Things are getting new and different in the Marvel Universe this fall and comic fans got to hear all about it at Comic-Con this year. The aptly titled All-New All-Different Avengers panel covered all the big changes and shake ups hitting everyone’s favorite superheroes. Josh Williamson, Marguerite Bennet, Mark Waid, Nick Spencer, Tom Brevoort, Will Moss, and Sana Amanat were on hand to answer questions and discuss some of the new series.

The Totally Awesome Hulk by Greg Pak and Frank Cho was first up, with Will Moss saying, “It’s an all-new Hulk for an all-new Marvel universe.” He noted that it was still a mystery as to who exactly this new Hulk is. Thus far, all the artwork revealed for the series features the character’s face blacked out, which would lead us to believe it is someone recognizable and not an entirely new character. Amanat laughed and said she thought the title of the series was a joke. “You guys really named it that?!” she said to audience applause.

Doctor Strange by Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo was up next. The images we have seen so far feature the good doctor armed with a huge battle axe.  “It’s a slightly different take then you’ve seen on Strange in a while,” Moss said. Amant was quick to compare the series to Aaron’s recent run on the acclaimed Thor: God of Thunder. She pointed out that the series was aiming to literally show us how Strange sees the world. “We have developed something called Strange Vision.” She said that the series would focus on Doctor Strange every day and revolve around the people who knock on his door and ask for help.

The conversation then moved to Captain Marvel which will be relaunching with a new writing team. “I’m so excited for this,” Amanat said. She said Marvel reached out to the showrunners of the television show Agent Carter to see if they’d be interested in writing a comic and Captain Marvel seemed like a perfect fit. The series will see Carol Danvers working as Earth’s first line of defense. She is in a leadership position now and has a crew that will slowly be revealed as it gets closer to the title’s launch date. “This is Carol back in military mode,” Amanat said. The series will focus on Carol struggling with leading a team and having a desk job that involves lots of bureaucracy. “It’s going to be a really big year for Captain Marvel,” Amanat noted.

Daredevil by Charles Soule and Ron Garney took center stage next, which lead to a huge cheer from the audience. “That’s a good choice,” Waid said of the creative team, which is high praise indeed. Amanat said that following Waid and Samnee’s run will be a very difficult act to follow, but fans could look forward to “a new take on Daredevil.”  She promised that the new series pays respect to what came before, but brings Matt Murdock back to his roots and back to NYC. The new series will look darker, have that noir edge, and feature a new sidekick character.

After breezing through a few other covers, the panel jumped into All-New All-Different Avengers. “This is the big leagues,” Waid said. Brevoort chimed in to promise that everything about the team dynamic has changed and that the title would be very different from what we have seen before. Waid then said he was most excited about drawing from the fact that most of these characters have not interacted with each other much, unlike the years of history associated with some of the previous lineups. He said that All-New All-Different Avengers would be focusing on the character moments, although there would still be plenty of the bombastic and earth shattering action.

Brevoort said the goal was to “build an Avengers book that is more like the Claremont/Byrne Uncanny X-Men.” Waid’s goal was to strip it down, take away the team’s budget and make the team more streamlined. “They don’t have that Stark money anymore,” Waid said. Ultimately, he wants the show how the team functions with fewer resources. “They aren’t poor, just slightly less privileged,” he laughed. Finically they have to keep things close to the vest, but they aren’t going to be taking the bus to supervillain fights or anything.

The Sam Wilson, Captain America by Nick Spencer and Daniel Acuna was up next. “He’s an everyman. He’s a likeable guy,” Spencer said of Sam. He then told the audience that Sam was from a very different generation than Steve Rogers, which set the stage for very different stories. “His priorities are different and he sees things than differently than Steve,” Spencer said. He also promised that the series would have a strong sense of humor, noting that fans of his Ant-Man and Superior Foes of Spider-Man would find lots to enjoy in this new Captain America title.

Invincible Iron Man from Brian Michael Bendis and David Marquez is going to be the series to beat, according to Brevoort. In Brevoort’s eyes, Iron Man is the character people most associate with Marvel. “People always want to argue with me on this one and say Spider-Man, but nowadays it’s Iron Man.” The new series would be delivering the highest quality Iron Man book possible, which is evident from Marvel placing their top writer on the series. “We spared no expense,” Brevoort laughed. He said the series would feature a new suit, new supporting cast, and a new armor.

“We are publishing two very different Hawkeye books at the same time,” Amanat said when the cover for Hawkeye #1  appeared on the screen, obviously in reference to the still unfinished run from Matt Fraction and David Aja. The series is being handled by Jeff Lemire and Ramon Perez and will be “tougher and darker than Fraction and Aja’s run,” according to Amanat. The new series would feature an old man Hawkeye, plus plenty of flashforwards and flashbacks. “It’s the story of what happens when the Hawkeyes fall apart,” Amanat said, pointing out that Kate Bishop is just as much a Hawkeye as Clint Barton.

Mighty Thor is returning with its creative team of Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman still onboard. Moss said that the series would explore Jane Foster as a character and her struggles with fitting into the role of Thor. She’ll also have to deal with a brewing Asgardian civil war.

The Ultimates are also returning, but only in name. This new series is set in the standard Marvel Universe, but tonally will have that big, bombastic feeling The Ultimates was known for. Al Ewing and Kenneth Rocafort are onboard as the creative team and are drawing for the look and feel of Bryan Hitch’s original run. There is no set leader, just lots strong characters with stubborn personalities. The panel noted that their first big challenge would be dealing with Galactus.

Josh Williamson then discussed his new series, Illuminati. “I’ve always liked writing bad guys and villians,” he said. The series is essentially about bad guys trying to organize and be able to work together and be their “best bad selves.”  Williams promised that if you like villains who are just trying to make a buck when the skies are filled with superheroes, you like this series.

Marguerite Bennett ‘s Angela: Queen of Hel is also launching this fall. “It’s about war, and love and hell,” Bennet said. She said readers can expect a personal story that is very dark. “It’s about carving out parts of yourself and dealing with what is left,” she said.

The final title on the panel was Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D., which is a book that features a team of Marvel monsters lead by Dum Dum Duggan. It’s a special ops type team that deals with the darker corners of the Marvel Universe. The creative team of Frank Barbiere and Brent Schoonover are making the series into a big, crazy adventure comic. “It’s about monsters with machine guns and grenades,” Brevoort laughed.

—

Which title are you most excited for? Let us know in the comments below.