Nuke Me with the New!

New Universe Checklist

Are you a hopless completist? Do you have to own every single appearance of every New Universe character ever? Don't worry, this page is here to help. No, not to overcome your addicition, but to let you know exactly what comics you need to get to make your collection complete. All comics published by Marvel unless otherwise noted. Dates given are the cover dates on the comics.

Core Titles (1986–1989)

For more information on these, see the New Universe Publishing History.

Collections

Prelude to Starblast (1992–1994)

Quasar #31, written by D.P. 7 writer Mark Gruenwald, features Quasar traveling to and getting stuck in the New Universe. Quasar seeks out the fighter pilot given the Star Brand in Star Brand #19 and convinces him to let him have the Brand to get him back home. This is the first time any of these characters have been seen in contiunity since The War #4.

Two subplots come out of Quasar's trip to the New Universe through the next several issues. The first concerns one of Randy O'Brien's mini-antibodies that hitches a ride with Quasar back to the Marvel Universe, but ends up in Quagmire (Quasar #36, 37, 43-46). The second is that while Quasar thinks he burned the Star Brand out getting home, he actually transferred it to his girlfriend, Kayla Ballantine (Quasar #32-53). As you can see from the range, this sub-plot was drawn out for a long time. New Universe fans should be warned that it took a long time to finally reveal Kayla had the Star Brand. It also wraps up the old Questprobe series, of all things, along the way. The Kayla sub-plot culminates in Starblast (below).

Starblast (1994)

During this four-issue limited series, Quasar is heavily featured and his series is pretty much required reading for the event. Starblast culminates with the Earth of the New Universe brought into the Marvel Universe, but it is then sealed off so that no interaction with it can take place. The final appearance of the New Universe Earth for a decade comes in Quasar #60. (Although it's literally an appearance of the Earth. No New Universe characters are seen.)

Justice in 2099 (1993–1996)

I have to admit, I don't own any of these comics at the moment. From what I've gathered on the Internet, Justice first appeared as a somewhat amnesiac character called the Net Prophet. By his final appearances, he regained his memory, but the series was canceled before it got beyond that. Note that Spider-Man 2099 was written by Peter David, who also wrote the last half of Justice. See Tensen 2099 on the Links page for more details.

World Tour (2005)

The Exiles' "World Tour" brings them to a universe much like the New Universe in Exiles #72. They drop in at what would be the very end of D.P. 7 #1. Justice, Nightmask, and Star Brand (Ken Connell) are also featured. The Exiles continue their adventure in the not-quite-the-New-Universe through Exiles #74. At that point they and their villain, Proteus, move on to 2099. Proteus does so in Justice's body, which is last seen in Exiles #75. In 2008, a follow-up was done in an Exiles one-shot featuring Jenny Swensen (spelled "Swenson" in the comic) and the MAX armor.

Untold Tales of the New Universe (2006)

Marvel published this New Universe event in March (cover date of May 2006). There were five one-shots and three backup tales in Amazing Fantasy and New Avengers. More information on each title can be found at the Untold Tales page. This acted as a prelude to the launch of newuniversal.

Marvel Handbook (2005–2007)

In 2004, Marvel revived The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (OHOTMU), initially as a series of one-shots. The New Universe characters hadn't appeared in the previous incarnations because they weren't part of the Marvel Universe. However, the New Universe got it's own entry in The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Alternate Universes 2005. Then Justice received an entry in the monthly All-New Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z while other major characters got listings in a special handbook patterned after the Deluxe Edition of the original series. Since then, Marvel has continued to dole out a character here and there with their OHOTMU updates.

newuniversal (2006–2008)

This series is Warren Ellis' attempt to reinvent the New Universe from the beginning. It's an ensemble book featuring multiple characters who develop powers and are, at least initially, unaware of each other. One can't help but draw parallels to NBC's hit series Heroes, which was out at the same time.

The series has gone on hiatus twice. First, after the completion of newuniversal #6 and then again after newuniversal: shockfront #2 (of six-issue limited series). The latter was a result of Ellis losing all his scripts and notes in a computer crash (and only having corrupted backups). In June 2010, Ellis claimed he would be returning newuniversal.

Cameos

Quasar #4 (December 1989)
This issue is by the all the same creators -- down to the colorist and letterer -- responsible for the final half of the D.P. 7 series and features a cameo by two unnamed characters that look exactly like Charlotte "Friction" Beck and Stephanie "Glitter" Harrington of D.P. 7. Was this writer Mark Gruenwald's idea or penciller Paul Ryan's?
Avengers West Coast #65 (December 1990)
Former D.P. 7 artist Paul Ryan snuck in a gag where the names of the original members of D.P. 7 appear on the tombstones in a graveyard.
Avengers Forever #12 (October 1999)
Someone wearing what looks like a Star Brand costume appears in the double-page spread on page 3.
Gambit #19 (August 2000)
A mutant named Quiet Bill has the power to peer into alternate universes. In this issue, one of those includes a view of Ken Connell as Star Brand. According to writer Fabian Nicieza, this was going to lead to appearances by at least some of the New Universe characters, but he was pulled from the title before this could come to fruition.
Amazing Spider-Man #559 (July 2008)
This issue contains a visual gag of "Starbrand Coffee," a parody of Starbucks, but using the Star Brand logo, in the background.

Parodies

Failed Universe (Blackthorne Publishing, 1986)
The New Universe launched in the middle of a big boom in the comic book industry. Part of this was the "Black and White Explosion," which encompassed many a parody book like this one. In the story, Mediocre Comics decides to create a new universe with their marketing department's cosmic computer. It churns out the titles "Starbland"; "Misfire and the Tequilashooters"; "Sue Force", a group of precognitive lawyers who can summon up F. Lee Belly; "Mark Lizzard: Jerk", "P.P. 7" (Paranoid Paranormals); "Nightflask"; "S-Kickers", a group of Canadian hockey players with super powers; and "Just Dressed," who kills those that are out of fashion. In the end, they're all done in by the Reader, who says none of the characters interest him. It turns out the creative department sabotaged the computer. They were fired and the new titles were published anyway.
Legends #5 (DC, March 1987)
For four pages of this issue, Green Lantern Guy Gardner fights a supervillain named Sunspot. Sunspot wears a suit that looks like the one Ken Connell (Star Brand) wore, except Sunspot's is blue with brown gloves instead of Connell's brown with blue gloves. His power comes from a red spot in the palm of his hand. Sunspot claims to have "the power to create a new universe." He ends up burning off his own foot with his power trying to destroy one of Gardner's ring constructs binding it.

Need even more New Universe stuff? Check out the New Universe Bibliography or Memorbilia.