Huh? What’s with panel 16? I know where it comes from, but can it really be called ‘iconic’? Maybe at Marvel’s 90th…

That panel changed the face of Marvel comics as we know it, at least for the mutants. I’d say that’s rather iconic. Just because it’s recent doesn’t take away what it did…

It’s also been parodied/referenced to death, as in Captain Britain and MI:13 #4, when Pete Wisdom made a demonic pact and uttered “No more Skrulls.”

I thought ‘No More Mutants’ was probably a good example of what’s wrong with the Marvel books today, it’s all flash and no substance. How can you have X-Men books with just a few mutants around? You either have mutants or you don’t . You can kill most of ‘em, sure. But this is just going half-way on something. I give the X-Writers credit because they still manage to do a great job despite this bizarre idea. Marvel puts out these ideas that aren’t great to begin with and just does them for soem reason. All the panels fit except that last one, which just seems to be thrown in there.

Oh, it Gwen Stacy still dead? Do we care anymore?

wow the term “iconic” seems to mean “everybody really liked this” to some people

2 – not iconic
5 – not as iconic as the panel after it, or indeed the quite similar cover
9 – not iconic – so ridiculous that it was wiped out of continuity a year or two later
12 – not as iconic as the image of Spider-Man holding her in her arms. Although the page as a whole would fit the description of an ‘iconic sequence’ – that’s what comics are, really, sequences of images telling a story
13 – not as iconic as the very similar cover

I don’t think recency diminishes the iconicity of an image. It’s not even like NMM is all that recent. Marvel notably used it as a marketing image for its Endangered Species series a couple of years ago.

There are two, maybe three, images at most in that list that could even remotely begin to be described as “Iconic”.

Iconic to one isn’t to another. This article is the authors opinion, any while I don’t completely agree, I respect what his opinion is. Each one pa those panels had at least SOME impact on the Marvel universe. That’s saying something

Vincent you’re wrong. In terms of Iconic Marvel moments/panels, I’d say a good 13-14 are representing the essence of Marvel or specific characters.

I thought they were all pretty iconic, except maybe the sentinel one. I’m not sure about the FF running to the rocket either. Like everyone else, I guess, I was kind of surprised to see the last one there, not because it isn’t iconic, but simply because nothing else was later than 1981.
And despite what Alex said, the no more mutants was a very good idea, and totally necessary. The previous two decades had got completely ridiculous as far as mutants were concerned. In some of the X-books, they seemed to make up at least a tenth of the world’s population, and appeared to be forming their own complete society. It didn’t fit at all with the rest of the Marvel Universe, or with the earlier X-Men books even. Perhaps limiting their number to 198 was a bit extreme, but it looks like they left the door open for some more to be out there.

Can’t find specific pics right now, but…death of Captain Marvel, death of Phoenix, unmasking of Green Goblin all spring to mind. Let’s see…Pete shaking off the symbiote probably belongs in there somewhere. And the original Silver Surfer/Galactus arc is just chock-full of iconic panels; hard to pick a specific one.

Ooh, I got another one! The ending of Thunderbolts #1.

The first shot of Venom, or how about Spidey riding on top of Juggernaut?

No more Bendis dialogue. PLEASE.

No more magic cop outs that erase any part of continuity. PLEASE.

The only one of those FF panels that really fit the bill is the all hands panel. The rest aren’t don’t carry any real weight as individual panels, per se. The Gwen Stacy panel has some historical significance (in comic book terms) but I wouldn’t call it iconic. And admittedly my profound distaste for/disinterest in Bullseye and Elektra may be coloring my opinion, but I could easily go the rest of my life without seeing that panel again. That knife jutting into, but not out of, the back of the shirt quickly became an overused cliche (albeit one brilliantly parodied by Alan Moore and Mike Collins decades ago). The scene of Spider-Man dumping his costume is iconic, but the real iconic image is the cover, with the big “Spider-Man NO MORE” caption, not the interior panel represented here.

Panel 16: Not Iconic. Yet. However if enough of you keep using it, it will be.

Also, don’t you read anything but Marvel comics? or was that your point?

Okay i read the title again. marvel comics. That was your point, but why?

