Marvel Comics has created an expansive, incredible universe filled with some of the most iconic characters and beloved stories. There are countless pages of comics for fans to enjoy but every now and then, a single panel stands out in our memories. Whether it’s the incredible artwork, a major reveal or moment in a story or even just a really funny line from one of Marvel’s more comical characters, some comic panels just deserve to be recognized.
With that in mind, I want to take a look at some of my favorite comic panels. Each week, I will select one panel from a new Marvel comic as a “New Favorite” and one panel from an older comic as a “Classic Favorite” and provide some context as to why those two panels are so great. Sometimes I might get a little loose with what I consider a “panel,” because comics tend to play by their own rules. But at the end of the day, we’ll have two glimpses of two great Marvel comics, one old and one new.
So without further ado, here are my picks for this week’s top Marvel Comics panels:
Classic Favorite: “Shadowland #1” (2010)
Writer: Andy Diggle
Artist: Billy Tan
Superheroes are what they are because they are always perfect and always do the right thing. Despite the fact that they are constantly terrorized by villains and the ones they love are never truly safe, they always manage to rise above and be a shining example for everyone else. But that happens when they don’t?
“Shadowland” is a classic Daredevil story in which Matt Murdock takes control of the ninja organization known as The Hand and takes matters into his own… um…. hands. That includes using them to rid his city of criminals, including the one who has personally been a thorn in his side all along: Bullseye. Except Matt decides to handle this one himself and, in one of the biggest moments in this great story, he actually kills the villain himself.
It’s a moment that shows us that even superheroes aren’t perfect. Yes, we later learn that there is a lot more going on beneath the surface, but in this moment, a lot of readers began looking at the Marvel Universe in a different way. Plus, artist Billy Tan perfectly captured the fear on Bullseye’s face and the anger on Matt’s. It’s an incredibly memorable image.
New Favorite: “King in Black: Thunderbolts #3”
Writer: Matthew Rosenberg
Artist: Juan E. Ferreyra
Before I dive into this particular panel, let me first say that this series as a whole has been incredibly fun. This group of characters is absolutely ridiculous and now that they’re all together, they’re even more entertaining than usual. This has been one of the strongest “King in Black” tie-in series to this point.
As for this panel, this is a perfect example of the humor you get in this series. The Thunderbolts have recovered the body of The Sentry and plan to use him as a bomb. Batroc the Leaper points out the fact that their plan is very reminiscent of the classic comedy Weekend at Bernie’s.
The next two panels make this even better as Batroc goes on to take a shot at Weekend at Bernie’s 2 and Mr. Fear points out that they are more or less a “Suicide Team.” He doesn’t go as far as to use the term “Suicie Squad,” but we all know the joke he was going for there. This is truly one of the funniest three-story arcs Marvel as ever put together and this panel shows exactly why.
You can check out “King in Black: Thunderbolts #3” now.
Be sure to check back next week for more of my favorite Marvel Comics panels.