Following in the footsteps of previous branding strategies, Marvel Comics’ journey from Marvel Now to All-New Marvel Now also now leads to Avengers Now! (Say that ten times fast!)
However, this time a good chunk of the titles and characters involved are tied to Marvel Studios’ movie plan as well what’s been going on over on ABC’s Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
It appears that this Avengers Now branding initiative impact and/or launch at least 10 different series.
Confirmed news of new series include the following.
All-New Captain America
Following in the heels of the Falcon making his silver screen debut in the mega-popular Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier, the character in the comics actually replaces Captain America Steve Rogers as Marvel’s primary flag draped hero.
Associated Press:
- Marvel superhero Sam “The Falcon” Wilson will take over as the patriotic Avenger in an upcoming installment of the long-running comic book series, Marvel Comics chief creative officer Joe Quesada
said Wednesday during an appearance on Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report.”
Wilson first appeared as winged superhero Falcon in 1969 and was one of the first African-American superheroes.
The change will come this November in “All-New Captain America” No. 1. The character was recently portrayed by actor Anthony Mackie in the film “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.”
Marvel Executive Editor Tom Brevoort said in a statement that former Captain America Steve Rogers will be a mentor to Wilson as he takes on the new role.
The new series will be written by Rick Remender with art by current All-New X-Men artist Stuart Immonen.
In addition, Mighty Avengers is being relaunch yet again this time as Captain America and the Mighty Avengers (below left image). Falcon’s All-New Captain America joins Luke Cage, Spider-Man, White Tiger, Monica Rambeau, Blade and a few others in a new series by writer Al Ewing and artist Luke Ross.
The Falcon as Captain America story begins in October’s Captain America #25 where Steve Rogers gives up the shield (below right image). That issue is also written by Rick Remender and artist Carlos Pacheco.
(Lady) Thor
It looks like Thor the son of Odin will no longer be worthy of holding his enchanted hammer. That leaves a mysterious woman worthy and assuming the role of Marvel Comics’ female Thor.
Associated Press:
- Thor is now a Goddess of Thunder.
Marvel Comics announced Tuesday that the hammer-wielding Norse superhero will be a woman in upcoming comic book issues. Marvel was thin on details explaining the switch, but said in a press release that “no longer is the classic male hero able to hold the mighty hammer.”
The new Thor was debuted on “The View” where artwork was revealed showcasing a buxom blonde clad a caped costume and brandishing the trademark hammer.
Series writer Jason Aaron says in a statement that “This is not She-Thor. This is not Lady Thor. … This is THE Thor.”
The old Thor will still be in the book, but not with the enchanted hammer. However, he will possess some super-powers, but not as much as when he was the Norse God of Thunder.
In terms of a possible film tie-in, there seems to be heavy rumors around Hollywood currently that actress Katee Sackoff of the recent Battlestar Galactica TV series fame and aborted new Bionic Woman TV series may be set to play a female Thor in an upcoming Marvel Studios project. We’ll see.
Superior (Evil?) Iron Man
Iron Man seems to be letting his internal restraints off and this new Superior series will be unfiltered devil-may-care Tony Stark genius hero; oh with a new suit of armor.
EW:
- In November, Superior Iron Man #1 sends Tony Stark to San Francisco with a new outfit and a new perspective on life.
“The Genius Bar costume is there for a reason,” Marvel editor-in-chief Axel Alonso tells EW. “The newly-transformed Superior Iron Man has very ambitious plans for the city that some of its residents embrace, but not all.”
Comic book fans will note the very pointed addition of the word “Superior” to the title. The last time that happened, it was Superior Spider-Man, and Doctor Octopus took over Peter Parker’s brain. Doc Ock won’t be invading Tony’s frontal lobe, but Alonso does note, “Like the Superior Spider-Man, Superior Iron Man is a character that’s hard to root for.”
The series is written by Tom Taylor and drawn by Yildiray Cinar.
Actor Robert Downey Jr.’s portrayal of Tony Stark / Iron Man in the Iron Man films and the Avengers film remains fan faves. Will we get a darker more superior Tony Stark in Avengers 2 Age of Ultron?