No matter how you slice it, “Tiger you just hit the Jackpot” is the one which is the single most iconic and memorable to most people. True, the burglar reveal and the actual spider-bite panels are probably even more key to the character, and the actual images are probably more important, but the “Tiger” panel has the benefit of delivering one of the two or three best known comics catch phrases in existence.

1. “JACKPOT”
2. Death of Gwen Stacey
3. Death of Elektra
4. Sentinel kills Wolverine
5. Wolverine’s Revenge against HFC

I love Dark Phoenix Saga but was never big on the Wolverine panel. Wolverine always goes ape-shit crazy. But it’s been beaten into my mind by Wizard so much I guess it’s that important to somebody which makes it no less relevant on a broader scale outside of myself.

I’m part of the “Spidey has always been Married” generation so I think the HoM panel is the only panel I was actually alive for and able to read when it was released. So that would make it rather significant for me as far as what that 1 single, simple panel did and the lasting affects it had to this day.

To Michael, “No more mutants” didn’t erase continuity. Mephisto and Joe Q did that.

Maybe I’m showing my age, but: Panel 14. Not only iconic in terms of character arc, but a beautiful, classic piece of comic art.

Yeah, the Cap one is good. Kirby rules.

No Gene Colan so far. Trouble is, huge fan though I am, I can’t think of a sufficiently outstanding single panel…I guess he didn’t work much on the flagship books, or the most crucial storylines. But it would be a shame to leave him out of this…any ideas, anyone? Something from Iron Man, Daredevil or Doctor Strange seems the best bet…

(I *do* know this page is mostly for comments not suggestions, but it seemed worth throwing this out to the greatest number of people, on the off-chance that Genial Gene isn’t represented in the next 54 panels…)

Also, having been looking over Gail Simone’s ‘Women in Refrigerators’ I wonder if we should worry that out of the four panels spotlighting women, two involve death…

For those complaining some aren’t iconic, well these are only 16 of 70, and we get to vote, so you don’t have to agree with every one posted here.

I think these are a pretty good selection. Panel 10 is the most iconic to me, I always think of that particular panel, but also I think 16 is very iconic too, it sums up a whole era of mutant books in a single panel, like it or not.

I’m rather hoping to see the panel from Fantastic Four #48, where the Watcher and Galactus confront each other, with the FF in the foreground, seeming small as bugs to them.

And I know that it can’t possibly be used, but I absolutely love the double page spread from Avengers/JLA #4, with the combined team attacking, all yelling, “Avengers Assemble!”

Wot? No Steranko? Shurely shome mishtake?

And panel 16? Not iconic. Indicative of all that’s wrong with Marvel these days? Sure. The complete Bendisisation of the entire Marvel universe; Not for me thank you.

I’ve gotta say, these are really good choices and most that I would’ve put up for sure. Really nice to see them all together.

Thanks,

Beau Smith
The Flying Fist Ranch

If Beau Smith likes it, it’s good enough for me.

Panel 6 is the best, because it shows the first “iconic” time that Reed Richards was remarkably arrogant and self-centered. “Well I’m Mr Fantastic, ladies!”

I plead ignorance but what issue of what title was panel 16 referenced from? Also, who is speaking?

The inclusion of panel 16 gives me reason to doubt the value of the rest of this experiment.

@ knick_knick

#16 was from House of M. Those words were spoken by the Scarlet Witch.

So you decided to change the panel from ASM #33? Didn’t you originally have the panel after this, when Spidey finally manages to throw the rubble off? Either one is okay I guess.

Yeah, enough people complained that the key was showing Spider-Man’s struggle against all odds rather than his success. It was a fair enough point, so I changed it.

In response to Trey,

Near enough none of these images are iconic in and of themselves. Them may come from iconic or important stories, and be crucial and important moments from those stories, but as images, no, sorry, they are not iconic (for the most part).

Wow, such whining. Isn’t the fact that we can recognize a single panel and the story its from on its own proof of a certain level of icon status? And isn’t it too early to complain about such and such panel not being included when there’s over fifty to go?

Also, hard as it may be to understand, some of us actually like Marvel right now, and enjoyed House Of M.

