| Schedule: | Monthly |
| Limited: | y |
| Publisher: | Marvel Comics |
| Date: | November 2003 – June 2004 |
| Issues: | 8 |
| Althistory: | first |
| Superhero: | y |
| Multigenre: | y |
| Writers: | Neil Gaiman |
| Artists: | Andy Kubert Scott McKowen (covers) |
| Colorists: | Richard Isanove |
| Subcat: | Marvel Comics |
| Sort: | Marvel 1602 |
| Tpb: | 1602 |
| Isbn: | 0-7851-4134-0 |
| Isbn1: | 0-7851-1494-7 |
| Tpb2: | 1602: Fantastick Four |
| Isbn2: | 0-7851-2293-1 |
| Tpb3: | 1602: Spider-Man |
| Isbn3: | 0-7851-2817-4 |
| Tpb4: | 1602: Witch Hunter Angela |
| Isbn4: | 0-7851-9860-1 |
Marvel 1602, or simply 1602, is an eight-issue comic book limited series published in 2003 by Marvel Comics. The limited series was written by Neil Gaiman, penciled by Andy Kubert, and digitally painted by Richard Isanove; Scott McKowen illustrated the distinctive scratchboard covers. The eight-part series takes place in a timeline where Marvel superheroes exist in the Elizabethan era; faced with the destruction of their world by a mysterious force, the heroes must fight to save their universe. Many of the early Marvel superheroes—Nick Fury, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and Spider-Man—as well as villains such as Doctor Doom and Magneto appear in various roles.
Neil Gaiman had always been a fan of Marvel, and editor Joe Quesada approached Gaiman to work on a project which eventually evolved into 1602. The success of the comic led to three sequels, entitled , , and .[1] There is also a short story, "Son of the Dragon", starring the 1602 version of the Hulk in the second issue of Hulk: Broken Worlds. In 1602: Witchhunter Angela of Marvel's 2015 Secret Wars event, Angela appears as a hunter of witchbreed (mutants).
The pocket reality seen at the end of the limited series in which the continuing Marvel 1602 universe takes place is classified as Earth-311. The series was loosely adapted into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) / Disney+ series What If...? episode "What If... the Avengers Assembled in 1602?" in 2023.
Neil Gaiman stated in an afterword to the series that he had always viewed the Marvel universe as "magic". The editors of 1602, Nick Lowe and Joe Quesada, approached Gaiman after Quesada became Marvel's Editor in Chief with the intent for Gaiman to work on a project for Marvel. Gaiman eventually agreed to write a Marvel comic in August 2001, although he was not sure what it would contain.[2] When the September 11, 2001 attacks occurred, Gaiman decided that he did not want planes, skyscrapers, bombs or guns in his comic. "I didn't want it to be a war story, and I didn't want to write a story in which might made right—or in which might made anything."[2] On a trip to Venice soon after, Gaiman was struck by how the "past seemed very close at hand"; he returned from the trip knowing the story he wanted to tell.[3] The time was chosen because "it was a nice place to set the story. It gave me America and it gave me a lot of things that I wanted in terms of the way the world was changing. It also gave me the sense of wonder and magic."
Gaiman described writing the series as odd, since he had not written comics in half a decade; the story was trimmed down significantly as the size went from six 36-page chapters to eight 22-page segments. He also wanted to write a comic that was different from The Sandman, his most recognized work. The profits of the series went to help fund his Marvels and Miracles LLC company, which is fighting for the rights to Marvelman.[4]
Unlike usual penciled pages, Marvel 1602 used a technique called "enhanced pencils", whereby the finished pencil drawings are sent straight to the colorist instead of to an inker first.[5] This technique had been used before on Kubert's Origin, and results in cleaner and more elaborate lines.[5]
Editor Nick Lowe noticed theater posters done by Scott McKowen and decided that the "engraving 'look' of the scratchboard would be interesting for the historical setting of this story."[6] Scratchboard is a technique where a sharp knife is used to scrape through a layer of black ink to a hard chalk surface underneath; in effect, artists draw white lines on an all-black surface. All McKowen's illustrations were done by hand and then colored later in Photoshop.[6] For inspiration, McKowen looked at 17th-century engravings. He also added scrolls or flags to the covers for the Marvel 1602 titles, basing the designs on Renaissance paintings where scrolls are used to comment on the scenes depicted.[7]
The hardbound edition features a scratchboard illustration depicting the main characters whispering discreetly to each other on the cover. According to McKowen, the image was inspired by a depiction of the masterminds behind the "Gunpowder Plot", an attempt to blow up Parliament during the reign of King James.[7] Since the characters of the story are all traitors in the eyes of King James, they were drawn in a similar fashion.[7]
In the year 1602 in the Marvel Universe, for an unknown reason, superheroes have appeared about 400 years early.[4] They were born and bred in this era and some hold important positions in high places. When the characters come to realize that something is wrong with the universe, the heroes must solve the mystery behind their own existence, while dealing with intrigue at the courts of Elizabeth I and James.
