10 Best ‘90s Marvel Ongoing Series

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The 1990s were a turbulent time for Marvel Comics. While they started the decade strong with huge sales, their focus quickly shifted to the collector’s market. They printed far too many copies of their comics and relied heavily on flashy, gimmick covers. This pursuit of profit nearly ruined the entire comic book industry, as Marvel prioritized competing with Image Comics and selling gimmicks over creating compelling stories. Thankfully, by the end of the decade, they began to change course, producing comics that readers genuinely enjoyed, expanding beyond their reliably popular X-Men and Spider-Man titles.

The 1990s were a rough period for Marvel Comics, with many poorly received titles. However, a few strong ongoing series helped the company survive and are still enjoyable today. Here are ten of the best Marvel series that kept the company afloat during its most challenging decade.

10) New Warriors

The New Warriors had potential to be huge, but ultimately didn’t reach the same level of popularity as the X-Men. However, the original New Warriors series was consistently a strong comic throughout the 1990s. With a talented creative team including Fabian Nicieza, Mark Bagley, and Darick Robertson, it delivered compelling superhero stories that kept readers engaged for years. It’s a hidden gem – a book you might not think to pick up, but you really should.

9) Untold Tales of Spider-Man

While Spider-Man is usually Marvel’s most popular and relatable hero, his popularity dipped by 1995 due to the complicated ‘Clone Saga’ storyline. Fans were craving simpler, classic Spider-Man adventures, and writer Kurt Busiek and artist Pat Oliffe delivered with Untold Tales of Spider-Man. This book, available for just $1.50, featured exciting stories set in the past, and it was a huge hit. Readers appreciated its return to the core elements of Spider-Man, as Busiek and Oliffe successfully updated classic ideas for a modern audience. Many consider this series to be a high point for the character, representing everything that makes Spider-Man great.

8) Thunderbolts

The ‘Onslaught’ event dramatically altered the Marvel Universe, transporting the Avengers and Fantastic Four to a reality created by Franklin Richards. This paved the way for the ‘Heroes Reborn’ storyline, but left Earth-616 without its main heroes. To fill the void, Marvel introduced the Thunderbolts. Created by Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley, the team first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #449 and immediately made a splash by revealing themselves as the villainous Masters of Evil. The series was exceptionally well-executed, delivering some of the most exciting superhero action and adventure ever seen in comics.

7) Captain America (Vol. 3)

The first volume of Captain America continued with Mark Gruenwald as writer and editor, but he passed away before he could finish his run. The series struggled until Mark Waid and Ron Garney took over, only to be unexpectedly removed when the “Heroes Reborn” event was planned without their knowledge. While the second volume wasn’t well-received, Waid and Garney returned for the third volume and created a fantastic series. Although Garney eventually left, artist Andy Kubert joined and brought a stunning visual style to the book, resulting in one of the most celebrated eras for the character.

6) The Mighty Thor (Vol. 2)

Like many superheroes in the 1990s who didn’t have an ‘X’ on their costume (and weren’t Spider-Man), Thor’s comic book lost popularity with fans. Even bringing on talented artist Mike Deodato couldn’t revive it. The series ultimately ended with “Heroes Reborn,” and didn’t reappear until the summer of 1998, following the events of Heroes Reborn: The Return. The “Heroes Return” books had begun to launch earlier that year. The Mighty Thor (Vol. 2), created by Dan Jurgens and John Romita Jr., brought the character back with a style reminiscent of Jack Kirby, and it was fantastic. Jurgens, having previously written Superman for years, was a great fit for the God of Thunder, and this run is considered some of the best Thor stories ever told.

5) Avengers (Vol. 3)

The 1990s were a tough time for Marvel’s Avengers. Sales dropped, and the attempt to revitalize the team with “Heroes Reborn” didn’t succeed. However, Avengers (Vol. 3) was a huge hit with fans. Writer Kurt Busiek, known for his work on titles like Marvels and Thunderbolts, teamed up with acclaimed artist George Perez. Together, they captured the classic spirit of the Avengers, creating one of the most beloved runs in the book’s history. While not perfect – things dipped a little after the excellent “Ultron Unlimited” storyline – this series was exactly what fans needed.

4) The Incredible Hulk

Throughout the 1990s, The Incredible Hulk consistently outsold most other comics, aside from the biggest titles like X-Men and Spider-Man. Writer Peter David led the book for most of the decade, until 1998, and even a shorter run by Joe Casey maintained a high quality. The comic featured incredible artwork from talents like Dale Keown, Gary Frank, Liam Sharp, Chris Bachalo, Mike Deodato, and Adam Kubert, among others. David kept the series fresh by periodically reinventing it with new storylines. For eight years, The Incredible Hulk remained consistently excellent – a remarkable achievement for any comic book in any era.

3) Wolverine (Vol. 2)

The 1990s were a fantastic time to be a Wolverine fan, thanks to the consistently high quality of the Wolverine (Vol. 2) comic book series. While Larry Hama was the primary writer for most of the run (1990-1997), other talented writers like Ben Raab, Warren Ellis, Chris Claremont, and Erik Larsen also contributed. The artwork was equally impressive, featuring superstar artists such as Marc Silvestri, Adam Kubert, and Leinil Yu, alongside a variety of other artists throughout the decade. Wolverine (Vol. 2) was arguably the best solo comic Marvel published during the ’90s – it consistently delivered excellent stories and was a huge commercial success, selling nearly as well as Spider-Man titles.

2) X-Men (Vol. 2)

The second volume of X-Men launched with a record-breaking comic and remained a major hit throughout the 1990s. It frequently battled Uncanny X-Men for the top sales position and is considered a defining Marvel book of that decade. A talented team of writers – including Chris Claremont, Fabian Nicieza, Scott Lobdell, Mark Waid, Joe Kelly, and Alan Davis – and artists like Jim Lee, Andy Kubert, Paul Smith, Carlos Pacheco, and Adam Kubert contributed to its success, along with numerous other artists. The series was consistently high-quality, and even during weaker writing periods, the artwork remained exceptional. Many believe this book – and the top four titles from this era – were essential to Marvel’s survival, and its 1990s issues represent some of the publisher’s best work of the decade.

1) Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1)

In the 1980s, Uncanny X-Men was Marvel’s leading comic, even though some fans of that era were hesitant to admit it. By the more extreme 1990s, however, its popularity was undeniable and widely embraced. Uncanny was the book everyone was reading, and Marvel consistently assigned its top artists to it, including Chris Claremont, Jim Lee, Marc Silvestri, Andy Kubert, John Byrne, Whilce Portacio, Scott Lodbell, John Romita Jr., Brandon Peterson, Joe Madureira, Steve Seagle, Bryan Hitch, Chris Bachalo, Adam Kubert, Alan Davis, and many others. It truly defined Marvel in the ’90s and is packed with fantastic X-Men stories.

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2026-03-12 21:18