Brian, it’s the sequence as a whole that’s meaningful and iconic. The final panel, however, is the memorable one. (Well, that and the cover.)

Right, Tom, and the panel chosen best exemplifies the sequence – he’s ALMOST finished, but not done yet and we even get a piece of dialogue mentioning the main theme of the issue (“Spider-Man succeeds by sheer willpower”).

Don’t get me wrong, I had the last page as my initial choice, but I think the complaints were reasonable enough that I switched to this panel.

Though I may not agree with all of them, this is fun and a neat idea. It is fun to see these panels, many of which bring back good reading memories. Some of these whining comments I just don’t understand. For Lobstah…maybe this guy likes marvel comics. I doubt there’s a cosmic revelation waiting to be told.

Bad call on the Spidey #33 panel. The full page splash is by far the best and most iconic single panel. Who are these jokesters who say it’s the struggle that is most important? There’s nothing heroic about just holding up some machinery. Spider-Man’s success is the most important part and Ditko knew it, hence panels that grow in size, culminating in the iconic full page shot.

I’m in your camp, Brian, re: Spidey #33. I think it’s most metaphorically apropos for the character, who always seems to be struggling with one thing or another. Spidey/Peter was one of the first characters for whom winning wasn’t easy.

High marks for the Doc Strange panel, one of the greatest reveals in Marvel history. The build-up for Eternity had started several issues, back, as I recall, and Ditko delivered. And I just noticed something obvious: How much Eternity resembled Dr. Strange, adding a weird subtextual element. Perhaps Doc saw himself reflected in Eternity, which couldn’t possibly have a humanoid form by itself.

Man, Romita could draw the ladies. Seemed just right as Peter was growing up to add a more sexual vibe to the series.

I think you may be reaching with the multiple panels from the FF origin — especially the four sneaking onto the base. I guess there isn’t one handy, definitive image.

Ellis Wyatt
August 8, 2009 at 4:54 am

Wow, such whining. Isn’t the fact that we can recognize a single panel and the story its from on its own proof of a certain level of icon status?
=======================================================

Not really. If anything, it’s just indicative of the anal, detail-obsessed nature of comic book fans in general.

I just showed the first twenty-eight panels to my wife who has a very limited comic book familiarity and very minimal interest.
She showed reactions to six of the panels.
# 3 – Bullseye killing Elektra – “oh, that’s gross, I don’t like that.”
# 6 –
#10 – Spider suit in the garbage – she sighed – “there’s too Spider-man.”
# 11 – the Vision crying – “who’s he? he looks like a real wuss.”
# 19- Eternity – she looked at him for a moment then said “well, that’s sort of interesting.”
#22 – first Wolverine – she cracked up – “oh, is he like the Wolverine from the movie?!? Ha ha ha. He looks so stupid! ha ha ha, what an idiot, look at him, ha ha ha”
After that she didn’t really take any of them seriously, then scrolled back up to laugh at Logan again.
But before that
#6 – Fantastic Four hands together – “oh, well, that one there, that’s the origin of the Fantastic Four, right?”

Gentlemen (and ladies, if there are any out there), I give you “iconic.”

Yeah! ‘Professor Xavier Is A Jerk!’ Finally, a panel from a book I actually own! (I wouldn’t mind owning some of the others, but most of them are way out of my price range.)

I don’t recognise what the Daredevil surrounded by flames is supposed to be from, or the sign saying ‘mutie’ (although I know there are a lot of stories that one could be from.)

Is the origin of Captain America from the original 1941 book, or is it Avengers #4 or something?

I find it so strange to see pupils on Spidey’s mask. Is that the only story in which he had them?

Mary Warner
August 11, 2009 at 10:50 pm

I don’t recognise what the Daredevil surrounded by flames is supposed to be from, or the sign saying ‘mutie’ (although I know there are a lot of stories that one could be from.)

==================================================================================

The Daredevil panel is the last panel of the penultimate issue of the Born Again story line. In that issue Matt is attacked by some insane mook who was given a DareDevil costume by Kingpin. The next issue Kingpin sends the even more insane Nuke after Matt. It’s iconic because it shows that Matt has overcome the hell Kingpin has put him through and DareDevil is back.

