by Brett White
"Secret Wars" may have just kicked into gear, but Marvel Comics is already looking beyond the line-wide mega-event towards the future and a little initiative it's calling "All-New All-Different Marvel." Last week, the publisher released two promo images by artist David Marquez and colorist Matt Wilson, revealing some all-new characters, some all-different characters and some that appear to have been surprisingly left unchanged.
While everything seems to be business as usual for Medusa, Star-Lord, Spider-Man and a few others, a couple of characters will have new codenames, new costumes and/or new affiliations. Even lesser-known players like Doctor Spectrum, Hyperion and Karnak appear poised to share the spotlight with perennial A-listers like Iron Man and Spidey, implying that the Marvel Universe may be ready to see an influx of unexpected movers and shakers. But what about the comics? What can we expect to see when Marvel launches approximately 60 new series? And more importantly, what do we want to see? Here are our five picks for series we believe need to exist when "Secret Wars" concludes.
Black Panther
Let's start with the big one: Black Panther needs an ongoing series. Not only is the king of Wakanda up front in the first piece of teaser art, he'll be making his feature film debut in just under a year with "Captain America: Civil War." And then, of course, he also has a solo movie coming out in 2018. Marvel's done a decent job of keeping T'Challa at the forefront of their universe; he's been a major player in Jonathan Hickman's "New Avengers," which led into the massive "Secret Wars" series, but Black Panther deserves his own title again. He hasn't headed up a series since "Black Panther: The Most Dangerous Man Alive" ended in 2012, meaning he's been stuck as a team player for three years. It's time for the king to return.
Miles Morales
It's very rare that new superheroes catch on with fans and gain mainstream attention, and yet Marvel's struck gold twice in the past few years with the introductions of Miles Morales and Kamala Khan. We already know Ms. Marvel's series is sticking around, but not even the Ultimate Spider-Man taking up corner space in that teaser image guarantees him a solo title this fall, and Editor-in-chief Axel Alonso kept mum regarding Miles' fate in a string of interviews he did earlier this week. We know Miles will be around, but beyond his membership as an All-New, all-Different Avenger, we don't yet know how. Of course, we feel it's pretty simple: He needs his own ongoing series, whether it's set in the Marvel Universe, the remnants of the Ultimate Universe, or even the Malibu-niverse. Fans are invested in this character, and he has many more stories left to tell -- especially if he finds himself stuck in a world that's not his own.
Thunderbolts
So here's the big question: What is Citizen V doing on that second promo image? It's not clear who's behind the mask, in keeping with the character's history, but that Citizen V looks like he was plucked straight out of Mark Bagley's run on the first "Thunderbolts" series from the late '90s. The inclusion of Old Man Logan in the promo is interesting but not surprising since he has a "Secret Wars" series; as far as we know, Citizen V and the original T'bolts aren't scheduled to appear anywhere in the mega-event. Thus, his inclusion here is a total shocker and it definitely has us nostalgic for that initial team of villains/heroes. The Thunderbolts represents one of Marvel's few long lasting brands from the past quarter century, with well over 200 issues of "Thunderbolts" comics published since their debut in 1997. It's time for the classic team -- V, Atlas, Moonstone, Songbird, Mach-1 and Fixer -- to return.
Wolverine
Okay, sure, the fact that a version of Logan will be returning to the Marvel U is a big development, but the apparent promotion of his clone X-23 to full-blown Wolverine status might be even bigger. After a decade building a loyal fanbase and floating from team book to short-lived solo series, to team book, it looks like it's finally time for Laura Kinney to join the big leagues. This is a natural and fascinating progression for the character; X-23 has often been the silent type and a bit of a loner, so depicting her in straight-up superhero duds hints at a major change in her personality. What will cause her to take up the mantle, and how will she handle the Wolverine legacy? These are questions begging for an ongoing series.
Red Wolf
There are quite a few unexpected characters in the teaser images, but none are more "wha-huh?"-inducing than Red Wolf. Even lesser known characters like Doctor Spectrum and Hyperion have been featured prominently in Jonathan Hickman's recent "Avengers" run, assuring some level of familiarity with modern comic readers. Red Wolf, on the other hand, has been largely absent from the Marvel landscape since his '70s heyday. He's going to show up in "1872," a throwback Western series that's part of "Secret Wars," and before that he had brief appearances in "Scarlet Spider." Standing in that image alongside Captain America and Thor places Red Wolf in the spotlight for the first time in a long time, and as Marvel's first Native American superhero, it would be great to pull him out of limbo and give him his first ongoing since in over forty years.
