Fortnite x Marvel: Zero War

Fortnite x Marvel: Zero War #1-5

by Christos Gage (Writer), Leinil Francis Yu (Cover Art), Sergio Dávila (Illustrator)

The Marvel Universe collides with video game phenomenon Fortnite! The inhabitants of the ultimate battleground, the Island, are locked in a never-ending war — and only one thing has the potential to turn the tide: a crystallized fragment of the Zero Point that was cast into the Marvel Universe! Spider-Man, Wolverine and Shuri team up with several Fortnite fighters to hunt down the elusive Zero Shard. But as the search extends from Wakanda to the Savage Land and beyond, can they find it in time to avert catastrophe? Heroes from both realities enlist in the struggle against the Imagined Order — but do they have a fighting chance of avoiding doom when Marvel’s most dangerous villain sets his sights on the Shard? Brace yourself for a blockbuster crossover event with enormous ramifications for both universes! Collecting FORTNITE X MARVEL: ZERO WAR #1-5 and FORTNITE X MARVEL - NEXUS WAR: THOR (2020) #1.

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction

160 pages, Hardcover

First published November 22, 2022

About the author

Chris N. Gage is a writer for comic books and television.

Reviews

[Khurram · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good enjoyable action packed book. I am way too old to be playing Fortnite (I probably should be too old to be reading comics too, nah), but I enjoyed the book.

The heroes of the Marcel Universe must assemble to help the resistance of the Fortnite (Universe Zero), to stop a crisis level event. However with even their combined power be enough?

Most of the book is set in the Marvel Universe. Yes, this is probably to advertise the franchise crossover and bring in new players, but who cares?

The book is pretty good. I am glad that Spider-man has a big role, though I hate that he is still treated as the comic relief. Personally, I did prefer the Batman Fortnite crossover, but this is good in a different way. The book finishes with a varient cover gallery. Though I do like that work in these varient covers, I do still have the gripe of them making covers with characters that are not in this series.

[Vail Chester · Rating 3 out of 5]

Knowing absolutely NOTHING about "Fortnite" lore, this was enlightening at least; certainly explains why so many fandoms could be represented in this massive multiplayer 3rd-person shooter game. Otherwise, a pretty good crossover between original characters and some beloved Marvel characters, particularly between a superpowered redhead and Wolverine (go figure). I will say that there seems to have been more issues that we were supposed to refer to for more of the story so far, and for why some Marvel characters were familiar with the craziness going on with the Fornite peeps, but that didn't detract from the fun of seeing Tony Stark irritate dudes in powered armor trying to fix a giant mecha.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Read-along notes)

#1

Time to cheese my reading challenge a bit. But actually this has been quite fun to read.

Previously we were with Batman and now we’ve got a story with Spidey and the Marvel gang. It was cool seeing him call upon the rest of the Avengers to help.

Also interesting seeing the Foundation and reminding myself their fight against the Imagined Order. Plus the moment with the Mecha and Paradigm from way back in Chapter 1.

The pacing has been pretty good too which was one of my main complaints about the other Fortnite comic series’. The convos feel well written and not rushed.

#2

Loving Iron man in this issue and his banter with Foundation.

Dang the Paradigm be alive in the crashed Mech after all this time!?

#3

Liked the convo between Wolverine and the Imagined. Learning more about her backstory.
Ooo they’re getting along 😏😅

Sad to hear Jones’s backstory about losing his wife and kids :(

#4

Cool meeting the Ice King & seeing Dr Doom in action.

#5

Aw man. Sad that The Imagined didn’t make it to be with Logan at the end. Hopefully she’s just scattered and they can find each other again someday.

The hints of Jones and Shuri being interested in each other were sweet, I wonder if we’ll ever see something with those two again too.

A shame we didn’t get so see more of Geno. Wonder what he was referring to at the end.

Also wonder what Dr Doom is gonna get up to.

