Top 5: Best Mark Millar Stories

Introducing an all-new weekly column called Top 5! It's so original. You'll never guess what it's about. So, let's get on with the Top 5 best MARK MILLAR stories!

5. SUPERIOR 

by Mark Millar and Lenil Yu

As I've said before, there are two kinds of Mark Millar stories. I'd just be repeating myself if I said, "One type of Millar stories are just endless brutal and shocking violence and content, and the other type of stories are interesting spins on overused and famous concepts, with a lot of heart". Superior is a spin on the Shazam! concept. In Superior, a young boy with sclerosis meets a monkey who grants him his one wish, which is to be his favorite superhero, Superior (a Captain Marvel stand-in). This was an incredibly tear jerking story, especially towards the last two issues, in which he must decide between going back to his suckish life as a paralyzed middle schooler, or selling his soul to the devil. Lenil Yu's dynamic and distinct art style is the icing on the cake. 

4. SUPERMAN: RED SON

by Mark Millar and Dave Johnson

Superman: Red Son is an Elseworlds story, in which the Superman origin is retooled, where Kal-El's rocket lands in 1938 Siberia. This is a dark, violent, sometimes disturbing, and engaging story, that really makes you think. Towards the third issue, you really start to question the motives of the Man of Steel, and even begin to side with the crazy, yet brilliant Lex Luthor. One last word before I go out: BATMANKOFF. 

3. THE AUTHORITY: THE NATIVITY

by Mark Millar and Frank Quitely

I like to think of this as the first cinematic Millar story. In The Authority: The Nativity,  the  famed superhero team goes to war with a thinly veiled Marvel Universe (Krigstein, the main villain is essentially Stan Lee) over the fate of Jenny Quantum. Many people HATED this book when it came out. They thought this was too much for them. Apollo is beaten to a bloody pulp, an Ant-Man analogue gets his legs blown off, the team practically FEEDS a Korean dictator to his people, and well... Let's just say Midighter does something EXTREMELY disgusting. However, the story's shock value actually served the story, and he gets the voice of the characters extremely well (Dialogue would go on to be one of Millar's stories' defining aspects). In fact, the current Stormwatch series feels like a Millar series at times. Frank Quitely (my favorite artist) drew this as well, which instantly earned it a spot on the list.

2.  ULTIMATE AVENGERS
by Mark Millar, Carlos Pachecho, Lenil Yu, and Steve Dillon

This is one of Millar's most underrated gems. All 4 chapters of Ultimate Avengers were great, and they all had great art to boot. Ultimate Avengers is the sequel to The Ultimates 3 and Ultimatum, though it barely had anything to do with the last two stories (which were both terrible). The Ultimates was a superhero book for the real world, and Ultimate Avengers was just the opposite. It was the perfect secret agent team movie set in a superhero world. The first chapter was pretty good, involving Captain America. The second chapter benched Cap, in exchange for the Punisher and the Ghost Rider in the most fun part of the series. Part 3 was the worst, which was mediocre, with terrible art, but a great horror story. Death of Spider-Man: Avengers vs New Ultimates was the best chapter, featuring a heartbreaking 4th issue. The series provided a nice conclusion to Millar's Ultimate saga, and served to be his last series for the Big Two even to this day.

1. THE ULTIMATES 1&2

by Mark Millar and Brian Hitch

The Ultimates was Mark Millar's "Star Wars". The Ultimates 1&2 were "A New Hope" and "The Empire Strikes Back", and Jeph Loeb's run was "Return of the Jedi". The first chapter was pretty good, and (in my opinion) was the superhero book that defined comics for the next 5 years. Chapter 2 was the team's darkest hour, and accomplished a rare feat: It actually made you doubt EVERYONE'S survival by the end of the series. Thor was declared insane. Hawkeye's family was tragically slaughtered in one of the most intense scenes in a comic EVER, and Captain America was blamed for it. Ant Man went to the enemy's side. The Hulk was (apparently) executed. It's the best Avengers tale you will ever read.