Marvel is not going to stay quiet as we close out the fall. As the X-Men’s event Extermination comes to a close Marvel is going to bring back the iconic Uncanny X-Men series. Along with that we are seeing some big things happen with Spider-Geddon, Avengers celebration, Fantastic Four meeting their evil doppelgangers and much more. Let’s see what Marvel has planned in the future from what was revealed in their November 2018 solicitations.
FATE OF THE ORIGINAL X-MEN IN EXTERMINATION
The fate of the original five X-Men is finally here. Given that they aren’t in any of the solicitations for any of the other X-Men comics outside of Extermination things aren’t looking for the time-displaced Cyclops, Jean Grey, Angel, Beast and Iceman. Of note is that we don’t actually see Cyclops on the cover for Extermination #5. While we could assume that Cyclops is the one that is placing his visor down as a goodbye that is not clear. It may be that be that Cyclops is the only one that does not make it back to the original X-Men’s timeline as something big will happen to him. Knowing how the X-Men normally work we should be expecting more of a darker ending for Extermination rather than bright and shiny one.
HIGH PRICE FOR UNCANNY X-MEN’S RETURN
Marvel makes it tough to pick up a new series when the first issue of every new series is priced at $5.99. It makes it so you have to really decide if you are going to purchase a new series from Marvel, especially if a version of it wasn’t previously on your pull list. Now with Uncanny X-Men #1 they are taking it to the next level by pricing the first issue of the returning series at an insane $7.99. Even though Uncanny X-Men is 72 pages seeing the cover price point of $7.99 does make you make a double take when thinking about buying it.
What does not help the price point is the fact that Marvel has decided to make the first 10 issues of Uncanny X-Men have a weekly release schedule. With the X-Men franchise already having more than a dozen comics in its monthly release schedule it does feel like Marvel is cannibalizing their own comic books.
With Marvel looking to attract both lost and new readers with Uncanny X-Men they have already made it tough for readers to give this a try without dropping several other comics, likely other Marvel comic books. Which is sad since the return of the iconic Uncanny X-Men series should be something to celebrate. Instead we are left questioning if the series will be worth the weekly cover price.
MATT MURDOCK FORGETS ABOUT DAREDEVIL
Marvel announced the return of the Marvel Knights series during San Diego Comic-Con. In November they have made good on that promise as Marvel Knights returns as a mini-series. Given that Marvel Knights is supposed to be edging the Marvel characters more towards the R-Rating this series could be a breath of fresh air since we haven’t gotten a MAX or Knights title in a while. Starting off with a mini-series focused on Matt Murdock forgetting that he is Daredevil is an interesting angle to see how popular the Marvel Knights line can be. It at least gives a new story for Daredevil to be a part of and gets him possibly away from his war with Kingpin and the Hand.
FANTASTIC FOUR MEET THE FANTASTIX
There is nothing more original that having the heroes face a villainous version of themselves. That is exactly what Dan Slott is doing by introducing the Fantastix as part of the Fantastic Four’s expanding Rogues Gallery. The originality of these new characters just comes off the cover of Fantastic Four #4.
Now sarcasm aside, the designs for the Fantastix are at least intriguing. Though the Fantastix will have an uphill battle to build their credibility since it is tough for readers to get behind evil versions of the heroes we cheer for. There will need to be a lot of depth given to the Fantastix to be able to survive as long lasting antagonist rather than just falling into the villain of the week trappings.
AVENGERS TURNS 700
One of the surprising things that was revealed in Marvel’s November 2018 solicitations was that Avengers has reached 700 issues. This monumental issue does not feel as big as it should since the number feels artificial and not a true achievement for the Avengers franchise. The reason for this is the fact that Marvel has continuously relaunched the Avengers comics after every single event the last decade.
That said, Avengers under Jason Aaron has been excellent so far. With Avengers #700 moving the team away from the Celestials storyline Aaron is re-introducing the Super-Soldiers from the Winter Guard. This is a group that has not been seen very often in the Marvel Universe. But given what Aaron has done so far we should expect the Winter Guard to be elevated to be a big antagonist group for the Avengers to face.
IRONHEART GETS HER OWN ONGOING SERIES
When it came to introducing new characters Marvel hasn’t done a great job as they usually phase out one of their iconic heroes to do so. That was the case for Riri Williams as she was given the Iron Man title after Tony Stark was killed. Now with Tony Stark back as Iron Man Marvel is finally doing the right thing of giving Riri Williams her own series under the Ironheart title. As long as Eve Ewing and Kevin Libranda can build on the fanbase Ironheart has accumulated this new series can elevate Riri Williams into being more of fan favorite.