[Derek Bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read MARVEL X FORTNITE: ZERO WAR on the Marvel Unlimited app since I am an avid Fortnite player (which is not to say that I am good at the game...I'm terrible in fact) and I generally enjoy the living story of the game. While there are some interesting tidbits of Fortnite lore, odd character choices, slow pacing, and confusing artistic inconsistencies with the Fortnite game held this limited-run series back from being as good as it could have.

CHARACTERS
One thing this comic does better than the BATMAN/FORTNITE crossover comic is balancing in the characters from the Marvel Universe with Fortnite original characters, especially members of The Seven. I also appreciated that there were some callbacks to some of the different characters that have appeared in different Fortnite collaborations, though it would have been nice if Deadpool had a noteworthy role since he was (sort of) the one that really kicked off the trend of having so many official Marvel characters in Fortnite's Battle Passes and Item Shop. It was a lot of fun to see characters like Iron Man and Foundation interact with each other. It was also quite nice to see the Fortnite characters get more interpersonal moments with each other like with seeing the sisterly dynamic between The Imagined and The Order as well as the The Paradigm reconciling her differences with other members of The Seven.

Some things I didn't like were the needless shipping of Marvel characters with members of the Fortnite cast. I won't spoil who gets with who (or in one case just has sort of a missed opportunity situation), but I just thought this was unnecessary and I found it really awkward. Because I know a lot of younger kids will be reading these, I also found it deeply uncomfortable that it is heavily implied that two characters slept with each other (or at least got a little frisky). In addition to the unsolicited romance subplots, there are also some bizarrely tragic backstories given to Jones and The Imagined that I just wasn't expecting and felt rather out of place with the general zaniness of the story and how their characters have been portrayed before. Jones in particular felt very different from how he's been characterized in the past and he is even drawn in a weirdly gritty way that doesn't at all reflect how he normally looks. The biggest issue I had though is that Spider-Man's character gets absolutely assassinated by Gage's awful depiction of him as an annoying, bumbling idiot rather than a quirky, earnest, and capable hero. I had no idea it was even possible that a character as awesome as Spider-Man could be so badly botched but Gage managed it. So, please Marvel, for the love of everything holy, never let Gage EVER get anywhere near Spider-Man again!

SETTING/WORLD
It was cool to me that the story actually takes place in both the Fortnite and Marvel universes. The variety of different environments definitely made this feel a lot more like a true adventure than the DC Comic series and it's subsequent one-shot. The specific Marvel locations and Fortnite points of interest that the story visits might be considered spoilers, so I will just say that there are a handful that will likely surprise and delight both Fortnite and Marvel fans.

PLOT/TONE
Ultimately, the story boils down to two glorified fetch quests. One group of characters is in search of a stray shard from The Zero Point that somehow found it's way to Reality 616 (A.K.A. the prime Marvel universe) while the other is in search of the Paradigm's mech that has crashed on the Forntite Island's Moon. There isn't really much going on for the majority of the series aside from an explanation of how and why the Marvel characters get involved in Fortnite affairs and some low-stakes action scenes. Things do get a little spicier towards the end as more is revealed about the infamous Geno (a character who has not formally made his way into the game outside of a quick cutscene during a live event). There is also some retroactive exposition dumping that expand upon the lore of some of Fortnite's past events, seasons, and characters, but because none of that information directly contributed to the main plot, it felt like a bit of a fan-service-fueled distraction.

My last gripe with the storyline comes down to how I was a little confused about where in the Fortnite timeline some of the events of the comic were taking place. If the finale of the comic was meant to take place during the live event where players got to pilot Paradigm's mech (which it seemed like it was), then there were a number of inconsistencies that really bothered and confused me like how there seems to be no Seven Base on the moon, the Mech isn't the upgraded, silver version, and the ending of that event where Foundation and Agent Jones see Geno doesn't make as much sense if they had a previous interaction with him during that battle. I am certainly overanalyzing things a bit, but these seemed like important details when it comes to understanding where this comic fits in with the larger story.

