021
Demon Days: X-Men #1 Peach Momoko 1st appearance of the "Momoko-verse" characters (Sai, Tsukiko, etc.). May 2021
Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters Alpha #1 Charles Soule, Steve McNiven Return of Qi'ra (from Solo: A Star Wars Story) to continuity; Start of crossover event. Jul 2021
Dark Ages #1 Tom Taylor, Iban Coello Start of the alternate universe saga where electricity vanishes; 1st appearance of Apocalypse's new design. Nov 2021
Eternals #1 (Vol 5) Kieron Gillen, Esad Ribic Start of critically acclaimed run; Major retcons to Eternal physiology and resurrection. Mar 2021

MARVEL COMICS: 2022 KEY ISSUE CATALOG

ISSUE TITLE & NUMBER CREATORS WHY IT IS A KEY COVER DATE
Hulk #6 Donny Cates, Ryan Ottley 1st full appearance of Titan (The Hulk's deadliest persona). Jun 2022
Strange #1 Jed MacKay, Marcelo Ferreira Clea succeeds Stephen Strange as the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth. May 2022
Amazing Spider-Man #1 (Vol 6) Zeb Wells, John Romita Jr. Start of the Zeb Wells run; Peter Parker alienated from allies; 1st cameo of Paul Rabin. Jun 2022
Punisher #1 (Vol 13) Jason Aaron, Jesus Saiz Frank Castle becomes the High Slayer of The Hand; Debut of new logo. May 2022
Edge of Spider-Verse #1 (Vol 2) Dan Slott, Martin Coccolo 1st appearance of Spider-Rex and Spider-Laird. Oct 2022
Black Panther #3 (Vol 8) John Ridley, Juann Cabal 1st appearance of Tosin Oduye (Wakandan youth from the exclusion zone). Mar 2022
A.X.E.: Judgment Day #1 Kieron Gillen, Valerio Schiti Start of the Avengers/X-Men/Eternals event; The Progenitor Celestial judges Earth. Sep 2022
Spider-Punk #1 Cody Ziglar, Justin Mason 1st solo ongoing series for Hobie Brown (Spider-Punk). Jun 2022
Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #1 Kelly Lanzing, Carmen Carnero Introduction of the "Outer Circle" conspiracy behind the shield's origin. Aug 2022
Iron Cat #1 Jed MacKay, Pere Perez 1st appearance of the Iron Cat armor (worn by Felicia Hardy and Tamara Blake). Aug 2022

MARVEL COMICS: 2023 KEY ISSUE CATALOG

ISSUE TITLE & NUMBER CREATORS WHY IT IS A KEY COVER DATE
Spider-Man #7 (Vol 4) Dan Slott, Mark Bagley 1st appearance of Spider-Boy (Bailey Briggs). Jun 2023
Ultimate Invasion #1 Jonathan Hickman, Bryan Hitch The Maker (Reed Richards) begins recreating the Ultimate Universe (Earth-6160). Aug 2023
G.O.D.S. #1 Jonathan Hickman, Valerio Schiti 1st appearance of Wyn, Aiko Maki, and the Cubisk Core; New cosmic hierarchy established. Dec 2023
Amazing Spider-Man #26 Zeb Wells, John Romita Jr. Death of Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel). Jul 2023
Ultimate Universe #1 Jonathan Hickman, Stefano Caselli Establishment of the Earth-6160 roster; Iron Lad (Tony Stark) forms the Ultimates. Jan 2024*
Immortal Thor #1 Al Ewing, Martin Coccolo Start of Al Ewing's run; 1st appearance of Toranos (Utgard-Thor). Oct 2023
Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant #1 Iman Vellani, Sabir Pirzada Kamala Khan resurrected as a mutant; 1st issue written by MCU actress Iman Vellani. Oct 2023
Avengers #1 (Vol 9) Jed MacKay, C.F. Villa Start of Jed MacKay's run; Introduction of the "Tribulation Events". Jul 2023
Guardians of the Galaxy #1 (Vol 7) Lanzing, Kelly, Kev Walker Start of the "Grootfall" storyline. Jun 2023
Fallen Friend: The Death of Ms. Marvel #1 Various Memorial issue for Kamala Khan; Major character reactions. Sep 2023

*Note: Ultimate Universe #1 released Nov 2023, Cover Date Jan 2024.

