Comic Book / Marvel Comics 2

An Alternate Timeline Marvel Universe where everyone (well, almost everyone) has had Spin-Offspring and following the retirements, deaths, disappearances and disbandings of their parents/mentors/favorite super-teams, the kids have taken up the torch.

It's also Lighter and Softer, being one of Marvel's 'Verses aimed at kids. With the exception of Spider-Girl, all of these series have been canceled, though the characters keep showing up in Spider-Girl and new miniseries have been coming out for the last few years.

Getting its start as a What If?, the 'verse has expanded to include the following series and miniseries:

• Spider-Girl, the little book that started it all. Started with an issue #0 (though this was basically a reprint of the original What If? v2 #105). Lasted for 100 regular issues, from October, 1998 to September, 2006.
  • Amazing Spider-Girl (volume two). Started with an issue #0. Lasted for 30 regular issues, from December, 2006 to May, 2009.
  • Spectacular Spider-Girl (digital comic, volume three). Launched in April, 2009. 12 issues became available.
  • Spectacular Spider-Girl vol. 2. A regular mini-series. 4 issues, from July to October, 2010.
  • Spider-Girl: The End (October, 2010). One-shot finale for the series and character. Though it leaves the door way open for more stories down the line.
• Avengers Next (two volumes). The original volume "A-Next" lasted for 12 issues, from October, 1998 to September, 1999. The second volume had the full name. It was a 5-issue mini-series (January-March, 2007).
• J2. Featuring Zane Yama-Marko, a son of the Juggernaut. Lasted for 12 issues, from October, 1998 to September, 1999.
• Fantastic Five (two volumes). The first volume was a 5-issue mini-series (October, 1999-February, 2000). The second volume was another 5-issue mini-series (September-November, 2007).
• Wild Thing. Featuring Rina Logan, a daughter of Wolverine and Elektra. Started with an issue #0. Lasted for 5 regular issues (October, 1999-February, 2000), with a shorter J2 back-up story.
• The Buzz. Featuring Jack "JJ' Jameson, a grandson of John Jonah Jameson who launches his own career as an Insect Themed Superhero. Starred in a 3-issue mini-series (July-September, 2000).
• Darkdevil. Featuring Reilly Tyne, a son of Ben Reilly (The Scarlet Spider), trying to establish himself as a Legacy Character to Daredevil. While also having demonic powers derived from Zarathos. Starred in a 3-issue mini-series (November, 2000-January, 2001).
• Last Hero Standing. A Crisis Crossover for this line. A number of well-known superheroes, both retired and active ones, disappear without a trace. The superhero community is concerned but there is no singular suspect. As everyone reacts in their own way, some of the missing heroes return. But acting as villains and attacking fellow heroes. Published as a 5-issue mini-series (August, 2005).
• Last Planet Standing. A second Crisis Crossover. Galactus has decided to evolve himself to a new level and now requires more energy than usual. He starts actively campaigning against the Shi'ar, the Asgardians, and other targets. With Earth once again on his list. Heroes and villains have to team-up to prevent the extinction of sentient life-forms. But Silver Surfer offers his own solution to the problem. Published as a 5-issue mini-series (July-September 2006).
• American Dream. Featuring Shannon Carter, niece to Sharon Carter and Legacy Character to Captain America. Starred in a 5-issue mini-series (July-September, 2008).
• Spider-Verse. A 2014-15 Bat Family Crossover featuring various versions of Spider-Man from across the Multiverse. Mayday Parker appeared as one of the main characters, with her family (most notably her mom and younger brother) appearing as well.
• Secret Wars (2015). A Crisis Crossover featuring a multitude of characters from across the Marvel Multiverse, including American Dream, Mayday Parker, and Coal Tiger. (May 2015-Jan 2016).

Marvel Comics 2 contains the following tropes:

• Action Girl: The MC2 continuity originated with Spider-Girl, Peter Parker's daughter. As the line expanded, more heroines were added to the roster: American Dream, the Ladyhawks, Stinger, Thena, Wild Thing... the list goes on.
• Adults Are Useless: Subverted, with most of the Marvel Universe acting as mentors to the younger generation. Though there some who look down on the kids, underestimate them, etc.

