Marvel Comics November 2024 comic book solicitations are here! And as has become the norm it is filled by the publishing plans for the Spider-Man and X-Men franchises. Marvel has been heavily reliant on Spider-Man and X-Men franchises for a while. Though the Avengers are making a resurgence thanks to some big brand crossovers. Now they are getting their second ongoing series with West Coast Avengers. With that in mind let’s take a look at the biggest takeaways from Marvel Comics November 2024 comic book solicitations.
NEW AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ERA BEGINS
Zeb Wells’s creative run on Amazing Spider-Man had plenty of ups and downs. Commercially, Wells’ Amazing Spider-Man run was a top seller every month so there is no denying that it connected with enough of the fanbase enough to be a chart-topper. Though I was not part of that fanbase as Wells delivered one of my least favorite Spider-Man runs of all-time.
Luckily now in November that is all over and we will be getting a new beginning with Joe Kelly and Ed McGuinness beginning their run on Amazing Spider-Man. Based on how Marvel teased this new creative run back at SDCC 2024, Kelly and McGuinness’s run will not be the “long-term creative team.” Right now, it appears this ‘8 Deaths of Spider-Man’ saga will be a ten-issue long story arc.
Given the story title, it is good to know going into it that Kelly and McGuinness have a clear beginning and end. This won’t be a story that is being stretched out as the last few Amazing Spider-Man creative runs with their big hooks did to their detriment. It’s an efficiency that is certainly welcomed by the franchise.
‘8 Deaths of Spider-Man’ also appears to have greater importance in establishing the foundation of the Marvel Universe for the next few years. With Doctor Doom recently becoming the Sorcerer Supreme in the comic books and being the Endgame boss for the current Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man being tied into Marvel’s magic world is a big deal. The world usually reserved for Doctor Strange will get an even bigger spotlight, leading to more attention given to what is going on with Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom. That will work out for all involved in this major storyline.
PSYLOCKE GOES SOLO
Psylocke is joining Wolverine, Storm, and Jean Grey as an X-Men getting their solo series starting in November. While Psylocke has largely been a team book character Marvel has done a few mini-series and one-shots with the character. Given how red-hot the X-Men have been for years again this has been a good time to try to expand and see if others can catch on in a solo capacity.
Psylocke has certainly always been a fan-favorite character who has all the foundations to be a breakout solo lead character. From a creative perspective, Alyssa Wong is a good choice for a writer. Her Marvel work has been solid though nothing that’s hit that breakout title status. The closest was her Doctor Aphra work which got good critical acclaim.
For this new Psylocke series hopefully, Wong doesn’t fall into the trappings of her Captain Marvel run. Rather than telling one long narrative that goes for five or more issues, the focus should be on showcasing why Psylocke makes a great solo hero. The recent Scarlet Witch comic books are good examples. Tell one to two issue stories that sell the idea of Psylocke as a solo hero. In the middle of those stories’ seeds can be planted for a bigger story that connects to the From The Ashes direction. That is the direction I at least hope Wong goes with as Psylocke has so much untapped potential.
ULTIMATE BLACK CAT MAKES HER DEBUT
With Ultimate Spider-Man #8 revealing the Ultimate Universe version of Walter Hardy as part of the Sinister Six it was only a matter of time before Felicia Hardy would debut. That is going to be happening in November’s Ultimate Spider-Man #11 where the adult Felicia Hardy, since we only saw her as a kid in a picture, will be debuting as Black Cat. The design for Ultimate Black Cat certainly looks to be a back-to-basics design for the character.
The big question around Ultimate Felicia Hardy is if she is aligned with her father. Not only is Walter Hardy part of the Ultimate Sinister Six but we know thanks to the wealth he accrued as a thief he controls the Bronx territory of New York City. It wasn’t said if Felicia is helping her father maintain his power and wealth. Given that she is following in his footsteps as a thief she is at least keeping up his legacy.
The other aspect of Felicia’s introduction as Black Cat is if we could also see the Ultimate Universe version of the Thief Guild established. With how notorious of a thief Walter is it wouldn’t be surprising if the Thief Guild was a thing. It would add to how Walter gained control of the Bronx and also what else Felicia could be involved in.
IRON MAN RELAUNCHES WEST COAST AVENGERS
The Avengers have been regaining momentum in the comic books over the last year. Jed MacKay’s Avengers run has been well received and selling well. They are also having crossovers with Aliens and Ultraman. Now the franchise is expanding with its second ongoing series in the form of the West Coast Avengers by writer Gerry Duggan and artist Danny Kim.
The West Coast Avengers title is the darling of the franchise. It is certainly a fan favorite though it’s always been seen as the second team. That is certainly the vibe given by this Iron Man and War Machine-led roster. Going with a lean roster with Ultron, Spider-Woman, and Firestar. The roster composition is certainly interesting.
The standout member is Ultron. The decision to have the AI robot on the team looks to be driven by at least Tony Stark. Spider-Woman and Firestar understandably are joining the West Coast Avengers with doubts about having Ultron as a teammate. Given that Iron Man doesn’t have a great track record with these types of decisions it won’t be surprising if Ultron’s membership leads to an eventual villain turn. Though to be fair, Ultron is a character that needs a reboot of sorts so whether as a hero or villain, this could be what the character needs to get renewed interest in.
DEATH OF STORM
Murewa Ayodele and Lucas Werneck aren’t wasting any time making their impact with the Storm ongoing series. Their first story out of the gate sees Storm on death’s doors. It certainly elevates the importance of the first story arc and what this near-death experience will have on Storm.
