Marvel Zombies is easily one of Marvel Comics’ most gruesome creations. Originally a takeoff of the fanboy nickname “Marvel Zombie” (referring to readers who loved “devouring” Marvel comic books), the name was later repurposed into a more literal translation. In one of Marvel’s alternate universes, a horrific series of events led to heroes and villains becoming flesh-eating monsters who devoured the living like a plague.
The origin of the Marvel Zombie Universe was originally ambiguous – readers only knew that a zombie version of the Sentry appeared in the sky one day and began infecting others with a zombie virus, quickly turning the whole world into zombies (or their food). However, the follow-up series revealed the horrible truth of just where this zombified Sentry really came from.
The original series followed a group of former heroes – including zombie versions of Hulk, Spider-Man, Power Man, and Wolverine – who managed to survive the initial feeding frenzy, but quickly realized they were running out of living bodies to eat. Eventually, the Silver Surfer led his master Galactus to the planet. Instead of letting Galactus eat their world, however, the zombies turned the tables on the Destroyer of Worlds and ate him and his herald instead. Now imbued with the Power Cosmic, the zombies began traveling to other planets in search of new life to eat – and go on to devour all life in their universe.
This new status quo soon ended, however, when the zombies were transported to an alternate Marvel universe in Marvel Zombies Return, just as superheroes were beginning to emerge there. Now devoid of their cosmic powers, the zombies just used their original powers to continue devouring innocent victims. Surprisingly, some of the zombies resisted their murderous urges – particularly a remorseful Spider-Man who spent the next several years developing a way to obliterate the zombies out of penance for what he did to his friends.
Despite Spider-Man’s efforts, however, the plague continued to spread, and over the years the new world became as devastated as the original zombie world. Soon, only a handful of zombified heroes – including a zombie Sentry – were left. Once again faced with the problem of a dwindling food source, the warlike zombies, led by the Sentry, decided to again look for alternate realities to devour. This time, however, the zombies’ plan encounters a unique hitch – as Uatu the Watcher of this reality decides to send the zombie Sentry to the alternate reality where the zombie plague first started. Moreover, the Watcher sends Sentry back in time before the plague started – making him the zombified Sentry who originally started the zombie plague.
It’s a startling revelation – as this basically means the Marvel Zombies exist in a closed time loop between two alternate realities. Moreover, it means that the zombie Sentry who started the plague in the original universe was himself infected by the zombies he helped create when they went to his home universe. Since this time, there have been other Marvel Zombie miniseries showcasing other horrific tales of this world – but thanks to Marvel Zombies Return, fans now know that the Marvel Zombie universes basically ate themselves.