What Marvel Story Would You Recommend to Someone Who Never Read Comics?

[Mahes]

Superior Foes of Spider-Man is another good one. One of Marvel's best books as well.

[Nisus]

-Runaways.
-Loki's JIM.
-Sif's JIM (although it may require more continuity knowledge).

[thor]

Seconding the Runaways! It was the first thing that I read and it makes sense even if you don't have much knowledge of the other comics... it's a little more fun if you can get references though.

[Nomads1]

I'd definitely go with Born Again. One of the best pieces of literature. I'd also recommend
X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills
Annihilation
Avengers: The Korvac Saga
Avengers: Ultron Unlimited
The original Wolverine mini
Fantastic Four: The Trial of Reed Richards
Thor: The Surtur Saga
Iron Man: Armor Wars
Iron Man: Demon In a Bottle
X-Men: Dark Phoenix
X-Men: Age of Apocalypse
Avengers Forever
Jim Starlin's Warlock and Captain Marvel

More to come...

Those are some of the best stories Marvel has published and some of my favorites, but not all of them are what I'm looking for. This weekened I was having some friends over and while talking about the movies, it got me thinking. These are grown well read family men (all about in their 40's), with their share of concerns and responsabilities, that, while avid readers of various genres (biographies, thrillers, even science-fiction) never actually read a comic book. So, while I'm not thinking of hooking anyone on comics at this late age, what would i give them to read that might give them an idea of all the potential and entertainment of a good comicbook story? As such, I don't want them to have to read anything else before nor after the story. I'm not looking for great runs, nor great series, I'm looking for an open and shut story. So things like The Avengers: The Korvac Saga, Avengers: Ultron Unlimited, Fantastic Four: The Trial of Reed Richards, Thor: The Surtur Saga, Iron Man: Armor Wars, Iron Man: Demon In a Bottle and X-Men: Dark Phoenix, while some of my favorite stories, are not closed stories per say.
Annihilation and Age of Apocalypse might fit the bill, but I do think they are a tad big to serve the perpose (a little bit too much input), and while certainly a contained story, IMHO, the greatest enjoyment of AoA is to see the contrasts between the reality you know and the one you are reading about now. A new reader wouldn't be able to do that.
X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills, The original Wolverine mini, Starlin's Warlock and even Avengers Forever (despite the massive information dump, what you really need to know about the story is all presented there) would better fit the bill. Ultimates is also, IMHO, a worthy reccomendation. Marvel Projects too.

Others that have come to mind:

Kraven's last Hunt - Despite not being a personal favorite, I think does fit the criteria.
Iron Man: Extremis - Also not a favorite, but extremely new reader friendly.
Daredevil: The Man Without Fear.


Peace

[Rok]

Ultimates vol. 1 and 2. They can be almost without prior knowledge of Marvel, but it is not for children

[Lady Warp Spasm]

The Marvels Project, by Brubaker. It's a solid story that lays down the fundamentals of the Marvel Universe.

SHIELD, by Hickman has also been a hit with several friends who were none too keen on comics.

Seconded these, along with Captain America Winter Soldier.

[Panic]

Trades I'd recommend for the non-comic-book reader:

Darvedevil:Man Without Fear
Nextwave
Elektra:Assassin
Marvel Boy
Nightraven: House of Cards (if you could get hold of it)
Thor, God of Thunder: The God Butcher, Godbomb
Immortal Iron Fist (Fraction, Brubaker and Aja run)

None of those really need any prior reading.

[Vic Vega]

Daredevil: Man Without Fear

Spider Man: Blue

Captain America: Homeland

Iron Man: Extremis

Black Panther: Who is the Black Panther

Journey Into Mystery/Sif:Stronger Than Monsters

SHe Hulk: Single Green Female

Avengers Assemble: Science Bros

[Mahes]

Another one to add: Marvel 1602.

[CaTigeReptile]

My scope is limited and my answers predictable, but I'd go with Death of Captain Marvel.