The ‘mutie’ panel is from God Loves, Man Kills the X-Men graphic novel, an excellent read I encourage you to find. The person wearing the sign is a child who has been lynched in a playground. The sign is actually a swing seat.

Panel 16 is iconic dialogue, not an iconic panel. The words are obviously significant, but Who said that?, why?, why is that moment important?

Panel 6 is an iconic panel, it’s self explanitory: four hands joined together, one of them a big orange rock hand.

Just my two cents – I would probably include the panel where Doc Ock unmasks Spiderman to the very surprised audience gatherer around. And if don’t know what I’m talking about then that panel is obviously not iconic, and therefore does not belong on this list.

The “mutie” panel is really powerful, “God Loves, Man Kills” is probably the best comic Claremont has written, ever.

Peace.

what’s #23 from? who is that? why’s Xavier being labelled a jerk?

Okay, I’ll reveal my dislike of Kitty Pryde once more by asking, what’s so iconic about panel 23?

Is it because it shows how fiesty (ugghh) she is? I get the feeling that it’s inclusion has more to do with Kitty’s status as a fan favorite character than any intrinsic iconicness.

Is iconicness a word…

Anyway, really nice Paul Smith art …

I love Kitty, and that picture, but I don’t see how it’s iconic, either. That was the issue where she got Lockheed, and in which Scott met Madelyne Pryor, so it is a significant issue, but the picture really isn’t iconic.

I’ve been trying to come up with some suggestions for this, but for some reason not many are springing to mind. You’ve got to include the black Spidy suit sometime, but I’m not sure which one. There’s the picture where he first gets it in Secret Wars, but it had already been around for eight months in the regular Spider-Man books. I guess you could have him leaping out of the transporter device with Curt Conners in his arm, from Amazing #252. That was the first real appearance of it, aside from the cover.

How about one of the pictures of Snowbird fighting the Ice demon during a blizzard in Alpha Flight #6? Am I the only who thinks that whole sequence was genius?
Mantis appearing over the Surfer in Silver Surfer #3?
Something from Marvel Tails #1 (note the spelling), with the debut of Spider-Ham?
Kraven shooting Spider-Man, or maybe Spidey in the casket, or the burial?
The Spider-Mobile being driven off the pier? (I bet a lot of readers cheered when they saw that.)
Mary Jane telling Peter that she knows his identity (Amazing #257)?
Avengers Annual #7, when Adam Warlock steals his own soul? Or when he finds Pip with his mind gone?

Maybe the Squadron Supreme / Sinister should be included somewhere. It’s always seemed to me like the whole JLA thing is sort of a tribute or something to them.

I would like to petition for more Hulk moments. Next to Spider-Man, Wolverine, and perhaps Captain America, I would argue that the Hulk is the most widely recognized Marvel character, largely because of the Lou Ferrigno TV show and two major motion pictures. And out of with the first half of the panels posted, only having one Hulk related one seems wrong somehow. There must be some iconic Hulk panels out there, no?

Okay so what else do we have now…

Green Goblin towing an unmasked Peter Parker through the city.
Doctor Doom actually riding the Surfer’s board.
….

Damn this is getting difficult…

Oh, how could I forget? Rick Jones exhausted, leaning on the door of the vault while on the other end, the Hulk hammers frustratedly at the hydraulic door imprisoning him in the cave. That’s a good Hulk moment…

The one image that came to my mind when I heard about iconic was from Avengers #93 – first series. Captain America was holding Antman right above the unconscious Vision’s mouth. The Neal Adams crisp art, with the coloring and the contrast between the size of Captain America’s hand, the Vision’s face, and Antman really affected me when I first saw it (had to be around 1978 when I first saw this, at a flea market where the guy who owned it sold me it for 65 cents. I had to beg my dad for 25 cents to complete the deal! The fact that I can remember this, but I can’t remember what I had for dinner last night tells you how much this comic has meant to me!)

