These are the big stand outs of 2008. They had stellar years that made you stand up and pay attention. Some of these guys have really come into their own over the course of 2008 while others were at the forefront of their companies storylines.
Iron Man: It’s been his biggest year since ‘Demon in a Bottle’. Everything Marvel went through Iron Man this year. For the first time ever he was the face of the Franchise. The star player if you will. We expect even bigger things from Tony Stark going into 09.
Superman
Supergirl
Nova: If we had a comeback character category, he would be tops. Nova has been brought full circle with one of the best ongoing series out there.
Honorable Mentions:
These guys went big in 2008, they took on the heroes and either won or came damn close. This section is also dedicated to those who drove their particular stories in a certain direction for the course of the year. The following villains were irreplaceable in 2008.
Norman Osborn: Norman rose to power over the course of 2008 and has been reinvigorated as a character. He’s never been more interesting as a villain and who knew that he would work so well outside of the costume?
The Rogues: The Rogues had a bigger year than almost anyone else with their landmark limited series. With an emphasis on Captain Cold as the ring leader these guys will never be underestimated again.
Darth Vader: Vector was a bit of a letdown but that wasn’t Vader’s fault, he showed up big in Dark Times.
What teams set a standard in 2008? Well, we think that these guys did exactly that. Team books are hard to pull off but these groups managed to have great years despite the difficulty. Read on to find out which team came out on top in 2008.
X-Force: The book is decidedly darker than its previous incarnations with a touch of realism. Thankfully Rob Liefeld has nothing to do with the project.
They came and went in 2008, but some limited series have left a lasting impression on us. The following stories were some of the best we read this year and we’re sure you’ll agree (okay, we’re not sure you’ll agree, we just hope you do).
Ultimate Origins: Coming like a shot in the dark, Ultimate Origins solidified the past, present and future of the Ultimate Universe and its characters. Serving as a set up for Ultimatum this series made Ultimatum worth checking out as it stood up on its own.
These guys just didn’t have a good year, it’s better to not be mentioned at all then to make this list. Some characters were a part of a bigger bad story while others just had sucky books at some point in the year. This is probably the most controversial aspect of our year in review.
Cable: After an interesting start the book has really started to tank with its weird old western feel that certainly leaves us hanging. Cable just didn’t cut the mustard this year.
We know that bad guys tend to lose more often than not, but some of them just go out like chumps more often than not. This list is reserved for those villains that should be in the big leagues but had lackluster seasons instead.
Red Skull: He followed up a great 2007 with a lackluster performance in 2008. We know he killed Cap, but he went out like a chump up against Bucky a year later. Not being involved with Dark Reign also sealed his fate.
These teams just didn’t cut the mustard this year, they had uninteresting stories, or the stories they did tell were way too convoluted. Other team books were weighed down by bigger stories that took over their pages. Either way you look at it these groups are picking up the rear.
Legion: Mainly because this is the year they canceled Legion, again. Jim Shooter's run seems like such a waste looking back at the series. Despite showing up big in Legion of Three Worlds, these guys failed this year.
Mighty Avengers: When’s the last time you read an issue of Mighty Avengers that wasn’t a Secret Invasion tie in or flashback? New Avengers and Mighty Avengers were completely hijacked by Secret Invasion, which made little sense considering you had a third Avengers book made just for that.
These series had problems in one way or another. Either they were too long or too short, or lead us down paths that went nowhere. These are the series we wished we hadn’t read in 2008.
Vector: The series just never lived up to the hype surrounding it. Not too bad for Dark Horses first shot but the chapters got weaker and weaker as the series progressed. The whole thing felt forced in the end.
No winners and losers here boys and girls, just the best of the year
- The Boys
- Invincible
- Captain America
- Ex Machina
- Amazing Spider-Man
- Criminal
- Kingdom Come (JSA)
- New Ways to Die (Amazing Spider-Man)
- See Wakanda and Die (Black Panther)
- Seven Capitol Cities (Iron Fist)
- 5 Nightmares (Iron Man)
- Old Man Logan (Wolverine)
This year it’s a tie between DC and Marvel. Both companies had great films come out this year, and both had iffy events this year as well. The consensus between the group is that it’s too close to call, so we won’t call it. Dark Horse does deserve an honorable mention however.
This list was compiled with help from Cristopher Bryant, Rob Beales, Miguel Garcia, and Editor in Chief, Ahmad Childress for Crave Online.com
