Tarot Decks in Marvel Comics

[Morsoth]

I always loved tarot cards, and I'm using them since 1993! I decided to check back to my Marvel comics, mostly Doctor Strange issues, that shows tarot cards! I would like to know if there is other issues (of any characters/teams) that also features tarot cards. Here are the ones I know:

Marvel Team-Up #76 (Dec 1981)

The cover shows a Marvel-Inspired clone of a RWS tarot deck, but inside the pages, they used actual cards of the RWS. Doctor Strange even does a classic Celtic Cross spread!

[Morsoth]

Secret Defenders #1 (March 1993)

In this issue, Doctor Strange uses what he calls the 'First Tarot Deck'. This one is clearly a RWS clone, using Marvel characters as figures on the cards. Reversed cards seems to be a favorite amongst Marvel writers, they keep popping up all the time!

[Morsoth]

The Marvel Tarot (Aug 2007)

In this one, the sorcerer Ian McNee looks through the First Tarot Deck, divining who appears on each card, and looking into their origins to see why. He discovered several cards are displaying more than one individual at different times, a sign he feels verifies that the world's magic is broken. This book is amazing! It's not a comic book, but a special issue with actual information of each cards, with correspondences.

[Morsoth]

Mystic Arcana - Magik #1 (Aug 2007)

A direct sequel to The Marvel Tarot, in this one. Knowing that the tarot was created around 1442, I know that is very anachronistic! This scene is in 11th Century BCE - Illyana Nikolievna Rasputina (aka Magik) travels back in Ancient Egypt with Mirage and joins Ashake to fight against Heka-Nut. They clearly use tarot deck with a Egyptian theme. Again, being a Marvel story, they can do whatever they want history-wise. Perhaps, in the Marvel universe of Earth-616, tarot cards did originates from the Ancient Egypt...

[Morsoth]

Mystic Arcana - Sister Grimm #1 (Aug 2007)

This comic is the conclusion of the story started with The Marvel Tarot, which include 4 issues (Magik, Black Knight, Scarlet Witch, Sister Grimm). This issue use a classic RWS.

[Morsoth]

Avengers/Defenders: Tarot #1-4 (Jan-Mar 2020)

Last year, the tarot came back in a mini-series! That magical deck glows, and when the bad guy cut the cards in two, and mix them together, the heroes are mixed-up creating interesting variants. 1/2 Doctor Strange mixed with 1/2 Silver Surfer become 'Doc Surf', 1/2 Scarlet Witch mixed with 1/2 Doctor Strange become 'Scarlet Strange', etc.

[Morsoth]

Defenders vol. 6 #1 (Aug 2021)

And then, yesterday was the release of a new Defenders title, showing a lot of tarot cards, again inspired by the good old RWS! The story start with a classic RWS imagery, but then is magically altered, and the figures and yet again replaced by characters from the Marvel universe. I love that the writer made his research for the meanings of the cards.

[Phoenixx9]

Hi Morsoth!

There was a mutant character called Tarot who used cards. She seemed to be mutant and magical. I think she died a while ago but not sure if she is now resurrected.

[Blanks]

I read Tarot too. Been thinking of drawing my own deck of cards, and printing up a deck.

Your post makes me wonder if Marvel ever put out a Marvel Deck. I can easily see Spider-Man being the Fool, Dr. Strange being the Magician, the King of wands being Black Panther, Namor the King of Swords, Scarlet Witch being the High Priestess, etc, etc.

[Panic]

I read Tarot too. Been thinking of drawing my own deck deck of cards, and printing up a deck.

Your post makes me wonder if Marvel ever put out a Marvel Deck. I can easily see Spider-Man being the Fool, Dr. Strange being the Magician, the King of wands being Panther, Namor the King of Swords, Scarlet Witch being the High Priestess, etc, etc.

Would make for a good Marvel Art Jam.

[Oberon]

I too am a reader, since the early '70s. I have a paper in the Folklore Archives at WSU where I went to college. Blah blah blah, I could go on for ever.

But I'm very fascinated with Marvel and their use over time. You've given us a great catalog of relevant stories.

Some I'm going to need to read or reread. I also do a livestream and read Tarot.

[GenericUsername]

Avengers Vol. 3 issues #57-60:

The Scarlet Witch using tarot before being possessed by and then confronting the In-Betweener:

[Oberon]

I read Tarot too. Been thinking of drawing my own deck deck of cards, and printing up a deck.

Your post makes me wonder if Marvel ever put out a Marvel Deck. I can easily see Spider-Man being the Fool, Dr. Strange being the Magician, the King of wands being Panther, Namor the King of Swords, Scarlet Witch being the High Priestess, etc, etc.

It would be fun to have this be a thread of its own. We assign Tarot cards to the vast amount of characters, or in this case, the most known or relevant or appropriate 78, since that is the number of cards in total.

I would favor Namor as the King of Cups, since Cups are 'water'.

Since the elemental qualities are pretty important to Tarot I would think that the Ace of each suit, the beginning of things, should each be a member of the Fantastic Four as they 'key' into the concept and were the original heroes of Marvel comics, as named such.

Ace of Cups - Water - Reed, with the elasticity
Ace of Wands - Fire - Torch
Ace of Swords - Air - Sue
Ace of Pentacles - Earth - Thing

But a case could be made for making each of the 4 be a court card of those suits (Kings Queens Knights Pages)
So that would leave room to assign Franklin as the Page of whatever, etc.

Wouldn't Captain America make a great Knight of Pentacles ?

Iron Man would be the Chariot, for that sense of innovation and rising to challenges.

Jean Grey/Phoenix would be Judgement, Major Arcana 22 in most decks. The symbols of resurrection.

well, that's a start.

[Blanks]

It would be fun to have this be a thread of its own. We assign Tarot cards to the vast amount of characters, or in this case, the most known or relevant or appropriate 78, since that is the number of cards in total.

I would favor Namor as the King of Cups, since Cups are 'water'.

Since the elemental qualities are pretty important to Tarot I would think that the Ace of each suit, the beginning of things, should each be a member of the Fantastic Four as they 'key' into the concept and were the original heroes of Marvel comics, as named such.

Ace of Cups - Water - Reed, with the elasticity
Ace of Wands - Fire - Torch
Ace of Swords - Air - Sue
Ace of Pentacles - Earth - Thing

But a case could be made for making each of the 4 be a court card of those suits (Kings Queens Knights Pages)
So that would leave room to assign Franklin as the Page of whatever, etc.

Wouldn't Captain America make a great Knight of Pentacles ?

Iron Man would be the Chariot, for that sense of innovation and rising to challenges.

Jean Grey/Phoenix would be Judgement, Major Arcana 22 in most decks. The symbols of resurrection.

well, that's a start.

You really got me thinking now, lol. I’m gonna have to pull a sheet of paper out and write all 78 down and realllllly think about it now, lol.

[Oberon]

So this is before DA? I can't seem to remember it and I was a regular reader.

(or the memory has aged...)