Alot of these panels seem a bit silly, but the John Buscema piece from Silver Surfer #1 (panel 35) is an incredible piece of pop art. I can’t believe I’ve never seen that one before. The best pieces on this list are the ones that stand the test of time without looking dated. Early Dr. Strange art also holds up quite nicely, as does Mark Bagely’s.

It is getting difficult but howzabout Marvel Two-in-One #50 – the full page splash of rocky, ‘present day’ Thing meeting lumpy, ‘past’ Thing.

Oh, and Hawkeye kissing the captured Deathbird from Avengers #189. Perfect distillation (sp) of the Clint Barton character.

With only 24 panels to go I’m really hoping we see at least one Bill Sienkiewicz panel on the list. Maybe from Moon Knight (something with Werewolf by Night?) or New Mutants (like the Demon Bear or Professor X getting gunned down through a window in the “bleak” alternate future.

Hey, just thought of one!

Mr. Fantastic shooting his kid (putting him in a coma to control his powers).

I have to support the suggestion of Reed putting Franklin in a coma! That one was even in The Ice Storm!

[...] This is awesome. If I was to ever get full body Yakuza tattoos, I’d get a montage of these images. [...]

Hi Brian!

Before you finish your 70 list, I would like to add some few ones:

* Ultimate “Giant Man” using spray on the Wasp (Ultimates Vol1)

* Jean (Phoenix) rising from the sea in the Phoenix Saga

* Genosha being destroyed by Cassandra Nova (New X Men)

* Spiderman, Avengers and firemen working on New York after 911 (Spiderman)

* Gambit left in Antartica after his trial (UXM 350)

* Jean “message on video” that helped to build the Onslaught saga/ X traitor plot

Lots of iconic panels, and probably a lot more to come

It’s funny you say that, Martin, as one of those panels is being added right this moment.

I think there should be at least one panel from Secret Wars. The most obvious one is Hulk stopping the mountain from crushing the heroes, but I think Dr. Doom going against the Beyonder alone is pretty iconic too.

Another “big moment” candidate would be from The Infinity Gauntlet: Thanos snapping his fingers and saying “It is done!”, thus erasing half of all life in the whole universe.

One more iconic moment from Secret Wars: in the final issue, after Doom has supposedly killed all the heroes, Klaw plants the suspicion that they might still be alive into his head, and Doom tries to deny that as nonsense, until… a splash page where Thor’s hammer crashers through the wall of Doom’s lair. That’s a pretty iconic panel to me.

I thought of one, Kitty killing the N’Garai in UXM 143. Either when it jumps her after the afterburner blast, or the shot of the N’Garai ashes.

> No Gene Colan so far. Trouble is, huge fan though I am, I can’t think of a sufficiently outstanding single panel

Doom on the ramparts? (Splash page for Astonishing Tales 8, where we first see him battle for his mother’s soul)

I am surprised that we haven’t seen the last panel from Amazing Fantasy 15. The Great Power/Great Responsibility moment has defined Marvel.

The PHRASE certainly has, Ant, but I’m wary of whether that actual PANEL is memorable. In fact, I did a legend once about the fact that no one seems to recall that Uncle Ben never actually says it in the issue, but rather, it appears as a caption in the finale panel. So part of that legend is basically BASED around the notion that people AREN’T familiar with that last panel, ya know?

That said, I likely agree that Amazing Fantasy #15 is memorable enough for probably one more panel on the list. But which one? The wheatcakes panel? Him letting the robber get by him? Him fighting the wrestler? Him crying after realizing that Uncle Ben was dead (and it was his “fault”)? I dunno.

Some people have been complaining about the lack of iconic Iron Man panels, so I’ve been trying to think of some, severely handicapped by the fact that I haven’t read all that many Iron Man issues. But there was one brief time when I bought Iron Man regularly, and that was during the classic Armor War story (actually called ‘Stark Wars’). I was lucky enough to pick up the first issue of it by accident, and then I kept buying them until a few issues after the story ended, so I have managed to read one important storyline in the series.
Unfortunately, for a classic story it doesn’t seem to have many iconic panels, but the ones that stick in my mind are Tony putting his hand on the Captain’s shoulder and electrocuting him while he was busy saving the Guardsman. Or the panel shortly after that, when the Captain’s on the floor and his face is reflected in Iron Man’s mask. the anger in his eyes is really intense. I seem to remember the captions on that panel were pretty good, too. And these panels (both of them, and a couple of others) were important enough that they were duplicated in the next issue of Captain America.

