Marvel us going to be heading into the end of the year with a lot of things in development. From King In Black to the developments with the Eternals and Phoenix Force, Marvel is using the end of the year to build a strong foundation going into 2021. That also includes the X-Men ending their first big event since House of X/Powers of X in the form of X of Swords in November. Let’s take a look at all the big plans Marvel has in store for fans after they released their November 2020 solicitations.
X OF SWORDS COMES TO AN END, WHAT’S NEXT FOR X-MEN
The X Of Swords event is such an interesting story in the fact we don’t full know what the purpose is. We have an idea of the key players of this event thanks to all the covers for who the ten sword wielders that X Of Sword calls out are now. Most of them are obvious choices and even the surprising picks opens the door for more mutants to get involved in X-Men stories.
What will be interesting to see is what X Of Swords will mean for the entire X-Men franchise when all is said and done. There isn’t much to go on from the solicitations for all the X-Men comics since the information is very broad. What is clear is that there is going to be a lot of damage that will be done from the event.
With how important the ten sword wielders that are leading this event are it’ll be interesting if they all take greater importance moving forward. We already know that Wolverine, Storm, Apocalypse, Magneto, and Magik have major roles in the X-Men. So their importance to the franchise will not change. But what of the others. If they survive will they see a greater spotlight beyond this event?
Along with that it has been interesting to see how Charles Xavier hasn’t been prominently featured in the X Of Swords content that has been released. His role in the story is another major question since he is the leader of the whole Krakoa nation. For him to not serve some sort of major role would be odd in the X-Men’s first big event since House Of X/Powers Of X. If Xavier is actually absent for the majority of X Of Swords that may be a bigger red flag that the Krakoan leader is doing more behind the scenes than anyone knows.
ETERNALS AND PHOENIX FORCE RISE UP
While the X-Men are being kept busy with the X Of Swords event the other major Marvel teams will also be having their hands full in November. The Fantastic Four seem to still be busy with the aftermath of Empyre. At the same time, they are entering the next phase of what Dan Slott has planned for the team as Fantastic Four #26 teases major returns from both allies and foes alike.
Even bigger is the fact that Jason Aaron is bringing back the Phoenix Force in the Avengers, instead of the X-Men. This may be surprising to some but this all seems to be part of the plans Aaron set in motion from the beginning of his Avengers run. During the very beginning Aaron has built a new mythology around the origins of the Marvel Universe and why there are so many different types of supers in the universe. That mythology included the origin of the proto-Avengers that formed at the beginning of the universe, which included the Phoenix Force as part of the group.
What Aaron is doing with the Avengers is built around the Celestials which Marvel will be leaning more into as they launch a new Eternals series written by Kieron Gillen and drawn by Esab Ribic. The ridiculous 30+ covers that Marvel is launching Eternals #1 aside, this new series could lead into all the plans that the company has for 2021 and 2022. With an Eternals live-action Marvel Cinematic Universe movie coming soon its not surprising that they will start setting up that group as major players. Given Marvel’s history with how they handle properties introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe they will likely go all in with the Eternals.
While the amount of covers does make the Eternals seem forced Marvel does have a chance to make it so that is not the case. Marvel should lean into what Aaron has built his Avengers run around to build up both the Eternals and Celestials as major parts of the Marvel Universe once again.
KINDRED, ULTIMATUM, KING IN BLACK…..OH MY! SPIDER-MAN’S BUSY MONTH
The Spider-Man Family are making sure they have a strong case for being even busier than the Avengers or X-Men as we enter 2021. Spider-Man himself is going to be keeping busy with Kindred. That storyline with Kindred has exploded as the rest of the members of the Spider-Man Family have been brought in to create the Order Of The Web team. The way Marvel is dedicating an entire tie-in series to develop The Order Of The Web clearly means this Spider-Team isn’t a one time deal. The event around Kindred likely is just the spark to unite the Spider-Man Family now that their numbers match that of the Avengers.
Along with that Spider-Man and Venom will be busy building up the foundation for the upcoming King In Black event. For Spider-Man’s part, Peter David and Greg Land are teaming together to tell how the original Black Suit saga ties into the King In Black event. What clues from that well-known era are dropped in Symbiote Spider-Man: King In Black mini-series will be interesting. It could redefine the way fans view events during that period in Spider-Man’s life.
Additionally, Marvel seems to be tying in other classic stories with their November 2020 True Believers reprints. This is probably the most surprising thing out of their new solicitations. Since they are reprints rather than new takes on this story this likely just means that we should expect Black Cat, Doc Samson, Franklin Richards and others to join Venom and Spider-Man as major players for King In Black.
If that wasn’t enough Miles Morales is also staying busy with not only the new Order Of The Web but also his own storylines. In his own series Miles is still dealing with what Ultimatum is planning to do to destroy his life. Then there is the Outlaw storyline that Miles as Spider-Man also plays a big role in. So there really is no rest for Peter, Miles, Eddie and the rest of the Spider-Man Family in November 2020.
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