Marvel Super-Heroes Omnibus #[nn]
The Marvel Super-Heroes Omnibus (1987, Marvel UK) is a snapshot of the American Marvel Universe at its mid-1980s creative peak, packaged for the British hardback annual market in a single oversized volume. Its crown jewel is the reprint of Uncanny X-Men #213 — the Mutant Massacre tie-in in which Betsy Braddock formally joins the X-Men as Psylocke and Mister Sinister makes his first (shadowed) appearance anywhere, making this annual one of the very few UK publications to carry a genuine key-issue moment in X-Men continuity. For an entire generation of British readers this volume served as a gateway to the wider Marvel Universe, introducing five different corners of it — the X-Men, Spider-Man, Iron Man, the Hulk, and Captain America — in one affordable hardcover.
"The Fury of X-Factor!" sees X-Factor hunting Spider-Man under the false belief he's a mutant, following Flash Thompson's escape and a misleading tip from Jameson. Still recovering from his clash with Rhino, Spider-Man faces off against the team he once called allies, setting up a tense and personal confrontation. Written by Tom DeFalco and illustrated by Rick Leonardi, with inks by Bob Layton, colors by Nel Yomtov, and letters by Joe Rosen, this 1987 Marvel UK omnibus issue captures a pivotal moment in the web-slinger’s saga.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Marvel UK had been producing oversized hardback superhero annuals in various incarnations since 1967, with the 'Super-Heroes' branding running haphazardly from 1979 through 1991; the 1987 Omnibus was a one-off branding experiment within that lineage rather than an ongoing series. Published with laminated pictorial boards and no dust wrapper, the 64-page, full-colour hardcover carried the ISBN 0948936104 and was produced by Marvel's London office at a moment when Marvel UK's weekly periodical output was contracting, leaving these prestige annuals as important retail anchors on British high-street shelves.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Reprints five American stories: 'Psylocke' (Uncanny X-Men #213), 'The Fury of X-Factor' (Amazing Spider-Man #282), 'Metamorphosis Oddity' (Iron Man #217), 'Call of the Desert' (Incredible Hulk #314), and 'To Tame a Tumbler' (Captain America #291).
- Uncanny X-Men #213 — written by Chris Claremont, drawn by Alan Davis and Paul Neary, cover by Barry Windsor-Smith — is the issue in which Betsy Braddock joins the X-Men under the codename Psylocke.
- UXM #213 also contains the first (silhouetted) cameo of Mister Sinister: Psylocke probes Sabretooth's mind and glimpses the shadowy figure identified only as 'Sinister,' alerting the X-Men to his existence for the first time.
- UXM #213 is a Mutant Massacre tie-in; its cast of supporting characters includes the full New Mutants roster (Cannonball, Cypher/Doug Ramsey, Sunspot, Wolfsbane, Magma, Warlock, Mirage, Magik) and the Marauders (Scalphunter, Riptide, Scrambler, Harpoon, Vertigo), as well as Callisto and Moira MacTaggert.
- Iron Man #217, 'Metamorphosis Oddity,' was plotted by David Michelinie and Bob Layton, pencilled by Mark Bright, and inked by Layton; it features Rhodey (James Rhodes) and a cameo return of Justin Hammer, teeing up the Michelinie/Layton villain for their second Iron Man run.
- Amazing Spider-Man #282, 'The Fury of X-Factor,' crosses over the Mutant Massacre event into Spider-Man's title, featuring the original X-Factor team (the five founding X-Men) alongside Peter Parker, Mary Jane Watson, J. Jonah Jameson, Betty Brant-Leeds, Joe Robertson, and Ned Leeds.
- The volume is a hardcover, approximately 8 × 11 inches, 64 pages, full colour, published by Marvel UK (Marvel Comics Ltd., London); it is a standalone publication rather than part of a numbered series.
- Part of a long-running UK hardback annual tradition stretching back to 1967, the 'Omnibus' branding distinguished this 1987 edition from the standard 'Marvel Super-Heroes Annual' line that continued until 1991.
Cast · 40 characters
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Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
In the wake of Flash Thompson's escape, everyone is looking for the man believed to be the Hobgoblin. Jameson hires X-Factor to bring in Spider-Man by telling them he is a mutant. Still reeling from his battle with Rhino, Spider-Man takes on X-Factor.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).