The Illuminati are back in 2013 as part of the new era for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Jonathan Hickman will be writing a new Avengers and New Avengers – featuring a new version of the Illuminati.
This secret cabal working behind the scenes will be Black Panther, Iron Man, Mister Fantastic, Doctor Strange and Beast. Black Bolt will return and Namor will be involved.
In Marvel’s recently announced January solicitations we learn why this secret group convenes: to prevent our universe from colliding with another universe. And we learned Black Panther will lead this new supergroup.
Black Panther’s homeland was devastated by Namor’s invasion during Avengers vs. X-Men. Hickman says T’Challa’s home will be the focus on the new series. In the original Illuminati stories Black Panther refused to join the inner circle but he will need them in the Marvel now Hickman revealed on Marvel.com.
“The catalyst is an event in Wakanda with Black Panther, the only man who told the original Illuminati it was a mistake. Something occurs so earth-shattering he sees no other course of action than to call on them,” Hickman teases, “This event is so huge than even the people in the Illuminati who do not currently like each other are forced to put differences aside.”
New Avengers courtesy Marvel
I’m thrilled to see T’Challa as a central character in the Marvel Now. He’s a single man now. He’s the leader of a broken country and now leader of the biggest brains in the Marvel universe.
“Black Panther is the lynchpin character of New Avengers. The central character. He’s very important to the Avengers franchise as a whole,” Editor Tom Brevoort explained.
“Black Panther is certainly the moral center of New Avengers,” adds Hickman.
A new era for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes begins this December. New writer Jonathan Hickman and Editor Tom Brevoort revealed the future of the Avengers in today’s Next Big Thing on Marvel.com.
Avengers #1 kicks off a 3-part Avengers World story establishing the team’s mission statement with Jerome Opena on art.
“We will see the back story of how Iron Man and Captain America have been quietly building a contingency plan for the day that comes in issue #1,” Hickman teases of the huge event that requires a bigger team that will reflect our modern world.
“One of the first things we all agreed on is that the roster should look more like the world. So far we’ve seen the biggest and most iconic characters, but as we reach issues #7 and #8, we’ll see more new characters and characters we’re reviving or recreating. Eventually there will be 24 characters. 12 will be either female or minority characters,” said Hickman of the growing roster.
Hickman will be writing a new New Avengers – a new version of the Illuminati. This new secret cabal working behind the scenes will be Captain America, Iron Man, Doctor Strange and Beast. Black Bolt will return and Namor will be involved.
“It’s about the guys who quietly, secretly run the world. It’s thematically much different than Avengers. The plan I’ve worked out is that the Avengers are the utopian Avengers, the ideal ones we want, whereas the New Avengers are real world, they live in the dark, apocalyptic world as it is,” revealed Hickman.
“The books will work in tandem. You don’t have to read both, but they are two sides of the same coin. Two different stories,” he added.
Wakanda was devastated by Namor’s invasion during Avengers vs. X-Men. Hickman says T’Challa’s home will be rocked again. In the original Illuminati stories Black Panther refused to join the inner circle but he will need them in the Marvel now.
New Avengers #1 courtesy Marvel
“The catalyst is an event in Wakanda with Black Panther, the only man who told the original Illuminati it was a mistake. Something occurs so earth-shattering he sees no other course of action than to call on them,” Hickman teases, “This event is so huge than even the people in the Illuminati who do not currently like each other are forced to put differences aside.”
Hickman recently sent the Fantastic Four to Wakanda. It looks like Hickman was planting the seeds for his upcoming Avengers run.
“Going into Fantastic Four, Jonathan hadn’t even wrapped up Secret Warriors. Going into this, people know from FF what a big thinker Jonathan is and how he plays the long game. It’s an even bigger canvas here,” explains Tom Brevoort.
“My Avengers pitch probably could have gotten approved as is on its own, but if I hadn’t done FF, I don’t think there’s any way my New Avengers would have gotten approved. I think it’s gonna be a sleeper hit. It’s so cool. I’m so jacked that I get to write it,” revealed Hickman.
Some of the most surprising and exciting additions to the new team are New Mutants Sam Guthrie and Roberto Da Costa.
