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Marvel legacy numbering – X-Men

bluedevil2002 — Sat, 17 Aug 2024 04:08:29 +0000

Uncanny X-Men was the last of the core Marvel series to get relaunched, maintaining its original numbering until #544 in 2011. Ironically, since that point, the X-books have become the messiest in terms of relaunches and legacy numbering. There has been very little consistency over the years in maintaining legacy numbering on the covers, much less with the actual titles of the books.

Uncanny X-Men
#1-#141
X-Men (1963) #1-141

#142-544
Uncanny X-Men #142-544
The series unofficially started calling itself “Uncanny X-Men” around #114, although the title was not officially changed until #142.

#545-564
Uncanny X-Men (2012) #1-20
The first UXM relaunch by Gillen (includes tie-ins to AvX).

#565-599
Uncanny X-Men (2013) #1-35
Brian Michael Bendis took over.

#600
Uncanny X-Men #600
The conclusion of Bendis’ run.

#601-619
Uncanny X-Men (2016) #1-19
Written by Cullen Bunn

#620-634
Uncanny X-Men (2019) #1-15
Returned after a two year hiatus.

#635-637
X-Men: War of the Realms #1-3

#638-644
Uncanny X-Men (2019) #16-22

#645-665
X-Men #1-21
The first Krakoa era series by Jonathan Hickman.

#666-700
X-Men #1-35
The second Krakoa era series by Gerry Duggan.

#701-current
Uncanny X-Men #1-current
The “From the Ashes” relaunch series by Gail Simone.

X-Men (1991)
#1-113
X-Men (1991) #1-113

#114-156
New X-Men #114-156

#157-207
X-Men (1991) #157-207

#208-275
X-Men Legacy #208-275

#276-299
X-Men Legacy volume 2 #1-24

#300
X-Men Legacy #300

#301-current
X-Men (2024) #1-current
The “From the Ashes” relaunch series by Jed MacKay.

There were other series during this time also entitled “X-Men” that are not included in legacy numbering, nor should they be due to running concurrently.
The first was launched in 2010 alongside X-Men Legacy #238, ending 41 issues later in the same month as X-Men Legacy (volume 2) #6 (or #281 overall).
The second was launched in 2013 alongside X-Men Legacy (volume 2) #10 and ran for 26 issues, ending a year after X-Men Legacy #300 was published.
Meanwhile, the two series simply titled “X-Men” during the Krakoa era were included in the “Uncanny X-Men” numbering.

X-Factor
#1-149
X-Factor (1986) #1-149
X-Factor was cancelled and replaced by Mutant X at this point, which ran for 32 issues. There was also an unrelated X-Factor 4-issue mini-series in 2002 that has never been included in legacy numbering.

#150-199
X-Factor (2006) #1-50
This is the series launched by Peter David following the Madrox mini-series.

#200-262
X-Factor (1986) #200-262
After #50 of the 2006 series, the numbering reverted to volume 1.

#263-282
All-New X-Factor #1-20
Peter David continued writing, but with a new cast and direction.

#283-292
X-Factor (2020) #1-10
The Krakoa era series.

#293-current
X-Factor (2024) #1-current
The “From the Ashes” relaunch series.

X-Force
#1-129
X-Force (1991) #1-129
The series was soft-rebooted with a new cast and premise in #116. That case continued on in X-Statix, running for 26 issues.

#130-135
X-Force (2004) #1-6

#136-163
X-Force (2008) #1-28

#164-198
Uncanny X-Force (2010) #1-35

#199-215
Uncanny X-Force (2013) #1-17

#216-230
X-Force (2014) #1-15
All-New Marvel Now!

#231-240
X-Force (2019) #1-10

#241-290
X-Force (2020) #1-50
The Krakoa era series.

#291-current
X-Force (2024) #1-current
The “From the Ashes” relaunch series.

Wolverine
#1-189
Wolverine (1988) #1-189

#190-263
Wolverine (2003) #1-74

#264-279
Dark Wolverine #75-90 or Wolverine: Weapon X #1-16
After #74, Wolverine’s main series was taken over by his son and retitled to Dark Wolverine. But also around the same time, Wolverine: Weapon X was launched, written by Jason Aaron, who also continued on as writer in the next Wolverine series (below).

#280-299
Wolverine (2010) #1-20

#300-317
Wolverine (1988) #300-317

#318-330
Wolverine (2013) #1-13

#331-342
Wolverine (2014) #1-12

#343-392
Wolverine (2020) #1-50
The Krakoa era series.

#393-current
Wolverine (2024) #1-current
The “From the Ashes” relaunch series.

Marvel Legacy Numbering – Avengers

bluedevil2002 — Wed, 28 Dec 2022 22:46:00 +0000

Legacy numbering started out as a fun gift to fans, sort of a way to apologize for relaunching so many series. However, Marvel has managed to overcomplicate it as they really stretch the definition of a legacy series, as well as adding in mini-series, and also not understanding proper math skills. John Jackson Miller at Comichron has a really good explanation for the logic behind most of the legacy numbering:

It’s important to understand that Marvel’s goal was not to create a census counting all issues published under a series’ name, but rather to restore the post-1960s numbering that most of its legacy titles spent the longest amount of time under. Hence, Captain America gets the credit for Tales of Suspense issues he was not in, because the longest-running Captain America title took over the numbering of Tales and any attempt to force imaginary numbering on a plurality of the series’ issues would be counterproductive. The idea, rather, was to pretend that the wave of 1990s-and-later reboots never happened. So, too, there is no error in leaving out the first six issues of Incredible Hulk‘s original run; they were never presumed to be part of the sequence by collectors during the hundreds of issues the Tales to Astonish-born series ran, and have no more role in its renumbering than the Golden Age Captain America title does.

Another key to determining legacy numbering is finding the core series of a franchise, even if it didn’t have the exact same name. Also, specially numbered issues (such as #-1, #0, or any number with a decimal) are not counted in the whole numbers.

The “Quick Math” section under each series is what number to add to an issue from a particular volume to get its legacy number.

Avengers
#1-402
Avengers volume 1 #1-402
(series began in 1963)

#403-415
Avengers volume 2 #1-13
(“Heroes Reborn” series launched in 1996)
Quick math: 402

#416-499
Avengers volume 3 #1-84
(“Heroes Return” series launched in 1997)
key issues:
–#35 (450) – Maximum Security crossover
–#41 (457) – legacy numbering printed on covers starting with this issue until #500
–#57-76 (472-491) – Geoff Johns run
Quick math: 415

#500-503
Avengers volume 1 #500-503
(series reverted to original numbering in 2004 for Avengers Disassembled event)

#504-567
New Avengers #1-64
(series launched in 2005)
Quick math: 503

#568-601
Avengers volume 4 #1-34
(series launched in 2010 as part of “The Heroic Age”)
key issues:
–#33 (600) – milestone issue
Quick math: 567

#602-645
Avengers volume 5 #1-44
(series launched in 2012, written by Jonathan Hickman)
Quick math: 601

#646-660
All New All Different Avengers: #1-15 (660)
(series launched in 2015 in aftermath of Secret Wars)
Quick math: 645

#661-671
Avengers volume 6: #1-11
(series launched in 2016)
Quick math: 660

#672-690
Avengers volume 1 #672-690
(series reverted to original numbering as part of Marvel Legacy initiative.)

#691-707
Avengers volume 7 #1-17
Key issue: #10 (700) – milestone issue
Quick math: 690

All issues from this point on carry the Legacy numbering on the cover.

#708-717
Avengers: Road to Nowhere: #1-10
(Marvel specifically published the legacy numbers on this mini-series to include them in the overall numbering)
Quick math: 707

#718-766
Avengers volume 7: #18-66
Quick math: 700

#767-current
Avengers volume 8: #1-current
Quick math: 766

*as of the November 2024 solicitations, the most recent issue is #20 (786)

Milestone issues:
#600 – Avengers volume 4 #33
#700 – Avengers volume 7 #10

At the time of its launch, “New Avengers” was the primary Avengers title, even though other spinoffs were launched later on. When the franchise relaunched as part of the “Heroic Age” initiative, “Avengers” returned as the flagship title and carrying the legacy numbering, even though another “New Avengers” series was launched.