That said, the idea of Storm dying is something that while a good story beat isn’t one to fully believe. Marvel is investing in making Storm an even more important character in their universe as she is not only an X-Men but now an Avenger. This does rob some of the tension of teasing the death of Storm.
This does put more on Ayodele and Werneck as a creative team to sell the reader on the experience of this story. They need to make sure when reading Storm the reader is purely invested in what is going on in this story and forgets about her status as an X-Men and Avenger. It is a good pressure to have as an early test for Ayodele and Werneck as a creative team.
UNCANNY X-MEN OPENING NEW MUTANT SCHOOL
One of the surprising parts of the X-Men: From The Ashes direction is that we didn’t see any of the mutants open up a new version of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. Now with Uncanny X-Men #6, we are seeing the team led by Rogue opening a school in Louisiana. This element is a great way to help further differentiate Uncanny X-Men from his sibling title where Cyclops is all in on the superhero side of the X-Men.
Opening a new mutant school is a good way to develop the younger mutants. It also gives Rogue, Wolverine, Gambit, Nightcrawler, and Jubilee other things to focus on than just superhero and personal lives. They are now all in the spot to mentor the next generation. In a way filling the role Charles Xavier had and hopefully, they learn from where Xavier went wrong.
There is also the teaser of one of the new mutants Endling, the last member of the mutant kind. This is something that could factor into the group that has taken over the Xavier mansion. Given the title of this direction being From The Ashes the Uncanny X-Men will have a lot of major things to deal with and Endling is likely at the top of the list.
MILES MORALES SPIDER-MAN COSTUME UPGRADE
Peter Parker isn’t the only one getting a new Spider-Man costume in November. Miles Morales will be joining his Spider-Man sibling with a new Vibranium-based suit from Black Panther. The design for Miles’ Vibranium suit gives the vibes of combining Spider-Man 2099 with the Iron Spider design. It certainly is a design that will look great when toys and statues of this version of Miles Morales are released.
The reason for the costume also makes sense. Not only is this a costume gifted by Black Panther but it is to help Miles with his vampire turn. That does show how quickly T’Challa and Miles have bonded that T’Challa would take even more steps to help the young Spider-Man.
Though with every costume change the question is how long Miles will rock this new Vibranium Spider-Man suit. Miles has had a lot of costume changes over the years. There is that question if we will see Miles go back to his classic look eventually or if the Vibranium costume will be permanent. Hopefully, it will be permanent as it is a cool design.
WHO IS THE NEW VENOM AFTER THE VENOM WAR
Al Ewing is not going to be wasting any time in making sure the aftermath of Venom War is as impactful as possible. That is because following that event we will see a new character as the Venom symbiote wearer. The person who will be the new Venom is still not known. That said, Marvel is teasing four characters as being the new Venom, they are: Robbie Robertson, Madame Masque, Rick Jones, and Luke Cage.
Based on the black and gold design for the new Venom the choices that immediately come to mind are Madame Masque and Luke Cage. Because of how obvious those two choices are that makes it feel that it will be Robbie Robertson as the new Venom. He is the only “normal” person of the four teased characters.
The other reason for Robbie Robertson feeling like he will be the new Venom is his connections as a long-time Spider-Man supporting character. In modern times Marvel has had most of Spider-Man’s supporting cast members become a hero or villain, even for a short time. In recent years Robbie has been featured even more as one of Peter Parker’s closest friends and sometimes roommate.
ELEKTRA NATCHIOS DEMONIC TURN
Saladin Ahmed has gone into delving into the supernatural with his Daredevil run. Now all of the supernatural storytelling appears to be leading to Matt Murdock losing the person he cares about most. The only hint that we get on who that person Matt will be is that they are not on the cover. That means it won’t be Matt or Wilson Fisk who falls to the demons of the underworld.
What we don’t know is if the spoiler of “They’re not on the cover” is if only goes for the main cover of Daredevil #15. The reason for that is that if the variant cover included in the solicitation also counts then it would take Elektra Natchios out of contention of the person Matt loses. However, it could be said that Elektra’s appearance on the variant cover has a menacing look that hints at her being the one who completely falls to the demon’s influence.
Elektra is the most obvious person for the teased person Matt is losing. She is the most prominent character other than Matt in Ahmed’s run. That said, we shouldn’t forget about Foggy Nelson. He was one of the people Matt saved with his sacrifice when battling to save everyone’s souls stuck in Hell. It would certainly make Matt reassess him focusing on his new life and not keeping up his previous friendships or connections.
SPIDER-GWEN FINDS HER BLACK CAT & VULTURE
It is a Spider-Man Family tradition that at least one love interest for a Spider-Man or Spider-Woman is an antagonist. Both Peter Parker and Miles Morales have had that with Black Cat and Tiana Toomes’ Vulture. Now Gwen Stacy is joining that trend as she both clashes and gets romantically interested in the new Black Tarantula.
Based on Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider #7’s solicitation this Black Tarantula will not be Carlos LaMuerto. Someone else will be wearing the Black Tarantula costume that will have greater ties to the NYC crime syndicate. The timing of this works well into how there is a power struggle going on in the criminal underworld. Wilson Fisk seems to have taken the Kingpin title from his failure of a son, Butch. But even with that, the criminal underworld is still in a state of chaos after the recent Gang War.
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