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The Podcast Outside Your Window: Episode 0
Intro 1986
Posted on Sept. 26, 2025, 1:56 p.m. | Categories: OtherI recently stumbled across this and thought I might as well share it. It’s a pre-COVID project I had to do a podcast on Marvel’s New Universe imprint of the late 1980s. I put three episodes in the can before the pandemic hit and threw things out of wack. I might revisit it at some point, maybe as a blog series rather than a podcast. Anyway, here’s the script for the introductory episode that gives some background to the New Universe.
Welcome to The Pod Outside Your Window: The New Universe Podcast. I’m Dan Creel. And in this series we’ll be taking a deep dive, an incredibly deep dive, into Marvel’s late 80s shared universe, aptly named the New Universe.
In this intro episode, we’ll take a look at how the imprint came to be, the people behind it and an overview of the various series at its launch in 1986. I’ll also touch on some of the changes that occurred after the launch and give you an idea of what to expect in the coming episodes.
Ready? Let’s go!
The Modern Age
In the mid-1980s, a combination of innovation and business acumen led to an explosion of creativity and popularity in the superhero comics industry that jump-started the Modern Age of Comics. While comics had traditionally only been sold at newsstands and drugstores, the launch of the direct market in the 1970s meant more and more fans were buying issues from their local comic book shop.
Direct distribution to comic shops also allowed a burgeoning independent publishing market to blossom. Walking into their local store, comic fans could find indie comics on the shelves along with the big publishers like Marvel, DC, and Archie. The direct market was good for both the comic business and the art form itself.
Creators and ideas that would start in the indie scene would influence the major publishers. Writers and artists from the major publishers could be more innovative and find new audiences at the smaller indie companies. All this meant creators gained more prominence in the comics industry.
A more sophisticated comics business meant DC and Marvel also became more commercialized. This mixture of capitalism and creativity is a hallmark of the beginnings of the Modern Age. The best example of this is Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars.
In the early 1980s, Mattel lost a bid to license toys on the DC Comics superhero line to Kenner. In 1983, they contacted Marvel’s editor-in-chief, Jim Shooter, about licensing Marvel’s superhero characters. The negotiations went well but Mattel had one major requirement: Marvel had to have a big event that would tie into the toy line. So, Secret Wars was born.
The comic, a 12-issue miniseries that ran during 1984, was written by Shooter and had art by Mike Zeck and Bob Layton. An all-powerful being, the Beyonder, sent all of Marvel’s most popular heroes and villains to a distant planet and forces them to fight each other.
While little more than an extended fight scene, the series was a massive success and garnered the biggest sales for Marvel in more than 25 years. It also was used as a creative launching off point for changes to several big Marvel characters. She-Hulk replaced the Thing in The Fantastic Four. The Avengers spun off a West Coast Avengers series. And, the biggest change was the introduction of a completely new, black costume for Spider-Man.
In 1985, DC upped the ante with Crisis on Infinite Earths. Written by Marv Wolfman and penciled by George Pérez, the 12-issue miniseries was launched to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the publisher. Crisis took the proto-event Secret Wars one step forward into true crossover comic territory.
In the story, the powerful Anti-Monitor begins destroying the parallel universes that make up the DC multiverse. Heroes from various universes rise to try and stop the villain. During the series not only does the Anti-Monitor manage to kill major characters, such as the Flash and Supergirl, but destroys almost all of reality in the process. In the end, the heroes stop the Anti-Monitor but the DC multiverse is replaced by a single, combined universe.
Not only was Crisis a massive hit and huge event, it creatively reimagined, or rebooted, the shared DC narrative. DC had fallen behind Marvel years before and Crisis rejuvenated the publishing line.