Captain America
#1-99
Tales of Suspense #1-99

During the Marvel Legacy publishing initiative, Marvel revived Tales of Suspense for #100-104 as a Winter Soldier and Hawkeye mini-series, but those issues are not part of any other legacy numbering.

#100-454
Captain America volume 1 #100-454
(series continued numbering from Tales of Suspense)

#455-467
Captain America volume 2: #1-13
(“Heroes Reborn” series launched in 1996)
Quick math: 454

#468-517
Captain America volume 3 #1-50
(“Heroes Return” series launched in 1997)
Key issues:
–#25-50 (492-517) – Dan Jurgens run
–#33 (500) – milestone issue
Quick math: 467

Volume 3 #50 featured a legacy number of #518 on the cover, but that was clearly a typo.

#518-549
Captain America volume 4 #1-32
(series launched in 2002 under the Marvel Knights imprint)
Quick math: 517

#550-599
Captain America volume 5 #1-50
(series launched in 2005 after Avengers Disassembled, written by Ed Brubaker)
Key issue: #25 (574) – Death of Captain America
Quick math: 549

#600-619
Captain America volume 1 #600-619

#620-638
Captain America volume 6 #1-19
(series launched in 2011, concluding the Brubaker run)
Quick math: 619

#639-663
Captain America volume 7 #1-25
(series launched in 2012)
Quick math: 638

#664-669
All New Captain America: #1-6
Quick math: 663

#670-693
Sam Wilson, Captain America: #1-24
Quick math: 669

#694
Captain America volume 8 #25
(series continued from Sam Wilson, Captain America)

There was also a “Steve Rogers, Captain America” series that ran concurrently to this series for 19 issues, but is not counted in the legacy numbering because Sam Wilson was the primary Captain America at the time.

#695-704
Captain America volume 1 #695-704
(series reverted to original numbering as part of Marvel Legacy initiative.)

#705-734
Captain America volume 9 (2018): #1-30
(series launched in 2019, written by Ta-Nehisi Coates)
Quick math: 704

#735
Captain America #0

This special published in 2022 led to the launch of two concurrent series – Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty (focusing on Steve Rogers, running for 13 issues) and Captain America: Symbol of Truth (focusing on Sam Wilson, running for 14 issues). Symbol of Truth carried the legacy numbering on the covers, which requires us to bend the rule regarding special numbers.

#736-749
Captain America: Symbol of Truth #1-14
(series launched in 2022)
Quick math: 735

#750
Captain America volume 1 #750
(published in July 2023)

#751-current
Captain America volume 10 #1-current
(series launched in 2023 by JMS)
Quick math: 750

*as of the September 2024 solicitations, the most recent issue is #15 (765)

Captain America and…
When Captain America (volume 6) was launched, Marvel also ran a team-up series continuing the numbering from volume 1. These numbers are not included in any legacy numbering.
Captain America and Bucky #620-628
Captain America and Hawkeye #629-632
Captain America and Iron Man #633-635
Captain America and Namor #635.1
Captain America and Black Widow #636-640

Thor
#1-125
Journey into Mystery volume 1 #1-125
Key issue: #82 – first Thor

#126-502
Thor volume 1 #126-502
(series continued numbering from Journey into Mystery)

When the character of Thor was shifted over to the Heroes Reborn universe, the series continued as “Journey into Mystery”, but those issues were not counted in legacy numbering. (More information on “Journey into Mystery” below.)

#503-587
Thor volume 2 #1-85
(series began in 1998 as a late “Heroes Return” entry)
Key issues: #80-85 (582-587) – Ragnarok arc (Avengers Disassembled tie-in)
Quick math: 502

#588-599
Thor volume 3 #1-12
(series began in 2007 by JMS)
Quick math: 587

#600-621
Thor volume 1 #600-621

Once again, the numbering was continued as “Journey into Mystery” when a new Thor series was launched.

#622-643
The Mighty Thor #1-22
(series began in 2011)
Quick math: 621

Many issues of the original Thor series were unofficially titled “The Mighty Thor” on the cover, but this is the first time it’s officially part of the title.

#644-668
Thor: God of Thunder #1-25
(series began in 2012)
Quick math: 643

#669-676
Thor volume 4 #1-8
(series began in 2014 featuring Jane Foster)
Quick math: 668

#677-699
The Mighty Thor volume 2 #1-23
(series began in 2015)
Quick math: 676

#700-706
Thor volume 1 #700-706
(series reverted to original numbering as part of Marvel Legacy initiative.)

#707-722
Thor volume 5 #1-16
(series began in 2018)
Quick math: 706

#723-726
King Thor #1-4
Quick math: 722

#727-761
Thor volume 6 #1-35
(series began in 2020)
Quick math: 726

#762-current
Immortal Thor #1-current*
(series began in 2023)
Quick math: 761

*as of the November 2024 solicitations, the most recent issue is #17 (#778)

Journey into Mystery
Like most of the early Marvel anthologies that eventually changed into a single hero series, “Journey into Mystery” eventually became “Thor”. But at various points in time as the “Thor” series was relaunched, the original numbering was continued until the “Journey into Mystery” title. None of those reversions count in the legacy numbering, and there is no way to create a cohesive set of numbering for Journey into Mystery.
#1-125 – series becomes Thor
volume 2 #1-19 – a horror anthology series from the 1970s, not connected to Thor
#503-521 – continuing from Thor volume 1 during Heroes Reborn event
#622-655 – continuing from Thor volume 1 as “The Mighty Thor” was launched

Iron Man
#1-332
Iron Man volume 1 #1-332
(series began in 1968)

#333-345
Iron Man volume 2 #1-13
(“Heroes Reborn” series launched in 1996)
Quick math: 332

#346-434
Iron Man volume 3 #1-89
(“Heroes Return” series launched in 1997)
Quick math: 345

#435-462
Iron Man volume 4 #1-28
(series launched in 2005 after Avengers: Disassembled)
Quick math: 434

#463-466
Iron Man: Director of SHIELD #29-32
(Iron Man volume 4 was retitled in 2008)
Quick math: 434

This series continued for three more issues (#33-35), with the cover title of War Machine: Weapon of SHIELD. At the same time, a new Iron Man series was launched. At the time, Marvel did not count these three issues when they reverted to Iron Man #500, but they did count them when creating the numbering for Marvel Legacy a few years later.

#467-499
Invincible Iron Man #1-33
(series launched in 2008 and was the first time “Invincible” was an official part of the title.)
Quick math: 466

#500-527
Invincible Iron Man #500-527

#528-530
Due to a math error, these issues don’t seem to exist. When “Invincible Iron Man” was launched in 2008, the “Iron Man: Director of SHIELD” title was still running for three issues. Those issues (#33-35) featured War Machine and had a “War Machine: Weapon of SHIELD” logo plastered over the Iron Man logo on the covers. Marvel did not count those issues when they calculated Iron Man #500. However those issues were counted when calculating the number for Marvel Legacy, which is why Marvel now says that #500-527 are really #503-530. The editors handling the Marvel Legacy numbering project were clearly just looking at the highest issue number of each volume to add together.

#531-558
Iron Man volume 5 #1-28
(series launched in 2013)
Quick math: 530

#559-567
Superior Iron Man #1-9
Quick math: 558

#568-581
Invincible Iron Man volume 2 #1-14
(series launched in 2015 by Brian Michael Bendis)
Quick math: 567

#582-592
Invincible Iron Man volume 3 #1-11
(series launched in 2016, also by BMB)
Quick math: 581

#593-600
Iron Man volume 1 #593-600
(series reverted to original numbering as part of Marvel Legacy initiative.)

Technically, these issues are officially part of “Invincible Iron Man” volume 3.