Here’s one I’m certain nobody else has suggested– Rage crying over his grandmother’s grave in New Warriors #39. I’m sure everybody else is going to say that the New Warriors are not important enough to appear on this list, but that image has been burned into my mind ever since I first saw it. (The cover of #37 is even better, but covers don’t count in this list, do they?)

For Iconic Iron Man panels… how about the first reveal of the Silver Centurion armor in Iron Man #200? Or the opening splash page of Iron Man #128 (Demon in a Bottle)? Or page 11, panel 2 of Tales of Suspense #39, where small arms fire is deflecting harmlessly off the first armor in his first appearance.

For Gene Colan, something from Daredevil or howabout Tomb of Dracula?

And what about Gil Kane? Here’s a wacky one: something from his What If #3 issue inked by KLaus Janson, when the Avengers all become Iron Men.

Heh, some classic stuff I can use as my iPhone wallpaper…

What great iconic images. Not sure about the “No more mutants” one.

I wish we’d see a bit more of the odds fringes of the Marvel universe through this. Although I suppose of course the A-List characters would dominate…but how about a panel from:
-Steranko’s Nick Fury issues
-Colan Tomb of Dracula series – perhaps one of the early Blade issues
-Moore/Davis’ Jasper’s Warp story from Captain Britain

Fantastic list – gave me goosebumps scrolling through these gems.

Of everything posted so far, “Face it, Tiger” is easily the most iconic, although as a kid of the late 80s, early 90s, the DOFP Wolverine bit definitely resonates. 29 and 47 are great. I’d say any of those early Marvel splash pages with the question marks is pretty iconic. WHO? WHO? WHO?!

Stupid question, but I’m not a huge X-Men follower.

Why are there 2 “I am Phoenix” panels?

Mostly because, she …. was ….. Phoenix.

First rise of the Phoenix after Jean is presumed dead at the bottom of the sea, and the emergence of the Dark Phoenix after the Hellfire club screwed with Jean’s mind. The parallelism makes the Dark Phoenix reveal that much more powerful.

Opening act of the story, and then the beginning of the denouement. Played out over 30+ issues.

About panel 17, original Hulk story. (It was Incredible Hulk #1, right, or did he appear in another mag first?)

I’d argue that the following panel where Bruce starts screaming for a damn long time is more iconic. At least, that panel struck a deeper cord withing me, first reading it in the 80′s/early 90′s.

Håkan S, Sweden

I miss one of the most shocking images of the early eighties: Heather Hudson staring at the ashes of Guardian at the end of Alpha Flight #12 (Bloody Byrne!!!)

Pretty heavy so far on the Miller Daredevil.

I’m still awaiting the death of Captain America, something from the 9/11 tributes (when the villains show up?), the death of Cypher in New Mutants 60, and all of the heroes sacrificing themselves to stop Onslaught.

Are you planning to include the splash page of Amazing Fantasy #15? A group of high schoolers pointing and laughing at Peter Parker, with a Spider-Man/web shadow cast on the wall, seems pretty iconic to me…

Hey! What about the police finding Jeane DeWolfe’s body sprawed out across her bed? That image has been seared into my brain ever since I first read it.
Or maybe Peter Parker returning to his hotel room and finding Ned Leeds tied up with his throat cut.

I still weep for Jean DeWolfe

I swear the single Gene Colan panel that most comics fans of a certain age remember is one of Black Widow drying her hair after a shower.

Also, this really needs Howard the Duck walking out from behind the bushes. Great panel, great moment, important Marvel history.

There’s a very memorable Wally Wood panel of Daredevil grabbing at Sub-Mariner’s ankle after getting his ass handed to him that might be worth consideration, Brian.

Ha!

The DD panel went up JUST as you were posting, Tom (although the fans voted for the panel right after that one as the representative panel)!