In 1986, after Crisis, major characters like Wonder Woman and the Flash were revamped. Frank Miller along with inker Klaus Janson, both known for their seminal early eighties run on Marvel’s Daredevil, created the legendary Batman: The Dark Knight Returns as a prestige four-issue limited series. And, later that year, DC published Watchmen, a 12-issue limited series written by Swamp Thing scribe, Alan Moore, and artist Dave Gibbons. Both series were stories of superheroes in alternate histories, both raised the creative bar for the artform and both are considered among the greatest works in the comics medium.
1986 was also the 25th anniversary of The Fantastic Four #1, the beginning of Marvel’s modern superheroes. Jim Shooter wanted something big for the anniversary.
Jim Shooter
Shooter began his career in comics early. To help his family financially, Shooter began selling stories in the mid-1960s to DC as a teenager. In 1975 he joined the Marvel editorial staff and was named editor-in-chief in 1978. Shooter shored up the publisher and oversaw important comics runs such as Miller’s Daredevil, John Byrne’s The Fantastic Four, and Walt Simonson’s Thor. Shooter also nurtured Chris Claremont’s Uncanny X-Men series from fan-favorite to hugely successful franchise. He also started Epic, Marvel’s imprint for creator-owned work, and implemented a creator royalty program.
Shooter also revitalized the Marvel business by publishing licensed comics such as The Micronauts, ROM: Spaceknight, and G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. In 1981, Marvel was also the first major publisher in the direct market with Dazzler.
But, while successful, Shooter ran a tight ship at Marvel, and his editorial policies were often seen as dictatorial. And, while it may have been a personality that worked to whip a moribund operation into shape, it started to chafe more when, in the mid-eighties, the ship was in better waters. And, according to some creators, the popularity of Secret Wars made Shooter tighten the reins even more.
The 25th anniversary project
A couple of years before the 25th anniversary, Marvel’s VP’s met to discuss an event to coincide with it. Shooter offered two possibilities: a complete reboot of the Marvel universe; or the creation of a separate shared universe. Because their comics were selling well, the first idea was shot down, so Shooter’s second idea became the choice. Shooter tasked his top editor, Tom DeFalco, with the project and a development budget of $120,000.
As the months went by, Shooter wasn’t happy with DeFalco's ideas considering them watered-down Marvel characters. Among these was a character called Ricochet which Shooter didn’t think would fit better as a Marvel character. A couple of years later, the character, renamed Speedball, would debut in a backup story in The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #2 written by Roger Stern and drawn by the legendary Steve Ditko.
Shooter wanted a more realistic universe based on hard science fiction; something more akin to Stan Lee’s original vision of the Fantastic Four. In the original version, the group didn’t wear costumes and were presented as science adventurers that happened to have superpowers.
Shooter wrote up his own concept, presented it to Lee and the Marvel VPs and got approval on his vision for Marvel’s New Universe.
In 1986, he was ready to move forward with the line when he heard from Marvel president, Jim Galton, that Marvel’s owner, Cadence Industries, was being put up for sale. Shooter had spent $20,000 of the project’s development budget and was told by Galton not to spend any more.
Without a budget, Shooter had to rely on volunteer work by assistant editors to bring the ideas to life, create the individual series, and do the writing. And because he was only able to pay artists their page rate, other than a couple of exceptions, the line had no big names when it came to pencils and inks.
In addition, Shooter had to make room on the production schedule for the New Universe series. Gone were long-running but lower-selling titles such as Power Man & Iron Fist, Micronauts, The Thing and Star Wars.
The basic premise was, up to July 22, 1986, the New Universe’s earth was identical to the real world. In fact, the tagline for the imprint was “The World Outside Your Window”. On that morning, a bright white flash of unknown origins covered the entire earth. In the aftermath of the incident, dubbed the White Event, a small percentage of humans manifested genetic anomalies. Called paranormals, some of those affected by the White Event developed superhuman powers or abilities. The New Universe was to have no gods, magic, or fantastical technology. It was to be as realistic as possible.