#601-619
Tony Stark: Iron Man #1-19
(series launched in 2018 by Dan Slott)
Quick math: 600

#620-625
Iron Man 2020 #1-6
(mini-series published in 2020 to conclude Slott’s run)
Quick math: 619

#626-650
Iron Man volume 6 #1-25
(series launched in 2020 by Christopher Cantwell)
Quick math: 625

#651-670
Invincible Iron Man volume 4 #1-20
(series launched in 2022 by Gerry Duggan and ties into the X-Men Krakoa era and “Fall of X”)
Quick math: 650

#671-current
Iron Man volume 7 #1-current*
Quick math: 670

*as of the November 2024 solicitations, the most recent issue is #2 (#672)

Annuals

Annuals have created their own kind of problems with legacy numbering. From the 1960s through the mid-1990s, Marvel numbered annuals sequentially, although they referred to some as “King Size” and/or “Specials”. Starting in 1995, the X-Men titles got annuals labelled by year (ex. ’95) with the practice expanding to the rest of the Marvel line in 1996. In 1998, all of the Marvel annuals were team-ups, and some characters or groups were represented in multiple annuals. In most cases, whichever series was referred to first in the title claims that annual. From 1999-2001, Marvel continued to number by year (using all four digits), and then discontinued annuals in favor of extra regular issues during the year. Sometime in the late 2000s, annuals returned, but there has been no consistency among numbering practices. Some series got legacy numbers, some get a new Annual #1 to go with each relaunch, and some Annuals get renumbered even if the parent series had not been relaunched. And naturally, over the years, there have been misnumbered and forgotten annuals.

Avengers
#1-23 - numbered sequentially along with volume 1
#24 – Avengers/Squadron Supreme ’98, going along with volume 3
#25-27 – Marvel used the full years for numbering: 1999-2001, going along with volume 3
#28-30 – New Avengers Annuals #1-3
#31 – a new Annual #1 in 2012, going along with volume 4
#32 – another Annual #1 in 2013, going along with volume 5
#33 – All New All Different Avengers Annual #1
#34 – yet another Annual #1 in 2021, going along with volume 7

Captain America
#1-13 - numbered sequentially along with volume 1
#14 – Captain America/Citizen V ’98, going along with volume 3
#15-17 - Marvel used the full years for numbering: 1999-2001, going along with volume 3

The Iron Man/Captain America ’98 Annual is credited to Iron Man’s series.

Iron Man
#1-15 - numbered sequentially along with volume 1
#16 – Iron Man/Captain America ’98, going along with volume 3
#17-19 - Marvel used the full years for numbering: 1999-2001, going along with volume 3
#20 – Iron Man: Director of SHIELD Annual #1
#21 – Invincible Iron Man Annual #1 in 2010
#22 – Iron Man Annual #1 (2014), probably goes along with volume 5

Marvel Legacy Numbering – Marvel Universe

bluedevil2002 — Mon, 30 May 2022 02:14:13 +0000

It’s important to understand that Marvel’s goal was not to create a census counting all issues published under a series’ name, but rather to restore the post-1960s numbering that most of its legacy titles spent the longest amount of time under. Hence, Captain America gets the credit for Tales of Suspense issues he was not in, because the longest-running Captain America title took over the numbering of Tales and any attempt to force imaginary numbering on a plurality of the series’ issues would be counterproductive. The idea, rather, was to pretend that the wave of 1990s-and-later reboots never happened. So, too, there is no error in leaving out the first six issues of Incredible Hulk‘s original run; they were never presumed to be part of the sequence by collectors during the hundreds of issues the Tales to Astonish-born series ran, and have no more role in its renumbering than the Golden Age Captain America title does.

The “Quick Math” section under each series is what number to add to an issue from a particular volume to get its legacy number.

Fantastic Four
#1-416
Fantastic Four volume 1 #1-416
(series began in 1961)

#417-429
Fantastic Four volume 2 #1-13
(“Heroes Reborn” series launched in 1996)
Quick math: 416

#430-499
Fantastic Four volume 3 #1-70
(“Heroes Return” series launched in 1997)
key issues:
–#35 (464) - first Carlos Pacheco issue
–#42 (471) – legacy numbering printed on covers starting with this issue until #500
–#60 (489) – first Mark Waid issue
Quick math: 429

#500-588
Fantastic Four volume 1 #500-588
(series reverted to original numbering in 2003)

#589-599
FF #1-11
(series launched in 2011 as part of Jonathan Hickman’s run)
Quick math: 588

The “FF” series continued after the publication of Fantastic Four #600, with numbering from #12-22. Those issues are not included in any legacy numbering.

#600-611
Fantastic Four volume 1 #600-611
(series again reverted to original numbering in 2012)

#612-627
Fantastic Four volume 4 #1-16
(series launched in 2013 as part of “Marvel NOW!”)
Quick math: 611

#628-641
Fantastic Four volume 5 #1-14
(series launched in 2014 as part of “All New Marvel NOW!”)
Quick math: 627

#642-645
Fantastic Four volume 1 #642-645
(series reverted to original numbering in 2015)

Since Disney owned Marvel, but Fox controlled the FF movie rights, the comic series was put on hiatus for a few years due to corporate egos. However, Disney bought Fox and thus regained the movie rights, allowing the comic to return.

#646-693
Fantastic Four volume 6 #1-48
(series launched in 2018)
Quick math: 645

#694-current
Fantastic Four volume 7 #1-current*
(series launched in 2022)
Key issue:
–#7 (700) – milestone issue celebrated
Quick math: 693

*as of the September 2024 solicitations, the most recent issue is #25 (718)

Daredevil
#1-380
Daredevil volume 1 #1-380
(series began in 1964)

#381-499
Daredevil volume 2 #1-119
(“Marvel Knights” series launched in 1998)
Key issues:
–#1-8 (381-388) – “Guardian Devil” by Kevin Smith
–#22 (402) - legacy numbering printed on covers starting with this issue until #81 (461)
–#26-50 (406-430) and #56-81 (436-461) – Brian Michael Bendis run
–#82 (462) – Ed Brubaker run begins, series moves out of the Marvel Knights imprint and drops dual numbering.
Quick math: 380

Although the dual numbering did not get officially added to the covers until #22 (402), the cover artists had been incorporating the legacy numbering into their signatures from the beginning of the series.

#500-512
Daredevil volume 1 #500-512
(series reverted to original numbering in 2009)

While “Daredevil” was relaunched, “Black Panther: The Man Without Fear” was launched continuing the numbering from Daredevil. It ran from #513-523 and then was renamed as “Black Panther: The Most Dangerous Man Alive” for #523.1-529. None of those issues are included in the legacy numbering for Daredevil, although Marvel did include them in Black Panther’s legacy numbering.

#513-548
Daredevil volume 3 #1-36
(series launched in 2011)
Quick math: 512

#549-566
Daredevil volume 4 #1-18
(series launched in 2014)
Quick math: 548

Both “Daredevil” volumes 3 and 4 were completely written by Mark Waid and are even collected within the same hardcover and TPB series. Perhaps the series was getting too close to #50 and Marvel had to cancel it with their fear of high numbers?

#567-594
Daredevil volume 5 #1-28
(series launched in 2015)
Quick math: 566

#595-612
Daredevil volume 1 #595-612
(series reverted to original numbering as part of Marvel Legacy initiative.)

#613-648
Daredevil volume 6 #1-36
(series launched in 2019)
Quick math: 612

#649-662
Daredevil volume 7 #1-14
(series launched in 2022)
Quick math: 648

#663-current
Daredevil volume 8 #1-current*
(series launched in 2023)
Quick math: 662

*as of the November 2024 solicitations, the most recent issue is #15 (677)

Incredible Hulk
Hulk debuted in his own series called “The Incredible Hulk” which was cancelled after 6 issues. That series is not included in any legacy numbering. However, due to inconsistency of volume numbering (would the series that continued from Tales to Astonish count as volume 1 or volume 2?), we will refer to each Incredible Hulk series by the year it was launched. If “The Incredible Hulk” is used without a year number, it refers to numbering consistent with the series that continued from Tales to Astonish. This series also includes the most glaring error for a milestone issue.

#1-101
Tales to Astonish #1-101

#102-474
Incredible Hulk #102-474
(series continued numbering from Tales to Astonish)

#475-485
Hulk #1-11
(series was launched in 1999, without an adjective)
Quick math: 474

#486-586
Incredible Hulk (1999) #12-112
Quick math: 474

The “Incredible” adjective was added to the “Hulk” series starting with #12 (486). When another Hulk series was launched in 2007, the numbering of this series continued as “The Incredible Hercules” from #113-141. While Marvel has done this “relaunch but continue the old numbering for a new title” trick many times, I believe this is the only time the numbering did not come from the original legacy numbering.

