The 10 Most Earth Shattering Comic Events

Much like Hollywood movies, comics often have big blockbuster events designed to pique the interest of fans and force them to open their wallets wider than usual. These stories often boast about “Shocking revelations!” and claim that “Nothing will ever be the same after this!” Sometimes they’ll even throw in the death of a fan-favorite character in order to get fans clamoring.

These big event stories, which can be a single comic or stretch across several books in a company's universe, are often more about the sizzle than the steak, but on occasion they give us truly classic comics. Done right, they're capable of turning the fortunes and perception of a company and impacting storylines for years to come.

This Wednesday, Marvel Comics kicks off its newest blockbuster comic event Fear Itself, which tells the story of a resurfaced God of Fear that wreaks havoc upon the superhero world. In honor of what looks like an awesome happening (seriously, just look at Marvel's Fear Itself trailer), we’re here to countdown the 10 Most Earth Shattering Comic Events of All Time!

Writer: Grant Morrison

Artist: Val Semeiks

What it's about: Set in a future version of the DC Universe, DC One Million is a time traveling odyssey written by the megalomaniacal Scotsman Grant Morrison. The story deals with the Justice League of the 853rd century teaming up with the current Justice League to stop both Vandal Savage and Solaris, the living sun.

Why it’s Earth shattering: While not the most important DC book to ever be published, DC One Million provided the time traveling super brawls that make comic books worth reading. The story is still referenced today in Morrison’s current work, especially in his magnum opus, All Star Superman.

Writer: Jim Starlin

Artist: George Perez and Ron Lim

What it’s about: Thanos, Marvel’s answer to DC's popular villain Darkseid, finally gathers up all of the Infinity Gems that give him complete control over time, space, mind, soul, reality, and power. And why does he do this? To impress a girl. Well, we’ve all been there. Oh, and the girl is the personification of Death. Thanos always did have lofty standards.

Much like a teenager looking to try out his new car, Thanos tests his new toy by erasing half the life on Earth in the blink of an eye. Like any good comic event, Infinity Gauntlet featured some spectacular super powered brawls between Thanos and some of Marvel's heaviest hitters.

Why it’s Earth shattering: Infinity Gauntlet has one of the highest body counts of any comic event and has been the subject of various video games and cartoon adaptations. It also shined the spotlight on Marvel’s lesser-known cosmic characters like Adam Warlock and the Celestials. While Marvel can't really compete with DC when it comes to space odysseys, Infinity Gauntlet is easily the company's best one.

Writers: Denny O’Neil, Alan Grant, Chuck Dixon, and others

Artists: Norm Breyfogle, Jim Aparo, Graham Nolan, Barry Kitson, and others

What it’s about: Obsessed with meticulously taking apart the life of the Caped Crusader, Bane frees all of the inmates from Arkham Asylum in order to physically and mentally exhaust Batman before taking him down.

After deducing Batman’s secret identity, Bane easily defeats a weakened Dark Knight in his home and then proceeds to break his back much to the shock of comic fans everywhere. Thinking his career was over, Bruce Wayne has to find a replacement in order to take down Bane before he becomes the kingpin of Gotham's criminal world.

Why it’s Earth shattering: Much like the Death of Superman, Knightfall was designed as a way to get a lot of cheap publicity and sales after word leaked that Batman would be broken by Bane. But the end result was actually a great story.

In the aftermath of Knightfall, Batman’s replacement, Jean-Paul Valley, was not received well by fans because of his ultra-violent methods and penchant for piling up body counts.

Eventually, DC returned Bruce Wayne as Batman and Bane faded into the sunset.

Writer: Mark Millar

Artist: Steve McNiven

What it’s about: Following a super powered throwdown in Stamford, CT that leaves 600 people dead, there is a public outcry to force anyone with super powers to register their identities with the U.S. Government.

While some heroes agree on the measure (Iron Man, She-Hulk, and Mister Fantastic) there are others who defy the Government’s new policy (Captain America, Hercules, Iron Fist, and eventually Spider-Man). What follows is an all-out war between the two sides that ends in a climactic battle in Times Square.

Why it's Earth shattering: Following the needless violence he saw during these battles, Captain America surrendered to the U.S. government in order to protect the country from even more damage. A few weeks after Civil War ended, Captain America was shot and killed on his way to court in Captain America #25 (don't worry, he's already back from the dead).

In the aftermath of all of the battles and political strife, Tony Stark was promoted to the head of S.H.I.E.L.D to fill in for a missing Nick Fury. He led a team of Pro-Registration Avengers into battle while Wolverine, Spider-Man, Nick Cage, and other Anti-Registration heroes still fought evil in secret.

Writer: Geoff Johns, Dave Gibbons, Peter Tomasi, Ron Marz, and Alan Burnett

Artist: Ethan Van Sciver and Ivan Reis

What it’s about: Geoff Johns’ first major Green Lantern story after he took over the character in Green Lantern: Rebirth was the Sinestro Corps War. Johns had changed Sinestro from a moustache twirling villain obsessed with pounding on Hal Jordan to a Hitler-esque wannabe dictator who planned on using fear as his greatest weapon.

Creating an army of Yellow Lantern wielding sociopaths, Sinestro attempts to destroy Oa (the Green Lantern home world) and invade Earth.