All over Europe, strange weather provokes panic, with many believing that the unnatural occurrences are the beginning of the Apocalypse. Dr. Stephen Strange, the court physician of Elizabeth I, senses that there are unnatural forces at work. He has also been asked to watch over the secret treasure of the Knights Templar which is being brought to England from Jerusalem. Elizabeth tasks her head of intelligence, Sir Nicholas Fury, to bring the treasure—believed to be a weapon—to England safely. Fury in turn contracts blind minstrel and agent Matthew Murdoch to rendezvous with the Templar guard somewhere in Europe and secure the weapon. Later that evening, Fury and his assistant Peter Parquagh are attacked by an assassin whom Fury disables and locks in the Tower of London.
Meanwhile, the ship Virginia Maid arrives in England from the New World, carrying the young Virginia Dare, the first child born in Roanoke colony, as well as her Native American bodyguard Rojhaz. They are taken to meet the Queen only for a second winged assassin to snatch Virginia. Rohjaz quickly disables the attacker, but not before Virginia transforms into a white gryphon. Rojhaz subdues Virginia, and Strange bespells her to human form before Fury sees her. Dare's powers cause Strange to suspect that she is the cause of the disastrous weather. Fury interrogates the imprisoned assassin to learn who sent him. He is told that it is Count Otto von Doom, ruler of Latveria, but Fury is too late to stop one of Doom's machines from killing Elizabeth with a poison gas released by dropping a pill into aqua regia.
Upon Elizabeth's death, James VI becomes ruler of both England and Scotland. James is distrustful of "witchbreed", those with magical or uncanny powers, and collaborates with Spanish High Inquisitor Enrique to blame the witchbreed of England, headed by Carlos Javier, for Elizabeth's death. Fury, a friend of Javier and his students, is forced to take the witchbreed to the Tower. Strange, Javier, and Fury meet and discuss how to save the world; an act which will almost surely lead to them being branded traitors by James. Strange learns that Natasha, a fellow agent, has betrayed Murdoch and the Templar agent Donal to Doom. Strange also learns that Doom has been holding captive four heroes from the ship Fantastick, including Fury's friend Sir Richard Reed. Javier agrees to help Fury, and the party sets out on a ship levitated by Javier and his page John Grey across the continent.
Strange meanwhile finds himself on the moon where he meets the Watcher Uatu, who tells him that the strange events are due to an anomaly he calls the Forerunner. The Forerunner is from the future and its presence in the past has disrupted reality to the point of impending annihilation of not only Strange's world but all other universes as well. Explaining his theory that the emergence of various superhumans on Stephen's Earth four hundred years before their season is the result of the universe trying to save itself, the Watcher tells Strange that he will not be able to repeat what he has learned while he lives.
Fury, Javier, and his students launch a successful attack on Doom's fortress; John Grey, revealed to be female, dies from her exertions in keeping the ship intact. The Four of the Fantastick are freed, and Doom is horribly scarred when lightning strikes a golden ball that he believes is the Templar's treasure. In fact, the true treasure is Donal's walking stick, which when struck on the ground transforms into the hammer Mjolnir and Donal into the Norse god Thor. The ship of fugitives heads for the New World. In Spain, Enrique is exposed as both a witchbreed and a Jew, and sentenced to be burned at the stake with his young acolytes, Petros and Sister Wanda. Using his powers, Enrique frees himself and his acolytes, and they escape on a ship of their own, also bound for America.
Strange is executed by James, who is furious that Fury and the witchbreed escaped him. Now no longer constrained by the Watcher's oath, Strange communicates telepathically with his wife Clea. He informs her that the Forerunner is the cause of the anomalies and that universal salvation depends on its transport back to its time; she takes his head from its pike at the Tower of London and sets off for America with Virginia and Rojhaz. Clea voices her opinion that Strange's suspicions were wrong, and that the Forerunner is not Virginia. Rojhaz confirms this, revealing himself to be Steve Rogers. After fighting against a 21st-century dictatorship led by a President for Life, Rogers was captured and sent back in time so as to completely erase his legacy. He was taken in by Native Americans who misheard his name; upon encountering the struggling Roanoke colony, he helped it survive and became Virginia's bodyguard.
Fury and company arrive at the Roanoke colony, where they discover the rift through which Rogers arrived. Javier senses three ships incoming: the Virginia Maid, Enrique's ship, and a ship carrying James's agents, among them his advisor David Banner and Parquagh, who has been coerced into loyalty. Realizing that the rift is radiating "galvanic" energy, Javier enlists Enrique to manipulate the rift in exchange for an unspecified boon. Donal summons Thor once more, enabling the necessary input of energy to open the rift again. On the beach, Fury kills all of James's agents except for Parquagh and Banner. In England, Murdoch threatens James with death should he harm Fury. Rogers refuses to go back through the rift, hoping to build a better America. Fury incapacitates him and carries the body back through the rift, thus going into the future himself.