#587-598
Hulk (2008) #1-12
Quick math: 586

After the release of “Incredible Hulk” #600, this series continued from #13-57, and then for another ten issues as “Red She-Hulk”. Only these first 12 issues are counted in the legacy numbering.

#599-610
Incredible Hulk #600-611
Quick math: subtract 1

Marvel messed up the math and issued “Incredible Hulk” #600 an issue early, causing all of the issues until the next relaunch to be a number ahead.

#611-634
Incredible Hulks #612-635
Quick math: subtract 1

Some outlets may not count the slight name change to plural form as a separate series.

#635-649
Incredible Hulk (2011) #1-15
Quick math: 634

#650-669
Indestructible Hulk #1-20
Quick math: 649

#670-685
Hulk (2014) #1-16
Quick math: 669

#686-708
Totally Awesome Hulk #1-23
Quick math: 685

#709-717
Incredible Hulk #709-717
(series reverted to original numbering as part of Marvel Legacy initiative.)

#718-767
Immortal Hulk #1-50
Quick math: 717

#768-781
Hulk (2021) #1-14
Quick math: 767

#782-current
Incredible Hulk (2023) #1-current*
Key issue:
–#19 (800) – milestone issue celebrated
Quick math: 781

*as of the November 2024 solicitations, the most recent issue is #19 (800)

Annuals

Fantastic Four
#1-27 – numbered sequentially
#28 – Fantastic Four/Fantastic Four ’98 (yup, the FF teamed up with themselves in this annual that matches up with volume 3 of the main series)
#29-31 - Marvel used the full years for numbering: 1999-2001, going along with volume 3
#32-33 – numbered sequentially

The “Uncanny X-Men/Fantastic Four” annual in 1998 belongs with the Uncanny X-Men series.

Daredevil
#1-4 – numbered sequentially
#5 – mislabeled as another #4, as they had skipped 13 years between annuals. (The “wrong” Annual #4 is the Atlantis Attacks tie-in from 1989)
#6-10 – numbered sequentially
#11 – Daredevil/Deadpool ’97
#12 – Annual #1 in 2007, going along with Ed Brubaker’s run
#13 – Annual #1 in 2012, by Alan Davis as part of a crossover with FF Annual #33 and Wolverine Annual #1
#14 – Annual #1 again in 2016 by Charles Soule
#15 – yet another Annual #1, from 2018

Incredible Hulk
#1-20 – numbered sequentially
#21 – Incredible Hulk ’97
#22 – Hulk/Sub-Mariner ’98
#23-25 – Marvel used the full years for numbering: 1999-2001, going along with the relaunched series.
#26 – Incredible Hulks Annual #1 (2011)
#27 – Indestructible Hulk Annual #1 (2013)
#28 – Hulk Annual #1 (2014)
#29 – Hulk Annual #1 (2023), comes between Hulk (2021) #14 and Incredible Hulk (2023) #1

X-Man/Hulk ’98 counts as an annual for the “X-Man” series.

Other Marvel Legacy numbering articles:
-Spider-Man
-Avengers
-X-Men

DC Comics Legacy Numbering

bluedevil2002 — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 21:04:27 +0000

While not as bad as Marvel, DC has had their own history of restarting and rebooting series, and later reverting numbers back. There have been many attempts online to figure out legacy numbering for DC series, but many of them use different sets of logic, sometimes flawed. The goal isn’t necessarily to count every appearance, but to determine what the issue number would be if a series had never been renumbered. Unfortunately, DC has started to fall into the habit of including mini-series that preceded an ongoing series in the legacy numbering. Some folks in the binding hobby like to use the legacy numbers when they’re listing contents of their bound volumes.

There are two types of series here. The “official” series have had their legacy numbers acknowledged at some point by DC either by reverting to previous numbering, a variant cover, or a special issue. The “unofficial” series have not had any acknowledgement by DC. Specially numbered issues, such as #0 or #1000000 are not counted, as they would not be counted for a series that was never relaunched. Due to this numbering system, several series will have multiple #0 issues (mainly any series that was published in both 1994 and 2012).

Official series

Superman
The original Superman series was renamed as “Adventures in Superman” in the post-Crisis era. A new “Superman” series (also known as volume 2) was launched at the same time. Both the renamed “Adventures of Superman” and volume 2 series spanned 226 issues. Only one of those series can count in the overall numbering.

volume 1: #1-423
Adventures of Superman: #424-649
volume 1 continued: #650-714
volume 3 (New 52): #1-52 (766)
volume 4 (Rebirth): #1-45 (811)
volume 5 (mostly Bendis): #1-32 (843)
volume 6 (Dawn of DC/All In): #1-27 (870)*

Milestone issues:
-#800 – volume 4 #34 (acknowledged by variant cover)
-#850 – volume 6 #7 (acknowledged by legacy numbering)

*as of the June 2025 solicitations.

DC has wisely decided to not include the 18 issues of “Superman: Son of Kal-El” as part of the Superman legacy numbering. They only acknowledged the legacy numbering on the cover for three issues (#7-9 or #850-852) prior to bringing it back starting with #19/#862.

Batman
volume 1: #1-713
volume 2 (New 52): #1-52 (765)
volume 3 (Rebirth): #1-163 (928)
volume 4 (starts in 2025): #1* (929)

Milestone issues:
-#800 – volume 3 #35 (acknowledged by variant cover)
-#900 – volume 3 #135 (acknowledged by legacy numbering)

*A new Batman relaunch was announced to begin in 2025 after Hush 2.

Wonder Woman
volume 1: #1-329
volume 2 (post-crisis): #1-226 (555)
volume 3 (post-Infinite Crisis): #1-44 (599)
volume 1 reverted: #600-614
volume 4 (new 52): #1-52 (666)
volume 5 (Rebirth): #1-83 (749)
volume 1 reverted again: #750-800
volume 6 (Dawn of DC/current): #1-22 (822)*

*as of the June 2025 solicitations.

Milestone issues:
#400 – volume 2 #71
#500 – volume 2 #171
#700 – volume 5 #34 (acknowledged by variant cover)

Flash
Flash Comics: #1-104
volume 1 (Barry Allen): #105-350
volume 2 (Wally West): #1-247 (597)
volume 3 (Barry Allen/Brightest Day): #1-12 (609)
volume 4 (New 52): #1-52 (661)
volume 5 (Rebirth): #1-88 (749)
volume 1 reverted: #750-800
volume 6 (Dawn of DC/current): #1-22 (822)*

*as of the June 2025 solicitations.

Following Infinite Crisis, volume 2 was seemingly cancelled with #230 and replaced by “Flash: The Fastest Man Alive” starring Bart Allen. That series lasted for 12 issues before Wally West returned and his series was restarted with #231. Due to that, the Bart Allen series is not included in the legacy numbering, as confirmed by DC when they created the variant cover for the hypothetical #700 and later when they reverted the series to the original numbering with #750.

Milestone issues:
#400 – volume 2 #50
#500 – volume 2 #150
#600 – volume 3 #3
#700 – volume 5 #39 (acknowledged by variant cover)

Action Comics
volume 1: #1-904
volume 2 (New 52): #1-52 (956)
volume 1 continued: #957-current

Detective Comics
volume 1: #1-881
volume 2 (New 52): #1-52 (933)
volume 1 continued: #934-current

Milestone issue:
#900 – volume 2 #19 (acknowledged by special issue)

Green Arrow
volume 1 (1983 mini-series): #1-4
volume 2 (1988 ongoing): #1-137 (141)
volume 3 (2001): #1-75 (216)
volume 4 (Brightest Day): #1-15 (231)
volume 5 (New 52): #1-52 (283)
volume 6 (Rebirth) #1-50 (333)
volume 7 (Dawn of DC) #1-25 (351)*

*as of the June 2025 solicitations

Milestone issues:
#100 – volume 2 #96
#200 – volume 3 #59
#300 – volume 5 #17
#350 – volume 7 #17 (acknowledged by special issue)

The legacy numbering for Green Arrow was not acknowledged until DC solicited #350 in the October 2024 solicitations (but followed up with #18 in November). The numbering includes the original 1983 mini-series but excludes the 2007 series entitled “Green Arrow/Black Canary” which ran for 32 issues (the last three of which were published just as “Green Arrow”), confirmed by Mark Waid.