• Badass Family: Since in this reality the present day heroes had children, this is a given. Some examples:
  • The Fantastic Five, an expansion of the original Fantastic Four: Franklin Richards (Reed and Sue's son), his uncles Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm, his aunt by marriage Lyja Lazerfist (Human Torch's Skrull wife) and Big Brain, a robotic buddy. An aspirant member to the team is Torus Storm, Lyja and Johhny's son and Franklin's cousin.
  • In regards to the universe's originator, Spider-Girl, the Parkers. All of them. Even Mary Jane and baby Ben.
• Badass Normal: In a world of superpowered beings who are the children of a previous generation of superpowered beings, American Dream is one of the few superheroes without powers. Though it did take her a lot of physical therapy to regain the use of her legs.

• Blood Knight: Rina/Wild Thing's not quite there, but she did inherit her dad's blood lust.
• Broad Strokes: Thanks to being set in Alternate Continuity, MC2 can choose which new elements or characters from regular Marvel Universe will incorporate into itself (like Araña) and discard everything else (Secret Invasion, One More Day and its spinoffs).

• Comic-Book Time: The comics have been going on for a decade. May's aged maybe two years. It's also supposed to be an Alternate PRESENT, actually. Word of God is that originally the writers wanted to play with this being a genuine possible future of Earth-616, but the target audience meant that pop-culture references would need to be kept contemporary. The fact that the main Marvel Universe also operates on Comic-Book Time means that having the events of the main universe occur a few decades earlier in the alternate one is quite easy.

• Deal with the Devil: Kaine offers his soul to Zarathos in exchange for Daredevil's. Zarathos tries to take someone else's instead.

• Distaff Counterpart: The line originated with Spider-Girl, who is May Parker, Peter (Spider-Man) and MJ's daughter. After her, several others began to appear. However, after the majority of MC2 became defunct, some have made it into the mainline comics, in one way (Anne Parker in place of May Parker, Captain America 2099 in place of American Dream) or another (X-23 in place of Rina).

• Earn Your Happy Ending: One example involves J2, Juggernaut's son: for a large part of his life, his father was missing, banished to another dimension, but both get a happy ending when Zane finally frees his dad.

• Future Badass: The MC2 continuity is a possible future of then current Marvel Universe (late-1990s, early-2000s), so many of teen and kid heroes of "present time" grow up to be this. Examples include Jubilee, Franklin Richards and Araña.

• Heel–Face Turn: In the Spider-Girl comics, Kaine (the villainous anti-heroic Spider-Man's clone), and Normie Osborn (Osborn's grandson who, at the very beginning of the run, tried to follow the Goblin's legacy) - both later became part of May's supporting cast as her helpers. Others include Saberclaw and Warp.

• The Illegal: American Dream's mini is about her efforts to help a young immigrant couple. (The woman is legal, the man isn't, and is targeted by a Mad Scientist because of it.)

• Last Girl Wins: Thena in Avengers Next, beating out Bluestreak, Talia and Montana for J2/Zane.

• Missing Mom: Darkdevil is the son of Ben Reilly and the Elizabeth Tyne (who, in this reality, has gone missing); Franklin Richards's parents, M. Fantastic and Invisble Woman, were absent for the beginnign of the line, but resurfaced later.
• Morality Chain: Big Man to his sister Red Queen. Once he turns himself in and joins the Thunderbolts, she abandons all pretext of retribution and becomes a straight-up villain.
• "Near and Dear" Baby Naming: In this possible future, Peter Parker has named his daughter May after his aunt, and his son Benjamin after his uncle.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Nemesus keeps the Juggernaut imprisoned for years in another dimension in attempt to get his power and ends up accidentally transferring the power to Zane instead.
• Official Couple: Since the line deals with the future of the then current Marvel Universe couples, some ships of present time still exist, or are made official. Then there's curveballs like Wolverine and Elektra.

• Omniscient Morality License: Doctor Strange rounds up a bitter old Namor and forces Bruce to turn back into the Hulk... because they have to kill this lady before she accidentally destroys the world. Except not really, it was all a Secret Test of Character for his son and the Avengers. Ah, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

• Revenge Before Reason: Red Queen hates the still-living Avengers and A-Next, both because she's batshit insane (hello, unfortunate It Runs in the Family implications), and because she feels the adult Avengers didn't give a damn about her mother and the new Avengers (especially Stinger) are disrespecting her parents' memory just by existing.

• Stellification: In Last Hero Standing, after Captain America is mortally wounded stopping Loki's plan, Thor decides to bestow upon him "the tribute supreme". He transforms the dying hero's body into a star, which will inspire future heroes.