THE ART
Overall, I thought the art was good. It didn't blow me away, but it was fairly standard comic fair that got the job done and was at least on par with the BATMAN/FORTNITE crossover. There is some variation in the level of detail between shots, but nothing too distracting (other than the random panels where Agent Jones looks like a completely different character).

CONCLUSION
Overall, I think this will be a worthwhile read for fans of Fortnite and it's storyline, but it will do very little for readers who are just fans of Marvel. In some ways it was more interesting than the Batman-centric ZERO POINT series and in others it fails to deliver a truly worthwhile narrative. The bizarre character matchmaking, tragic backstories that felt out of place, a meandering plot, and art that was just serviceable made for a series that I am glad I read digitally. I think if you are interested in the series, it would be best (and cheapest) to subscribe to Marvel Unlimited for a month like I did and maybe check out some other comics while you are in there unless you are a collector of anything Fortnite related and really want a physical copy.

[Benjamin Kimble · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s alright. I guess I built my expectations up too much after how much I loved Batman/Fortnite, and with the same writers I expected the same greatness. But where Batman/Fortnite was a great Batman and Fortnite story this was a pretty good Fortnite story that happened to feature Marvel characters. Some of the characters were used well but I though the setting and characters of Marvel could’ve been used to better effect. The art is okay, in some places it looks pretty off but doesn’t effect the enjoyment of the book at all. It does feature some pretty cool Fortnite lore stuff if you’re into that I guess.

[Donavon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really delves into the new season's Fortnite lore. It explains it well enough that a non-Fortnite gamer can follow without issue.

[Spayde · Rating 2 out of 5]

This comic is exactly what it sets out to be: pure fan service. Nothing more, nothing less.

The story brings together two massive franchises in a crossover event that serves primarily as a prelude to a new Fortnite season. Familiar Marvel heroes are swept into the multiversal chaos of the Fortnite world, with the fate of both realms hanging in the balance. It’s a plot structure we’ve all seen before high stakes, portal hopping, team-ups and while it’s competently executed, it doesn't offer anything particularly fresh or thought-provoking.

Visually, the artwork is clean and enjoyable, with solid action scenes and character designs that fans of both franchises will appreciate. Still, it doesn’t stand out stylistically or push any boundaries.

In the end, if you're a fan of either Marvel or Fortnite or ideally both you'll find this worth your time. It helps tie narrative threads together and sets the stage for in-game developments. Just manage expectations: this is a tie-in comic, not a storytelling masterpiece.

A one btime read that fulfills its role without reaching for more.

Rating: 2/5

[Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you play Fortnite with any regularity, you'll know that this series originally came with codes to unlock gear in-game. That's probably the biggest draw for this series. Without it, this is just a glorified crossover.

Compared to the DC x Fortnite series, this seems plotted out far better. We get a huge lore drop for the whole Fortnite franchise here. Keeping the characters out of 'The Loop' gives them a history and memories to look back on. It ends up filling in a lot of the blanks that speed past you when you make it to the end of the season they published it in (Chapter 3, Season 1(?)). It's a fun little read.

Burn through it in an afternoon and keep from being so much 'dogwater'

Bonus: Armor bros? Better than Mustache bros (Dr. Strange and Iron Man)?
Bonus Bonus: Geno is...persistent?

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this less than I liked Batman/Fortnite Zero Point, but it was still fun. From what I remember, DC's take was more about the characters finding their way out from Fortnite, whereas Marvel is like "here's the issue and here's what we're going to do about it." It's simpler and quippier, but I don't know what else you would expect.

[Tyler Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fairly decent read. I do play Fortnite but I don’t really keep up with the lore and this is very lore heavy and throws you right into the action. The interactions between the Fortnite people and the Marvel characters were really cool though and I think a lot of them worked really well together. The codes they used in the individual releases were pretty cool as well and have boosted my game.