Source: CBR
"Secret Wars" may have just kicked into gear, but Marvel Comics is already looking beyond the line-wide mega-event towards the future and a little initiative it's calling "All-New All-Different Marvel." Last week, the publisher released two promo images by artist David Marquez and colorist Matt Wilson, revealing some all-new characters, some all-different characters and some that appear to have been surprisingly left unchanged.
While everything seems to be business as usual for Medusa, Star-Lord, Spider-Man and a few others, a couple of characters will have new codenames, new costumes and/or new affiliations. Even lesser-known players like Doctor Spectrum, Hyperion and Karnak appear poised to share the spotlight with perennial A-listers like Iron Man and Spidey, implying that the Marvel Universe may be ready to see an influx of unexpected movers and shakers. But what about the comics? What can we expect to see when Marvel launches approximately 60 new series? And more importantly, what do we want to see? Here are our five picks for series we believe need to exist when "Secret Wars" concludes.
Black Panther
Let's start with the big one: Black Panther needs an ongoing series. Not only is the king of Wakanda up front in the first piece of teaser art, he'll be making his feature film debut in just under a year with "Captain America: Civil War." And then, of course, he also has a solo movie coming out in 2018. Marvel's done a decent job of keeping T'Challa at the forefront of their universe; he's been a major player in Jonathan Hickman's "New Avengers," which led into the massive "Secret Wars" series, but Black Panther deserves his own title again. He hasn't headed up a series since "Black Panther: The Most Dangerous Man Alive" ended in 2012, meaning he's been stuck as a team player for three years. It's time for the king to return.
Miles Morales
It's very rare that new superheroes catch on with fans and gain mainstream attention, and yet Marvel's struck gold twice in the past few years with the introductions of Miles Morales and Kamala Khan. We already know Ms. Marvel's series is sticking around, but not even the Ultimate Spider-Man taking up corner space in that teaser image guarantees him a solo title this fall, and Editor-in-chief Axel Alonso kept mum regarding Miles' fate in a string of interviews he did earlier this week. We know Miles will be around, but beyond his membership as an All-New, all-Different Avenger, we don't yet know how. Of course, we feel it's pretty simple: He needs his own ongoing series, whether it's set in the Marvel Universe, the remnants of the Ultimate Universe, or even the Malibu-niverse. Fans are invested in this character, and he has many more stories left to tell -- especially if he finds himself stuck in a world that's not his own.
Thunderbolts
So here's the big question: What is Citizen V doing on that second promo image? It's not clear who's behind the mask, in keeping with the character's history, but that Citizen V looks like he was plucked straight out of Mark Bagley's run on the first "Thunderbolts" series from the late '90s. The inclusion of Old Man Logan in the promo is interesting but not surprising since he has a "Secret Wars" series; as far as we know, Citizen V and the original T'bolts aren't scheduled to appear anywhere in the mega-event. Thus, his inclusion here is a total shocker and it definitely has us nostalgic for that initial team of villains/heroes. The Thunderbolts represents one of Marvel's few long lasting brands from the past quarter century, with well over 200 issues of "Thunderbolts" comics published since their debut in 1997. It's time for the classic team -- V, Atlas, Moonstone, Songbird, Mach-1 and Fixer -- to return.
Wolverine
Okay, sure, the fact that a version of Logan will be returning to the Marvel U is a big development, but the apparent promotion of his clone X-23 to full-blown Wolverine status might be even bigger. After a decade building a loyal fanbase and floating from team book to short-lived solo series, to team book, it looks like it's finally time for Laura Kinney to join the big leagues. This is a natural and fascinating progression for the character; X-23 has often been the silent type and a bit of a loner, so depicting her in straight-up superhero duds hints at a major change in her personality. What will cause her to take up the mantle, and how will she handle the Wolverine legacy? These are questions begging for an ongoing series.
Red Wolf
There are quite a few unexpected characters in the teaser images, but none are more "wha-huh?"-inducing than Red Wolf. Even lesser known characters like Doctor Spectrum and Hyperion have been featured prominently in Jonathan Hickman's recent "Avengers" run, assuring some level of familiarity with modern comic readers. Red Wolf, on the other hand, has been largely absent from the Marvel landscape since his '70s heyday. He's going to show up in "1872," a throwback Western series that's part of "Secret Wars," and before that he had brief appearances in "Scarlet Spider." Standing in that image alongside Captain America and Thor places Red Wolf in the spotlight for the first time in a long time, and as Marvel's first Native American superhero, it would be great to pull him out of limbo and give him his first ongoing since in over forty years.
Source: CBR