By the by, the Howard the Duck panel SHOULD be iconic, but man, looking at the actual panel, it’s a bit like the panel where Matt Murdock saves the old man from the truck – the actual panel really isn’t that impressive (although the moment, of course, is extremely important). For instance, Val Mayerik did not even draw Howard the way he would be drawn very soon afterward. So while I certainly had it sized up for a spot on the list, when I got the issue out awhile back I just couldn’t go for it. HOWEVER, your Black Widow idea, Tom, is brilliant – and I can’t believe I didn’t think of it. That’s going to bump off one of the final three choices on the list.

“No more mutants.” was an over the to climax for the House of M series. I didn’t care about any other of the tie-ins, but the main title is extremely good and profoundly changed Marvel. I used to like Bendis’ up until Miller’s Civil War happened.

Just spitballing here. Re: Howard. Is there anything from the “Master of Quack-Fu” story in HTD #3 (I think)? Might be a bit of a reach, but that cover is priceless.

I know you have a ton of early Spidey already, but ASM Annual #1 is filled with Ditko goodness. The splash with the Vulture is as incredible a piece of comic art as you’ll ever see. And the first panel featuring the Sinister Six (with Ock pounding the table) is just indelible.

For shellhead, is there anything from “Demon in a Bottle”? Again, the cover might be the definitive image.

Good call on the Black Widow panel.

I think this list is incomplete, and too heavy on a few runs. There is no way that Frank Miller’s Daredevil gets 4 panels, and there’s no way that Simonson’s Thor gets 4 either. Are they great runs? Sure. But I think nostalgia and your recent rereading of them has coloured your choices.

Simonson and Miller didn’t combine to create over 11% of the most iconic panels in Marvel history.

I feel there are some pretty serious gaps here. Kraven’s Last Hunt got no love. Neither did Civil War. There are no panels featuring a Thing/Hulk Fight.

Ben Grimm appears in 7 of these panels, and is also in the rocketship in #2. Peter Parker is in 12, not counting the *SNAP* panel. There is one panel featuring Bruce Banner, and none featuring the Hulk. There are 3 with Rick Jones.

My favorite run is well represented (Claremont’s X-Men, with Byrne and Smith) with 5 panels, but even then that’s a lot.

I really think the focus was lost here and the panels were chosen from your favourites a little too exclusively.

Mason King is right to mention “Demon in a Bottle”s ommition.

” No more mutants” You’ve got to be kidding me. A lame line from a lame story. There have to be hundreds of X-Men panels better than that crap. How about the last panel in Uncanny X-Men #111. That is one of,if not, the best picture of Magneto ever!

2 that i think were definitely missing:

wolverine having his metal skeleton ripped out by magneto in x-men #25– one of the ultimate “everyone thought it would happen for years but nobody ever really thought it would happen moments.” like the ending of usual suspects, your jaw drops and you whisper “oh fuck” every time you see it.

the final page of hulk #377 when he looks at betty and says “honey, i’m home.”– this was the moment that made the hulk one of the hottest books of the first half of the 90′s and officially turned peter david into the best hulk writer ever.

the final page of hulk #377 when he looks at betty and says “honey, i’m home.”– this was the moment that made the hulk one of the hottest books of the first half of the 90′s and officially turned peter david into the best hulk writer ever.

I actually let the populace decide that one – they decided against its inclusion.

[...] lastly, something for the fanboys to argue over: The Top 70 Most Iconic Marvel Comic Panels. (via [...]

[...] Las 70 viñetas más representativas de la factoría Marvel goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/08/01/the-top-70-most… por xdx hace pocos segundos [...]

[...] essa que gerou momentos memoráveis nessas 7 décadas, e que ajudaram a inspirar essa lista da Comic Book Resources, com os 70 quadros mais icônicos da história da [...]

[...] – Os 70 quadros mais icônicos de Marvel. [...]

No “Origin” Wolverine freaking out over his first outbreak of bone claws?

not enough Hulk panels in this listing. Many of those are just timeless!

I think the Iron Man panel where he is talking to Captain America’s corpse and he says “It was’nt worth it” should be on there.

I’m with you, Tyler. This was a great list, though.

nothing involving Hulk? And two separate phoenix panels?