[OinkFish Pigs · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you see this, you may be thinking, “who in there right mind would give this comic a 10/10?” We’ll the answer is me. Do I think this story is perfect, no. I feel the dialogue is a bit corny, the story isn’t the tightest, and the art isn’t necessarily the best. But it’s perfect to me. This is genuinely one of if not my favorite comic of the year. I just loved every second of it, and it’s that simple ig. So am I biased? Yes. Do I care? No.

H10

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fine. I don't play Fortnite and only read this on Marvel Unlimited so my nephew could get the in game code. Gage did a good job of characterizing Spider-Man, Wolverine and Iron Man. The Fortnite backstory is really complicated. I'm sure players of the game will appreciate all the little nods to its history. The art was solid.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Marvel and have no idea what Fortnite is, but I trust Christos Gage as a writer and, though I still don't really get what people like about Fortnite, this was a fun and playful adventure with Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Shuri. Gage has years of Spider-Man under his belt and it shows in the consistent humor for this character.

[Dr Archit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome thrill ride

This Marvel fortnite crossover is an epic tale full of action and spiderman's hilarious one liners. The Avengers gel well with the superhero team of Fortnite with impressive artwork and a story that keeps you engaged till the very end.

[Travis Parton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I genuinely enjoy Fortnite’s story and lore. Some of the writing was a bit too comic book hokie and a lot of panels were such clear homage that it reminds me of Widow’s sister complaining about the posing and hair flips. And like, everyone falls immediately in love?

[Daniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the dinosaurs and ninjas. The story was pretty ham fisted and after enjoying the Batman crossover I was disappointed. I didn't feel anything for many of the characters and even the in game codes seemed less exciting than the Batman DC cross over. So I wouldn't recommend.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though I’m a marvel over DC fan, I preferred the Batman comic more than this one. I think what I preferred was that it was just focused on one character being trapped in the loop, versus this one which was all over the place. It was still very cool tho and insightful lore-wise.

[Matthew Ward · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I definitely enjoyed the Batman/Fortnite comic more than this one and I think that’s because they brought Batman to Fortnite. In this one, they bring Fortnite to the real world, but I really couldn’t care less about the characters of the Fortnite universe.

[Tomáš Drako · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nie zlá generická Marvel rúbanica vo Fortnite svete. Ako jednohubka oukej

[Benjamin Pfab · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't really know how to rate this but it was enjoyable

[Jacob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read it for the bit, surprisingly fun and I liked the art a lot. Nothing you should be upset to skip over though. Didn't realise Fortnite actually had lore.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Batman x Fortnite was better as a stand-alone.
This one you would need to kind of know the story of what was happening in Fortnite at the time.

[Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story was pretty boring and lackluster, especially compared to the DC crossover which came off way better.

Also, Wolverine hooking up with a Fortnite character was strange.

[Cameron Sayer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quality artwork throughout and a quick/fun way to get lore on the relationship between the worlds of Marvel and Fortnite (literally, since most the characters boo-up)

[Brenno Araujo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kinda funny HQ

[Ronald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bien, excelentes ilustraciones de eso no hay duda, en cuanto a la historia se puede entender que tiene que abarcar todas las edades, sin embargo se siente muy sencilla y algo lineal, para los fans de Fortnite y Marvel esto es sin duda un coleccionable épico y eso está grandioso. Ahora para el lector regular de comics (Cosa que yo NO soy) supongo que no verá nada especial en 'Zero War'. Como Cómic en general le doy 3/5 y como coleccionable sin duda un 5/5!

[Ewan Clements · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has a pretty slow start but it's fun once it picks up.

[Aiden Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super awesome tie-in to the Fortnite storyline right at its peak. Combines iconic Fortnite and Marvel characters with Marvels action packed storytelling to create an absolute masterpiece!