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*''Legends'' #5 (DC, Mar 1987)
*''Legends'' #5 (DC, Mar 1987)


==Second Era==
==Second era==
In an effort to save the line, then Editor-In-Chief [[Tom DeFalco]] and Editor [[Howard Mackie]] ended up removing some of the more fantastic elements from it and in a few cases doing radical revamps - [[John Byrne]] was enlisted to write and do breakdowns on ''[[Star Brand]]'', altering the title so that it focused less on Ken Connell and more on the power of ''The Star Brand'' itself. Similarly, the premise of ''[[Justice (New Universe)|Justice]]'' was revealed to be a hallucination which had been artificially induced in the title's protagonist. The writers also allowed for major catastrophic events which could not have occurred in the Marvel Universe - such as the sudden obliteration of the city of [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|Pittsburgh]] in ''The Pitt'' (one-shot), and the war with [[South Africa]] in ''The Draft'' (one-shot) and ''The War'' (four-issue limited series).
In an effort to save the line, then Editor-In-Chief [[Tom DeFalco]] and Editor [[Howard Mackie]] ended up removing some of the more fantastic elements from it and in a few cases doing radical revamps - [[John Byrne]] was enlisted to write and do breakdowns on ''[[Star Brand]]'', altering the title so that it focused less on Ken Connell and more on the power of ''The Star Brand'' itself. Similarly, the premise of ''[[Justice (New Universe)|Justice]]'' was revealed to be a hallucination which had been artificially induced in the title's protagonist. The writers also allowed for major catastrophic events which could not have occurred in the Marvel Universe - such as the sudden obliteration of the city of [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|Pittsburgh]] in ''The Pitt'' (one-shot), and the war with [[South Africa]] in ''The Draft'' (one-shot) and ''The War'' (four-issue limited series).


Revision as of 07:04, 20 September 2006

File:Newuniverse housead.jpg
Promotional ad for the New Universe.

The New Universe is a comic book line from Marvel Comics that was published in its original incarnation from 1986 - 1989. It was created by Jim Shooter, Archie Goodwin, Eliot R. Brown, Mark Gruenwald, Tom DeFalco and edited by Michael Higgins.

Concept and origins

In 1986, in honor of Marvel Comics' 25th Anniversary, Editor-In-Chief Jim Shooter launched The New Universe line of comics. This was to be a distinctly separate world, fully divorced from the mainstream Marvel Universe, consisting of its own continuing characters and stories in a more realistic setting.

There would be no aliens or hidden races, gods or mythological beings, magic, or supertechnology. Superhuman characters and powers would be limited, and thus more subdued in their activities, yet their actions would have more realistic consequences. This served to act in direct contrast to the traditional "Marvel Universe", which always purported to take place in a mirror of the real world, and where public knowledge of superheroes, supervillains and their activities had little effect on normal "day-to-day" business.

Adding to the sense of realism, the New Universe titles were designed to operate in "real time"; roughly a year would lapse in the universe for each year that passed in reality. The limitation of fantasy elements and the low-key nature of the characters' activities in the New Universe gave the imprint verisimilitude, to seem like "the world outside your window".

The New Universe was the first line produced by Marvel Comics utilizing a pre-conceived shared universe concept. The central concept of The White Event tied all of the titles together, allowing them to serve as one unified crossover. The line could either be read as individual title(s) or the entire line of titles could tell a much broader story when read together chronologically, following a timeline that appeared in the back of the comics.

Paranormals and the White Event

The premise behind the New Universe line of comics was the question "What would happen if normal people became superhuman overnight?" The event that started it all was known as The White Event...it occurred on July 22, 1986, 4:22 a.m., EST.

The White Event was a mysterious enigma at first, inspiring cults and religions, but eventually its true nature was revealed - it was caused when The Old Man tried to rid himself of the Star Brand, the most powerful energy source in the known universe, by transferring its power into an asteroid (see Star Brand for details).

This action bathed the earth in a bright white light (The White Event) and caused a relatively small number of humans (but not plants or animals) to develop genetic anomalies which led to the birth of their powers. The affected humans were scattered across the entire world, seemingly at random. Many looked completely normal, but for others, the anomaly resulted in a physical manifestation which led to many of them looking horribly disfigured. Human beings who developed a reaction to The White Event were referred to as "Paranormals".

Original era

The New Universe was heavily marketed, but faced substantial problems. Jim Shooter had planned to recruit top creators, but this became unfeasible when Marvel's corporate owners unexpectedly reduced his available budget. As a result, many of the pitches were handled by others and certain books lacked focus as creative teams were swapped. Shooter was also involved with complex politics at Marvel Comics (which eventually led to him resigning his position), and thus could not give the line as much attention as he would have liked. Eventually, four of the titles were cancelled: Kickers, Inc., Merc, Nightmask, and Spitfire.

The original line of New Universe titles included:

Parody

  • Failed Universe (Blackthorne Publishing, 1986)
  • Legends #5 (DC, Mar 1987)

Second era

In an effort to save the line, then Editor-In-Chief Tom DeFalco and Editor Howard Mackie ended up removing some of the more fantastic elements from it and in a few cases doing radical revamps - John Byrne was enlisted to write and do breakdowns on Star Brand, altering the title so that it focused less on Ken Connell and more on the power of The Star Brand itself. Similarly, the premise of Justice was revealed to be a hallucination which had been artificially induced in the title's protagonist. The writers also allowed for major catastrophic events which could not have occurred in the Marvel Universe - such as the sudden obliteration of the city of Pittsburgh in The Pitt (one-shot), and the war with South Africa in The Draft (one-shot) and The War (four-issue limited series).