DEATH COMES FOR OLD MAN LOGAN
With the iconic version of Wolverine back in the main Marvel Universe there was a big question as to what Marvel was going to do with Old Man Logan. That has now been answered as Old Man Logan will be returning to his post-apocalyptic Marvel Universe in Dead Man Logan. Based of the solicitation for Dead Man Logan, this series is being promoted as the final story for Old Man Logan. That is not a bad thing as Old Man Logan has been through a lot and deserve time to rest. With Ed Brisson, who has done a great job writing Old Man Logan, working on this maxi-series Dead Man Logan is sure to be a strong end to this fan favorite version of Wolverine.
COSMIC AVENGERS RISE IN INFINITY WARS
The Cosmic Avengers is a concept that we last saw brought up in Realm of Kings when Nova and Star-Lord led a team to face the Revengers. Now Gerry Duggan is bringing that concept back with Loki creating his version of the Cosmic Avengers that includes Ms. Marvel, Emma Frost, Hulk and Kang the Conqueror. Of these members the most surprising addition is Emma Frost. She has never been connected with the cosmic side of the Marvel Universe. Even when she was being a hero as part of the X-Men, Emma Frost rarely dealt with cosmic threats. Because of that it’ll be interesting to see why Loki formed the Cosmic Avengers with this roster to combat the threat in Infinity Wars.
BATTLE LINES ARE DRAWN IN SPIDER-GEDDON
Though I love Spider-Man the Spider-Geddon event is a comic I’m still on the fence on. Spider-Verse gave me my fill on the Inheritors storyline for the Spider-Man franchise and this event just feels like a cheap sequel to cash in on the upcoming Spider-Verse movie. What I will give the latest batch of solicitations for Spider-Geddon is that we are going to see a war between the different Spider-Men and Spider-Women. Leading that charge seems to be Miles Morales and Doctor Octopus, who will lead their own Spider-teams in this event. These two have not had many meetings so it will at least be a fresh pairing and puts the spotlight on Miles Morales, who still does not been given a new solo series since Brian Bendis left Marvel.
SPIDER-MAN REUNITES WITH BLACK CAT
When Dan Slott ended his run one sub-plot that was left to be unresolved was the repairing of Spider-Man’s relationship with Black Cat. Spider-Man’s friendship with Black Cat was ruined by Doctor Octopus when he took over Peter Parker’s body as the Superior Spider-Man. Since then we have seen Black Cat return to her villainous ways, leading her to become one of the top crime bosses in New York City.
Now with that still being the status quo Spider-Man is being put into a position where he can mend fences with Black Cat as she has been linked to some major thefts. If Black Cat isn’t actually involved with said threats Spider-Man helping prove Black Cat’s innocence can help make them strong allies once again. And with how things have gone for Spider-Man recently he needs all the allies he can get right now.
DAREDEVIL AND KINGPIN’S WAR REACHES ITS ENDGAME
While it was not stated, the solicitations for Daredevil #611 and #612 imply that we are going to see the series be relaunched with a new #1. The question is if Charles Soule will continue his Daredevil run for the long-term since the solicitations also seem to imply his run is coming to an end. That would be disappointing given how fantastic Soule’s Daredevil run has been. At least he will be putting an end to the current chapter in Daredevil and Kingpin’s ongoing war. And given how intense things have been so far between the two, it is hard to see how either Daredevil or Kingpin will walk out of this battle the same way they walked in.
DEATH OF THE INHUMANS CONCLUDES
With everything going on with the Avengers and X-Men we have seen the fate of the Inhumans being determined in the background. After how hard Marvel pushed to make the Inhumans as big as the Avengers and X-Men franchise this has been a bit surprising. Though depending on how Death of the Inhumans goes down Marvel has the chance to finally give the group the momentum they have been missing since their push to the top started. If they don’t get the comic book community talking then the Inhumans will be back at square one, which is not where Marvel will want them to be.
SPIDER-MAN AND HIS AMAZING FRIENDS REUNION
The Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends holds a special place in a lot of older Marvel fans. Sina Grace revisiting this fan favorite team-up of Spider-Man, Firestar and Iceman gives the series good hook for fans of that cartoon to pick at least Iceman #3 up. The cover alone shows that Iceman #3 will be a fun comic book. And if successful it could bring in more fans into the Iceman series, which was a critical darling in the previous volume before it got canceled.