Things are always happening in Big Two comic books, particularly over in Marvel’s universe. (Well, universes, plural.) With spring barely started and the rest of the year not too far off on the horizon, it’s about that time to start revealing what’s in store for the heroes and villains of Marvel Comics for 2023 and at least the first few weeks of 2024. We’ve got you covered on the big stuff, some of which was revealed at either MegaCon in Orlando, FL or C2E2 over in Chicago during the weekend.
I’m a, I’m a Spider-Boy
It seems like every nanosecond, the Spider-Man corner of the Marvel universe spits out a new Spider-character to take their first swing into the world. Over in the pages of Dan Slott and Mark Bagley’s Spider-Man comic that started up back in October, the pair are going to introduce a new hero into the world: Spider-Boy.
Unlike Miles Morales or Gwen Stacy before him, Spider-Boy is said to be completely homegrown in the main Marvel universe. Per Slott, the character has “secret ties to dark corners of Spider-Man lore, and a story that’s all his own.” And apparently, he isn’t brand new; he’s supposedly someone who’s “been here all along and starred in some of the greatest stories in Spider-Man history!” So, presumably he’s Ben Reilly or a supporting player who hasn’t shown up in about a year? We’ll find out what Spider-Boy and his new powers are all about starting with next week’s Spider-Man #7.
Suns out, Symbiotes out
Symbiotes have a habit of causing trouble for pretty much everyone they come in contact with. Carnage is one of the most troublesome of them all, and in what’s been previously dubbed the “Summer of Symbiotes,” he’s looking to ruin everyone’s day again. As part of celebrating Venom’s 35th birthday, some books from the Spider-Man publishing line will be crossing over, spawning limited series, and just generally focused on the homicidal goo monsters from space.
Books included in this are the current ongoing books Venom and Carnage (naturally) and Red Goblin. They’ll be joined by the two limited series: the Liz Allan-headlined Cult of Carnage: Misery by Sabir Pirzada and Francesco Mortarino, and the Edge of Venomverse digital comic for Marvel Comics Infinity. Crossover-wise, Carnage Reigns will spread across Carnage, Red Goblin, and Miles Morales: Spider-Man.
Once that crossover wraps and the Carnage symbiote heads to space in Web of Carnage from Ram V and Francesco Manna, everything will be wrapped up in August’s Death of the Venomverse. The five-part miniseries series from Cullen Bunn and Gerardo Sandoval will see the Carnage symbiote go on a multiverse road trip to kill any and all Venoms it wants.
Have a nice trip, see you next Fall of X
On Saturday at MegaCon, Marvel Comics formally unveiled what’ll await the mutants in this year’s Fall of X, wherein things for mutantkind and Krakoa finally go up in flames. Things will begin in earnest in July with yet another Hellfire Gala one-shot. “Danger, conspiracy, and sacrifice threatens to shatter everything mutantkind accomplished on Krakoa,” reads Marvel’s official description. “Mutantkind has experienced unparalleled growth and prosperity on the island nation Krakoa — but can it really last forever?”
Previous Hellfire Gala issues have been used to rotate members in and out of the core X-Men book by Gerry Duggan and Pepe Larraz, and this upcoming one is no exception. Kate Pryde will leave the Marauders to join the main X-team beginning with August’s X-Men #25 from Duggan and Stefano Caselli, once again adopting her Shadowkat mantle, but with different spelling and a look meant to represent her previous ninja training.
Other returning X-books during this time include X-Men Red from Al Ewing and artists such as Caselli and Jacopo Camagni; Immortal X-Men from Kieron Gillen and Lucas Werneck; and Ben Percy’s Wolverine (drawn by Geoff Shaw) and X-Force (Bob Gill). There’s more newcomers this time, though, and many of them without creative teams attached: Children of the Vault, Realm of X, Astonishing Iceman, Alpha Flight, and Dark X-Men are all part of the event.
Rounding things out are a trio of non X-books: Invincible Iron Man by Duggan and Juan Frigeri, Immortal Spider-Man, and Uncanny Avengers by Duggan and Javier Garron are also going to play a part in the Fall of X.
Blade’s back to do what he does best
To close things out, we’ve saved the best news for last: Blade’s got a solo comic again. While the character’s spent the last few years as an Avenger, meeting his secret daughter Brielle, and getting caught up in other supernatural stories (like Marvel’s Midnight Suns), it’s been some time since he headlined an ongoing book.
Revealed just ahead of the weekend by Polygon, Bryan Edward Hill (Killmonger, Batman & the Outsiders) and Elena Casagrande (Wonder Woman: Trial of the Amazons) will begin a new run for the vampire hunter this summer. The book follows Blade as he’s called to deal with a “dark, ancient power” that he accidentally opened up in the first place. And it’s not like he’s got much of a choice, since if he doesn’t handle the problem, the entire supernatural underworld will kill him. As Hill told the outlet, Blade’s new book is “an opportunity to explore his history, reveal new aspects of his world and create a story that’s brutal, sexy, and bold as it travels into the world of monsters and magic.”
Blade #1 is hitting at just the right time. His solo movie is still expected to release in mid-2024 (at least, at time of writing), where he’ll be played by Mahershala Ali. Not only is it coming not long after his daughter’s book, Bloodline: Daughter of Blade by Danny Lore and Karen S. Darboe, it’s also following from the character’s appearance in the aforementioned Midnight Suns.