Surprisingly Marvel is not going with a horror team in any of the stories being told in October 2021. At least it does not look that way based on their October 2021 solicitations. Instead Marvel is diving into all the new directions for their universe of characters to explore each corner of the Marvel Universe. From the new Spider-Man Beyond direction to the X-Men dealing with the fallout of the Hellfire Gala there are a ton of things going on in the Marvel Universe in October 2021. Let’s take a closer look at the things to expect based on Marvel’s October 2021 solicitations.
SPIDER-MAN BEYOND BEGINS
I’ve previously written about my thoughts and theories from the announcement of the Spider-Man Beyond direction for Amazing Spider-Man. Now we have a slightly better idea of the stories to expect from the first three issues of Amazing Spider-Man in this new direction with the creative team that has been dubbed as the “Beyond Board.” Based on the solicitations for Amazing Spider-Man #75 and Amazing Spider-Man #76 the introduction of this direction will only take up two issues written by Zeb Wells and art from Patrick Gleason. From there Kelly Thompson and Sara Pichelli will begin a new arc with Ben Reilly as Spider-Man working for the Beyond Corporation in Amazing Spider-Man #77.
Hopefully this is a sign that the Beyond Board brain trust plans on telling shorter story arcs with the Spider-Man Beyond direction. Which would be a nice change of pace from what we normally get from modern ongoing series that go for five to six issues.
From a story perspective the fate of Peter Parker is the big question of how Spider-Man Beyond will start. I still believe that the injuries Peter suffers in his team up with Ben will be enough to take him off the board for a while so he will end up spending his recovery time with MJ, possibly married. But if Marvel does commit to killing of Peter that creates even more questions as to what direction Ben Reilly will go as the new Spider-Man.
MARVEL CELEBRATES LATINX CHARACTERS
Marvel has been using their Marvel’s Voices comic book to tell stories that spotlight the diverse characters they have. Now its time for Marvel’s Voices to place a spotlight on the Latinx characters in the Marvel Universe. This is something that has been a long time coming because outside of Miles Morales there isn’t another big Latinx character that is a consistent part of a current Marvel comic. This will be a chance to actually showcase that there are Latinx characters that deserve to be a bigger part of the Marvel Universe moving forward.
The character I’m most looking forward to getting a spotlight is White Tiger. I am a fan of both Hector Ayala and Ava Ayala versions of White Tiger. Getting stories with Hector and Ava is exciting to see. Hopefully it sets Ava up o be part of a Marvel comic as White Tiger in the future such as Black Widow.
BLACK PANTHER AND STORM REUNION
One of the big events that took place during the X-Men crossover X Of Swords was Storm stealing the Skybreaker sword from Wakanda. She did this by going against the Wakanda Royal Family wishes. The tension between Krakoa and Wakanda only increased during the Hellfire Gala. After Mars was transformed into Planet Arakko Wakanda was the one intergalactic power to not agree to work with Krakoa’s new plans for the Sol Galaxy.
Now the relationship between Krakoa and Wakanda will be further dealt with in October’s Black Panther #3 as T’Challa and Ororo will be reuniting as former will be asking the latter for something. We don’t know exactly what T’Challa will be asking from his former wife but it has to be big given that Storm and Black Panther didn’t leave off on the best of terms. It definitely makes Black Panther #3 a must have for X-Men and Avengers fans just to see how this reunion plays out for both
AL EWING & BRYAN HITCH NEW ERA FOR VENOM
Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman delivered a legendary run on Venom. It was both critically and financial success that launched Venom to be part of Marvel’s A-List. Coming off a big success Marvel definitely wanted to continue the momentum that Cates and Stegman created for the Venom character. That is were the A-list creative team of Al Ewing, Ram V, and Bryan Hitch step in to take over Venom.
Al Ewing has been handling all of Marvel’s cosmic corner, which is fitting for how Venom has become more tied with the stuff going on in the greater Marvel Universe. Adding Ram V to be a co-writer that works alongside Ewing is a great choice. Ram V has been delivering some of the best comics over in DC Comics with his work on both Catwoman and Justice League Dark. Then you add Bryan Hitch as the initial artist this is a dream team to kick off a new era for Venom and Marvel’s symbiotes.
