Here we go with more of our 16 comic book characters to watch in 2016. Let’s begin part two with an “all the hail the King!”
Black Panther
After playing a central role as King of the Dead and The Illuminati in Jonathan Hickman’s New Avengers/Secret Wars epic, T’Challa returns to his Wakanda in a brand new series and officially joins the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
T’Challa and Namor are leading an assault on Doctor Doom in Secret Wars #9 finale in January and T’Challa is now a member of the new Ultimates.
Acclaimed writer Ta-Nehesi Coates and artist Brian Stelfreeze launch a brand new Black Panther ongoing book in 2016. In the yearlong arc, T’Challa must cope with an uprising in Wakanda by a superhuman terrorist group.
Chadwick Boseman plays the hero in Captain America: Civil War fighting on Tony Stark’s side but will he stay on the pro-government side as Black Panther stalks closer to his own solo movie.
Madame Masque
Whitney Frost is leading Tony Stark and Doctor Doom on a mad chase around the globe for supernatural artifacts in the new Invincible Iron Man.
Brian Michael Bendis brought the mobster’s daughter turned masked terrorist to greatness during his New Avengers run.
Now Masque is part of his long game with two Iron Man books as part of the All-New, All-Different Marvel Now.
A very different take of the villain will turn up next year in the second season of Agent Carter. Peggy and Jarvis go to Hollywood and face an evil collection of adversaries including a 1950’s version of the infamous Madame Masque.
Faith
The fan-favorite, boundary-breaking Zephyr from Harbinger soars in her own Valiant series next year.
Faith Herbert is a member of the team known as the Harbinger Renegades. Faith is a “psiot” discovered by the Harbinger Foundation.
This once ordinary teenager turned aspiring superhero will move to the City of Angels to patrol the skies over Los Angeles, unaware an alien invasion is on the way.
This teen will star her first-ever solo adventure from writerJody Houser (Orphan Black) and artists Francis Portela (Green Lantern) and Marguerite Sauvage (DC Comics Bombshells).
Hawkman/Hawkgirl
We can count these two are one, ok?
Carter and Kendra made their CW debut in The Flash/Arrow crossover that introduced the ancient lovers cursed to reincarnate over the centuries and the immortal evil known as Vandal Savage.
Carter and Kendra will part of the team Rip Hunter assembles in Legends of Tomorrow, the next series in the DC/CW universe. Ciara Renee and Falk Hentschel play the passionate warrior/lovers in the upcoming show.
The reincarnating lovers get a ton of screen trailer time including an intense brawl. See the trailer again here.
Isn’t it time the Hawks soar together again in their own comic book? Kendra has been part of The New 52 cast of Earth 2 while Carter Hall’s solo book was grounded. The success of Legends could mean the two winged warriors are united in one timeline and in their own new ongoing seres.
Lucifer
The iconic Vertigo Comics character is having a devil of a time in comic shops and soon television. He was created by Neil Gaiman in the Sandman series but later starred in his own long-running series by Mike Carey.
In the new Vertigo series by Holly Black and Lee Garbett, Lucifer and Gabriel are teaming up for a supernatural whodunit trying to prove the Devil didn’t commit the ultimate kill.
In the upcoming Lucifer television series on Fox, Lucifer Morningstar (Tom Ellis) gives up his throne in Hell to open up a nightclub and solve mysteries in the City of Angels.
Bloodshot
Valiant’s cyborg killer turned anti-hero becomes The Analog Man in 2016. Bloodshot Reborn writer Jeff Lemire and Lewis Larosa take readers into a post-apocalyptic future in which Bloodshot has become The Analog Man, where he’s the only hope for his lover and a small community against a marauding army.
30 years into the future of the Valiant Universe Bloodshoot is a new man with new mission that sends him gunning for Ninjak.
Bloodshot stars in his first annual as for a thrill ride tour of the killing machine’s past, present and future also by Lemire with an all-star roster of artists.
Aliens
Not a who but what! 2016 is the 30th Anniversary of Aliens.
Dark Horse launches a brand new series Aliens: Defiance by Brian Wood and Tristan Jones. A preview of the book starring Hollywood’s most vicious xenomorphs will be in Dark Horse’s Free Comic Book Day issue this year.
Alien: Covenant will be Ridley Scott’s follow-up to Prometheus. The film won’t arrive until 2017 but expect near year to be one of anticipation, speculation and excitement that runs parallel with Dark Horse’s reborn Alien/Predator/AvP/Prometheus comics line.
Professor Charles Xavier
There’s no official word and maybe this is fan speculation but clues in Extraordinary X-Men sure make it seems like Professor Xavier may not be as dead as we thought.
Team leader Storm keeps getting visions of inspiration and direct encouragement from the fallen mentor who was killed by Cyclops in Avengers vs. X-Men.
On the big screen James McAvoy finally evolves into the iconic image of the Professor (as in bald!) and the final shot of the X-Men: Apocalypse trailer could have popped right off the pages of a Chris Claremont/John Byrne issue back in the day.
Plus, one more bonus character from the X-verse:
Bailey Hoskins! Who? Why he’s the worst X-Man ever. Bailey will debut in his own limited series. This is a tale not set in continuity. You never know when a new mutant will boom or bust when it comes to popularity. Will Bailey be the next Gambit or Maggot?
Here’s part one of our list. Which comic book character, new book or movie coming in 2016 are you most excited about?
Thanks for reading and supporting us this year.
By Editor