Due to a lack of resources, the project experienced delays and faced issues keeping to a coherent strategy. As the 25th anniversary approached, Shooter was under enormous pressure to get the New Universe launched on a shoestring budget. While the New Universe got off the ground in time with eight titles, including the flagship title, Star Brand, written by Shooter himself, the core ideas behind the project were often lost. Some titles had fantastical elements, super-technology, or little to nothing to do with the White Event.
Launch
House ads teasing the New Universe ran in Marvel’s comics in the months leading up to the launch. The main ad showed a large purple lightning striking the planet earth from space with text simply saying that the New Universe would be coming in the summer. The main taglines for the house ad were “Expect the Unexpected” and “Beyond the Edge of Your Imagination Begins A…” But, it wasn’t until a month before the launch that the actual titles were revealed to the public.
During the eighties, Marvel produced the Marvel Age promotional comic. Each monthly Marvel Age comic provided a summary of issues shipping the following month along with other features touting their line of comics. Marvel also published a handful of annuals which the company used to give comic buyers a teaser of the storylines of comics published that year.
Marvel Age Annual #2, on sale in late June 1986, was the first time Marvel gave readers a look at what to expect from the New Universe. The issue included a three-page section on the New Universe that gave a summary for each of the eight soon-to-be published comics. The feature states that “During August 1986, eight interrelated titles will be launched under the New Universe banner…” and that “Their world is the world outside your window. Their adventures are spectacular, startling, dramatic, and yet real and true to life.”
The titles outlined begin with Star Brand: the most powerful weapon in the universe that has fallen into the hands of Kenneth Connell. Psi-Force outlines a series about teenage runaways with psychic powers who find they can combine their powers into a single being called Psi-Hawk. The summary states that the group will wage a guerilla war to protect themselves against those who want to use their powers for gain.
Merc is Mark Hazard (one z in this summary), a Vietnam vet who has become a soldier of fortune. The summary focuses a great deal on Hazard’s difficult family life. He is divorced from his wife, Joan, who has remarried to Gordon Landry, a stable business exec. The couple is raising Mark and Joan’s 12-year-old son, Scott.
Nightmask is about Keith Remsen and his wheelchair-bound younger sister, Theodora, “Teddy” for short. Keith is able to move through others’ dreams with Teddy serving as his anchor to reality. The duo works with Dr. Ludian Ballast and Teddy’s physical therapist, Lita Mercado, to help others deal with their trauma by working through their dreams. The Gnome is mentioned as an antagonist of the series who has similar powers to Nightmask but uses them for evil purposes.
Justice is presented as a warrior and law officer from another world who has come to earth but does not remember how he came to ours. Rebecca Chambers from the Department of Justice and FBI agent Hoyt Pittman, are both pursuing Justice trying to figure out who he is and why he is using his powers as a vigilante.
Spitfire and the Troubleshooters stars MIT professor, Jenny Swensen, who suspects that her father, a renowned research scientist, was killed by his employer, Karl Krotze, in order to steal his cutting-edge research. Aided by five computer-hacking MIT students, Swensen steals her father’s entire lab from Krotze including the Man Amplified Construction Suit, or M.A.C.S., which Krotze wants to turn into a marketable combat armor system. The team wages a war against Krotze using the M.A.C.S. while evading the law at the same time.
Kickers, Inc. is headlined by Jack “Mr. Magnificent” Magniconte as the highest paid pro athlete in the world and the greatest football player since Jim Brown. Magniconte somehow became unstoppable through an unknown situation that also caused the death of his brother, Steve. Magniconte decides to use his newfound powers to create an organization that will help others.
Finally, D.P.7 is about seven individuals (Dave Lander, Dennis Cuzinski, Leonore Fenzl, Dr. Randy O’Brien, Jeff Walters, Charlotte Beck, and Stephanie Harrington) who have become paranormals. They are now seven of the most dangerous people on the planet and are afraid of what might become of them. A few weeks later, mid-July, the first two series, Star Brand and Spitfire & the Troubleshooters, hit newsstands and comic book stores.
