Dragon (magazine)

Dragon #88 was the first issue featuring The Marvel-Phile section, as announced in the cover.

Dragon was a role-playing game magazine published by TSR, Inc. From 1984 to 1993, Dragon published 83 articles related to the Marvel Super Heroes Role-Playing Game, most of them including information and role-playing game statistics for several Marvel characters.

Overview

Dragon was a role-playing game magazine published by TSR, Inc. and focusing mostly, but not exclusively, in material for their roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons. Launched in 1976 with the name The Dragon, it changed to just Dragon from #39 (July, 1980) onward. The magazine was published in print up until #359 (September, 2007), continuing as an online publication until #430 (December, 2013), and then a digital publication by Wizards of the Coast, Dragon+, replaced it completely since 2015.

Dragon began publishing a semi-periodic section for 78 issues about the Marvel Super Heroes Role-Playing Game, called The Marvel-Phile, starting in #88 (August, 1984) and continuing until #198 (October, 1993). Most of The Marvel-Phile articles included descriptions, role-playing statistics, and rules for Marvel characters in the role-playing game, sometimes adding small sub-sections about additional rules or updates to existing information (such as changes in a character's powers and stats due to whatever happened to that character in the comics). Other articles included background and general information about Marvel characters and teams, detailed rules, an index of what characters appear in what TSR, Inc. publications, or answers to questions sent by the fans. The column did not appear in every issue of Dragon, and on two occassions, a single issue had two The Marvel-Philes (#96, including one article for parodic characters and one serious article; and #126, including two articles about horror characters).

Dragon also published twenty more articles related to the Marvel Super Heroes Role-Playing Game that were not under The Marvel-Phile headline, and one role-playing adventure, Sudden Dawn.

From #252 to #267, the magazine published a series of articles about the Marvel Superheroes Adventure Game.

The current article includes a table to list the topics covered in each of the articles, both The Marvel-Phile and otherwise.

