In 2019, Marvel created the “Life Story” concept for their classic characters, with each title showing the character’s major events of each decade distilled into six issues, each issue dedicated to a decade. It was a smash hit with Chip Zdarsky’s Spider-Man: Life Story, and mixed results with Mark Russell’s Fantastic Four: Life Story but overall, the concept was fascinating. With such a unique approach to telling a character or team’s whole story, the Life Story concept is one that felt like a breath of fresh air — and is one Marvel should do more of. There’s so much more they could do with this concept and plenty of characters to explore.
Here are 7 “Life Story” books Marvel should make — and one of the choices might surprise you.
1) X-Men
The biggest no-brainer for the “Life Story” formula. The X-Men already feel like their own little universe on their own, so why not give them a shot here? With how much happens for them in a decade it would be harder to distill into specific issues but it could still be a fun and informative read and the team has no shortage of lineups to choose from, which could make this particularly interesting. In fact, given the various team members and individual incarnations of teams, a “Life Story” formula for the X-Men could spawn a line all of its own.
2) Captain America
The connective tissue of the “Life Story” titles is Captain America. Fighting in World War II as usual and fighting for Vietnam in the 70’s, this Cap is very different. Having Cap be compassionate for those oppressed at any point and fighting for everyone is his core, no matter if it’s for the U.S. or not. Showing more of his adventures outside of what we’ve seen would be so much fun. With how popular this version of Cap is, it’s weird he hasn’t gotten a shot at the solo treatment. It feels like there’s a lot more going on for him that’s worth exploring.
3) Black Panther
Another character we’ve briefly seen in the “Life Story” books is the King of Wakanda himself, Black Panther. With new mythology being added everyday, there’s a lot you can do with T’Challa and Wakanda as a whole. Exploring the effects of Vibranium on top of how his rule could go over would make for an excellent title in this line. We’ve gotten glimpses of Wakanda and a few appearances from T’Challa to make enough of an impact in a “Life Story” title. With how popular Black Panther has become for casual audiences, this would also be a great way to get the movie fans to get a quick glimpse into his history. We just need more Black Panther in general but this would be a great start.
4) Punisher
The nightmare of all criminals from low lifes to costumed creeps deserves a shot at a life story. Frank has a complicated history with his backstory seeming to change frequently and “Life Story” could tackle the backstory and set it in stone. With how much controversy the character has caused as of late, it could also be a way for Marvel to tackle how he’s changed over the years as well. With a new Red-Band series on the way, “Life Story” could be another format to get Frank to come back as well. All we know is, whatever happens in this story bullets and blood are bound to be everywhere.
5) Daredevil
Time and time again, Matt Murdock has proven to be the sleeper hit character of Marvel. Almost always having a top selling book at any given moment, he’s had a nice little history over his 60 years. Giving him a series in the “Life Story” style would work super well for Matt. Having many distinct eras over the years, there’s a lot you could play with in this book. Likely being a smaller scale “Life Story” doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be good either. The scale of “Life Story” so far has been huge but taking a back seat into one of the many neighborhoods of New York would be a nice change of pace. The Man Without Fear’s legacy will always amaze seemingly everyone and this would be no different.
6) Hulk
Marvel has done a lot of different takes with the Hulk over the years. Following all of those changes would be a hard task in it of itself but it would be a super fun title to read. Exploring the duality of man versus monster over the course of 60 years has epic written all over it. With how much mythology has been added to the Hulk across his history, it’s the perfect time to celebrate him.
7) Venom
Having a brief subplot in Spider-Man: Life Story, a continuation of what Venom was up to would be a nice epilogue. It feels like a back burner plot that should have had a lot more. Intertwining it’s story along with Peter’s would make for a nice crossover with a different perspective. Venom is always going to be one of those characters that will always sell and this would be no different. With how expansive the Venomverse is, there has to be a lot more going on for this Venom as well.
What “Life Story” would you like to see? Let us know down in the comments.