Post-launch and revamp
Following the launch, many books had rotating creative teams due to the continuing lack of resources. Shooter was not able to devote the attention necessary to the New Universe because of his duties as editor-in-chief and the office politics surrounding the impending sale of Cadence Industries. All of this led to the New Universe losing its direction from the jump.
The imprint was a disappointment both creatively and financially. Most of the titles were mediocre and a few were down-right bad. Jim Shooter himself lasted only half a year on Star Brand because he was fired by Marvel in mid-April of 1987 and replaced by Tom DeFalco.
To right the ship, DeFalco handed the New Universe line to editor Howard Mackie. DeFalco, Mackie and Mark Gruenwald, another editor and longtime writer of Captain America, worked with John Byrne to revamp the imprint. Byrne took over Star Brand and the number of titles was cut in half down to that title, Psi-Force, D.P. 7 and Justice. The new editorial team pushed the New Universe world to be more realistic and more gritty. They also made the New Universe a direct market-only imprint and the paper stock for the issues was upgraded from newsprint to higher-quality “Mando” paper.
The more focused editorial direction raised the creative quality of the remaining books.It also created a more cohesive narrative and crossover events between the titles. This allowed presenting a world in which humans with superpowers had major, permanent consequences - something that had been missing in the first year of the line.
The changes stabilized the imprint and found a small, but consistent audience which allowed the four New Universe titles to survive another couple of years. In early 1989 they were finally canceled and the imprint’s storyline was wrapped up in a four-issue prestige limited series, The War. The final issue of that series dropped at the end of 1989 concluding the original New Universe imprint.
So, why a New Universe podcast?
Given that the New Universe is a little-remembered failure and, for those who do remember it, often seen as a laughing stock for eighties comics - why do a podcast about it?
Well, first, I’m a fan. I was an excited teen when it first came out and, although quickly disappointed by most of the line, Gruenwald’s D.P. 7 was the one I picked up regularly. It’s still one of my favorite comics from that era. That and Star Brand kept me interested in the line. And, the post-Shooter revamp was very enjoyable and I ended up picking up all four comics through the end of the imprint.
Second, the New Universe may be the first modern example of the new, shared superhero imprints that would begin to proliferate in the early 1990s. DC launched Impact Comics in early 1991 featuring revamped superheroes licensed from Archie Comics. Jim Shooter returned with the Valiant Comics universe at the same time. Other imprints launched in the early nineties: Marvel’s 2099; DC’s Milestone; Malibu’s Ultraverse; and Dark Horse’s Comic’s Greatest World to name just a few.
The New Universe provided lessons to be learned and pitfalls to avoid for these companies and creators. Many ideas presented in most shared superhero imprints, such as more realistic settings and major, permanent impacts to the fictional worlds, can be found in the New Universe. The imprint can be seen as an important forerunner in the industry and harbinger of things to come.
And, finally, because it was only around for a limited time, the New Universe provides a nice-sized chunk to take a look at comics in the 1980s. I don’t have to worry too much about a massive history and nearly-unlimited number of stories. I can focus and dig in without being overwhelmed.
What to expect
Basically, we’re going to go through the stories in chronological order. It’s a way to keep things fresh from episode to episode (I mean who needs an extended run of Mark Hazzard?). Part of the core New Universe ethos was that the narrative would roughly run in real time, so it’s important to keep that structure as we go through the series both from a narrative standpoint and to see where that worked and didn’t work editorially. We’ll spend more time on the more important stories, characters and crossover events, but we’re going to try to move through the issues in a fairly straightforward order.
Next
Next up, in Episode 1, we’ll be looking at the first issue of the New Universe’s flagship title, Star Brand and delving into the world of Ken Connell - Jim Shooter’s Modern Age take on the superhero.
We’ll be back soon. Thanks for listening.
Last modified on Sept. 26, 2025, 2:19 p.m.