The Marvel-Phile

List of The Marvel-Phile articles

Issue	Article title	Author	Contents
#88	The Marvel-Phile	Jeff Grubb	Describes the backstory of Thor, Loki and Ulik, with their role-playing game stats.
#89	The Marvel-Phile	Jeff Grubb	Describes the backstory of Sub-Mariner and Tiger Shark, with their role-playing game stats.
#91	The Marvel-Phile	Jeff Grubb	Describes the backstory of Cloak and Dagger, with their role-playing game stats. Rules on the use of drugs and alcohol.
#92	The Heralds of Galactus!	Jeff Grubb	Describes the backstory of Silver Surfer, Nova and Terrax, with their role-playing game stats.
#93	The Avengers, Part II	Jeff Grubb	Describes the backstory of Mockingbird and Shroud, with their role-playing game stats.
#94	Unfriendly Neighborhood Spider-foes	Jeff Grubb	Describes the backstory of Hobgoblin, Kingpin of Crime, and Spider-man's suit (Alien symbiote), with their role-playing game stats.
#95	Pumping Iron, Part I	Jeff Grubb	Describes the backstory of James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Tony Stark, and Iron Man Armor Model 4, with their role-playing game stats.
#96	Not Quite the Marvel-Phile	Jeff Grubb	Describes the backstory of Howard the Duck, Iron Duck Suit, The Fabulous Frog-Man (as Eugene Paul Colorito), and Willy Lumpkin, with their role-playing game stats.
#96	Pumping Iron, Part 2	Jeff Grubb	Introduces several (then-recent) armors of Iron Man: New Iron Man Armor, Iron Man Space Armor, Iron Man Stealth Armor, with their role-playing game stats.
#97	O, Canada!	Jeff Grubb	Describes the backstory of Talisman, Box, Guardian, Guardian Armor, with their role-playing game stats.
#98	Where the heroes are!	Jeff Grubb	An index of characters that have appeared in TSR publications to that date.
#99	Back in the U.S.S.R.	Jeff Grubb	Describes the backstory of the Soviet Super-Soldiers (Vanguard, Darkstar, Ursa Major and Gremlin), with their role-playing game stats.
#100	Defenders Ensemble!	Jeff Grubb	Describes the backstory of several Defenders, including Gargoyle, Cloud, Valkyrie (Brunnhilde), with their role-playing game stats.
#101	Return to Asgard	Jeff Grubb	Beta Ray Bill, Skuttlebutt and Sif.
#102	Marvelous Impossibilities	Jeff Grubb	Impossible Man.
#103	Vox Populi	Jeff Grubb	Three characters chosen by the audience at the Gen Con 18 convention: Armadillo, Count Nefaria, and Hyperion (Supreme Squadron).
#104	All this and World War II!	Jeff Grubb	Bucky, Baron Zemo I, Baron Strucker.
#105	Why does it have to be snakes?	Jeff Grubb	The Serpent Society: Asp, Bushmaster, Cottonmouth, Diamondback and Rattler.
#106	Alpha and Omega, part I	Jeff Grubb	Madison Jeffries, Vindicator (Vindicator Suit), Delphine Courtney.
#107	Alpha and Omega, part II	Jeff Grubb	Omega Flight's Smart Alec, Diamond Lil, Flashback, Wild Child, Scramble, Deadly Ernest, Nemesis.
#108	Up to Our Navels in Little Blue Geeks	Jeff Grubb	From Kitty's Fairy Tale: Bamf, Mean, Pirate Kitty, Lockheed the Dragon (big Lockheed), Shagreen.
#109	The Second Annual Roster of Heroes	Jeff Grubb	An update to the index of the Marvel characters that have appeared in TSR publications.
#110	Riders on the storm	Jeff Grubb	Ghost Rider I (Carter Slade), Ghost Rider II (Lincoln Slade), Ghost Rider III (Johnny Blaze), Ghost Rider IV (Hamilton Slade).
#111	O, Lucky Man	Jeff Grubb	Longshot.
#114	To the Moon!	Jeff Grubb	Inhumans, Black Bolt, Medusa, Maximus Boltagon, Crystal, Gorgon Petragon, Karnak, Triton.
#115	And now, Terminus...	Jeff Grubb	Terminus.
#116	Caught in the Crossfire	Jeff Grubb	Crossfire, the Death-Throws: Ringleader, Oddball, Tenpin, Bombshell, Knickknack.
#117	Day of the Marauders	Jeff Grubb	Marauders: Scalphunter, Arclight, Harpoon, Scrambler, Riptide, Vertigo, Sabretooth, Malice, Blockbuster, Prism.
#119	An X-tra X-Man	Jeff Grubb	Psylocke.
