In its 84th year, the Marvel Universe has weathered the political, social, and economic crises of two separate centuries; not only innumerable creators, but generations of them have contributed impossible exertions of work to the ever-expanding mythology, giving voice to thousands of characters and honing ongoing narrative unique to the landscape of modern myth.
It is a singular narrative, a breathing thing — it has never been broken, readjusted, reframed, or rebooted; it has rarely been annexed and has never accumulated antechambers; it has only evolved with contemporary sensibilities. It has always been progressive, subtextually or textually politically self-aware; there has always been an air of rooting for the underdog, and while it’s easy for the common people to be overshadowed by the more dynamic, there has always been a message to the individual: you are special, you are unique, you should be you. The Marvel Universe heroes will defend you by their very existence, want only the best for you. The Universe is kind, it means to do good.
Framed thusly, it seems impossible not to celebrate the Universe, to find ways to spotlight that kindness, that humanitarian zeal, and the monumental feat of its continued and unwavering existence. There have been dozens of unique attempts to do this: anniversary issues, self-congratulatory pats on the back for reaching monumental landmarks on longevity.
There are few celebrations as effective as Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross’s 1994 masterpiece, Marvels, which captured the wonder and terror of the Marvel Universe. It does this not by telling iconic stories about the major heroes, but by examining the life of a man on the street and illustrating—perhaps for the first time—the Marvel Universe from the perspective of someone sharing the very awe that has been inspired in readers since the very beginning.
Marvels Snapshots, curated by Busiek and featuring covers by Ross, is a natural extension of that initial celebration. Single-issue plots by a wide array of creators, each from a human perspective, the series of one-shots encapsulate singular kindnesses of the Marvel Universe. Whether these are the kindnesses of a particular hero or those of people inspired by one of those heroes, the stories capture something essential.
There are some missteps—not every issue is as flawless as the next—but taken as a whole, Snapshots is a breathtaking experience. It is hard to get through the eight issues without being overwhelmed with emotion at least once, if not once per issue. It’s hard not to be inspired by most of the stories; the level of craftsmanship by some of comics’ most singular talents is overwhelming, but so too is the essential spirit of Marvel heroes. The reader might be inspired to do something kind, to speak out on behalf of those in need, or to create something themselves. Each story imparts a new lesson, a new reason to be inspired to action.
In the first issue collected here, we are introduced to the traumatic pathos of Namor, the first of the Invaders to uncover the horrors of the Holocaust; his resultant fury in the face of a Nazi supporter is not only incredibly powerful; it illustrates and models, for the reader, the importance of such a fury in the face of violent and fascistic ideology. Further, when the chief villain of the peace claims a passive, business-oriented relationship with the Reich, Namor correctly identifies the toleration of fascism as being as criminal and villainous as the act of Naziism itself.
Near the middle of the book, in the X-Men-focused issue, the human lens through which the universe is examined is that of a pre-mutant power Scott Summers, moved to acts of heroism by witnessing the impossibly large acts of Mr. Fantastic; it is a story about the effect of positive role models, and it illustrates the way that kinds and meaningful actions might only inspire those next in line. When we commit to good, that good can only grow in scope.
In the book’s final issue, our protagonist is a young person struggling against the identity projected upon them by their mother. They are chastened for standing up for oppressed peers, and made to feel that their political views are antithetical to being ‘a good girl’. Tearfully, they attempt to conform by putting on the costume of cosmetics. It is the Marvels—Kamala Khan and Carol Danvers—who turn the tide. They each take a silent moment (after an alien invasion) to impart their own struggles, both in being constrained to an assigned identity and in growing up under the strictures of societally-enforced limitations. The final lesson of the book is that it is okay to be unsure of yourself because we are all continually growing into who we need to be—whether we are teenagers hoping for change or established, world-saving Avengers.
Marvels Snapshots, then, is not only a celebration of the Marvel Universe and its kindnesses, but it is also a call to action and a balm for human struggle. It imparts the notion of fighting back, of self-acceptance, of defying the wrongs of an oppressive force. There is no story in the book that does not inspire the reader to be better.
It inspires kindness. And that is, at its best, what the Marvel Universe achieves.
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