The idea of the end of the world is absolutely terrifying to anyone, even superheroes, where things are in chaos, and the world doesn't really know what to do, or how to move on. It's like everybody is stuck, and even some of Marvel's greatest heroes felt like this after the end of the world. After all, they are still (part) human.
But even so, as a reader it is interesting to see how the characters in Marvel comics react to the life changing event that is the end of the world. To see what they do about it physically and how they handle it emotionally is something that is rather intriguing, showcasing that raw and emotional side of some of Marvel's most beloved heroes.
10 League Of Losers: Heroes Not Deemed A Big Enough Threat To Be Wiped Out Are Left Behind To Save The World
In an alternate timeline, a villain known as Chronok compiled a list of the most powerful super beings on Earth. He then wiped them out, leaving Earth defenseless and essentially setting things up for an apocalyptic event.
But there were a few heroes who managed to stay alive, those who were not strong enough to make it onto Chronok's list. Together, those heroes made the League Of Losers, trying to piece back together a broken Earth.
9 Spider-Man — Reign: New York City Becomes A Dystopian Police State Where Most Superheroes Are Dead
Featuring everyone's favorite neighborhood Spider-Man, this comic offers a dark take on one of the youngest superheroes in Marvel. In a dystopian-like timeline, Peter Parker lives in a world where there are no more superheroes, and it is run by a mayor who works to have everything under control.
The mayor uses police squads to destroy the oppressed, has suspended elections so he is always in power, and even works on a security system to make sure no one ever enters or leaves New York. Mary Jane is dead, and Peter Parker is now an elderly man. But when an old nemesis comes knocking on his door, there could be a light at the end of the tunnel.
8 The Last Avengers Story: The Only Five Superheroes Not Killed By Ultron Must Come Together To Stop Him
When Ultron wreaks havoc on Earth, destroying all of Earth's heroes, it's up to a very determined Hank Pym (also known as the Ant-Man) to figure out a solution. Hank looks to find at least one remaining hero and locates four that could possibly help bring peace back to Earth.
Those four heroes are She-Hulk, Hawkeye (who is unfortunately blind), Human Torch (who is an old man), and a mutant called Cannonball. Together they work to defeat a robot who has killed almost every superhero, so the question is: Will they be enough to stop him?
7 Hulk - The End: Bruce Banner Is The Sole Survivor Of A Nuclear Bomb
This is a quick one-shot comic that is short and sweet but packs a punch. The Hulk is alone after most of his superhero friends have been wiped out in the two great wars that followed the events of the modern Marvel timeline. Those wars— called "Hell On Earth" and "Outer Worlds"— ended with a nuclear explosion that left only the Hulk alive.
The comic follows Bruce Banner as he contemplates his life, wishing he were dead— but the green guy inside him insists otherwise. Bruce roams the Earth, and slowly the humanity inside the Hulk starts to fade away as the Hulk sees little purpose. This is definitely a sad comic but shows how much the Hulk needs Bruce's humanity.
6 X-Men - Days Of The Future Past: Mutants Time Travel In An Attempt To Prevent A Future Apocalypse
Taking place in an alternate timeline, Senator Robert Kelly has been killed and Sentinels started controlling everything, having mutants killed off or sent to concentration camps. New York has been bombed and things look like a wasteland.
This makes piecing together the events that led to the end of the world very difficult, but with the help of Kitty Pryde, she is able to travel in time to see if this is really what is going to happen in the main Marvel timeline. She ends up teaming up with Wolverine, and together the two navigate this dystopian, end of the world situation, trying to figure out what the next move is.
5 Fantastic Four - The End: Marvel's First Family Struggles To Stay Together After The World Ends
Written by Alan Davis and illustrated by Mark Farmer, this comic really shows the reader what it is like to be a family even after the end of the world. The comic features the Fantastic Four, torn apart by the tragedy in the futuristic world of Tomorrow.
The Fantastic Four go their own ways, but they are not nearly as strong apart as they are together and come across enemies by themselves. But when old enemies of the Fantastic Four end up becoming allies with aliens, the group has to come together one last time to defeat a common enemy as the family they once where.
4 Ruins: The Well-Known Origins Of Multiple Heroes Are Twisted Into Their Darkest Possible Outcomes
In this Marvel storyline, the concept is "everything that can go, wrong will go wrong." For instance, instead of Bruce Banner getting turned into the Hulk after being blasted with Gamma rays, he became covered in green tumors. When the Avengers try to help California separate from the rest of the United States, they die. When Peter Parker gets bitten by the radioactive spider he gets a horrible and contagious rash that mutilates his body.
This comic shows the worst of the worst worlds in terms of what Marvel can do to their heroes, hence why this comic line is definitely end of the world material.
3 Marvel Zombies: A Zombie Apocalypse With A Marvel Spin
When all of the greatest and most iconic superheroes get turned into zombies, it is hard to figure out what to do next. Written by Robert Kirkman and illustrated by Sean Phillips, when a zombified Sentry comes into this reality, it turns heroes like Captain America, Iron Man, and Spider-Man into flesh eating monsters, turning the world into a place no longer safe for humans.
This comic went very far with the end of the world comic, with the zombies doing some of the most unimaginable things such as Thor eating Magneto alive, or zombie Spider-Man going after Aunt May and Mary Jane.
2 Avengers - Age Of Ultron: The Comic That Inspired The Movie Went In A Much Darker Direction
Most Marvel fans know the iconic second Avengers movie, Avengers: Age Of Ultron, but the movie waters down the events of the comic quite a bit. In this comic, Ultron managed to successfully take over Earth, where he killed thousands of regular people and superheroes alike. The world was in ruins, and it seemingly looked like it was the end of the world.
Later on in the comic, it was revealed that there was a possible future where he ruled a technological world under his power. But thanks to the time traveling efforts of Wolverine and the Invisible Woman, they were able to stop it, but this of course took a toll on the rest of the Marvel timeline.
1 Earth X: A Dangerous Mist Spreads & Hydra Forces The World To Become A Hive Mind
Written by Alex Ross and Jim Krueger and illustrated by John Paul Leon, this story features a dystopian version of the Marvel world fans love. In this world, there is something called the Terrigen mist, and anyone who breathes it is mutated.
That is not all, as Celestials have manipulated the people of Earth and into being anti-bodies. All of this is raging on while President Norman Osborn creates a version of Hydra to make all the people have a sort of hive mindset. To say the least, a lot goes down in this storyline where the Marvel Universe's mightiest heroes have to somehow find a way to put a stop to all of this madness.