Nightwing
volume 1: #1-4
volume 2: #1-153 (157)
volume 3 (New 52): #1-30 (187)
volume 4 (Rebirth): #1-127 (314)*

*as of the June 2025 solicitations

Milestone issues:
#100 – volume 2 #96
#200 – volume 4 #13
#300 – volume 4 #113 (acknowledged by special issue)

Unofficial series

Green Lantern (option #1)
There is much debate about whether or not to include the Golden Age numbering in Green Lantern’s legacy numbering, and whether or not the concept remained the same between the Golden Age and the Silver Age. I have chosen to include it here based on the precedence of the Flash series, as the Silver Age version picked up on the numbering of the Golden Age series which featured a different version of the character. As far as I can tell, DC has never acknowledged any GL legacy numbering.

volume 1 (1941): #1-38
volume 2 (1960): #1-200 (238)
Green Lantern Corps: #201-224 (262)
volume 3 (1990): #1-181 (443)
volume 4 (Johns run): #1-67 (510)
volume 5 (New 52): #1-52 (562)
Green Lanterns (Rebirth): #1-57 (619)
The Green Lantern: #1-12 (631)
The Green Lantern Season Two: #1-12 (643)
volume 6 (Infinite Frontier): #1-12 (655)
volume 7 (Dawn of DC): #1-24 (679)*

*as of the June 2025 solicitations.

Milestone issues:
#100 – volume 2 #62
#200 – volume 2 #162
#300 – volume 3 #38
#400 – volume 3 #138
#500 – volume 4 #57
#600 - Green Lanterns #38

Green Lantern (option #2)
If we ignore the Golden Age series, the legacy numbering is a little cleaner.

volume 2 (1960): #1-200
Green Lantern Corps: #201-224
volume 3 (1990): #1-181 (405)
volume 4 (Johns run): #1-67 (472)
volume 5 (New 52): #1-52 (524)
Green Lanterns (Rebirth): #1-57 (581)
The Green Lantern: #1-12 (593)
The Green Lantern Season Two: #1-12 (605)
volume 6 (Infinite Frontier): #1-12 (617)
volume 7 (Dawn of DC): #1-24 (641)*

*as of the June 2025 solicitations.

Milestone issues:
#300 – volume 3 #76
#400 – volume 3 #176
#500 – volume 5 #28
#600 – The Green Lantern Season Two #7

When DC launched the “All In” initiative in 2024 and began to regularly include legacy numbering on their main series, they published Green Lantern #16 with a legacy number of #583. No one can agree on a string of Green Lantern issues that can be used to get to 567 prior to the current volume while maintaining an internal logic.

There are two options that allow us to get to #567 on the dot, but both involve counting Green Lantern Corps #201-205 as those issues were still labelled as “Green Lantern” in the indicia.

Green Lantern (option #3)
volume 1 (1941): #1-38
volume 2 (1960): #1-200 (238)
Green Lantern Corps: #201-205 (243)
volume 3 (1990): #1-181 (424)
volume 4 (Johns run): #1-67 (491)
volume 5 (New 52): #1-52 (543)
The Green Lantern: #1-12 (555)
volume 6 (Infinite Frontier): #1-12 (567)

Green Lantern (option #4)
volume 2 (1960): #1-200
Green Lantern Corps: #201-205
volume 3 (1990): #1-181 (386)
volume 4 (Johns run): #1-67 (453)
volume 5 (New 52): #1-52 (505)
Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps: #1-50 (555)
volume 6 (Infinite Frontier): #1-12 (567)

Justice League
Like “Avengers” over at Marvel, the key to the Justice League is determining which series was the “core” series, even if it didn’t always have the same name and there might have been two variations running at the same time. Because the first three series equaled 499 total issues, I have bent the rule slightly to count the #0 issue of volume 2 (written by Brad Meltzer) as #500 overall. Occasionally, there have been specials or mini-series to fill in the gaps between ongoing series, but none of those have been counted.

Justice League of America volume 1: #1-261
Justice League volume 1: #1-6 (267)
Justice League International: #7-25 (286)
Justice League America: #26-113 (374)
JLA (Grant Morrison): #1-125 (499)
Justice League of America volume 2 (post-Infinite Crisis): #0-60 (560)
Justice League volume 2 (new 52): #1-52 (612)
Justice League volume 3 (Rebirth): #1-43 (655)
Justice League volume 4: #1-75 (730)
Justice League Unlimited: #1-8 (738)*

*as of the June 2025 solicitations

Milestone issues:
#300 – Justice League America #39
#400 - JLA #26
#500 – volume 2 #0
#600 – Justice League volume 2 #40
#700 - Justice League volume 4 #45

Until told otherwise, I’m counting Justice League Unlimited as the legacy series for Justice League. It’s the only JL-related series after a two year hiatus.

Legion of Super-Heroes
LOSH started as the “Superboy” series in the 1940s and later became “Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes” and eventually just “Legion of Super-Heroes”. That series was eventually retitled once again to “Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes” (starting with #314) and featured new stories for 12 issues before featuring reprints of the new “Legion of Super-Heroes” series. Since the two series were running concurrently, there’s no good way to count both, so this list follows the core “Legion of Super-Heroes” name. Prior to those name changes, there was a mini-series reprinting earlier Legion appearances called “Legion of Super-Heroes” now known as volume 1, which is not counted in the legacy numbering due to it being reprints and concurrent with the existing series. Some resources try to include the Legionnaires series from the 90s in the count, but there’s no logical reason to include those issues (it would be like including issues of Superman in an Action Comics numbering system).

Superboy: #1-230
Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes: #231-258
Legion of Super-Heroes (volume 2): #259-313
volume 3 (Baxter): #1-63 (376)
volume 4 (5YL + ZH reboot): #1-125 (501) (#24 = #400, #124=#500)
Legion Lost: #1-12 (513)
Legion Worlds: #1-6 (519)
The Legion: #1-38 (557)
volume 5 (threeboot): #1-50 (607) (#43 = #600)
volume 6 (2010): #1-16 (623)
volume 7 (new 52): #1-23 (646)
volume 8 (Bendis): #1-12 (658)

Milestone issues:
#400 - volume 4 #24
#500 – volume 4 #124
#600 - volume 5 #43

While there has never been any official acknowledgement of legacy numbering, artist Barry Kitson attempted to acknowledge on the cover of volume 5 #15 by having the character of Blok make a joke about how it should be #568. However, his methodology is flawed. The only way to get that number is to include all of volume 2 including the non-reprint issues of “Tales of the LOSH”, volume 3, volume 4, the DnA “Legion” series, plus the 15 issues of volume 5 up to that point (325+63+125+38+15 = 566), and the overall number still comes up short. I believe the remaining two issues to obtain that number were #0 and #1000000 of volume 4. This list determines that particular issue to be #572 (or #554 if we ignore mini and maxi series).

Marvel Legacy Numbering – Spider-Man

bluedevil2002 — Sun, 22 Aug 2021 16:51:04 +0000

Legacy numbering started out as a fun gift to fans, sort of a way to apologize for relaunching so many series. When it comes to Spider-Man, Amazing Spider-Man is the only series that has been continuously published through multiple relaunches. However, there are some quirks to remember as it has been retitled (Superior Spider-Man) or temporarily replaced by a mini-series. Many of the other Spider-Man series with legacy numbering were determined after the fact, and would combine numbering from volumes that were years apart. Also, gimmick or decimal numbers are not included in the count as they wouldn’t be counted as whole numbers for a series that had never been relaunched.

The “Quick Math” section under each series is what number to add to an issue from a particular volume to get its legacy number.

Amazing Spider-Man
#1-441
Amazing Spider-Man volume 1 #1-441
(series began in 1963)

#442-499
Amazing Spider-Man volume 2 #1-58
(series began in 1999)
Key issue: #30 (471) – beginning of JMS run, also legacy numbering printed on covers until #500
Quick math: 441

#500-700
Amazing Spider-Man volume 1 #500-700
(series reverted to original numbering in 2004)

#701-731
Superior Spider-Man #1-31
(series ran in 2013-2014)
Quick math: 700

#732-737
Amazing Spider-Man volume 3 #1-6
(series began in 2014)
Quick math: 731

#738-739
Superior Spider-Man #32-33
(series was revived for two issues as a Spider-Verse tie-in)

#740-751
Amazing Spider-Man volume 3 #7-18
Key issues: #9-15 (742-748) – Spider-Verse event
Quick math: 739

There is possibly some debate on where to include Superior Spider-Man #32-33 in sequence, but ASM v.3 #18 will still become #751.