That utterly retarded “You think this letter on my head stands for France” line as one of the most iconic panels in Marvel history? Christ on a crutch. Reinventing Captain America as a steroid-raging douchebag is the single worst thing the Ultimates did and that line was the single greatest exemplar of that moronic reinvention.

That said, my vote for most iconic is the “Face it, tiger” one.

My top choice is Peter Parker getting bitten by the radioactive Spider. Its the beginning of Spider-Man..nothing more iconic than that..except for the cover of Amazing Fantasy #15 which is Spider-Man swinging into action for the very first time.(Which isn’t included but should be.

Can anyone tell me what #69 is from?

Most of these are not Iconic at all.

what was panel 3?

Although I totally agree with #70, I almost would have preferred to see the final panel from Confession, because that definitely stuck with me more.

Some of those, I dont even remember, as I am only 23, but I think the one of Cap dead shoulda been replaced with the panel of him actually surrendering.

And I agree with the person that said these single panels aren’t as iconic without the surrounding panels. Or maybe I’m just too young to know the importance.

And one final note, the article preceding these said these were examples, and you could pick your own when the voting commences. So if you happen to find a panel that you would like to share that you believe is iconic, post a link and show people.

easily when Spiderman snaps Gwen’s neck

C’mon, no love for Iron Man? Demon in a Bottle? Nothin’?

best panels ever

One more vote for the cover of “Demon in a Bottle”. C’mon, where’s the love for all those years of shiny red-and-gold-Shellhead Bob Layton goodness?

Also, I have to admit that while neither one is actually “iconic” in the sense that they were defining moments for either the character or the Marvel Universe, I have to suggest 2 more panels. The battered-but-never-broken Doctor Doom splash (or was it a cover?) from the first Secret Wars, (already mentioned before) and also either the cover or the inside front page of a pre-death Captain America issue where his back is literally against the wall of an ally. The angle is ground level, looking up at him, he’s on one knee, holding his shield high and deflecting some sort of rays coming at him from behind the viewer. He looks HEROIC as HELL, and the image (if not the comic issue) has remained in my mind for many years. Not iconic, sadly, but great art, and very representative of each character.

Absolutely brilliant… but the one that still takes my breath away is Bullseye murdering Elektra… astonishing, heart wrenching.

Who in his right senses will leap over shining swords?…panel 43. unless you are a hero and a super one as such.

A lot of the most iconic panels are (inherently) the covers.
As several people have highlighted the five-o’clock-shadow Tony Stark from the cover of #128 says it all. Also Suspense #39 as someone said, and Iron Man #47 (Smith). Nick Fury Steranko covers, well take your pick (1 or 4 for me). How about the cover of Silver Surfer #4 ( the Thor one)? Sub Mariner #1. Avengers #57. Avengers #100. X Men #114. GS Xmen #1 is pretty damned iconic if you ask me. The list goes on.

OK, so panels inside? I know people have had enough Phoenix saga, but how about that shot of ‘Jason Wyngarde’s’ shadow on the wall. How cool was that? Also the splash when they appear in #137 and Scott holding Jean’s body ( sorry, cover again #136).
The moment when Karen Page unmasks Daredevil always stayed with me ( likewise the shot from above of her when she sells his secret for an armful of smack all those years later), but that first shot would give you the iconic Gene Colan entry people are hankering for…although I’d hate to see that picture of Natasha go…hubba hubba !
But I guess if we want the most iconic panel of all time, it would have to involve the flagship team, the Avengers, perhaps drawn by Marvel’s greatest artist ( Neal Adams), perhaps in the midst of the most significant story arc ever up to that point, perhaps standing on a mountainside with Cap, fist clenched, swearing vengeance into the stars. But where-oh-where would we find such a picture?

I got what you intend, regards for posting .Woh I am pleased to find this website through google.

I agree with a lot of the panels included (not all) but was struck by the following very iconic omissions:

- Nick Fury’s introduction to SHIELD in Strange Tales
- Steranko’s Nick Fury
- Namor/Human Torch’s titanic fight back in the 40s
- Black Panther’s introduction in Fantastic Four
- Wolverine’s original mini-series