Marvel Comics has featured some infamous long-running mysteries over the years. This list takes a closer look at some of the most talked-about. From Wolverine’s dark past, to the secret identities of major new characters, Marvel has always loved to tease fans, dragging out reveals over the course of years, and even sometimes entire decades or more.
As it turns out, the best Marvel mysteries have often been the result of Marvel creators starting out without a clear answer in mind.
Whether that was the truth of Wolverine’s claws, or who was behind the mask of Spider-Man’s greatest enemies, these iconic mysteries have had the greatest impact on Marvel canon.
Wolverine’s Backstory
Revealed In The 1990s And Early 2000s
Wolverine debuted for Marvel in 1974, and joined the X-Men when the mutant hero team was revived the next year. It pretty quickly became part of the character’s storyline that his past was murky and uncertain, even to himself. As Wolverine became X-Men’s most popular character in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Marvel slowly revealed his backstory in bits and pieces.
And as Marvel did delve into Wolverine’s past more, an often overlooked part of his history was the idea he could hardly determine real memories from false flashbacks, thanks to Weapon X’s extensive meddling with his mind. This left everything readers learned about the mutant icon slightly uncertain, which in turn made it one of Marvel’s greatest, longest-running mysteries.
The 2001 miniseries Origin finally established a definitive history for the hero, while various stories have emphasized that Wolverine has recovered his “true” memories and reconciled with his complicated past. However, part of that means the modern version of Wolverine has lost a bit of the mysterious charm that made him a hit.
Rogue’s Real Name
Revealed In The Early 2000s
Rogue was introduced in the early 1980s as a villain, but soon turned hero and became a staple of Chris Claremont’s X-Men run within a few years. For the first two decades of her history, questions about her backstory largely went unanswered, with her origin left shrouded in mystery akin to Wolverine’s past.
That changed in the early aughts, after she was utilized as the audience POV character for the 2000 X-Men film, which named her “Marie.” Marvel followed suit, establishing her as “Anna Marie” in Marvel canon. There are still gaps in Rogue’s history for a future author to fill in, but readers know much more about her now than in the 1980s.
Red Hulk’s Identity
Revealed In 2010
This Marvel mystery only lasted a relatively brief interval, but befitting a Hulk, it had an outsized impact on Marvel lore. Red Hulk was a big deal when he was first introduced in 2008; a version of the Hulk that wasn’t Bruce Banner, whose identity was a major open question within the Marvel Universe as much as for Marvel readers.
In 2010, Red Hulk was revealed to be Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, a longtime Hulk supporting character, and frequent antagonist, as well as the father of Bruce Banner’s OG love interest Betty. Ross’ role in Marvel canon fundamentally changed from that point on, and currently, he is set to play a vital role in the future of the Marvel Universe as Red Hulk.
The Third Summers Brother
Revealed In 2006
X-Men field leader Cyclops’ brother, the mutant known as Havok, was introduced in the late 1960s. 20+ years later, author Fabian Nicieza dropped a bombshell on the X-franchise, when villain Mr. Sinister made a throwaway reference to Scott Summers’ “brothers,” plural, while talking to Cyclops. Nicieza never followed up on this dangling thread, kicking off a mystery that lasted nearly 15 years.
The 2006 miniseries X-Men: Deadly Genesis finally revealed the third Summers brother: a brand-new character named Vulcan, or Gabriel Summers. However, up until that point, there was intense speculation among the X-fandom about which existing Marvel character could be revealed as the secret Summers sibling. Including the fan-favorite belief that it would turn out to be Gambit.
In the 20 years since Deadly Genesis, X-Men readers have generally come to accept Vulcan as the erstwhile third Summers brother. However, every few years there is renewed speculation, based on the idea that Mr. Sinister’s reference to “brothers” does not limit Marvel to just three. In other words, more Summers sons could still be out there.
Hobgoblin’s Identity
Revealed In 1987; Retconed In 1997
Hobgoblin was Marvel’s 1980s update on Spider-Man’s original archnemesis Green Goblin; a new Goblin for a new era. The truth of who was behind the Hobgoblin mask was always intended to be a long-running mystery, but just how long it ran, and how complicated the “truth” became, was the product of behind-the-scenes creative uncertainty at Marvel Comics.
Hobgoblin was introduced in 1983, and creator Roger Stern eventually settled on making him as the minor Spider-Man character Roderick Kinglsey. But Stern left Marvel’s Spider-Man series before pulling off the big reveal. His replacement, Marvel writer-editor Tom DeFalco, pulled a swerve and made the Hobgoblin another supporting character, Ned Leeds.
That was in 1987. This never sat well with fans, nor with Roger Stern. In 1997, Stern returned to Spider-Man for the Hobgoblin Lives! miniseries, which retconned existing continuity and reverted to his original plan. Roderick Kingsley was confirmed to be the original Hobgoblin, but by that point, the villain’s history had become one of Marvel’s messiest.
The Traitor Within The X-Men’s Ranks
Revealed, Sort Of, In 1996
X-Men introduced the time-traveling mutant Bishop in 1991, and he soon revealed a dire warning for the mutant heroes: there was a traitor within their midst. This kicked off years of dramatic uncertainty, in which a skeptical finger was pointed at different X-heroes, as practically every character came under suspicion at one point or another.
In 1996, this warning was seemingly fulfilled when the darkest parts of Charles Xavier and Magneto combined to form the deadly entity known as Onslaught. Still, this never fully satisfied fans’ expectations, and subsequent betrayals in X-Men stories have been retroactively attributed as the one Bishop was warning about.
These include the revelation that Gambit was responsible for the infamous 1980s Mutant Massacre, and much later, Moira MacTaggert’s villainous turn in the Krakoan Era. As far as “evergreen” Marvel mysteries goes, this is one the X-franchise could revisit and give an even better answer to, even decades after it was seemingly explained.
