MC2: The Best Marvel Alternate Universe You Never Heard of

Besides the main Marvel universe, there are a ton of alternate universes with a ton of great stories and characters. There’s the Ultimate Universe, the 2099 Universe, and even the zombie universe. But there’s one amazing alternate universe that doesn’t get the love it deserves. One that often goes under the radar when it shouldn’t. I’m talking about Marvel Comics 2, otherwise known as the MC2. What Was the MC2? The MC2 was an imprint of Marvel Comics and was also an alternate universe - separate from the main continuity. It was created in 1998 and was spearheaded by Tom DeFalco, and when I say spearheaded, I mean DeFalco was the overseer for everything. I might be wrong, but I’m pretty sure he either wrote all of the MC2 comics or most of them, anyway. The MC2 takes place in the future; most of the heroes we know and are familiar with are either dead or retired. This world is now left in the hands of the next generation. It sounds a lot like other alternate universes, especially 2099, but it’s really not. 2099 is very futuristic and has a cyberpunk aesthetic. The MC2 takes place in the future, but it is still set in modern times (at least, modern when these comics were published) if that makes any sense. For example, Peter Parker is a middle-aged man and has a teenage daughter. The Wolverine has a teenage daughter with Elektra, and Juggernaut has a teenage son. The whole concept of MC2 is very interesting to me because a lot of the characters in the main Marvel universe are, for the most part, always the same age. But the MC2 offered fans a way to look at a future version of these characters. Not only that, it showed us a future version of the Marvel universe in general. MC2’s Characters The setting for the universe is cool, but what really makes a universe is the characters. If they’re not interesting, then the universe is a dud. Fortunately, the MC2 had a whole cast of amazing characters. The most successful and well-known character is Spider-Girl. The daughter of Peter Parker and Mary Jane, May Parker, gets her father’s arachnid superpowers. It doesn’t take long for her to follow in her dad’s footsteps and become a superhero in her own right. I’ve read the first 30 issues of the original Spider-Man run, the one from the 60s, and I’ve also read the first 30 issues of Spider-Girl, so I feel qualified to say this: Spider-Girl has the same feel as those early Spider-Man comics, while still retaining its modern storytelling. It’s familiar yet new at the same time. But it’s not just Spider-Girl; a lot of the other MC2 comics do too. Apart from Spider-Girl, there were other second-generation superheroes: Wolverine’s daughter, Wild Thing, has a 5-issue series. The Juggernaut’s son, J2, had a 12-issue series. Dark Devil, the successor to Daredevil, had a 3-issue mini-series. There was also a 12-issue series titled A-Next that followed the adventures of the Avengers. All of these series are great, but I can’t say that I’m in love with these characters because I didn’t get to spend enough time with them. It’s unfortunate that they didn’t get longer runs because if they did, they could’ve been as amazing as Spider-Girl. Apart from second-generation heroes, the MC2 also featured brand new ones. One of the most notable is The Buzz. He started off as a supporting character for Spider-Girl, then got his own 3-issue miniseries. Out of all the short-lived series of the MC2, I wish The Buzz’s was longer the most. I’m not a huge fan of his superpowers, but I was hooked on knowing more and continuing to follow the man behind the mask. What Happened to the MC2? If you’ve been paying attention, you will notice that pretty much all of the MC2 series didn’t last long at all. Spider-Girl went well over 100 comics, making it the longest MC2 series. J2 and A-Next are tied for second place, with 12 issues each. So, what happened? According to Tom DeFalco , the plan was always to do just 12 issues of each series. When we first started the three titles, our plan was to produce 12 issues of each title, put 3, 6, or 12 comics in bags at various price points and sell them in the K-Marts and Targets of the world. (This line was always aimed at a mass market beyond the comic book stores.) We produced our 12 of J2, A-Next and Spider-Girl and were suppose to switch those titles with Fantastic Five, Wild Thing and the Buzz. We began to produce Fantastic Five and Wild Thing--but then the company decided that the K-Mart/Target thing was not going to work and decided to ditch the program and cancel both titles. He explains that the reason Spider-Girl was allowed to continue was that it was doing great sales-wise. He also states that both Fantastic Five and Wild Thing were also selling pretty well before their cancellation. It’s unfortunate that a deal falling through stopped us from getting more MC2 stories. If Wild Thing and Fantastic Five continued getting made, maybe their popularity would’ve been good enough to warrant a full, ongoing series, similar to Spider-Girl. It’s a pity we’ll never know. Final Thoughts I love the MC2 because it was a fresh world with fresh characters. You never knew what brand new character would pop up next issue. I think I did a good job of summing it up earlier: it’s family yet new at the same time. I would love to read new MC2 adventures, but I don’t ever see that happening. One can hope, though.