#120	Welcome to the Machine	Douglas A. Lent	Machine Man of future year 2020 and Midnight Wreckers: Brain, Slick, Hassle, Swift and the Ancient Wrecker.
#121	The Return of Ms. Marvel	Jeff Grubb	Ms. Marvel (Sharon Ventura, Power Broker, Inc. augmentation process, its successful augments and its Failed Augments.
#122	Evolutionary Thought	Jeff Grubb	High Evolutionary, Bova.
#123	The Rest of the Heralds	Jeff Grubb	Air-Walker, Firelord, Destroyer.
#124	The All-New Incredible Hulk--and Hulkbusters!	Jeff Grubb	The gray Hulk, the Hulkbusters (Samuel J. La Roquette, Carolyn Parmentor, Craig Saunders Jr., Dr. Armand Martel, Hideko Takata) and their technology (Hulkbuster Walker Vehicle, Hulkbuster Flyer Vehicle, Hulkbuster Body Armor, Neuro-Neutralizer).
#125	From Abomination to Zzzax	Jeff Grubb	The Abomination (Tyrannus), Zzzax and Doc Samson.
#126	Big Drac Attack	Jeff Grubb	Dracula.
#126	A Marvel Monster-Phile	Jeff Grubb	Frankenstein's Monster, the Living Mummy, Werewolf By Night, Vampires.
#127	One Thing After Another	Jeff Grubb	Alternate versions of Benjamin Grimm from the solo Adventure Gamebook Thing: One Thing After Another: Thing Kong, Thingpin and Doctor Grimm.
#128	American Dreams and Nightmares	Jeff Grubb	Captain America (John Walker), Bucky (Lemar Hoskins), Dr. Karl Malus, Demolition Man, Flag-Smasher, ULTIMATUM.
#129	Justice is Served! (part 1)	Jeff Grubb	Victims of the Scourge of the Underworld: Enforcer, Miracle Man, Hate-Monger III, Megatak, Melter, Titania, Basilisk, Hammer, Anvil, Death Adder, Wraith, Fly, Blue Streak.
#130	Justice Is Served! (part 2)	Jeff Grubb	More victims of the Scourge of the Underworld: Bird-Man II, Turner D. Century, Cheetah, Commander Kraken, Cyclone, Firebrand, Grappler, Hellrazor, Hijacker, Jaguar, Letha, Mind-Wave, Mirage I, Rapier, Ringer, Shellshock, Steeplejack II, Vamp, and the Scourge himself.
#131	By the Immeasurable Girth of Volstagg!	Jeff Grubb	The Warriors Three: Hogun the Grim, Fandral the Dashing, and Volstagg the Enormous
#132	Animal Crackers	Jeff Grubb	Rocket Raccoon, Halfworld, Halfworld Robots, Halfworld Humans, Wal Rus, Uncle Pyko, Judson Jakes, Killer Klowns, Lord Dyvyne.
#133	Four Years Later	Jeff Grubb & David Martin	Another update to the index of the Marvel characters that have appeared in TSR publications.
#137	A Visit from the Sage and Uatu the Watcher	Skip Williams	Uatu the Watcher (really Skip Williams) answers the fans' questions about the rule books. Stats for a Megalodon (prehistoric shark).
#141	Back from Earth-S: The Redeemers (part 1)	David Edward Martin	Earth-S characters: Master Menace and Professor Imam.
#143	Back From Earth-S: The Redeemers (Part 2)	David Edward Martin	Earth-S characters: Mink, Pinball and Remnant.
#146	Aunt May: Threat or Menace?	Skip Williams	Answering fans' questions.
#155	Dipped in magic, clothed in science	Dale A. Donovan	Captain Britain and Roma.
#156	'Orf wiv its 'ead!'	Dale A. Donovan	Crazy Gang: Executioner, Jester, Knave, Tweedledope.
#159	An empath and an apprentice	Dale A. Donovan	Topaz and Rintrah.
#161	'I love leftovers!'	Chris Mortika, David Edward Martin, Scott Davis & William Tracy	Dakota North and Stick.
#162	'Hi, My Dad's Vlad'	Dale A. Donovan	Lilith, Daughter of Dracula.
#163	Leftovers II: The Villains	Chris Mortika, David Edward Martin, Scott Davis & William Tracy	Nebulon and Solarr.
#165	Girl trouble	Dale A. Donovan	The Femme Fatales: Knockout, Whiplash, Mindblast and Bloodlust.
#167	The Lads from Liverpool	Steven E. Schend	Knight and Fogg.