INFERNO LIGHTS UP TRIAL OF MAGNETO
The X-Men have a lot to deal with in the aftermath of the Hellfire Gala. Every mutant team along with the X-Men are busy with their own respective conflicts to deal with. But no mutant group will be busier than the Quiet Council as they directly deal with both Inferno and Trial of Magneto.
With Inferno the entire Quiet Council will be involved as this event is the next big chapter in the story that Jonathan Hickman is telling with the X-Men franchise. Based on the cover for Inferno #2 it looks like Moira X and Mystique aren’t the only ones that Charles Xavier and Magneto have to deal with. The cover indicates that Emma Frost will also want answers for everything that Xavier and Magneto have done to lead Krakoa.
If the events with Inferno was not enough there is also the Trial of Magneto that is keeping Krakoa busy. It is still not clear what direction the whole Trial of Magneto will go and what it means for the Marvel Universe. Given that they continue to push Scarlet Witch on the cover and her being a big part of the next phase of the MCU my guess is still that when all is said and done Wanda Maximoff will return as a mutant and Magneto’s daughter again.
IMMORTAL HULK SERIES FINALE
Similar to Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman’s Venom, the work Al Ewing and Joe Bennett have done with their run on Immortal Hulk has been a big win for Marvel. Ewing and Bennett took Hulk in a whole new direction that gave new life to the character. With Immortal Hulk ending with its 50th issue it is great to see Ewing and Bennett reuniting. They started Immortal Hulk together and it is only appropriate that they end the series together.
The big question will be is what state Hulk will be left in when all is said and done with Ewing and Bennett’s run. They redefined the character in great, new ways. Will the status quo they created be something that continues? Given that Donny Cates is taking over Hulk that would not be surprising since he has shown to work well with continuity established by previous creative teams, as shown by his current run on Thor.
DARK AGES AWAIT MARVEL UNIVERSE FUTURE
The more we learn about the upcoming Dark Ages event series by Tom Taylor and Iban Coello the more excited I become for it to begin. The information on the first issue gave us clues into how Dark Ages will be taking place in its own Marvel Universe, similar to Taylor’s previous work with Injustice and DCeased over at DC Comics. Dark Ages #2 pushes that idea further by showing us older versions of Peter Parker, Miles Morales, Laura Kinney, and Sue Storm on its cover. That shows that we should expect a big time jump between the big event that causes Dark Ages and how things will be handled in this new Marvel Universe.
For all the characters that we see on the cover for Dark Ages #2 the one that stood out was Apocalypse. The solicitation for Dark Ages #2 indicates that heroes and villains will be working together to deal with the crisis in front of them. And it looks like Apocalypse has some role in what occurred. Which makes the fact that the Avengers and X-Men will both be taking on Apocalypse something that makes the character dynamics this series will have something that should be very special.
LUKE CAGE RETURNS WITH NEW SERIES
Luke Cage has had his status be lowered to the point he only pops up as a guest star in random Marvel comics over the last few years. That is a big step down after he spent years as a core member of the Avengers in the 2000s and early 2010s. That will slightly changing in October as Luke Cage is getting his own mini-series titled Luke Cage: City Of Fire.
Bringing in more real world aspects to Luke Cage’s character City Of Fire will be a story that will begin with a black man being killed by a police officer. Ho Chen Anderson will use that set up to make Luke Cage get more directly involved with the events we are seeing go down with Mayor Wilson Fisk in the Daredevil comic. Which is a good move to tie it into the greater Marvel Universe while dealing with a story that will hit close to home for many.
To comment on this article and other Comic Book Revolution content visit our Facebook page, Twitter feed and Instagram. You can catch up with all of Kevin’s thoughts about comics, anime, TV shows, movies and more over on Twitter. You can also watch the fun and silly videos Kevin is making over on his TikTok.