“You’ll get an issue where Cannonball and Sunspot get to spend time with Captain America,” Hickman revealed, “I’ve always really liked them. I wish it was more complicated than that. I pitched a Bobby and Sam in Mojoworld book, and somehow it got made.”
One reason I love Sam and Bobby getting this “promotion” is that they never got to rise up to true X-Men status.
“Cannonball and Sunspot are at least chronologically younger characters. It’s always good to have those types of figures in Avengers to bring a fresh viewpoint. That said, they’re also established Marvel characters,” Brevoort said, “When Brian Bendis brought Luke Cage and Spider-Woman into the Avengers, they weren’t the most popular characters, but they had legitimacy. I think it will be the same thing with Cannonball and Sunspot.”
“When we get to 24 characters, their will be several subgroups of characters, and one tier will be a group of younger, more idealistic people like Cannonball and Sunspot,” Hickman explained.
New Avengers courtesy Marvel
Hickman confirmed the logo with the Avengers A and the Omega symbol is the logo for the New Avengers.
“Avengers is the day book and New Avengers is night. Avengers is how we want the world to be, New Avengers is how it is. One book is about life, one is about death. The logos reflect all this,” he said.
The new era begins in the aftermath of AvX, bad blood and old rivalries between some heroes.
“I don’t think people will be surprised to learn that even as these guys go about their job, some will grow to hate one another,” Hickman explained, “This is not a cheery happy story. This is the ‘Death Avengers.'”
I’m thrilled to see T’Challa as a central character in the Marvel Now. He’s a single man now. He’s the leader of a broken country.
“Black Panther is the lynchpin character of New Avengers. The central character. He’s very important to the Avengers franchise as a whole,” Brevoort explained.
“Black Panther is certainly the moral center of New Avengers,” adds Hickman.
Hickman explained the leadership hierarchy of this new Avengers.
“Cap is in charge, of course, and he has two vice-captains in Captain Marvel and Iron Man. For bigger stuff, it splits into three teams. There are other factions within that, but generally, that’s the command structure. In New Avengers, they all think they’re in charge and none of them are,” explains Hickman.
Hickman confirmed Avengers will start with the 3 big arcs then 3 stand-alone stories and he’s creating new villains. Mr. Fantastic and Beast will be on New Avengers. Hyperion will be part of the team. Eden Fesi of Secret Warriors will be in the Avengers.
Avengers #1 and #2 arrive this December. New Avengers #1 and #2 arrive in January.
Jonathan Hickman is leaving Marvel’s First Family for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. The Marvel NOW! relaunch will see a new Avengers series premiering this December and a New Avengers title in January by Hickman. The visionary creator (Fantastic Four, SHIELD, Manhattan Projects) is revealing his new vision for the team in the aftermath of Avengers vs. X-Men and an 8 year run by Brian Michael Bendis.
Hickman tells Marvel.com how the Avengers came his way.
“I did not actively go after it. There was a retreat where we were trying to figure out what was going to happen after Avengers Vs.X-Men. This is before we really got into writing AvX. One of the things that we talked about was changing creative teams across the board, and that, later on, turned into something that we decided to do. I was one of the ones that popped up and said “Well that’s fine. Whatever we need to do. Whatever we think is going to work, whatever we think is going to be exciting, whatever is going to be new and fresh.” You know, we all need new experiences. So I volunteered to quit FANTASTIC FOUR on the spot. I said, “You know, I’ll go first. Whatever. I’ll quit FANTASTIC FOUR and I’ll go write Squadron Supreme or something, right?” And I don’t think I got the ball rolling or anything like that, but it certainly let everybody know that I was more than happy to jump around and try new things.
courtesy Marvel.com
Then when it came time to do roster shake ups, I didn’t solicit for any gig. I think they just sort of started talking about it around the office. And we had done the ULTIMATE COMICS ULTIMATES launch, and even though that launch did not go as well as we wanted because of the New 52 kind of swallowing it over at DC, everybody thought I did a pretty good job. And I thought it was pretty solid. It showed that I can do work with what is essentially an Avengers team and I started getting phone calls about it.
