Marvel is the top-selling comic company in the industry. Readers love the comics put out by the publisher, with many stories working fans to a fever pitch. This isn't always the case, though. Sometimes, Marvel has put out stories that fans got hyped for until they read them. These stories disappointed readers for various reasons, with many wishing Marvel never even published them.

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Disappointing comics are always a shame. Every idea has merit, but the execution of those ideas can destroy them. Too often, fans have been given a story with a great premise that doesn't work at all, while other times, the stories were DOA almost immediately or ended in a way that readers hated.

10 The Ultimates III Squandered All The Good Will The First Two Series Built Up

Captain America leads the Ultimates 3 Marvel comic book series

The Ultimates and The Ultimates II were two of Marvel's biggest books in the early 2000s. The Ultimate Universe was a hot ticket, and when The Ultimates III was announced, with the all-star creative team of writer Jeph Loeb and artist Joe Madureira on board, fans were excited. But unfortunately, that would go away rather quickly as the story unfolded.

The Ultimates III is basically a cautionary tale to most comic fans. The book quickly squandered all the goodwill of previous volumes and is infamous for various reasons. Nowadays, it's mostly known for its meme-ability.

9 Ultimatum Sounded The Death Knell For The Ultimate Universe

Ultimate Marvel heroes about to hit the battlefield in Ultimatum

Ultimatum, by writer Jeph Loeb and artist David Finch, spun out of The Ultimates III. That was a major blow against the book. The next was its grim dark storyline, which saw Magneto unleash a cataclysm on the Earth in revenge for the death of Scarlet Witch. The book killed off multiple fan-favorite Ultimate Universe characters and was meant to shake up a line that had grown stagnant.

The problem was it shook the Ultimate Universe to death. Fans were turned off by the miserable slog that the book was. Cracks had already shown in the Ultimate Universe's facade, but Ultimatum made them gaping fissures. The line would shamble on for several years, but everyone knew Ultimatum killed it.

8 The Punisher: Purgatory Miniseries Perplexed Readers

Punisher Purgatory angel

Marvel Knights premiered in 1998 and successfully rebooted Daredevil, The Inhumans, and Black Panther. Then there was Punisher: Purgatory. Written by Michael Golden and Tom Sniegoski with art by horror legend Bernie Wrightson, the book took the vigilante in a new direction. Resurrected by angels to fight demons, fans immediately showed disdain for this new development.

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Fans were not ready for a supernatural horror Punisher book. The other Marvel Knights books were all back-to-basics takes on the heroes within. Punisher: Purgatory was anything but. However, the backlash to it led to writer Garth Ennis and artist Steve Dillon's Punisher: Welcome Back, Frank, which is a bit of a silver lining.

7 Civil War II Tried To Cash In On Its Predecessor And Captain America: Civil War

civil-war-ii-social

Marvel is no stranger to fan service, but it often backfires. Civil War II, by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist David Marquez, is a perfect example. Meant to be a spiritual sequel to Civil War, it was also rather cynically timed to come out right when Captain America: Civil War began. It was a blatant cash-in event, and the story itself didn't do it any favors.

The book could have succeeded if it wasn't for the story. Unfortunately, pitting Iron Man against Captain Marvel over the use of precognitive Inhuman Ulysses, the story meandered until getting to an underwhelming finish. The only upside is that it led to great books down the road, like The Immortal Hulk and The Infamous Iron Man, and some tie-ins were pretty good.

6 X-Men (Vol. 6) Couldn't Live Up To What Came Before

Rogue leads the X-Men into battle in Marvel Comics

When writers leave books, the quality can suffer a lot. This is what happened with X-Men (Vol. 6). Jonathan Hickman wrote the previous volume of the book. It was the follow-up to his blockbuster House Of X/Powers Of X and was the flagship of the newly resurgent X-Men line. Hickman left, and the relaunched book couldn't stand up to what came before.

Written by Gerry Duggan with art by regular artist Pepe Larraz and backup artists Javier Pina and Xe Carlos, it was undoubtedly a beautifully drawn book. The writing was the biggest problem, though. Duggan was no Hickman, and the book went from universally loved to one that divided the fandom.

5 Infinity Wars Managed To Flop In The Same Year Avengers: Infinity War Came Out

Requiem under attack from Doctor Strange and Adam Warlock Infinity Wars Cropped

Marvel should have learned its lesson about releasing series with similar names to MCU movies from Civil War II. Still, they did it again with Infinity Wars by writer Gerry Duggan and artist Mike Deodato. One would think a book that dealt with the Infinity Stones in 2018 would be huge, but the story didn't do much for readers at all.

From its disappointing plot twist of who was hunting the Stones and why to a lackluster plot, the book has zero cache among Marvel fans. No one cared about the story at all, and the spinoffs from the story failed utterly.

4 Secret Empire Had All The Hallmarks Of A Bad Marvel Event Book

Captain America joins Hydra in Secret Empire

Secret Empire, by writer Nick Spencer and artists Steve McNiven, Leinil Yu, Rod Reis, and Andrea Sorrentino, joined the pantheon of most disliked Marvel books. Spinning out of the Hydra Cap storyline, already a plot line that fans either loved or hated, it followed Hydra Cap's takeover of the Earth. The book had a chance to win over the fans who weren't into the plot, but it made many basic mistakes.

Unfortunately, it followed all the clichés that made fans tired of Marvel event books. It was slow-paced and bloated, and most fans checked out long before the end of the book. It had a lot of potential, but it could never live up to it.

3 The Return Of Wolverine Was Almost Completely Ignored By Creators

Wolverine returns in an explosion

Wolverine is no stranger to stories fans would like to forget. Few stories have been so thoroughly forgotten as The Return of Wolverine by writer Charles Soule and artists Steve McNiven and Declan Shalvey. Other than Wolverine's return to life, everything in the book has been ignored by creators.

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Wolverine fans were happy to see their favorite back, but the book was such a paint-by-numbers Wolverine story that few were actually with it. The art was great, although McNiven and Shalvey's styles didn't fit together. Other than Wolverine's return, the entire story was a massive disappointment.

2 Infinity Crusade Was A Disappointing Ending To The Infinity Trilogy

Infinity Crusade Vol 1 image - Marvel comics

Infinity Gauntlet is widely considered Marvel's best event book. Its sequel was Infinity War, no relation to the underwhelming 2018 story, and is a universally beloved sequel. Then there's Infinity Crusade, by returning creators writer Jim Starlin and artist Ron Lim. It pits the heroes against the Goddess, the "good" side of Adam Warlock, but fans just weren't into it.

After the previous two books, Infinity Crusade had huge shoes to fill. Unfortunately, it ultimately failed as a follow-up and underwhelmed readers completely. Fans wanted more from the book, and it just couldn't deliver, ending the Infinity Trilogy on a down note.

1 One More Day Is Infamous

Images of Spider-Man and Mary Jane from the One Day More story in Marvel Comics

Being a Spider-Man fan has been difficult for years. The beginning of that was One More Day, by writers J.Michael Straczynski and Joe Quesada, with art by Quesada. This is the book that retconned the marriage between Peter Parker and Mary Jane out of existence, something that's divided fans ever since.

It served as the end of Straczynski's multi-year run, a run that repaired all the '90s damage to the character. However, it was instantly controversial, with Straczynski asking to have his name taken off the book because of changes Quesada made. It's Marvel's most infamous story of the 21st century and disappointed many fans.

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