The creative minds at Marvel Comics may be orchestrating the greatest “What If?” story of all time? Is Marvel time twisting their comic book universe into a reboot of the entire line? When Marvel Now was announced fans speculated a major reboot was coming. Brian Michael Bendis teased that the finale of Age of Ultron is “unguessable.”
Could decades of history and continuity be burned away for a whole new beginning?
Let’s take a look at what’s happening and coming:
Kang The time traveling manipulator is the mastermind of Rick Remender’s latest Uncanny Avengers arc. Kang has seized the Apocalypse Twins and manipulate an 11th century battle between Apocalypse and Thor. Odin warned that the arrogant young Thunder God’s victory will have a price.
All-New X-Men Beast went back in time to bring the original five X-Men into the present. The best laid plan backfired and was powerfully written by Brian Michael Bendis. Young Jean Grey’s telepathic powers triggered earlier than it had in real Marvel history and she doesn’t have Professor Xavier to train her. Jean has assumed control of the teen X-Men and declared they will stay in the present – their future.
Age of Ultron Before I continue here’s a
SPOILER WARNING
IF YOU HAVE NOT READ AGE OF ULTRON #6 THEN STOP READING!
SERIOUSLY!
HERE IT COMES!
OK!
Ultron conquered the world and killed many of Marvel’s greatest heroes. The survivors learned Ultron was orchestrating this victory from the future. Captain America and a small squadron took the fight to the android by leaping into the future. Wolverine went renegade. Logan decided the only way to prevent Ultron’s victory was to stop Ultron from being created. The X-Man went into the past (with Susan Storm Richards) and killed Henry Pym.
Now imagine a world in which the Avengers never had to face Ultron, Vision was never created (or Jocasta) so Vision could never marry Scarlet Witch and you can use you imagination on how that chain of events (the twins, West Coast Avengers, House of M, No More Mutants) would have played out!
Infinity Jonathan Hickman’s Avengers and New Avengers have been building up to this year’s next big event: Infinity! The Infinity Gems (including the Time Gem) have been assembled by the new Illuminati to protect Earth from colliding universes. Hickman has resurrected elements of the New Universe line (Starbrand, Nightmask) and introduced new versions of cosmic level heroes (Captain Universe, Hyperion, Smasher) as new members of the Avengers team. It’s all in preparation for a Marvel Universe vs. Thanos showdown! Thanos wiped out half the Marvel Universe (in Jim Starlin’s classic The Infinity Gauntlet) the last time the Mad God of Titan had the gems. Marvel’s Free Comic Book Day offering this May gives us a first look at the big story premiering this August.
All this time travel has to have an impact on the timestream. Paging Doctor Who! Could all these time travel storylines across all the major books signal the end of the Marvel Universe and a rebirth? Time will tell.
By Editor