#752-756
Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #1-5
(2015 mini-series tie-in to Secret Wars)
Quick math: 751

#757-788
Amazing Spider-Man volume 4 #1-32
(series began in 2015)
Key issues: #20-24 (776-780) – Clone Conspiracy tie-ins
Quick math: 756

#789-801
Amazing Spider-Man volume 1 #789-801
(series reverted to original numbering as part of Marvel Legacy initiative in 2017)

Dan Slott’s run began in #648 and ended with #801. He had 4 #1s in his run.

#802-894
Amazing Spider-Man volume 5 #1-93
(series began in 2018 – all issues include legacy numbering)
Key issue: #75 (876) – beginning of “Beyond” run
Quick math: 801

#895-current
Amazing Spider-Man volume 6 #1-current
(series began in 2022)
Key issues: #6 (900) – 60th anniversary special
#9 (903) – Hellfire Gala tie-in
#10 (904) – Judgment Day tie-in
Quick math: 894
*As of the November 2024 solicitations, the most recent issue is #52 (956).

Spectacular Spider-Man
#1-263
Spectacular Spider-Man volume 1 #1-263
(series ran 1976-1998)

#264-290
Spectacular Spider-Man volume 2 #1-27
(series ran 2003-2005)

#291-296
Spectacular Spider-Man volume 3 #1-6
(series began in 2017)

#297-313
Spectacular Spider-Man volume 1 #297-313
(series reverted to original numbering as part of Marvel Legacy initiative in 2017)

Spider-Man (1990)
#1-74
Spider-Man #1-74
(series began in 1990 by Todd McFarlane)

#75-98
Peter Parker, Spider-Man #75-98
(series was retitled to add “Peter Parker” upon conclusion of the Clone Saga in 1996)

#99-155
Peter Parker, Spider-Man volume 2 #1-57
(series began in 1999)

Annuals

Annuals have created their own kind of problems with legacy numbering. From the 1960s through the mid-1990s, Marvel numbered annuals sequentially, although they referred to some as “King Size” and/or “Specials”. Starting in 1995, the X-Men titles got annuals labelled by year (ex. ’95) with the practice expanding to the rest of the Marvel line in 1996. The Spider-Man titles released Super Specials in 1995 (all part of the “Planet of the Symbiotes” storyline), but those have not been counted in legacy numbering. In 1998, all of the Marvel annuals were team-ups, and some characters or groups were represented in multiple annuals. In most cases, whichever series was referred to first in the title claims that annual. From 1999-2001, Marvel continued to number by year (using all four digits), and then discontinued annuals in favor of extra regular issues during the year. Sometime in the late 2000s, annuals returned, but there has been no consistency among numbering practices. Some series got legacy numbers, some get a new Annual #1 to go with each relaunch, and some Annuals get renumbered even if the parent series had not been relaunched. And naturally, over the years, there have been misnumbered and forgotten annuals.

Amazing Spider-Man
#1-28 - numbered sequentially
Marvel does not count the Super Special in 1995.
#29-30 – identified by the years – ’96 and ’97
#31 - Amazing Spider-Man/Devil Dinosaur Annual 1998 (team-up annual)
#32-34 – identified by full years 1999-2001
#35 – Labeled as Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1, but with #35 as the legacy number. Came out during the “Brand New Day” era, so was still technically part of ASM volume 1.
#36-39 – Numbered sequentially in order #36-39
The two Superior Spider-Man annuals would go here.
#40 – Amazing Spider-Man volume 3 Annual #1
#41 – another Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 – I presume it goes with ASM volume 4?
#42 – because it came out in the era of Marvel Legacy (circa ASM #789), it got the actual number of #42.
#43 – Yet another Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 (corresponds with ASM volume 5), but at least this as the legacy number of #43 printed on the cover as well.

Detective Comics #1000 and #1027

bluedevil2002 — Sun, 21 Mar 2021 15:56:18 +0000

In 2019, DC celebrated Batman’s 80th anniversary with Detective Comics #1000. A little over a year later, they celebrated 1000 issues since his first appearance in Detective Comics #1027. Both issues were large oversized issues with a lot of stories. Here is a reference guide as to how those stories could be bound. Like with Action Comics #1000, individual stories from these issues might be indicated in maps as a decimal number (ex. Detective #1000.10 indicates the 10th story in the issue). Any references to “current continuity” just means stories published around the time of these issues.

Detective Comics #1000

01 – Batman’s Longest Case by Snyder
02 – Manufacture for Use by Kevin Smith and Jim Lee
03 – Knute Brody by Dini
04 – Batman’s Design by Ellis

Of the first four stories, only the second doesn’t really fit into the current continuity, due to the yellow circle around the bat symbol on Batman’s chest.

05 – Return to Crime Alley by O’Neil

A sequel to O’Neil’s classic “There is No Hope in Crime Alley” from Detective Comics #457, this story doesn’t really fit into current continuity.

06 – Heretic by Priest

Another story that may or may not be in current continuity.

07 – I Know by Bendis
08 – Last Crime in Gotham by Johns and Jones
09 – The Precedent by Tynion

“I Know” takes place in the future, possibly the same future as Tom King’s run. “Last Crime in Gotham” is a dream sequence that takes place on Batman’s birthday, the most recent we saw was in Detective #994-999. “The Precedent” is another take on the origin of the first Robin. All three stories share pages with each other, but are the only stories in the issue to share pages.

10 – Batman’s Greatest Case by King

I have placed this story in the Tom King project, prior to Batman #55 (820) due to the appearance of Dick Grayson.

11 – Medieval by Tomasi

This story is the prelude to the arc in Detective Comics #1001-1005. While several stories from this issue can be placed in sequence with the surrounding issues, this is the only story that has to.

Detective Comics #1027

This issue came out as the Joker War storyline was ending in Batman. Due to the ongoing storylines, none of the stories in this issue can be placed in sequence with the surrounding issues and would have to go earlier. Any stories featuring Alfred have to be placed before #1017, and any stories with Jim Gordon as commissioner go before #1018. The nicest part of #1027 is that no stories share pages, although some do have pin-ups on the opposite sides.

01 – Blowback by Tomasi

This story is part of Tomasi’s regular run on the book. I’ve placed it prior to Detective #1020.

02 – The Master Class by Bendis

Due to the appearance of Dick Grayson as Nightwing, this story would need to go a little further back on the timeline.

03 – Many Happy Returns by Fraction

A story that bounces around the timeline, it may or may not be in continuity.

04 – Rookie by Rucka

This story fits in better with Rucka’s original Detective Comics or Gotham Central runs from the early 2000s.

05 – Ghost Story by Tynion

An early years story with an earlier Robin.

06 – Fore by DeConnick
07 – Odyssey by Wolfman

Two more stories that can be placed in recent continuity. The first one features Commissioner Gordon.

08 – Detective #26 by Morrison

A fun little out-of-continuity tale that shows a different angle on the original Batman story from Detective Comics #27.

09 – Legacy by King

This story is part of Tom King’s run and expands on scenes from Batman Annual #2 set in the future. Placement in that run is dependent on the ending of Batman/Catwoman.

10 – As Always by Snyder

Another story that can be in recent continuity. Any errors can be chalked up to Commissioner Gordon not being a reliable narrator.

11 – Generations by Jurgens

A prelude to the Generations storyline contained in two one-shots: Generations Shattered and Generations Forged.

12 – A Gift by Tamaki

This story is a Joker War tie-in, actually taking place before the main action begins in Batman #95 (860).

Had I not already bound “Batman Through the Ages“, several of these stories likely would have made their way into that book. Specifically #1000.02, 1000.05, 1000.07-09, #1027.03, 1027.08.

Action Comics #1000

bluedevil2002 — Tue, 16 Mar 2021 20:33:11 +0000

Action Comics #1000 featured 10 stories in the regular comic version of the issue. Here is a guide to the various stories in the issue with some commentary about how those stories could be placed in bound volumes. Occasionally we might refer to an issue such as Action Comics #1000.05, which is a quick reference to the fifth story of the issue.

