Yesterday, the internet exploded in a torrent of shock, surprise, occasional bursts of hope, and frothing bits of fan-fueled rage when Marvel Comics announced that both the classic Earth-616 Marvel Universe and the Ultimate Universe would come to an end this May as a part of Secret Wars.
The announcement came yesterday during a press conference at Midtown Comics. While rebooting a comic book universe isn’t an uncommon occurrence — DC Comics has done it twice in the last thirty years, and will do it again this year in Convergence — it is definitely new ground for Marvel. And just in case there was any doubt, executive editor Tom Brevoort said, “The Marvel Universe as you know it is done. The Ultimate Universe as you know it is done.”
Editor-in-chief Axel Alonso also chimed in, saying, “This is putting an end cap on decades of stories. This is a place where we’ll be putting new pieces on the board and taking old pieces off.” ‘Nuff said.
For those of you who don’t know, Secret Wars is an eight-issue event series launching this May that finds a mysterious entity transporting various characters from across the Marvel multiverse to a strange place known as Battleworld. The series hearkens back to a 1984 mini-series of the same name that brought heroes and villains together for the first of many epic Marvel Comics crossovers, and also gave Spider-Man his iconic black symbiote suit. Here’s hoping that this version will live up to its predecessor.
Sound like a lot to take in? It is. On today’s Nerdist News, Jessica Chobot breaks down Marvel’s bombshell of an announcement in detail, then delves into what all of this could mean for the Marvel Cinematic Universe going forward. That’s right — those rumors about Spider-Man swinging his way into Avengers: Infinity War might not be so far-fetched after all. And you’ll want to pay special attention to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. now that the Inhumans are in play. But don’t take my word for it — let Jessica explain it all to you.
We’ve got some more goodies for you, though, but they’re for after you’ve watched the episode…
As we mentioned, here is the complete list of Marvel’s True Believers line. These books will release in April, which will in turn pave the way for the universe-shattering insanity to come in the eight-issue Secret Wars series in May. Chances are they may even spell out who we could possibly see emerging from the rubble in the aftermath of the slugfest on Battleworld:
TRUE BELIEVERS: INFINITY GAUNTLET #1
Reprinting material from INFINITY GAUNTLET #1.
32 PGS./Rated T …$1.00 MSRP
TRUE BELIEVERS: MARVEL ZOMBIES #1
Reprinting MARVEL ZOMBIES #1.
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$1.00 MSRP
TRUE BELIEVERS: AGE OF APOCALYPSE #1
Reprinting material from X-MEN ALPHA.
32 PGS./Rated T …$1.00 MSRP
TRUE BELIEVERS: CIVIL WAR #1
Reprinting material from CIVIL WAR #1.
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$1.00 MSRP
TRUE BELIEVERS: PLANET HULK #1
Reprinting INCREDIBLE HULK (2000) #92.
32 PGS./Rated T …$1.00 MSRP
TRUE BELIEVERS: HOUSE OF M #1
Reprinting HOUSE OF M #1.
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$1.00 MSRP
TRUE BELIEVERS: OLD MAN LOGAN #1
Reprinting WOLVERINE (2003) #66.
32 PGS./Parental Advisory …$1.00 MSRP
TRUE BELIEVERS: ARMOR WARS #1
Reprinting material from IRON MAN (1968) #225.
32 PGS./Rated T …$1.00 MSRP
TRUE BELIEVERS: MILES MORALES #1
Reprinting ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN (2011) #1.
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$1.00 MSRP
TRUE BELIEVERS: AGE OF ULTRON #1
Reprinting AGE OF ULTRON #1.
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$1.00 MSRP
POWERS FIRSTS #1
Reprinting POWERS #1.
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$1.00 MSRP
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And here is a gallery of Marvel’s mysterious teasers which lead up to the announcement of Secret Wars.
Each cover represents a time period or reality that will be represented on Battleworld. According to this map, each storyline has a slice of land, a territory to call its own. Who will win? Who will die? When will we see the action figures? Only time will tell.
Now that’s a tasty slice of cartography for you, eh?
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Thanks for watching today’s show. Let us know what you think this means for the Marvel Cinematic Universe — and if you’d like to see Miles Morales in the MCU — in the comments below.
Be sure to check out the future of fighting games (RIP Marvel vs. Capcom) on a brand new episode of Nerdist: Play, and keep your eyeballs fixed on Nerdist.com for even more Nerdist News!
I’m all for racial diversity, particularly in the world of comics where it’s been extremely lacking for the longest of time.
However, having said that, Peter Parker is an inconic personality that so many of us grew up with. For many of us he is a favorite character that we’ve grown to love and is a staple of the Marvel Universe. IMHO, THERE IS NO MARVEL UNIVERSE WITHOUT PETER PARKER IN IT!!!
I’ve long been on the fence as to which is better, DC or Marvel. Doing away with Peter Parker would certainly be the push needed to forever put me solely on the DC side of things!
Don’t even think about it Marvel! Or, you can kiss this fan goodbye!
…And while your at it, leave Thor alone as well!
I’m all for racial diversity, particularly in the world of comics where’s it been extremely lacking for the longest of time.