Why it's Earth shattering: The Sinestro Corps Wars introduced the DC Universe to new Lantern Corps that wielded a ring color that coincided with each emotion. The aftermath saw the birth of the Red (rage), Blue (hope), Orange (avarice), Violet (love), and Indigo (compassion) Lanterns, to go with the preexisting Yellow (fear) and Green (willpower) Corps.

These events shaped 2009's Blackest Night and are still being felt in 2011's War of the Green Lanterns.

Writer: Scott Lobdell, Mark Waid, Jeph Loeb, and others

Artist: Tony Daniel, Steve Epting, Andy Kubert, Joe Madureira, and others

What it’s about: When Legion, Professor X’s son, goes back in time to assassinate Magneto, he mistakenly kills Xavier and

changes the comic timeline. After Xavier’s death, a much younger Magneto vows to keep the Prof's dream alive by forming the X-Men in his honor.

Apocalypse, who was waiting for the perfect time to take over Earth, chooses this moment to make his move. As Apocalypse begins his invasion, Magneto and his X-Men fight to stop him. But, unlike most comics, the heroes rarely win in this book.

Why it’s Earth shattering: This bleak alternate version of the X-Universe was actually a shining light in an otherwise awful decade for comics. The storyline proved so successful that various cartoons and video games adapted these events and some of the characters from the alternate timeline made their way into the mainstream continuity.

Writer: Geoff Johns

Artist: Ivan Reis

What it’s about: After the success of the Sinestro Corps War, Geoff Johns continued his Green Lantern run with Blackest Night. The story centered on all of the various Lantern Corps banding together to face-off against the threat of the Black Lanterns.

The Black Lantern's power is wielded by a long forgotten Green Lantern foe named Nekron, who is the embodiment of Death. Using these Black Lantern rings, Nekron creates a zombie-like army of long-dead heroes and villains to terrorize the other Lanterns and the rest of the DC Universe.

Why it's Earth shattering: Blackest Night made all of the DC heroes come face-to-face with dead companions, villains, and loved ones. It was creepy, violent, and also one of the best event books to come out this decade. The end of the series also saw the rebirth of many DC characters such as Aquaman, Captain Boomerang, and the Martian Manhunter.

Writers: Dan Jurgens, Roger Stern, Jerry Ordway, and others

Artists: Jon Bogdanove, Dan Jurgens, Curt Swan, Walt Simonson, and others

What it’s about: Death is usually a time for mourning, but for DC it’s

a time for raking in the cash. And there is no bigger publicity stunt to pull

than to kill off its most venerable character, Superman.

After dying in the middle of an epic encounter with

Doomsday, the Man of Steel is mourned by his friends and family. In the wake of his death, four misfits (Superboy, Steel, the Cyborg Superman, and even one of Superman's enemies, the Eradicator) show up looking to claim the Superman mantle. While none of these other "Supermen" seems like a permanent solution, it is a strange ride while it lasts.

Why it’s Earth shattering: They killed Superman, for god’s sake! There

isn’t anything more Earth shattering than that. And while most fans knew that the

real deal Man of Steel would be back eventually, it was still a stunning story

to read. This was an important story for comic companies because they realized you could slap the word "Death" on any book and see sales spike.

Writer: Jim Shooter

Artist: Mike Zeck and Bob Layton

What it’s about: An omniscient alien presence known as the Beyonder is fascinated with the heroes and villains of Earth. In an attempt to have them all battle to the death, the Beyonder transports them all to Battleworld and promises the winning side anything that they could ever dream of.

Including heroes and villains such as Captain America, Spider-Man, the Hulk, Dr. Doom, Kang, and Dr. Octopus, Secret Wars is the perfect example of an over-the-top comic event filled with bombastic fights and heroic feats of strength.

Why it’s Earth shattering: Secret Wars is considered one of the first big event comics in history. When it came out it was rare that a book featured every heavy hitter on the company's roster at once, but Secret Wars did it so successfully that almost every comic event has done it since.

But aside from making a boatload of cash, Secret Wars saw the debut of Spider-Man’s alien costume (which eventually became Venom) and also saw the Thing take a temporary leave of absence from the Fantastic Four, with the She-Hulk replacing him.

Writer: Marv Wolfman

Artist: George Perez

What it’s about: The DC Universe in the '80s was a strange and complicated place to be. From counter Earths to weird continuity slip-ups, the company realized that the Universe had grown too complex for the average reader.

So in order to clean things up and reinvent its heroes to be more streamlined and relatable, DC launched Crisis on Infinite Earths, a story designed to get rid of the multiple Earths and inconsistent backstories that plagued the company.

The story focuses on the DC heroes and villains battling the Anti-Monitor, a being that threatens all life in the universe. And while the story was well written with an epic scope, Crisis on Infinite Earths will mostly be remembered for what happened afterwards.

Why it’s Earth shattering: Confusing and frustrating, Crisis on Infinite Earths is only easily understandable with a sizeable knowledge of the DC Universe. However, the aftermath made things much better. With the destruction of the multiple Earths and dimensions, DC relaunched everything from the beginning. Origins were easier to understand, characters were a bit more grounded and less outlandish, and stories became more mature and less campy.

Books like Batman: Year One, Superman: Man of Steel, and Wonder Woman: Gods and Mortals were all released post-crisis to display these changes. But while some characters thrived, other characters died. The Flash, Supergirl, and countless ancillary characters all perished in order to clean the DC Universe up. Sorry Flash, ya gotta trim the fat sometimes.