Marvel Zombies 2

Publication history

The Marvel Zombie concept first appeared in Ultimate Fantastic Four #21-23 (2005), in which almost all of the superheroes on Earth became flesh-eating zombies after being infected by an alien virus. The Marvel Zombie phenomenon then continued with the Marvel Zombies metaseries that was published from December 2004 to April 2006. In the series, the zombie superheroes eat the human race to near-extinction then begin to travel the universe to search for even more sources of food.

In 2007, a single comic came out, called Marvel Zombies: Dead Days. Dead Days is a prequel to the Marvel Zombies series, in which the zombie infection spreads throughout the world and the superheroes try and create a plan to save the human race. Lastly, there's Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness, a crossover five-issue series published in 2007. The series is set before and during the prequel Dead Days, where Ash Williams is transported into the Marvel Zombies universe and must fight the zombies while trying to escape back to his own universe.

Plot

Forty years after leaving Earth, the cosmic-powered zombies have systematically devoured all other life in their universe, as well as infected the Titan Thanos, the mutant Phoenix, Shi'ar warrior Gladiator and former Herald of Galactus, Firelord, with the zombie plague. They then decide to return to Earth and rebuild the interdimensional portal that Magneto destroyed forty years ago, in hope of finding more food. On their way to Earth they encounter Ego the Living Planet. Surprised that there is a living planet, the zombies don't hesitate to devour him.

On Earth, an elderly Black Panther rules the surviving humans in New Wakanda, but is in a power struggle with the new generation of Acolytes, a team of mutant supervillains who praised Magneto, a mutant that believed mutants had superiority over normal humans. An Acolyte assassin attacks the Panther in his sleep and nearly disembowels him, but the Panther is saved from death by the Wasp – who remains a zombie but who is now cured of her hunger – when she deliberately infects him in order to 'save' him. After devouring the assassin, the two struggle with how to manage their hunger, while the cosmic zombies continue their approach to Earth. During the decades of interstellar travel back to Earth, Spider-Man and Luke Cage gradually lose their hunger and begin to act rationally once again. Giant Man wishes to start a "breeding program" to create more human food. A battle ensues because of Spider-Man and Luke Cage's new insight, knowing what they have done is wrong now that their hunger has subsided enough to allow them to think rationally.

The humans erect an impenetrable barrier, with most of the cosmic powered zombies outside trying to find a way in. Inside the barrier, Spider-Man and Luke Cage help kill Gladiator. Because of that, the humans gain trust in the two and restore the superheroes' lost limbs with cybernetics (Spider Man's right leg, Wolverine's right arm, and Iron Man's cybernetic lower half of body). Spider-Man then reveals that the other zombies seek the dimensional teleporter, which is said to be stored in the base. Knowing that the zombies will not depart without the device, the heroes prepare for the next battle.

The cosmic zombies gain the upper hand, getting access into the human's base, and start to prepare to feast on the remaining humans. Giant Man is surprised to realize that he has lost his hunger. Giant-Man then convinces the zombies that their hunger is in fact gone, and while he is successful, they are interrupted by an enraged and starving Hulk. The Hulk kills several of the zombies (Phoenix, Firelord, Hawkeye and Iron Man) as they attempt to stop him from eating the remaining humans. Reynolds, having fallen in love with Wasp and believing her to be dead, offers himself to be devoured by the Hulk to stop the Hulk's rampage. The Hulk consumes Reynolds and then reverts to Banner, who requests to be killed by the survivors to prevent the Hulk from ever returning.

The zombies are then transported to an alternate universe by one of their enemies, Malcolm Cortez (Fabian Cortez's son), who organized a new generation of Acolytes.

Collected editions

The series has been collected into a single volume:

Merchandise

There is a very large amount of merchandise based on the zombie superhero characters of Marvel Zombies. Diamond Select have produced Marvel Zombie Minimates, action figures, statues, and a number of mini busts. Along with figurines, there is also "Marvel Zombie" clothing, including sweatshirts and T-shirts that have pictures of the zombie superheroes themselves or covers from the multiple comic books. Stores such as the popular retailer Hot Topic carry a lot of the zombie comic book merchandise.

There is also a collection of the Marvel Zombie comic book covers, featuring the art of Arthur Suydam, Greg Land and Kyle Hotz.