Marvel Age #132
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeMarvel Age #132 is a snapshot of Marvel's editorial ambitions at the dawn of 1994, previewing two major new teams — Force Works and ClanDestine — months before either debuted in their own titles. It also carries Part 3 of the four-part 'Origin of the Human Torch' strip by Alex Ross and Steve Darnall, a serial that was later collected and published as the stand-alone Marvels #0, giving early Ross artwork a wider audience. The issue simultaneously spotlights the 'Fall of the Hammer' crossover running through the Marvel 2099 line, making it a rare single issue that bridges Golden Age history, a brand-new Avengers spin-off, an all-new creator-driven family saga, and the burgeoning 2099 imprint at one moment in time.
In the Beginning... follows Phineas Horton as he creates the Human Torch, a being of fire and potential, only to realize the world isn't ready for such power. Sealing his creation beneath the earth, Horton hopes to protect both humanity and his creation—until a crack in the concrete begins to spread, threatening to release the flame long buried.
ComicBooks.com Value
This exact issue on ebay
Raw / ungraded ▾ $0.99–$13 17 listings
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
Marvel Age was a promotional comic book-sized magazine that Marvel published from April 1983 through September 1994, running 140 issues in total. Conceived as an expanded, comic-length version of the Bullpen Bulletins page, it combined previews of upcoming titles with creator interviews, editorial columns, and recurring features — including a regular one-page humor strip by Fred Hembeck. Issue #132 (cover-dated January 1994, released November 1993) was produced under editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco and reflects the publisher's simultaneous push into multiple new directions: the post-West Coast Avengers landscape, Alan Davis's first creator-driven Marvel project, the maturing 2099 imprint, and the final stretch of the Marvels-adjacent Alex Ross/Steve Darnall Human Torch serial.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date is January 1994; the issue features flip covers — one by Tom Tenney and Michael Avon Oeming spotlighting Force Works, and a reverse cover by Alan Davis and Mark Farmer spotlighting ClanDestine.
- Contains an early preview article on Force Works, with comments from writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning and editor Nel Yomtov — roughly six months before the team's debut series launched in July 1994.
- Features a preview discussion of ClanDestine with Paul Neary and writer/artist Alan Davis, anticipating the series that would debut in October 1994.
- Includes Part 3 of the four-part 'Origin of the Human Torch' serial written by Steve Darnall and painted by Alex Ross (installments ran in Marvel Age #130–133); the complete strip was later reprinted as Marvels #0 (June 1994), featuring characters Jim Hammond and Professor Phineas T. Horton.
- Covers the 'Fall of the Hammer' crossover running through the Marvel 2099 titles, with editorial commentary from 2099 line editor Joey Cavalieri; this crossover involved Spider-Man 2099 (Miguel O'Hara), Jordan Boone, and the 2099 Asgardian pantheon including Thor, Hela, Loki, and Heimdall.
- Includes an article on Spider-Man: The Mutant Agenda, described as the first strip-to-comic crossover, with comments from Stan Lee, Danny Fingeroth, and Steven Grant.
- Features an interview with Avi Arad, then a key figure in Marvel's licensing and toy operations, reflecting the era's push to extend Marvel properties beyond comics.
- The recurring one-page Fred Hembeck humor strip appears in this issue, as it did throughout the majority of Marvel Age's eleven-year run, and Hembeck is credited as the issue's writer/artist in several catalog records.
Cast · 19 characters
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Marvels #0 (1994), Spider-Man 2099 Classic #3 (2015), Avengers / Iron Man: Force Works #[nn] (2016), Infinity Watch #2 (2016), Spider-Man 2099 Omnibus #1 (2023)
Key issues in Marvel Age
Variants (1)
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.