01 – From the City That Has Everything by Jurgens
02 – Never-Ending Battle by Tomasi

These are the final stories of the Rebirth run of Superman, prior to Bendis taking over both series. These stories share pages, but would only be a concern if you’re trying to bind the Jurgens or Tomasi runs separately.

03 – An Enemy Within by Wolfman

The first four pages of this story repurpose art from an inventory story drawn by Curt Swan and Butch Guice. Other pages of the story were previously retrofitted for Superman: The Wedding Album.

04 – The Car by Johns and Donner
05 – The Fifth Season by Snyder

“The Car” is a tale set in the 1930s, about what happens to the car from the cover of Action Comics #1, so it would have to go in an anthology or alternate universe project. These stories share pages.

06 – Of Tomorrow by King
07 – Five Minutes by Simonson

“Of Tomorrow” shows Superman billions of years in the future. These stories share pages. Otherwise, “Five Minutes” could fit in somewhere around the other present day stories, or possibly with stories circa 1992 when these creators worked on Superman (and he had short hair).

08 – Actionland by Dini

A story about Mr. Mxyzptlk, which can go almost anywhere. I chose to place it at the end of the last Rebirth volume because of the theme of endings.

09 – Faster Than a Speeding Bullet by Meltzer

The only clue to placement of this story are Superman’s red trunks, which returned in this issue. Therefore, the story has to take place at some point after Action Comics #999 and Superman #45 (811). I placed it in the final Rebirth volume.

10 – The Truth by Bendis

The prologue to the Bendis run, this story takes place during his Man of Steel mini-series. It’s best to be placed at the beginning of the run as flashforward as it can’t be neatly spliced into the corresponding scene in the mini-series.

Classic X-Men reference guide

bluedevil2002 — Sat, 04 Feb 2017 05:31:03 +0000

This post is different than most. It is more of a reference than a map. I will be cataloging the first 45 issues of Classic X-Men, making notes of the backup stories, and where they might take place, and also where they themselves might have been reprinted.

Classic X-Men #1 (Giant Size X-Men #1)
-Back-up: “First Night” – the night after the Krakoa mission at the X-Mansion
-Placement: immediately before and after GSX #1
-Notes: Not a good reprint source for Giant Size X-Men #1 (only includes the first chapter). Only CXM issue to include new material at the very front of the book, however the only instance I can verify of those 4 pages ever being reprinted are in the Giant Size X-Men 40th Anniversary edition.
-Reprinted: X-Men Vignettes Volume 1, X-Men: Original Sin #1, X-Men Rarities TPB, Giant Size X-Men 40th Anniversary HC, Classic X-Men: Complete Collection Volume 1

Classic X-Men #2 (Uncanny X-Men #94)
-Back-up story: Storm and Jean develop their friendship
-Placement: The second chapter of #94 continues directly into #95, so this backup takes place in between the two chapters of #94.
-Reprinted: X-Men Vignettes Volume 1, Classic X-Men: Complete Collection Volume 1

Classic X-Men #3 (Uncanny X-Men #95)
-Back-up story: Thunderbird’s funeral
-Placement: Immediately after UXM #95
-Reprinted: X-Men Vignettes Volume 1, X-Men: Lost Tales #1, Giant Size X-Men #4, Classic X-Men: Complete Collection Volume 1

Classic X-Men #4 (Uncanny X-Men #96)
-Back-up story: Wolverine and Nightcrawler
-Placement: no reason to move it out of sequence.
-Reprinted: X-Men Vignettes Volume 1, , Classic X-Men: Complete Collection Volume 1, X-Men: Lost Tales #1, Marvel Super-Hero Team-Up TPB

Classic X-Men #5 (Uncanny X-Men #97)
-Back-up story: Colossus
-Placement: no reason to move it out of sequence (I believe the girl in the story is referenced in the extra material added in CXM #6.)
-Reprinted: X-Men Vignettes Volume 1, X-Men: Lost Tales #1, Colossus: God’s Country TPB, Classic X-Men: Complete Collection Volume 1

The stories in CXM #4-5 were designed to show the new X-Men bonding as a team and getting used to their new lives, and could fit almost anywhere between UXM #94 and #98.

Classic X-Men #6 (Uncanny X-Men #98)
-Back-up story: Jean Grey gets ready for date night.
-Placement: Immediately before UXM #98.
-Reprinted: X-Men Vignettes Volume 1, Classic X-Men: Complete Collection Volume 1

Classic X-Men #7 (Uncanny X-Men #99)
-Back-up story: Hellfire Club
-Placement: Opening caption places in between Christmas and New Year’s, likely on New Year’s Eve itself.
-Reprinted: X-Men Vignettes Volume 1, Classic X-Men: Complete Collection Volume 1

Classic X-Men #8 (Uncanny X-Men #100)
-Back-up story: origin of the Phoenix
-Placement: immediately after UXM #100 (partial overlap)
-Reprinted: X-Men Vignettes Volume 1, Phoenix Rising TPB/HC, Classic X-Men: Complete Collection Volume 1

Classic X-Men #9 (Uncanny X-Men #101)
-Back-up story: Nightcrawler meets a boy at the hospital while waiting for word on Jean’s condition.
-Placement: in the middle of UXM #101, between the airport and hospital scenes.
-Reprinted: X-Men Vignettes Volume 1, Classic X-Men: Complete Collection Volume 1

A quick note about the timeline during this sequence. First, Uncanny X-Men #98 to #101 show a continuous sequence of events. UXM #98 starts on Christmas Eve, then jumps to Sunday, December 28. The X-Men return from space in #101, although no time reference is given in the original story. However, there is a gap between the airport and hospital scenes in #101 where the Classic #9 back-up story obviously occurs. That story is captioned as “Wednesday morning, 3 AM” but also states “the New Year well and truly begun”. Well, if December 28 was a Sunday, Wednesday would only be December 31. Assuming the Wednesday caption really should be Thursday, that implies that the X-Men returned from space on either December 30 or 31, spending the next two days or so at the hospital. (The first hospital scene has a caption explaining that day moves to night into day again, and it’s possible that they had already spent one day at the hospital.) The Hellfire Club back-up story in Classic #7 likely goes in the same gap during #101, occurring before the Classic #9 back-up.

Classic X-Men #10 (Uncanny X-Men #102)
-Back-up story: Wolverine vs. Sabretooth
-Placement: Based on captions on the first page, it implies it is very early in Wolverine’s tenure in the X-Men, as he’s been sizing up NYC for the better part of a week. According to the Classic X-Men Complete Collection, it takes place during UXM #94.
-Reprinted: X-Men Vignettes Volume 1, X-Men: Lost Tales #2, Sabretooth Classic #12, Classic X-Men: Complete Collection Volume 1

Classic X-Men #11 (Uncanny X-Men #103)
-Back-up story: Storm meets the suicidal writer.
-Placement: near impossible due to continuous string of events in main UXM stories. The Complete Collection says it takes place between UXM #103-104.
-Reprinted: X-Men Vignettes Volume 1, Classic X-Men: Complete Collection Volume 1

Classic X-Men #12 (Uncanny X-Men #104)
-Back-up story: Magneto flashback.
-Placement: anytime after UXM #104.
-Notes: It could remain in sequence, as long as it takes place between UXM #104 and #111. In one version of a map, I moved it to some point after UXM #108 to keep the Phoenix Saga sequence together.
-Reprinted: X-Men Vignettes Volume 1, X-Men: Lost Tales #1, Magneto #0, Classic X-Men: Complete Collection Volume 1

Classic X-Men #13 (Uncanny X-Men #105)
-Back-up story: Phoenix and Misty Knight
-Placement: UXM #105-108 form a continuous narrative sequence. I originally placed it prior to UXM #105, but the Complete Collection states it takes place between #110-111.
-Reprinted: X-Men Vignettes Volume 1, True Believers: Phoenix Classic #1, Classic X-Men: Complete Collection Volume 1

Classic X-Men #14 (Uncanny X-Men #107)
-Back-up story: Lilandra’s backstory.
-Placement: Chronologically, this story leads up to Lilandra’s first appearance in Xavier’s dreams in UXM #97. Or, it could be read as a flashback after UXM #108. The Complete Collection says it takes place during UXM #65-66.
-Reprinted: X-Men Vignettes Volume 2, Classic X-Men: Complete Collection Volume 1