MARVEL COMICS: 2024 KEY ISSUE CATALOG

ISSUE TITLE & NUMBER CREATORS WHY IT IS A KEY COVER DATE
Ultimate Spider-Man #1 (Vol 3) Jonathan Hickman, Marco Checchetto Premiere of the new Ultimate Spider-Man (Earth-6160); 1st appearance of Harry Osborn as Green Goblin. Mar 2024
Blood Hunt #1 Jed MacKay, Pepe Larraz Start of the "Blood Hunt" global vampire event; 1st appearance of the Bloodcoven. Jul 2024
Ultimate Black Panther #1 (Vol 2) Bryan Hill, Stefano Caselli Premiere of the new Ultimate Black Panther and Wakanda vs. Moon Knight conflict. Apr 2024
Ultimate X-Men #1 (Vol 2) Peach Momoko Premiere of the new Ultimate X-Men (featuring Armor/Hisako Ichiki). May 2024
X-Men #1 (Vol 7) Jed MacKay, Ryan Stegman Start of the "From the Ashes" era (Post-Krakoa); New Cyclops-led team roster. Sep 2024
Uncanny X-Men #1 (Vol 6) Gail Simone, David Marquez Start of the "Outlaw X-Men" team (Rogue, Gambit, Wolverine) based in New Orleans. Oct 2024
Amazing Spider-Man #50 Zeb Wells, Ed McGuinness Norman Osborn returns as the Green Goblin; Peter Parker becomes the Spider-Goblin. Jul 2024
Wolverine: Revenge #1 Jonathan Hickman, Greg Capullo Start of the standalone mature-readers miniseries by superstar team. Oct 2024
Aliens vs. Avengers #1 Jonathan Hickman, Esad Ribic First crossover between Marvel's Avengers and the Alien franchise. Nov 2024
NYX #1 (Vol 2) Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly Start of the "From the Ashes" title featuring Ms. Marvel and Laura Kinney. Sep 2024

MARVEL COMICS: 2025 KEY ISSUE CATALOG

ISSUE TITLE & NUMBER CREATORS WHY IT IS A KEY COVER DATE
Ultimate Wolverine #1 Chris Condon, Alessandro Cappuccio Premiere of the new Ultimate Wolverine (The Maker's Winter Soldier). Mar 2025
One World Under Doom #1 Ryan North, R.B. Silva Start of the major 2025 event; Doctor Doom conquers the Marvel Universe (Earth-616). Feb 2025
West Coast Avengers #1 (Vol 4) Gerry Duggan, Danny Kim Return of the West Coast Avengers team (Iron Man, War Machine, Spider-Woman, Firestar). Jan 2025
Magik #1 Ashley Allen, Germán Peralta 1st solo ongoing series for Illyana Rasputin (Magik). Jan 2025
Eddie Brock: Carnage #1 Charles Soule, Jesus Saiz Eddie Brock bonds with the Carnage symbiote; New status quo. Feb 2025
Psylocke #1 Alyssa Wong, Vincenzo Carratù 1st solo ongoing series for Kwannon as Psylocke; "From the Ashes" era title. Jan 2025
Rise of Emperor Doom #1 Ryan North, R.B. Silva Establishment of Doom's global "Latverian" rule; Tie-in to One World Under Doom. Feb 2025
Sam Wilson: Captain America #1 Greg Pak, João Lemos Launch of new ongoing series focusing on Sam Wilson's "Captain America" role. Jan 2025
TVA #1 Katharyn Blair, Pere Perez 1st ongoing series focusing on the Time Variance Authority (TVA). Jan 2025
Hellverine #1 (Vol 2) Benjamin Percy, Raffaele Ienco Return of the Hellverine (Akihiro bonded with the Spirit of Vengeance). Jan 2025