The Articles of Dragon: "The Marvel-Phile"

The very first installment of Jeff Grubb’s "The Marvel-Phile" appeared in issue #88 of Dragon (August 1984). The column’s purpose was straightforward: to provide game statistics for Marvel Comics characters – famous, obscure, and in-between – for use with TSR’s newly released Marvel Super Heroes roleplaying game. Ultimately, the column would appear in 78 issues of the magazine, its last one appearing in issue #198 (October 1993), long after I'd stopped reading Dragon regularly. 

The debut entry of the column focused on Thor, Loki, and Ulik the Troll. It was an interesting choice to kick things off. Thor was, by 1984, one of Marvel’s most recognizable superheroes, a long-time member of the Avengers, and one of the publisher’s flagship solo characters. Loki, of course, was his long-standing nemesis and his inclusion made perfect sense. Ulik, however, was another matter. Though he’d been appearing in Thor comics since the 1960s, he was by no means a household name. His presence here, I think, highlighted the column’s larger mission, namely, showing that the Marvel Super Heroes RPG wasn’t just about Spider-Man, Captain America, or the Hulk. It was also about the sprawling, interconnected Marvel Universe, filled with strange and colorful characters who might otherwise never make it to the tabletop.

That was part of what made "The Marvel-Phile" special. Each column offered not just game stats but also background, history, and context, which were enough to orient players who might not be die-hard readers of Marvel comics. That certainly described me. I was never a huge fan of superheroes as a kid. I dabbled, to be sure, and I knew some of the heavy hitters thanks to Saturday morning cartoons and endless merchandising. But beyond that shallow familiarity, I often drew a blank when confronted with Marvel’s deeper roster. For me, Grubb’s column was a kind of primer. I might never have read the issues of Thor where the Thunder God encountered Ulik, but I knew who he was because Dragon explained it.

Looking back, it’s easy to see "The Marvel-Phile" as part of TSR’s broader strategy in the mid-1980s. With Marvel Super Heroes, the company had acquired the license to one of the biggest names in comics. Of course, translating that license into a lasting RPG line wasn’t simple. The game’s beloved FASERIP rules were quite innovative at the time, but its longevity depended on holding players' attention over the longer haul. The column in Dragon did just that, ensuring a steady stream of new material while simultaneously advertising the game to magazine’s already sizable readership.

Jeff Grubb was the perfect choice to write it. He was not only the designer of Marvel Super Heroes but also someone with an evident affection for its source material. His enthusiasm came through in every installment, making the column accessible to casual readers while still satisfying those with more extensive comic book knowledge. In many ways, "The Marvel-Phile" functioned like a bridge. It connected the gaming world and the comics world, inviting players to explore the latter while providing them with the mechanical tools to do so in the former.

As I noted at the beginning of this post, the column proved popular enough to become a semi-regular feature in the Ares Section of Dragon for almost a decade. For some readers, it was their first exposure to characters who would only much later become mainstream through movies and television. Decades before the Marvel Cinematic Universe made Loki and Thor household names, Grubb’s column was doing the work of introducing them and countless others to gamers around the world. That, I think, is the enduring significance of "The Marvel-Phile." Like many of the best features of Dragon, it simultaneously served practical gaming needs and provided a window onto a larger hobby culture. For me and, I suspect, for many others, it was as much an education in Marvel Comics as it was an aid to running a superhero RPG.