Classic X-Men #15 (Uncanny X-Men #108)
-Back-up story: Starjammers backstory.
-Placement: It’s completely a flashback, so it can be moved at the binder’s discretion.
-Reprinted: X-Men Vignettes Volume 2, Classic X-Men: Complete Collection Volume 1

Classic X-Men #16 (Uncanny X-Men #109)
-Back-up story: Black Tom and Banshee backstory.
-Placement: in the past.
-Reprinted: X-Men Vignettes Volume 2, Classic X-Men: Complete Collection Volume 1

Classic X-Men #17 (Uncanny X-Men #111)
-Back-up story: Mesmero
-Placement: Immediately before UXM #111.
-Notes: Unfortunately, to move the backup story into the proper place, scanning and printing is required as the main story and back-up story are printed back-to-back.
-Reprinted: X-Men Vignettes Volume 2, X-Men: Lost Tales #2, Classic X-Men: Complete Collection Volume 1

Classic X-Men #18 (Uncanny X-Men #112)
-Back-up story: Phoenix and Wolverine go camping.
-Placement: Due to the continuous sequence of UXM #111-121, this story would take place on either side of those issues. The Complete Collection places it before UXM #111, shortly after CXM #13.
-Notes: Written by Jo Duffy.
-Reprinted: X-Men Vignettes Volume 2, True Believers: Phoenix Classic #1, Classic X-Men: Complete Collection Volume 1

Classic X-Men #19 (Uncanny X-Men #113)
-Back-up story: Magneto’s origin.
-Placement: Flashback, no present day link.
-Reprinted: X-Men Vignettes Volume 2, Magneto #0, Classic X-Men: Complete Collection Volume 1

Classic X-Men #20 (Uncanny X-Men #114)
-Back-up story: Storm’s nightmare.
-Placement: not in sequence, no context. Complete Collection places it between UXM #128-129.
-Notes: Written by Jo Duffy. Final page of story is on inside of back cover.
-Reprinted: X-Men Vignettes Volume 2, Classic X-Men: Complete Collection Volume 1

Classic X-Men #21 (Uncanny X-Men #115)
-Back-up story: Colossus in the Savage Land.
-Placement: middle of UXM #115
-Reprinted: X-Men Vignettes Volume 2, X-Men: Lost Tales #2, Colossus: God’s Country TPB, Classic X-Men: Complete Collection Volume 1

Classic X-Men #22 (Uncanny X-Men #116)
-Back-up story: Storm in the Savage Land.
-Placement: before the last page of UXM #116
-Reprinted: X-Men Vignettes Volume 2, Classic X-Men: Complete Collection Volume 1

Classic X-Men #23 (Uncanny X-Men #117)
-Back-up story: Nightcrawler’s adventure
-Placement: in sequence.
-Reprinted: X-Men Vignettes Volume 2, X-Men: Lost Tales #2, Classic X-Men: Complete Collection Volume 1

Classic X-Men #24 (Uncanny X-Men #118)
-Back-up story: Phoenix on vacation.
-Placement: Since UXM #118-119 is continuous, it’s best moved prior to UXM #118.
-Reprinted: X-Men Vignettes Volume 2

Honestly, from this point on, most of the back-up stories just become filler material, especially as Claremont only writes a handful. There’s probably a good reason why a third volume of Vignettes was never produced. The only remaining CXM stories that have been reprinted either tie into Proteus or Dark Phoenix directly, or was drawn by Jim Lee.

Classic X-Men #25 (Uncanny X-Men #119)
-Back-up story: Wolverine goes hunting
-Placement: no context.
-Notes: Written by Ann Nocenti.
-Reprinted: X-Men Vignettes Volume 2

Classic X-Men #26 (Uncanny X-Men #120)
-Back-up story: Wolverine in a bar.
-Placement: no context.
-Notes: Written by Tom Orzechowski.

Classic X-Men #27 (Uncanny X-Men #121)
-Back-up story: Creatures from the drain.
-Placement: No context.
-Notes: This is the last issue to feature additional material in the main story. Written by Ann Nocenti.

Classic X-Men #28 (Uncanny X-Men #122)
-Back-up story: X-Men at a costume party.
-Placement: No context, but needs to be moved due to the continuous sequence of UXM #122-124.
-Notes: Written by Ann Nocenti.

Classic X-Men #29 (Uncanny X-Men #123)
-Back-up story: Colossus visits mother Russia
-Placement: Due to continuous story in UXM #122-124, this story should be moved to either side of that arc.
-Notes: Shares page with main story.
-Reprinted: Colossus: God’s Country TPB

Classic X-Men #30 (Uncanny X-Men #124)
-Back-up story: Arcade
-Placement: Can take place in sequence.
-Notes: Written by Ann Nocenti. Shares page with main story.

Classic X-Men #31 (Uncanny X-Men #125)
-Back-up story: Professor X in space.
-Placement: Could take place in sequence, as it has no bearing on the main story. Could be viewed as “meanwhile”.
-Notes: Written by Ann Nocenti. Shares page with main story.

Classic X-Men #32 (Uncanny X-Men #126)
-Back-up story: Proteus warps reality.
-Placement: In sequence, expands on main story.
-Notes: Written by Ann Nocenti. Shares page with main story.
-Reprinted: X-Men: Proteus HC

Classic X-Men #33 (Uncanny X-Men #127)
-Back-up story: Havok and Polaris during Proteus battle.
-Placement: Between pages 4-5 of main story.
-Notes: Written by Ann Nocenti. Shares page with main story.
-Reprinted: X-Men: Proteus HC

Classic X-Men #34 (Uncanny X-Men #128)
-Back-up story: White Queen/Hellfire Club.
-Placement: Could take place in sequence.
-Notes: Written by Ann Nocenti. Shares page with main story.

Classic X-Men #35 (Uncanny X-Men #129)
-Back-up story: Kitty Pryde dream sequence.
-Placement: Between pages 14-15 of UXM #129
-Notes: Written by Daryl Edelman.

Classic X-Men #36 (Uncanny X-Men #130)
-Back-up story: Moira dealing with Proteus aftermath.
-Placement: Some time after the opening of UXM #129, probably best after UXM #131 to minimize interuption.
-Notes: Written by Fabian Nicieza.
-Reprinted: X-Men: Proteus HC

Classic X-Men #37 (Uncanny X-Men #131)
-Back-up story: A Dazzler solo adventure.
-Placement: Can take place in sequence.
-Notes: Written by Fabian Nicieza.

Classic X-Men #38 (Uncanny X-Men #132)
-Back-up story: Another Dazzler adventure.
-Placement: Um….? Don’t bother.
-Notes: Written by Ann Nocenti.

Classic X-Men #39 (Uncanny X-Men #133)
-Back-up story: focused on Storm.
-Placement: Context free. I doubt it should be placed within the confines of the Dark Phoenix Saga.
-Notes: Written by Ann Nocenti. Honestly, the only reason anyone remembers this is because Jim Lee drew it.
-Reprinted: X-Men Visionaries: Jim Lee TPB

Classic X-Men #40 (Uncanny X-Men #134)
-Back-up story: Nightcrawler goes people watching.
-Placement: No context.
-Notes: Written by Tom Orzechowski.

Classic X-Men #41 (Uncanny X-Men #135)
-Back-up story: Scott Summers in the orphanage
-Placement: Flashback.

Classic X-Men #42 (Uncanny X-Men #136)
-Back-up story: Another young Cyclops adventure.
-Placement: Flashback.

Classic X-Men #43 (Uncanny X-Men #137)
-Back-up story: Phoenix meets death?
-Placement: in sequence.
-Reprinted: some versions of the Dark Phoenix Saga and Phoenix Rising TPBs/HCs

Classic X-Men #44 (Uncanny X-Men #138)
-Back-up story: Rogue before her first appearance.
-Placement: Depending on Rogue’s personal timeline, this could fit in right here, or slightly in the past.
-Notes: Written by Ann Nocenti.

Classic X-Men #45 (Uncanny X-Men #139)
-Notes: No back-up story, series changes name to X-Men Classic with the following issue.