#168	The times, they are a-changing...	Steven E. Schend	Details on changes in teams (Alpha Flights, Avengers, New Mutants, X-Men), character deaths (Warlock, Arranger, Destiny, Mandrill, Master Man I & II, Mister Sinister, Mystique, Nekra, Stonewall, Tombstone, Warrior Woman), character resurrections (Adam Warlock, Drax the Destroyer, Ghost Rider, Puck, Storm, Vindicator, Commander Hodge, Grim Reaper, Master Man & Warrior Woman, Thanos), and character powers (Doctor Druid, Hulk, Human Torch I, Lorna Dane, Master Man I, Puck, Red Wolf, Rogue, Spitfire, Union Jack III, Vindicator, Wolfsbane, Commander Hodge, Thanos, Tombstone) and miscelaneous changes (Deathlok, Hawkeye, Magneto, Molten Man, Sub-Mariner, Phantom Blonde, Quicksilver, Vision, Warrior Woman). Updated stats for Wolfsbane.
#169	Two ghosts with the most	Dale A. Donovan	Ghost, Ghost Rider.
#170	You can't keep a dead man down	Steven E. Schend	Commander Hodge, Grim Reaper. Also includes updates on Avengers West Coast, Baron Wolfgang von Strucker and Vindicator.
#171	Be careful what you wish for	Steven E. Schend	Darkhawk. Updates on Puck. Data corrections on #169.
#174	Lesser lights, part 1: A villain for all seasons	Steven E. Schend	Equinox.
#175	Lesser Lights II: Long-lost heroes	Dale A. Donovan & Steven E. Schend	The 3-D Man (Chuck and Hal Chandler) and the Blue Shield.
#176	Castaways I: Rookies of the Marvel Universe	Scott Davis & Steven E. Schend	La Bandera, Windshear, and Witchfire.
#177	Castaways II: Women, wicked and wily	Scott Davis & Steven E. Schend	Madame Hydra, Lady Deathstrike, Saturnyne. Also details on Demonica continent, Harry Osborn as Green Goblin, Hobgoblin, Kingpin, Silver Sable's Outlaws, {{a|Lyja impersonating Alicia Masters and Terrax possessing Genetech manager Harmon Furmintz.
#178	Castaways III: A god of lightning and a clone of thunder	William Tracy	Leir and Nobilus.
#179	Building Better Mousetraps--Or Better Villains	Dale A. Donovan & Steven E. Schend	Advice on villains. Sentinel (Orion Class), Hurricane (apparently original characters).
#181	Everything Uatu Knows: The Return of the Colossal Bulletin Box	Steven E. Schend	Details on changes on teams (Alpha Flight, Avengers, Earth Force, Kree envoys, Shi'ar envoys, Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, Excalibur, Guardians of the Galaxy), deaths (Vindicator, Legion, Magneto and his Acolytes, Donald Pierce, Shadow King), resurrections (Iron Fist, Colonel Mikhail Rasputin, Mystique, Silvermane, Terrax), and miscellaneous changes (Major Vance Astro, Black Knight, Dreadface, Her, Mandroids, Marvel Boy, Owl, Power Pack, Rhino, Speedfreek, Vulture).
#182	From within the lands of Doom	Steven E. Schend	Devices created by Doctor Doom that had been not included in the book Machines of Doom: Anesthetic Nose Plugs, Deflection Staff, Entropic Inducer, Null Time Sequencer.
#183	Crossing the dimensions to bring you new heroes	Steven E. Schend	Cerise and Colin McKay
#185	Heirs to the fallen empire	Steven E. Schend	Kree Starforce: Captain Atlas, Doctor Minerva, Korath the Pursuer, Shatterax, Supremor, and Ultimus.
#186	Creatures on the prowl	James Lowder	Gomdulla, the Living Pharaoh, Groot, the Monster from Planet X and Zzutak, the Thing That Shouldn't Exist.
#187	Along came the spiders	Steven E. Schend	Deathweb: Antro, Arachne and Therak.
#188	Super-Agents for super campaigns	Steven E. Schend	Super Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Ivory, Knock-About, Psi-Borg, Violence.
#190	How Many Licks Does it Take to Get to the Center of a Sentinel?	Steven E. Schend	Answering fans' questions.
#192	Files from the Funhouse of Solitude	Steven E. Schend	Slapstick the living cartoon, Doctor Denton, Teddy
#195	The coming of the Gatherers!	Steven E. Schend	The Gatherers: Proctor, Cassandra, Magdalene, Sloth, Tabula.
#197	Heroes of the Streets Arise!	Steven E. Schend	New origins, secondary abilities and rank tables to generate characters.
#198	Monsters on the loose--again!	James Lowder	Grogg, the Nightmare from the Black Pit, Taboo, the Thing from the Murky Swamp, the Glop. Update on Groot, and rules on summoning and controlling undead.

