Marvel 1602: The Season of Marvels

Blog Post 1: Marvel 1602

Neil Gaiman’s Marvel 1602 begins with a series of strange weather events all across Europe. These events have baffled the public and inspire a great amount of worry. These weather patterns are revealed to be caused by a rift in time that was created by the appearance of something called a “Forerunner” in the Americas 15 years before the start of the book. The appearance of the Forerunner has caused a displacement in when certain events in time are supposed to happen. The Watcher of Earth, Uatu, deems this premature era the “Season of Marvels” that is not supposed to begin until the 1960s— a displacement that will lead to the eventual implosion of the universe. These “Marvels,” or superheroes, include the Elizabethan equivalent of various 1960s Marvel characters, including Sir Nicholas Fury, Matthew Murdoch, the Four of the Fantastick, and many others. These Marvels are set into a backdrop of Elizabethan (and post-Elizabethan) society, with their personal character holding an importance that is greater than their heroic abilities. Along with the previously outlined heroes, a new race of superpowered beings called “witchbreeds” (or 1602’s “mutants”) have appeared and are being protected by their mentor, Carlos Javier.

Parallel to the story of the European characters, Virginia Dare and her blonde and blue-eyed Native American companion Rojhaz are journeying from the New World to England in order to request greater support for the Roanoke colony. If you are planning on reading this text, skip ahead to the next paragraph. After the death of Stephen Strange, who believed that Virginia Dare was the time-displaced Forerunner, it is revealed that Rojhaz is actually Steve Rogers, a.k.a. Captain America. Rogers was transported to 1602 after being captured in a dystopian United States by the “President-For-Life.” This machine, which was intended to kill the Captain, created the rift in time— jump starting the “Season of Marvels” that Uatu spoke of earlier. This realization mandates that Steve Rogers be sent back through the rift in time, nullifying the splinted timeline where the Season of Marvels began prematurely. However, because of his time in the dystopian future (and potential brain damage), Rojhaz rejects a voluntary return. He intends to aid in the founding of the Americas, building them from the ground up to become something different from the dystopian world from where he came. Unbeknownst to Rogers but understood by Sir Nicholas Fury, the presence of Rojhaz in 1602 will lead to the destruction of the universe. This understanding inspires Fury to knock Rogers unconscious in order to carry him through the rift, sacrificing himself and saving the universe in the process.

Gaiman’s 1602 contains an interesting philosophy on the role and existence of heroes. It also introduces the concept of “The Season of Marvels,” or the natural response of man when introduced to great levels of strife. The existence of these heroes at a time they should not be needed is reflective of the unnatural dangers present in the book. The concepts of reality and time in the universe being shredded to pieces because of a rift when included in the far lower-stakes environment of Europe in 1602 results in this premature seasonal appearance. Comparing this to the real-life history of superheroes, we began to see their appearance around the time of World War II. This massively damaging worldwide event is terrifying in scale and required a (albeit fictional) social, political, and natural response from the people of Earth to combat it. In the case of the Marvel Universe, this came in the form of Captain America. The symbol of peace and freedom fighting against the Nazi regime is inspiring, the very idea of a superpowered human being saving the world is fantastic and incredible. Captain America, or The Forerunner, signifies the dawn of the Season of Marvels, as is reflected in both 1602 and the modern comic book era. The next step in this Season is in the introduction of the Fantastic Four (The Four of the Fantastick) and the X-Men (the witchbreed), two groups of superpowered individuals who are responsible for the protection of Earth.

For 1602, the closing of the rift signifies a time of peace, much like the end of World War II. In both historical periods, no singular global event reaches the same level of severity again, effectively leaving the Marvels to be purposeless. However, the downfall of the Season of Marvels is that each new powerful force of good requires an equally powerful force of evil to battle against it. As the Marvels grow more powerful, they require equally powerful forces of opposition (effectively giving the heroes a reason to exist to begin with). 1602 uses the birth of the witchbreed and the Fantastick to introduce the birth of “The Brotherhood of Those Who Will Inherit the Earth” (the Brotherhood of Mutants) and Doctor Doom. These villainous forces are both intended to require a seriousness akin to the start of the Season, and continue to grow stronger as the heroes grow stronger.

It cannot be determined at this time whether the current “Season of Marvels” will ever end. It can be assumed that there will always be a new writer with a new idea for a villainous force that needs to be stopped, simultaneously creating a new purpose for the Marvels. As time goes on, there will be new disasters and new real-life forces of evil to inspire. The question that remains, after analyzing this “Season of Marvels” is what will be the catalyst for the the next great era, or season, for humankind?