Comic books are a big part of pop culture, so your friends probably already know the gist of the basic 'hero fights villain' story. I'd show them something they might not have known comics can 'do,' so to speak.

You don't really need to know anything about any of the characters other than that they're superheroes (with the exception of the whole Rick Jones thing but it's not necessary to understand the story), and it shows a side of superhero comics that's more than just the 'hero punches villain!' stuff that's associated with the genre. It's also not that long, and what's not self-contained is not all that important, plus can be inferred pretty easily (in my opinion).

The art is not the best but it's the book I recommend to people who don't read comics and they're always (pleasantly) surprised by it.

[People Of The Earth]

Ultimates vol. 1 and 2. They can be almost without prior knowledge of Marvel, but it is not for children

This.

Another one to add: Marvel 1602.

And this.

I'd like to add to those two Hickman's Fantastic Four run, JMS' Supreme Power serie and Justice by Jim Krueger and Alex Ross.

[RockyBanks]

I lured two of my friends into becoming long-time readers by handing them a copy of Fraction and Larocca's Invincible Iron Man: The Five Nightmares. It's the start of a new series, no prior continuity knowledge is needed, and it fits the look/feel of the films.

[imawizard]

I lured two of my friends into becoming long-time readers by handing them a copy of Fraction and Larocca's Invincible Iron Man: The Five Nightmares. It's the start of a new series, no prior continuity knowledge is needed, and it fits the look/feel of the films.

he doesnt' want to lure, though. he wants a book you can start without needing prior knowledge and that doesn't finish on a cliffhanger. A "For Whom the Bell Tolls", not a "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone".

[Marvell2100]

Those are some of the best stories Marvel has published and some of my favorites, but not all of them are what I'm looking for. This weekened I was having some friends over and while talking about the movies, it got me thinking. These are grown well read family men (all about in their 40's), with their share of concerns and responsabilities, that, while avid readers of various genres (biographies, thrillers, even science-fiction) never actually read a comic book. So, while I'm not thinking of hooking anyone on comics at this late age, what would i give them to read that might give them an idea of all the potential and entertainment of a good comicbook story? As such, I don't want them to have to read anything else before nor after the story. I'm not looking for great runs, nor great series, I'm looking for an open and shut story. So things like The Avengers: The Korvac Saga, Avengers: Ultron Unlimited, Fantastic Four: The Trial of Reed Richards, Thor: The Surtur Saga, Iron Man: Armor Wars, Iron Man: Demon In a Bottle and X-Men: Dark Phoenix, while some of my favorite stories, are not closed stories per say.
Annihilation and Age of Apocalypse might fit the bill, but I do think they are a tad big to serve the perpose (a little bit too much input), and while certainly a contained story, IMHO, the greatest enjoyment of AoA is to see the contrasts between the reality you know and the one you are reading about now. A new reader wouldn't be able to do that.
X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills, The original Wolverine mini, Starlin's Warlock and even Avengers Forever (despite the massive information dump, what you really need to know about the story is all presented there) would better fit the bill. Ultimates is also, IMHO, a worthy reccomendation. Marvel Projects too.

Others that have come to mind:

Kraven's last Hunt - Despite not being a personal favorite, I think does fit the criteria.
Iron Man: Extremis - Also not a favorite, but extremely new reader friendly.
Daredevil: The Man Without Fear.


Peace

So what you're looking for is one and done stories. Got it.

Black Panther: Flags of our Father
Daredevil: Yellow
Captain America: Operation Rebirth
X-Men vs Fantastic Four Limited Series
The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix
Sabretooth Miniseries
The original Young Avengers series.

[Geralt of Rivia]

Astonishing X-Men by Whedon; it doesn't rely too much on continuity and features some of the highest profile characters from the franchise making jumping in as easy as you can get with a MU proper, non-origin story. It clocks at 25 issues which is not too much to ask a newbie to read and it has a quite rounded out ending.