Despite all of this, sales were poor and the imprint was abruptly discontinued in late 1989 after a total of 174 comics had been published. There was talk of releasing one-shots, but nothing came of it. It seems Marvel had moved on...

Retrospective Views

Positive Aspects Of The New Universe

Marvel Age #76 "Mark's Remarks" (Marvel, Jul 1989)
In this issues column, then Executive Editor Mark Gruenwald talks about what he thought made the New Universe truly unique. [1]

Reasons Why The New Universe Failed To Catch On

Marvel Age #77 "Mark's Remarks" (Marvel, Aug 1989)
In this issues column, then Executive Editor Mark Gruenwald talks about why he thought The New Universe "failed to catch on any bigger than it did." [2]

Reintroduction

Despite the original decision to keep the New Universe entirely separate from Marvel's other comics, it was later incorporated into the Marvel Multiverse, allowing crossovers with other Marvel titles.

Quasar: Prelude To Starblast (1992 - 1994)

In subsequent years, writer Mark Gruenwald brought the New Universe characters into the Marvel Universe proper, first via appearances in Quasar, then in the Starblast mini series / crossover.

Starblast (1994)

At the end of Starblast, the Stranger uses the Star Brand to move the Earth of the New Universe into orbit around his Labworld. The Living Tribunal then judges the Star Brand to be a threat to the hierarchy of the greater powers of the Marvel Multiverse. The New Universe's earth is then placed in exile, surrounded by an impenetrable energy barrier so that no one can enter or leave it, and none of the greater powers are ever allowed to observe it again.

Spider-Man 2099 (1993 - 1996)

Writer Peter David introduced an amnesiac character known as the Net Prophet into Spider-Man 2099, a comic set in an alternate future. He eventually revealed that the Net Prophet was actually the New Universe character Justice, who slowly regained his memories during the storyline.

2005

Wha...Huh? #1

In early 2005, writer Brian K. Vaughan and artist Jim Mahfood created a three-page story entitled "What If Galactus Got Food Poisoning?" for inclusion in Marvel's Wha...Huh? (one-shot). It explains, in a very fun way, the origins of The New Universe!

The Official Handbook Of The Marvel Universe: Alternate Universes 2005

This issue features a two page entry for The New Universe. In The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Alternate Universes 2005, the New Universe's Earth is designated Earth-148611. However, the Exiles' recent "World Tour: New Universe" story arc focused on an alternate New Universe which is designated Earth-15731, where White Event has only occured recently and 1986 was the current calendar year.

Exiles #72 - 74 "World Tour: New Universe"

In late 2005, the Exiles find a Proteus-possessed Mimic in an approximation of New Universe era Pittsburgh on a quest to retrieve the most powerful weapon in the known universe, The Star Brand. After observing this world, Proteus becomes determined to take the body of Star Brand - but also encounters Justice, D.P. 7, and Nightmask. This arc ran through Exiles #72 - 74 and was the second of six stops on the "World Tour".

The 20th Anniversary Of The New Universe

Untold Tales Of The New Universe

In 2006, Editor-In-Chief Joe Quesada and Editor Mark Paniccia set in motion events to celebrate Marvel Comics' 20th Anniversary of The New Universe. In late February and early March, they launched the Untold Tales of The New Universe, a five week comic event that takes place in a pre-Pitt timeframe in the original continuity. These were released as a lead-in to Warren Ellis' forthcoming ongoing title, newuniversal, which would re-introduce the New Universe Saga to the world.

The line of Untold Tales of The New Universe titles included:

All - New Official Handbook Of The Marvel Universe A - Z #6 (of 12) "Justice To Marvel"

This issue features a biography of John Tensen / Justice.

Marvel Legacy: The 1980's Handbook

In November of 2006, Marvel is releasing a 1980's version of The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe. The profiles within cover everything published by the House of Ideas prior to 11:59 p.m. Dec. 31, 1989 and features both D.P. 7 and Nightmask prominently.

newuniversal

Template:Future comic Writer Warren Ellis and Illustrator Salvador Larroca , in honor of the 20th Anniversary of The New Universe, are creating a single-title re-imagining of the New Universe Saga, with the first issue to be released in December of 2006 under the title newuniversal.

To learn more about both the premise and plans for this forthcoming title click here: Warren Ellis on newuniversal. Ellis has stated that the alternate universe of newuniversal has tentatively been designated as Earth-555, identifying it as part of the larger Marvel Multiverse.

The series will come with a T+ (older teens/adults only) rating.

Collections

  • Star Brand Classic Volume 1 Trade Paperback
    Contains material originally published in magazine form as Star Brand #1 - 7. First printing: December 16th, 2006. ISBN 0785123520.
  • Exiles Volume 12: World Tour Book 1 Trade Paperback
    Contains material originally published in magazine form as Exiles #69 - 74. First Printing: March 15, 2006. ISBN 0785118543.
  • Untold Tales Of The New Universe Trade Paperback
    Contains material originally published in magazine form as Untold Tales Of The New Universe: Nightmask, Star Brand, Psi-Force, Justice, and D.P. 7; and stories from Amazing Fantasy #18 - 19 and New Avengers #16. First Printing: July 26, 2006. ISBN 0785121854.

See also

External links

New Universe

Untold Tales Of The New Universe

newuniversal

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