The rift and the universe restore themselves, meaning the destruction of the alternate timeline; however, Uatu the Watcher is granted a "pocket universe" by his colleagues in which the 1602 timeline remains intact, and where the powered fugitives decide to settle in the Roanoke colony, declaring it a free place for all. Meanwhile, while walking in the woods with Virginia, Peter is bitten by a spider exposed to the energies released when Rojhaz and Fury entered the rift. Banner, who shielded Peter from the energies, has changed into a hulking gray monster. Intrigued by the continuing events, Uatu continues to watch the new universe (later designated Earth-311).
See main article: List of Marvel 1602 characters. 1602 features both historical figures and many of the original Marvel superheroes and villains. Some popular characters, such as Wolverine, were not added because of Gaiman's vision to address the heroes of the 1960s. "The territory doesn't go much further than 1969 in terms of the characters that I picked to use," Gaiman noted. "I couldn't get everybody in because there are an awful lot of Marvel characters."[4]
The first issue of 1602 was ranked first in August 2003 US comics with pre-order sales of 150,569.[9]
1602 received mixed praise upon its release with Comics Bulletin stating "Is 1602 good? Yes, it's damn good. Is it revolutionary or even ground breaking? No. Sorry, but I can't go so far as to call a glorified What If? series anything more than what it is; a well done re-imagination of the Marvel Universe."[10] Entertainment Weekly declared that the combination of writing and moody artwork meant "the Marvel Universe hasn't been this engrossing in ages."[11] ShakingThrough.net noted that fans looking for elements of Gaiman's The Sandman would be disappointed; "It's not a senses-shattering Marvel epic, but then it's not meant to be. It's nothing more or less than a chance to enjoy reinterpretations of some familiar characters."[12] UGO Networks concurred, stating "there doesn't need to be a 'point' in re-imagining familiar icons—it's simply meant to be fun. [...] The result of 1602 is agreeable entertainment."[13] The series won several awards, including the Quill Book Award for Graphic Novels.[14] The first issue was also awarded the 2003 Diamond Distributors Gem Award as "Comic of the Year".[15]
Conversely, Time Magazine listed it as the worst comic of 2003, although the list's composer later stated "he didn't actually mean it was the worst comic of the year."[16] UGO's Darren Latta noted as a downside to the series that "the approach maybe a little too subdued at times." Latta also felt that despite being familiar with the setting, Gaiman never utilized the period to its full potential.[13] Others simply felt that Gaiman's involvement led to inflated expectations; one review noted that while reading "I [...] felt at times like maybe it was all a little bit too cute, a little bit too in-jokey."[17]
James Fleming, an adjunct instructor at Keiser University and Southern New Hampshire University, has also written about the use of the postmodern tradition in 1602 and how this is employed as a means to respond to the post-9/11 world in which the comic was written.[18]
1602s success led to three sequels.
The Marvel 1602 universe appears in a lead-up to Spider-Verse. Peter Parquah is on stage at the Globe Theatre with Marion Jane Watson's family when Morlun appears. Peter attempts to defend himself, but Morlun proves too powerful. Morlun brings down the Globe Theater around everyone, and absorbs Peter's life essence. Before disappearing into another dimension, Morlun declares that all spiders will die.[19]
Marvel 1602 appears in Secret Wars where its domain on Battleworld is referred to as King James' England. It is mostly featured in the comic 1602: Witch Hunter Angela (which features a witch hunter version of Angela). The Secret Wars Marvel 1602 now includes Bronze Age and Modern Age Marvel characters where its King James is a variation of Wolverine.
The Web Warriors (Alternate versions of Spider-Man) visited the 1602 Universe to deal with the dimension's version of Sinister Six called the Sinister Sextet which consists of Carnage, Electro, Karnov, Magus, and Serpent. After apprehending the villains, they noticed the dimension's Electro has escaped. Unbeknownst to the heroes, Electro followed them back to the Great Web.[20]
| Marvel 1602 | 1602 #1–8 | October 2004 | ||
| Marvel 1602: New World | Marvel 1602: New World #1–5 | January 2006 | ||
| #1–5 | June 2007 | |||
| Marvel 1602: New World/Fantastick Four | Marvel 1602: New World #1–5 and #1–5 | October 2009 | ||
| Marvel 1602: Spider-Man | Marvel 1602: Spider-Man #1–5 | May 2010 | ||
| 1602 Witch Hunter Angela | 1602 Witch Hunter Angela #1–4 and 1602 #1 | March 2016 |