Marvel has become the kingmaker of the comic industry. As the number one selling company more often than not, just about every book Marvel puts out gets a decent run. Some books even get long runs when sales are terrible because of their success on the aftermarket. That said, there are some books that should almost certainly have been hits but just didn't work. There are a lot of factors to this but it doesn't change that they flopped.
Sometimes, an idea seems good on paper. Other times the creative team doesn't deliver. Occasionally, the whole thing is handled so badly, the book just doesn't catch on.
10 The 2018 Uncanny X-Men Reboot Died On The Vine
The X-Men are big money again, but it wasn't always that way. After years of editorially enforced stagnation, Marvel announced a new Uncanny X-Men title, with writers Kelly Thompson, Ed Brisson, and Matthew Rosenberg and artists like R.B. Silva, Mahmud Asrar, Pepe Perez, and Yildiray Cinar. The book started as a weekly, pitting the X-Men against X-Man in a story called "X-Men Disassembled."
The story wasn't a huge hit and led to the Age Of X-Man, which was also a dud. Rosenberg and artist Salvador Larocca finished the things up before Jonathan Hickman rebooted the X-Men, with fans even less happy with the book, if such a thing was possible.
9 Charles Soule's Astonishing X-Men Is The Worst Twelve Issues In The Book's History
Astonishing X-Men is a name that fans equate with a certain amount of quality. Writer Charles Soule relaunched the book in 2017, with each issue being drawn by a different artist, like Jimmy Cheung, Mike Deodato Jr., ICO, Ron Garney, and more. Focusing on Shadow King, Proteus, and the return of Professor X, Soule's run on Astonishing X-Men was remarkably uneven and that's being nice.
The book never really took off like Marvel hoped and while it brought back Professor X, it's not looked upon with any fondness by X-Men fans. Marvel was pushing Soule to the moon at the time and the murderers row of artists should have helped, but was a complete failure.
8 2017's Generation X Reboot Had Everything It Needed To Succeed
2017 saw Marvel try an X-Men reboot. One of the most interesting comics was Generation X, by writer Christina Strain and artist Amilcar Pinna. Starring a diverse cast of young mutants with fan favorites Jubilee and Chamber training them, the book played on '90s nostalgia but was thoroughly modern. It was the best of the X-Men reboot but it never really caught on.
Generation X had everything going for it, but it wasn't enough. For whatever reason, fans never showed up and even going back to legacy numbering didn't help. Generation X ended in little more than a year, but presaged the type of X-Men stories that would work in the Krakoa era.
7 The Clone Saga Could Have Been Great
The Clone Saga is one of the most infamous Spider-Man stories of all time, but it didn't have to be. Running through all four Spider-Man books of the mid-90s, fans and critics were into the story at first so Marvel decided to run with it. Things got stretched out, any plan was thrown out, and Marvel kept it thethe arc going for way too long.
The Clone Saga had so much going for it: the premise was great, there were multiple mysteries to solve, and fan interest was at a high. Marvel shamelessly milking it for years killed the story dead and while it's earned its reputation, the Clonse Saga didn't have to be this way.
6 Gambit Solo Books Never Work Out
Gambit has long been one of the most popular X-Men, but he just can't keep a solo book for too long. This isn't exactly unknown for popular X-Men characters, as pretty much only Wolverine – either Logan or Laura – and Cable has ever been able to successfully helm an ongoing for a long period of time. Gambit has been given several chances, most recently co-starring with Rogue in Kelly Thompson's Mr. & Mrs. X.
Gambit is a paradox. He's known to even casual audiences, but for some reason comic fans never really come out to actually buy any solo books. Gambit works better in teams.
5 Gerry Duggan's Uncanny Avengers Run Squandered All The Good Will Rick Remender Built
Uncanny Avengers was an interesting experiment after Avengers Vs X-Men, combining the most powerful X-Men and Avengers into one team. Writer Rick Remender created some great stories on the book and they're fondly remembered. After he left Marvel, writer Gerry Duggan would take over post-Secret Wars and Avengers Vs X-Men went off a cliff.
Duggan's run spelled the end for the book. While it had a decent run, a book that was once one of Marvel's most important went the way of the dodo and hasn't been brought back since. That's quite a flop.
4 The Inhumans Debacle Killed The Concept Dead
Marvel's attempt to replace mutants with the Inhumans was a massive failure. Marvel went all out to make Inhumans work, putting writers like Matt Fraction and Charles Soule on multiple books, with artists like Olivier Coipel, Joe Madureira, Steve McNiven, and Ryan Stegman handling art on Inhumanity, Uncanny Inhumans, and Inhuman. They never caught on with fans.
Marvel tried to make the Inhumans into something they weren't, ignoring all the great things about the concept. The Inhumans are now damaged goods, with fans not looking kindly on them whatsoever. There's always a chance they'll come back but not any time soon.
3 The Return Of Wolverine Brought Back One Of Marvel's Most Popular Characters, But Everything From The Story Was Ignored
Marvel characters die and are resurrected all the time, but only the most popular ones get big event books. This was how Wolverine was brought back to life, with a one-shot and four miniseries leading into The Return Of Wolverine, by writer Charles Soule and artists Steve McNiven and Declan Shalvey. While the book sold well, it's hard to actually find fans of the story.
McNiven was only able to do two issues, the first and last, because of deadlines. The book's villain was also forgettable, and infamously introduced hot claws. The only thing from The Return Of Wolverine that stuck was Wolverine's return to life. Other than that, it's been completely forgotten.
2 Morbius Failed In The Vampire Obsessed '90s
While zombies are the biggest monster of the 2000s, vampires were all the rage in the '90s. On top of that, horror comics were having a renaissance thanks to DC and Vertigo, so Marvel tried to do their own horror line. Writer Len Kaminski and artist Ron Wagner brought readers Morbius, starring the former Spider-Man villain as a vampiric hero.
Marvel's entire horror line that wasn't Ghost Rider completely failed, with Morbius being the most surprising. Vampires were big and the book had a Spider-Man connection. The story and art were pretty good, but the whole thing should have landed better than it did.
1 Fallen Angels Is One Of The Least Loved Books From The Krakoa Era
The Krakoa era of X-Men had a lot of hits, but one book fans weren't into was Fallen Angels. Written by Bryan J. Hill with art Szymon Kudranski, Fallen Angels starred Kwannon, X-23, and Cable taking on a powerful AI that was out to destroy mutants. The book set up a lot of stories for Kwannon in the future but fans didn't exactly love the six issue miniseries.
There's a lot to love about Fallen Angels but it just didn't work for fans. The book starred three popular characters, had a great plot and wonderful art, but that just wasn't enough for readers. Fallen Angels is important to books like Hellions, but doesn't share the same love that book does.