Generations (Marvel Comics)

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Genre
Publication dateAugust – September 2017
Generations
The images shows eleven pairs of superheroes across a black background with the word "Generations" written in all capital letters, underneath.
Promotional image of Generations. Art by Alex Ross.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
FormatLimited series
Genre
Publication dateAugust – September 2017
No. of issues10
Creative team
Written byVarious
ArtistVarious
Collected editions
GenerationsISBN 978-1-302-90847-8

Generations is a limited ten-issue anthology comic book series published by Marvel Comics that ran from August to September 2017. Each issue, written and drawn by different creative teams, features a different team-up of a classic Marvel superhero with their Modern Age counterpart. The series, first teased in February 2017 with artwork by Alex Ross, immediately follows the events of the "Secret Empire" storyline which concludes with a number of modern heroes being sent through time on a journey of self-discovery. According to Marvel editor-in-chief Axel Alonso, the goal of the series was to examine who these heroes are and suggest where they might be heading in the future.

Despite receiving generally favorable reviews from critics, Generations reported underwhelming sales figures over its two-month course. The events of the series built the foundation of Marvel's company-wide "Marvel Legacy" relaunch of comic books, which saw the return of several classic superheroes in more prominent positions.[1]

In February 2017, Marvel Comics released an image teasing the debut of Generations, featuring artwork by Alex Ross which depicted a line-up of classic Marvel superheroes with their Modern Age counterparts.[2] The following month, the first details of the series were revealed via the description of the collected hardcover edition listed on Amazon.com.[3] The announcement of the series came following criticism from a contingent of fans who believed that Marvel's growing diversified cast of characters came at the expense of some its long-standing heroes.[1][4]

The series is a ten issue anthology, featuring a team-up of different incarnations of ten different superheroes, that ran from August to September 2017. Despite the fact that at the time of publication some of the characters listed in the pairings were either dead or incapacitated, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso insisted that the series is not self-contained and does not take place in an alternate timeline explaining, "These stories do happen, they really count. They really matter. This isn't some alternate reality story... You don't take these characters off the board with the intention to keep them off the board forever. One of the tropes of our medium is characters get a second wind. They die and come back. That's part of the beauty of what we do."[5]

Alonso stated that the ten pairings should "illuminate who they are and indicate where they will be moving in the future." For instance, Brian Michael Bendis, writer of the Iron Man and Spider-Man issues, said Tony Stark could have a lasting influence on Riri Williams because "[she] is at the most impressionable stage of her life," while Peter Parker and Miles Morales, despite being from different backgrounds, have a "spiritual connection" that allowed him to examine the Spider-Man mantra of "with great power, must come great responsibility" from different perspectives. G. Willow Wilson writer of the Ms. Marvel issue, said Carol Danvers and Kamala Khan have a mentor–student relationship, but "at its heart, Ms. Marvel is about growing up, and a big part of growing up is discovering that your idols have feet of clay – and forgiving them for their flaws as you gain an adult understanding of your own." Tom Taylor writer of Wolverine suggested that Laura's experience with Logan could help her move beyond her violent past.[5] In August 2025, Jordan D. White revealed that he had pitched an eleventh issue of the series, Generations: The Gwens, where Gwen Poole would have been transported back in time to the events of "Sins Past" to prevent Norman Osborn from sleeping with Gwen Stacy (prior to the storyline being retconned in Sinister War), implying Poole would have done so by ending up sleeping with Osborn herself instead and becoming Gabriel's and Sarah's mother retroactively.[6]

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