Marvel Apes

Premise

Marvel Apes was first suggested as a successor to Marvel Zombies by artist and fan Mark Walsh during a convention Q&A session with Joe Quesada. As with Marvel Zombies before it, Marvel Apes takes place in an alternate universe, in this case a simian-dominated counterpart to Earth-616 that hosts anthropoid versions of popular Marvel superheroes and villains.

As with the introduction of Marvel Zombies in Ultimate Fantastic Four, the Marvel Apes universe is visited by an existing Marvel character, in this case Gibbon. He is accompanied by a female scientist named Fiona Fitzhugh in what has been described by Kesel as a "The Lord of the Rings-style sprawling epic".

Plot

Martin Blank, the Gibbon, having been restored to his simian appearance, is left with his personal life in shambles. His attempts to side with the heroes are frustrated by his ineptitude and even Princess Python, previously a caring and deeply devoted wife, is now fed up with the meek loser that Gibbon has become. Out of boredom and depression, he replies to an ad posted in the Daily Bugle by Fiona Fitzhugh, a spunky and cheery young scientist hoping to study the nature of super-powered individuals.

Upon hearing that Gibbon had his powers since birth (as opposed to the majority of mutants who gain their mutation during puberty), Fiona analyzes his aura and hypothesizes that Gibbon may come from another reality in the multiverse. While attempting to contact such a reality, Fiona and the Gibbon are sucked into a portal that takes them to a world populated by intelligent simians. Gibbon manages to help Spider-Monkey and the Ape-Vengers, simian versions of the Avengers, subdue Doctor Ooktavius, and he is inducted into the Ape-Vengers. Fiona is sent to ask for Reed Richards' help in returning to Earth-616; she discovers that in the ape reality, the cosmic storm that gave the Fantastic Four their powers also gave a human appearance to Sue Storm.

Gibbon is at first excited to become a member of the Ape-Vengers, but after witnessing the brutal lynching of Doctor Ooktapus, he questions the Ape-Vengers methods. Meanwhile, Fiona and the ape Richards are able to recreate a gateway back to Earth-616. Captain America then reveals that he is actually the simian counterpart of the vampire Baron Blood, who in this reality was able, by sampling Captain America's blood in the forties, to take over his appearance and powers. The super-soldier serum also removed Baron Blood's vulnerability to sunlight. After turning the Invaders into vampires as well, Blood became the leader of the Ape-Vengers and uses their bloody lynching of supervillains as a way to feed.

Gibbon, with the help of a cadre of dissident heroes, finds the real Captain America, still frozen in ice, and thaws him to lead the last free heroes against their vampiric foe. Baron Blood and the vampiric Invaders are killed, but the portal is destroyed after Gibbon, Fiona, and the ape version of Speedball are sent through. Recovering from the battle, they prepare for the possibility of residents of the ape universe finding another way into their reality.

Publication history

Marvel Apes began publication on September 3, 2008, and ended on October 29 of the same year.

Issues

Legacy

Spin-offs

Following the conclusion of Marvel Apes, several spin-offs were published by Marvel Comics in 2009: a one-shot comic book, Marvel Apes: Speedball Special, on March 11; a second one-shot, Marvel Apes: Amazing Spider-Monkey Special, on April 8; a third one-shot, Marvel Apes: Grunt Line Special, on May 28; a three-issue digital comic, Marvel Apes: Prime Eight, from August 26 to September 9; and a fourth one-shot that also serves as a crossover with Marvel Zombies, subtitled Evil Evolution, on November 4.

Other comics

Spider-Monkey appeared in the 2014–2015 comic event "Spider-Verse". The Marvel Apes version of Captain Britain, known as Captain Baboon, made a cameo appearance as a member of the Captain Britain Corps in Excalibur vol. 4 #15 (November 2020).

Collected editions

In other media

Spider-Monkey made a non-speaking appearance as a member of Miguel O'Hara's Spider-Society in the Sony Pictures Animation film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023).

References

References

1. [http://www.marvel.com/news/comicstories.3280.MyCup_o%7Eapos%7E_Joe_Week_5; MyCup o' Joe Week 5], ''Marvel.com'', April 22, 2008
2. (July 2025)
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8. "MARVEL APES: AMAZING SPIDER-MONKEY SPECIAL 1 (2009) #1". [[Marvel Comics]].
9. "Marvel Apes: Grunt Line Special (2009) #1". [[Marvel Comics]].
10. "Marvel Apes: Prime Eight Digital Comic (2009) #1". [[Marvel Comics]].
11. "Marvel Apes: Prime Eight Digital Comic (2009) #3". [[Marvel Comics]].
12. "Marvel Zombies: Evil Evolution (2009) #1". [[Marvel Comics]].
13. Belt, Robyn. (October 28, 2022). "Long Story Short: The Spider-Verse, Explained". [[Marvel Comics]].
14. Bacon, Thomas. (November 26, 2020). "The Captain Britain Corps Has Been Reborn in Marvel's Universe".
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16. "Marvel Apes: The Evolution Starts Here (Trade Paperback)". [[Marvel Comics]].
17. Jasper, Gavin. (December 13, 2022). "Guide to the Weirdest Spider-Men in the Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Trailer".