(Extremis a.k.a. Genius) Hulk
Not only is Iron Man responsible for creating the Incredible Hulk in the first place, as see in their companion Original Sin mini-series, one of things a Superior Iron Man does give Extremis to the people. It’s downloadable as a mobile app. The first casualty or beneficiary of this is the Hulk.
USA Today:
- Bruce Banner was shot in the head recently, causing brain damage, but his pal Tony Stark stepped up and used the Extremis
bio-technology to save him.
It also gives Banner’s gigantic green alter ego a super-intelligent brain that’s just as impressive as his biceps, though “there are side effects to that,” says Paniccia.
Next month’s Hulk No. 5 by writer Gerry Duggan and artist Mark Bagley finds Hulk pondering his new situation and having an epiphany: He needs to rid the world of the poison of gamma energy, including gamma-enhanced beings such as himself.
But folks such as Red Hulk and Banner’s cousin She-Hulk may not be fully on board with his new mission statement, which puts the original Hulk at odds with friends and enemies.
Actor Mark Ruffalo’s portrayal of Bruce Banner in the first Avengers film has many to believe that he could make the Hulk successful as a movie franchise. Now word on a standalone film yet, but Ruffalo returns in Avengers 2 Age of Ultron.
~ The Others ~
There’s a few others in that opening teaser for Avengers Now who have also recently received new ongoing series.
Bucky Barnes: The Winter Soldier
Writer Ales Kot and artist Marco Rudy launch a new Winter Soldier series in October. No surprise since that character was heavily featured in the critically acclaimed Captain America 2: Winter Soldier. Bucky takes over Nick Fury Jr. cosmic protector role as seen in the stunning events of Original Sin.
Deathlok
After a successful season long arc on ABC’s Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the character of Deathlok leaps back from TV to comics. A new ongoing series debuts in October by writer Nathan Edmondson and artist Mike Perkins. The character will be a suburban dad who doesn’t remember he’s Deathlok or on his international missions.
S.H.I.E.L.D.
Writer Mark Waid helms a done-in-one ongoing series with rotating artists that brings the characters of ABC’s Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show to comics. Artists Carlos Pacheco, Alan Davis and Chris Sprouse respectively work on the book’s first three issues.
No idea whether Agent Carter, who will somehow share the season with Agents of SHIELD in 2015, will get her own series as part of Avengers Now.
Angela: Asgard’s Assassin
Spinning out of her Original Sin companion mini-series with her brothers Thor and Loki, comes a new November launching ongoing series features Angela now Asgard’s Assassin. The series will be written by Kieron Gillen and Marguerite Bennett with artists Phil Jimenez and Stephanie Hans.
Will Angela show up in an upcoming Thor or Avengers film? Guardians of the Galaxy 1 or 2 could be an option as well as she has been travelling with the Guardians in space in the comics in recent months.
~ The Rest ~
No new comic book series have been announced for the below featured characters on the opening Avengers Now teaser poster.
However, Ant-Man and Doctor Strange have Marvel Studios’ films in the hopper. No actor has been cast for Doctor Stephen Strange yet, but Ant-Man has actor Paul Rudd as the Scott Lang Ant-Man with actor Michael Douglas portraying Hank Pym who was the original Ant-Man in the Marvel Comics.
Scarlet Witch, played by actress Elizabeth Olsen, will be featured in Marvel Studios’ Avengers 2 Age of Ultron film with her brother Quicksilver, played by actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson. The Quicksilver character has also recently appeared in Fox’s different film continuity in X-Men Days of Future Past played by actor Evan Peters.
Marvel appears also to want us to care about the Inhumans’ Medusa and Inferno. So, it looks like the Inhuman series may relaunch after a dismal start or it will be repurposed. Time will tell.
There are also rumors that with Fox holding onto the X-Men film rights that Marvel Studios wants a viable alternative; enter Inhumans. Well X-Men they are not.
Thanks for reading. All feedback welcome.