But at the same time, I’m pretty sure that [Avengers editor Tom] Brevoort was on vacation when all of this kind of came to a head. So when Brevoort got back from vacation one of the first conversations I had to have was “You know, some of the management types, some of the brass are talking about me doing this and it’s your book, Tom, I’m not interested in doing it if you don’t want me on there.” And Tom said, “I’m the Avengers guy. I’m the one who’s going to have the final say-so.” I replied, “I love working with you and all that kind of stuff, but let me know and if you don’t want me on the book, obviously I’m not interested in doing it if you don’t want to do that but I would love to do anything with you again.” And anyway, it all worked out. We talked about what we wanted the book to be and I was asked to take the job and once I had Tom’s blessing I said yes. And then we got into what the book was going to be. That’s really convoluted, but that’s kind of what happened.”
Fantastic Four’s theme was family. The Avengers themes are bigger and more ominous.
“Yeah, very much so. AVENGERS and NEW AVENGERS are really just two sides of the same book, of the same story. Thematically, they’re aligned too. AVENGERS is about life and NEW AVENGERS is about death. That’s what the two books are. It’s a big book. In the AVENGERS, we tackle the biggest things.”
Hickman confirmed his Avengers will start with 18 members. Jerome Opena (Uncanny X-Force) will be the artist on Avengers. Steve Epting will be the artist on New Avengers.
For his entire interview here’s the Marvel.com link.
Marvel’s The Avengers! The world’s biggest movie. The biggest comic franchise. No pressure Jonathan Hickman. The man who reenergized Marvel’s First Family is taking on Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in the post AvX, Marvel NOW! universe. The Avengers with Jerome Opena will be a twice-monthy book launching in December followed by New Avengers the next month. Hickman tells Comic Book Resources why he’s expanding the roster.
“The idea is that the Avengers have to get bigger. That means bigger in every sense. That means the roster has to be bigger, and the missions have to be bigger, and the adversaries and scenarios they find themselves in have to be larger. I’ve played with this stuff a little bit over in the Ultimate Universe. Obviously, it’s a completely different weight class here, but in a lot of ways that’s the kind of velocity that the book should have. We (Tom Brevoort and I) also felt like that if the book was going to be about an Avengers world, it should look more like the world. Of course there are complications starting out when the necessary movie characters are five white dudes and a white lady, but, you know, bigger roster. Frankly, I’m really, really excited at how we address that. The lineup is killer.”
With a massive cast of up to 18 members in Avengers why have a New Avengers? Hickman can’t reveal that book’s lineup but says it will make sense.
“It’s not like that at all. There’s one big massive Avengers team that is the Avengers, and there’s this other thing that’s going on in ‘New Avengers.’ When we announce exactly what ‘New Avengers’ is, it will make perfect sense and everybody will like, ‘Oh yeah! Of course,'” Hickman explains. “‘Avengers‘ and ‘New Avengers’ are the same book — just from two different sides of the world.”
Hickman’s acclaimed Fantastic Four run is coming to an end. I also recommend his SHIELD series with Dustin Weaver and Manhattan Projects from Image – but warning, this book has graphic violence and language.
I love the Black Panther! I want Idris Elba to play T’Challa on the big screen. The Panther’s solo series (actually he had taken over for Daredevil) is over but the African monarch will appear in the famous book in which he was born. Black Panther debuted in Fantastic Four #52. Since then T’Challa has been an Avenger, a member of the FF, become King of Wakanda, married Storm of the X-Men, lost his throne and now returns to Fantastic Four #606 on May 23rd.
Jonathan Hickman tells Marvel.com about the reunion.
“In the recent past the Panther’s lost his throne and the country has seemingly lost its priceless resource [of Vibranium],” notes writer Jonathan Hickman. “Which is one of the reasons Reed Richards thinks he’s there [in Wakanda].
“Reed and the rest of the FF will get the appropriate reception that a life-long friend, intellectual peer and habitual heroes would receive.”
Mike Choi – one of my favorite artists – provided this regal cover.
For the entire interview here’s the Marvel.com link.
Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, C.B. Cebulski at Emerald City Comicon, ComicsBlend.com
The most anticipated panel for me at Emerald City Comicon was Marvel AvX featuring Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction, two of the writers on the epic series, and C.B. Cebulski were in Seattle’s big event just days before #1 launched.
Here are highlights:
Will Hulk and the Juggernaut fight? (I’m assuming the fan meant Colossus)
“Yes in issue #5,” responded Fraction.
Brubaker said that issues one through five, which he called “AvX‘s’ first act,” would normally be considered an entire event by most readers, and the remaining issues would be two years’ worth of stories for most publishers. Fraction added that issue five is so big, it feels like an ending, but it’s not — “There’s seven more issues after that.”
Avengers Vs X-Men #2 courtesy Marvel
Fraction followed up, “In issue #6, (Jonathan)Hickman has written Colossus as you’ve never seen him before.” (This will affect Peter and Kitty – see this previous post.)
The next fan asked Fraction if he had been planting seeds for AvX as far back as his Uncanny X-Men run, as there appears to be a connection between the them. Fraction said the connection was intentional. During an editorial retreat many years ago, when they talked about Second Coming, those attending decided it was a good idea for characters with Phoenix fragments to lose them in that time. He noted that when he was writing his earliest Uncanny stories where he has the Phoenix come to Emma and say, “Get ready,” he knew it would make him look like a “genius” in a few years.
“Who came up with Hope?” Brubaker said he believes it was Joe [Quesada], but no one on the dais could say for certain. They explained that the way ideas are batted around at editorial retreats, everything feels shared. Brubaker did say he distinctly remembered Joe talking about a scene that was to take place at the end of Second Coming where Emma was going to be holding the baby and realize it was Jean, but they didn’t end up using that or going in that direction. Fraction said that Axel [Alonso] was a big proponent of that idea. Brubaker mentioned how he recalled the inception of AvX taking place five to six years ago with Jeph [Loeb] and Axel pushing for the idea.
Will the Young Avengers appear?
“The Young Avengers are there, but not necessarily as the ‘Young Avengers,'”
“Young Avengers fans will be happy in the coming months,” Cebulski added. (Insert my personal joy here!)
The Manhattan Projects #1 is the book of the week for me. Jonathan Hickman (Fantastic Four, SHIELD, Ultimates) creates a tale of alternate history and true science fiction. He’s a mad scientist executing his experiment like a cold assassin.
The premiere issue explores good and evil as a scientific genius is recruited to the top-secret Manhattan Projects. The atomic bomb is nothing compared to what’s being birthed in this eerie think tank.
Nick Pitarra’s exaggerated style is perfect for Hickman’s high concept horror show. The art reminds me of Frank Quitely but grittier. Every panel works building the action and tension.
The Manhattan Projects is a high concept with a razor-sharp focus on Dr. Oppenheimer. The mind bending new world gets even weirder with a dark twist. I’m excited to see where this alternative history and mystery leads.
Ultimate Comics Ultimates writer Jonathan Hickman and incoming co-writer Sam Humphries. The mighty Marvel tradition of passing the baton continues with issue 10 this May.
“I wanted to work with somebody who has a fresh voice and who is clearly talented. I’m ecstatic to be working with Sam, he’s got some real game,” Hickman said on Marvel.com.
“When Hickman hits a book, he comes in with big plans. He’s a big picture thinker. At the end of issue #9, everything gets thrown off a cliff–figuratively. Something happens that nobody in the Ultimate Universe can walk away from. Everything changes for all the characters and how they relate to each other. S.H.I.E.L.D., the City of Tomorrow and other major institutions get shaken up,” Humphries said.
“I never planned on leaving Ultimates. I took the Ultimate Thor gig with the understanding I’d be getting Ultimates. When I came to Marvel, Ultimates was the book I wanted more than any other. But…I got a job offer I couldn’t refuse, so I’m taking it,” Hickman said.
Artist Luke Ross will join Hickman and Humphries on the arc. For today’s entire session here’s the Next Big Thing link on Marvel.com.
If you haven’t checked out Hickman’s SHIELD you should definitely get the trades – excellent storytelling.
