
In 2001, Marvel launched the MAX line as part of new editor-in-chief Joe Quesada’s effort to revitalize the company. A key part of this was improving the Spider-Man comics, and he selected writer J. Michael Straczynski for the job. Straczynski, known for creating the sci-fi series Babylon 5, had already made a splash in comics with 1999’s Rising Stars and had his own creative studio at Top Cow. He teamed up with artist Gary Frank for a new Marvel series, a fresh take on the relatively obscure 1984 maxiseries Squadron Supreme. The resulting series was one of the closest Marvel came to establishing itself as a publisher of mature, thought-provoking superhero stories.