Since Jon Favreau brought us the first Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. back in 2008, the comic book world has become part a huge part of our lives than ever before. However, while movie adaptations of comic book characters started way earlier, the MCU really started the movement of re-establishing superheroes in our lives.
The first comic books were published back in the early 1930’s and the first real hero that has stuck with us until this very day was Superman from DC. Since then numerous universes have been written and the list of heroes and characters continue to grow for both DC and Marvel. Despite only being on fictional, the idea of American comic books came to life when people needed a distraction from the world. During the Second World War, the first Captain America comic was published as the people wished for a hero, wished for someone who could defeat Hitler.
The most popular creator and a name that every comic book and superhero movie-goer will know is Stan Lee. He created the X-Men, who were a group of people who are excluded from society because they are different. He said, “I wanted them to be diverse. The whole underlying principle of the X-Men was to try to be an anti-bigotry story to show there’s good in every person.”
Comic books were supposed to be a distraction, but they were also there to give hope to people and now today, newer generations can also get in touch with the beloved superheroes through movie or television adaptations.
But neither Marvel or DC have stopped there! In cooperation with internationally known authors, they have started a new group of YA series about our most beloved and known superheroes, which have received new identities and they’re even more diverse than ever.
DC ICONS
DC picked four heroes for their “Icons” YA series. The first book in the series was published late 2017, which focuses on Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman: Warbringer was written by Leigh Bardugo, who is best known for her Grisha trilogy and Six of Crows duology. The book tells the story of the Amazonian princess Diana who discovers her true power and the world beyond her home called Themyscira. In the book, there’s also a character by the name of Alia who learns she is a Warbringer—a direct descendant of the infamous Helen of Troy, fated to bring about an age of bloodshed and misery. Tested beyond the bounds of their abilities, Diana and Alia must find a way to unleash hidden strengths and forge an unlikely alliance.
Following Wonder Woman is Batman: Nightwalker, which was published early 2018. Written by Marie Lu, author of the Legend trilogy, the book tells the story of a young Bruce Wayne who has yet to find his place in the cruel world and finds himself doing community service at Arkham Asylum after a run-in with the police. In Arkham, Bruce meets Madeleine, a brilliant girl with ties to the Nightwalkers, who are currently terrorising the city, and she is a mystery Bruce must unravel except he’ll walk the dark line between trust and betrayal as the Nightwalkers circle closer.
Written by best-selling author of A Court of Thorns and Roses, Sarah J Maas tells us about Catwoman in Catwoman: Soulstealer. Set to be published in August 2018, Selina returns to Gotham City as the mysterious and wealthy Holly Vanderhees. She quickly discovers that with Batman off on a vital mission, Batwing is left to hold back the tide of notorious criminals. Gotham City is ripe for the taking. Her story will also see us meet other well-known DC characters like Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, and of course, cross paths with Batman.
The fourth and what is supposed to be the last book in the Icon series is Superman. Written by Matt de la Pena, we currently don’t know anything about the book except for it coming to bookstores in January 2019.
While the Icons series is well-known, Gwenda Bond’s trilogy about Lois Lane is a little less common, but also a great series to read, plus who wouldn’t like to know more about the love of Clark Kent’s life?
MARVEL YA
While most MCU fans patiently wait for a standalone movie of Natasha Romanov, Marvel Press asked author Margaret Stohl (Beautiful Creatures) to write a story about the fearless spy called Black Widow. Black Widow: Forever Red was published in 2013 and due to its success, Black Widow: was also released.
In 2016, Eoin Colfer (Artemis Fowl) published Iron Man: The Gauntlet about the genius, billionaire, playboy, and philanthropist, or also know as Tony Stark. In the book, which features some fantastic illustrations, Tony Stark who wants to prove not only to the world, but mostly to himself, that he truly can be a hero.
After the rights for Spider-Man returned to Marvel from Sony, fans also received news about more Spider-Man stories. In Jason Reynolds 2017 novel, there’s a new Spidey protecting the people by the name of Miles Morales.
Shannon and Dean Hale co-wrote the first book about Squirrel Girl titled The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Meets World in 2017, which was followed by the release of 2 Fuzzy, 2 Furious earlier this year. Unlike the others, Squirrel Girl is perfect for younger audiences to read! There’s also Rogue Touch by Christine Woodward, which follows Rogue’s life before she was a member of the X-Men, and The She-Hulk Diaries by Marta Acosta, which focuses on her not-so easy social life.
But Marvel has some more great stories to tell! Captain Marvel will not only starring in her first standalone movie in 2019, but Shannon and Dean Hale are currently working on a YA book about Carol Danvers as well, which is set to be released in 2020.
Mackenzi Lee, author of The Gentleman’s Guide To Vice and Virtue, announced on Twitter in December 2017 that she is currently working on a story about a queer Loki! She’ll also be writing another two books that will feature different “morally grey anti-heroes from Marvel”, and they’ll also be historical!
It seems that Marvel and DC continue be intriguing fans within all types of mediums, whether it be television, movies or books, so there will be plenty of heroes and villains for you to love over the next few years!
