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. 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: “Uncanny X-Men #141” (1963)
Writer: John Byrne and Chris Claremont
Artist: John Byrne
“Days of Future Past” is one of the most iconic X-Men story arcs of all-time. So much so that they made a movie out of it. I mean, they didn’t make two movies out of it like the “Dark Phoenix” saga, but at least they made one good one. So it makes sense that this story would hold one of my classic favorites.
There are a number of panels you could choose from this story, but this one in particular piqued my interest. In a dystopian future, Kate Pryde is sent back in time as a last effort to save Mutantkind. This panel is the moment she wakes up in the past and sees the loved ones she had lost so long ago.
This particular panel is essentially a summary of the story and shows off how unique it really is. It’s a classic time travel story but the time travel more or less takes place within the body of this one character. It’s also by far the most compelling story for Kate Pryde to this point and it gives her a chance to shine, which she does. Seeing here reunite with the rest of the X-Men here is such a great moment in this story.
New Favorite: “X-Men ‘92: House of XCII #1”
Writer: Steve Foxe
Artist: Salva Espin
Holy nostalgia! “X-Men ‘92: House of XCII #1” was jampacked with ‘90s greatness but this splash page in particular was just the best. You got the Dazzler poster on the wall, the old ‘90s-looking cans of soda, the Deadpool magazine on the floor and of course, the “mini Comboy.”
On top of all that, this page had a major impact on the story. This was the reveal that Jubilee, thought to be dead by her X-Men teammates, is actually alive and being hidden by Charles Xavier and Magneto. Their reasons for keeping her hidden remain a mystery, but this was a very impactful page.
And then there’s the dialogue. Love her or hate her, Jubilee was a very outspoken character in X-Men: The Animated Series, from which this comic draws its inspiration. The character translates perfectly to the page here and her “good old days” quote fits like a long blue glove.