Other Dragon articles

List of other Marvel articles in Dragon

Issue	Article title	Author	Contents
#94	S.H.I.E.L.D.	William Tracy	Description of SHIELD, with members and technology; Nick Fury's profile.
#98	Return to the Viper's Pit	Kim Eastland	Corrections and explanation on the adventure Pit of the Viper.
#100	Defenders of the Future	William Tracy	Earth-691 Guardians of the Galaxy: Vance Astro, Charlie-27, Yondu Udonta, Starhawk, Aleta, Nikki.
#100	Creative Conjuring: A variant magic system for the MARVEL SUPER HEROES game	Eric Walker	Optional rules about magic.
#104	Sudden Dawn: A Marvel Superheroes Module	William Tracy	An adventure in 1941 featuring stats for the PCs Patriot, Miss America, Spirit of '76, Whizzer, Thin Man, Red Raven, Jack Frost, Blue Diamond and the NPC villains Baron Blood, Agent Axis, Master Man, Warrior Woman, U-Man, Iron Cross, and average Nazi soldiers and secret agents.
#105	The Big Guns	William Wilson Goodson, Jr.	Description and rules to use the military in the game.
#111	Phoenix	Roger E. Moore	Rules about the Phoenix and stats on The Phoenix as Jean Grey.
#112	Dire Invasion	William Tracy	Rom, Starshine I, Starshine II, Cindy Adams, Dire Wraiths, Rocketeers.
#118	The Warlock Redux	Jon D. Martin	Adam Warlock, Pip the troll, Gamora, Her.
#122	The Ultimate Addenda	David Edward Martin	Expansion for The Ultimate Powers Book.
#134	The Ultimate Addenda's Addenda	David Edward Martin	Further expansion for The Ultimate Powers Book.
#144	Red Guns	William Wilson Goodson, Jr.	Use of Soviet military in the game.
#150	Nobody Lasts Forever	David Edward Martin	Death in the game (post-mortem effects, longevity, resurrection).
#151	Son of the Ultimate Adenda	David Edward Martin	Answering fans questions about The Ultimate Powers Book.
#152	Spider-Man to Wed Vanna White!	Fraser Sherman	Description of the overlapping between the real world and the world in the game.
#154	'Who Was That Masked Android?'	Marcus L. Rowland	Rules and description about keeping a secret identity.
#157	Keep the Heroes Flying	Carleton Tsui	Plot ideas to focus the campaign in non-combat tasks.
#159	To the Ends of the Marvel Universe	David Edward Martin	Star travel rule.
#169	In Harm’s Way–At Home!	Michael Hollinger	Rules for Danger Rooms.
#178	The Game Wizards	Steven E. Schend	Details on the then-newest products published.
#180	Wear Your Best Suit!	Justin Mohareb	Advanced armored battlesuit rules.
#252	Home, Sweet Headquarters	Stephen Kenson	Rules for designing a home base.
#255	Powers of the Mind	Stephen Kenson	Advanced psychic power rules.
#261	Dark Phoenix (Jean Grey)/Phoenix (Rachel Summers)	Jeff Quick and Steve Miller	Dark Phoenix and Phoenix.
#262	The Alien Costume	Jeff Quick	The Venom symbiote.
#263	Onslaught	Jeff Quick	Onslaught.
#264	Wolverine vs the Brood Queen	Rich Redman	Solo adventure including stats for Wolverine and the Brood Queen.
#265	Captain Marvel	Jeff Quick	Captain Marvel.
#266	Mockingbird	Jeff Quick	Mockingbird.
#267	The Beyonder	Jeff Quick	The Beyonder.
Annual #3	Super Science in the Marvel Universe	Mike Selinker	Advanced gadgeteering rules.
Annual #4	Mastering the Mystic Arts	Stephen Kenson	Advanced magic rules.