Marvel Super-Heroes #3
Marvel Super-Heroes Vol. 2 #3 (Fall 1990) is a notable snapshot of Marvel's quarterly inventory-anthology format at the turn of the decade, assembling original stories across six characters — Captain America, Wasp, Speedball, Hulk, Blue Shield, and Captain Mar-Vell — under one oversized cover. Its greatest historical footnote lies in the creator talent it quietly showcased: Amanda Conner and Greg Capullo both contributed interior art in what were among their earliest Marvel assignments, years before either became defining figures in the industry. The Captain America lead story expands on the Super-Soldier origin by introducing Dominic Fortune as a rejected candidate for the program, adding texture to one of Marvel's foundational myths. The Captain Mar-Vell inventory story — drawn by Jerry Bingham — is also notable as a rare new in-continuity tale featuring a character who had been dead since 1982's The Death of Captain Marvel graphic novel.
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The second volume of Marvel Super-Heroes ran quarterly from May 1990 through October 1993 and was explicitly designed as a home for inventory stories — pre-produced short tales held in reserve as editorial insurance. Issue #3, published in September 1990 with a cover by Kieron Dwyer, was edited by Mark Gruenwald under editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco, the same pairing that oversaw the series from its launch. Because the anthology drew on a rotating pool of writers and artists rather than a fixed creative team, it served as a proving ground for newer talent working alongside established Marvel craftsmen like Steve Ditko, who plotted and penciled the Hulk backup.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published September 1990 as a 'Fall Special' in the quarterly Marvel Super-Heroes Vol. 2 anthology series, edited by Mark Gruenwald with a cover by Kieron Dwyer.
- The Captain America lead story, 'Who Saves the Hero...?', written by Danny Fingeroth with art by Gary Hartle and Tony DeZuniga, reveals that Dominic Fortune was considered for — and rejected from — the Super-Soldier Serum program due to 'unacceptable character.'
- The Wasp story, 'Kingsize Problem,' written by Dwight Jon Zimmerman, features pencils by Amanda Conner — one of her early Marvel assignments — alongside the supporting character Dakota North.
- The Blue Shield story, 'Turning Point,' written by Len Kaminski, features pencils by Greg Capullo — among his early work at Marvel — inked by Tim Dzon, set at Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S.
- The Hulk backup, 'The Power of Rage,' was plotted and penciled by Steve Ditko (scripted by Hollis Bright, inked by Marshall Rogers); Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross appears as a supporting character in his long-established role as the Hulk's military antagonist — no Red Hulk transformation occurs here, as that identity debuted in 2008.
- The Captain Mar-Vell story, 'Last Night the Sun Came Down...and Sang to Me,' plotted by Peter Gillis and drawn by Jerry Bingham, is an inventory tale featuring a character who had died in Marvel's 1982 graphic novel The Death of Captain Marvel, making new in-continuity Mar-Vell stories a rarity by this point.
- A one-page comedic strip, 'How Speedball's Powers Work!', written by Fabian Nicieza, features Nova (Richard Rider) and Speedball (Robbie Baldwin) together — a pairing that would soon be formalized when both characters joined the New Warriors in 1990.
- The series as a whole was designed to print inventory (emergency filler) stories; none of the stories in this issue have been identified as reprinted in a major collected edition.
Cast · 16 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
The Blue Shield must stop a traitor inside Project Pegasus.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).