However, having said that, Peter Parker is an inconic personality that so many of us grew up with. For many of us he is a favorite character that we’ve grown to love and is a staple of the Marvel Universe. IMHO, THERE IS NO MARVEL UNIVERSE WITHOUT PETER PARKER IN IT!!!
I’ve long been on the fence as to which is better, DC or Marvel. Doing away with Peter Parker would certainly be the push needed to forever put me solely on the DC side of things!
Don’t even think about it Marvel! Or, you can kiss this fan goodbye!
Damn, Bowie references get me hard.
Only if the FEMALE Thor goes away!
Thor? I hope he stays relevant forever.
If Spidey comes to MCU it needs to be Peter Parker.
Good.
No Peter Parker, no Spider-man. Sorry, Miles.. you’re a great kid and everything.
That was a great “Labyrinth” sign off!
I’ve always thought that the biggest problems that Marvel and DC have is caring about continuity. I think giving writersw the freedom to tell good stories is the most important thing. I guess what I really like to see is a big event that puts an end to big events. One of the biggest reasons I don’t buy many mainstream comics these days is that every plot line gets interfered with every couple of issues with some cross-over event.
Face front, True Believers!
…because money doesn’t talk, it swears.
No Kitty pryde, Deadpool, etc..? ehh bad move. This might be a complete wreck alike new 52. Probably going to be fine for most of the younger generations however for we who collect older comics, this will be killing off what we adore. Perhaps coming up with completely new characters & paying homage to characters like Rachel Summers (Phoenix / Marvel girl) & making past xmen personas as Inhumans in the future would be the only move that may not totally destroy the older aged fanbase. Sorry about th legal hell Marvel, now would you be so kind to publicly apologize for the destruction Of MCU as we know it & perhaps create a Marvel based Fansite where collective Marvel Fan consensus is regarded as a respected role in the Universe?
yeah this is all great unless your a deadpool cyclops kitty pryde or ff4 reading fan. argh! give it all back to marvel, end this!
spoiler alert???? namor??? i hate you brown haired girl. i hate you.
I feel like jessica doesnt realize that everything she is saying is horrible and nightmarish news.
I am all for this as I thought things went sour in Marvel Comics about ten or fifteen years ago and it drove me away from reading anymore. One thing I would love to see though is for them to stop using the obviously computerized coloring system that looks like someone used Photoshop to fill in the artwork with color. Some of the art is really good and it is ruined by this cheap coloring process. I know they want to save money by cutting costs but I would hope they still think a quality product is important too. Putting new books side by side with old process books makes the new ones look cheap and too slick. No comparison. So bring in a new universe, start from scratch, but put some effort into make the books worth looking at again while you are at it, Marvel. I would consider becoming a collector again.
So tired of Marvel force feeding us Miles Morales. OK Bendis you love him , that doesn’t mean everyone does. Sales will speak in volumes of silence if they put Miles over Peter.
Morales Is great and all, but Peter is beloved! You can’t replace the original!
It’s all just a really elaborate way to bring back Wolverine.
Wait, where are we getting the it’s clear Miles is replacing Peter Parker stuff from? I haven’t seen this anywhere else, in fact, just about everywhere else is reporting that Marvel is teasing Miles’ death. Personally I’m guessing Miles is one of the few, if not only, Ultimate characters to survive but I don’t think there is any way he’s replacing Peter, especially so soon after Peter returned after Superior Spider-man.
please miles no!!! peter forever!!! Stan would have said the same. no one can end with him!!!
Please don’t say that means we’ll be stuck with the stupid lady Thor storyline *sigh*
I think she’s all right kinda haha but she clearly doesn’t keep the hammer long in order for thor to become King thor this had to happen the all mother hired LOKI to do so xP in Jason Aaron I trust xD
Miles Morales being the face of Spider Man….. hollly crap my brain just exploded. if that’s true I can’t wait
lol I think I’m the only one that’s a fan of Miles…..
nah you aren’t plenty people like him
I’m totally up for Miles Morales becoming the new Spider-man, especially if Sony is just unwilling to share Peter Parker with Marvel.
If they put morales in the mcu theyre will be riots. When people think spider man they see peter parker. Alot of fans of the mcu i kno have never even picked up a marvel comic.
agree with sebastian and also you cant just throw morales in the mcu. When people think spiderman they see parkers face.
Nice Labyrinth reference!!
It means nothing! The comics are the comics and the movies are the movies. They don’t overlap.
They don’t overlap currently, but they do inform one another’s sensibilities.
But Dan Slott’s Amazing Spider-Man is just so damn good… I mean, legitimately one of the best comics being sold right now…
Oh, I agree, but them’s the brakes.
I suspect that, contrary to popular dread, Marvel is doing the opposite of DC, and they are merging their myriad universes into a single, cohesive continuity rather than have multiple verses running around.
It doesn’t sound like a reboot, soft or otherwise.
Sounds more like DC’s Crisis from the 80’s, which combined the DC, Fawcett, Charlton, and Quality universes into a single reality, but without the subsequent reboots, like Byrne’s Man of Steel and Miller’s Batman Year One.
I’m sure this will bring with it some retcons that help incorporate the characters’ back stories, but I wouldn’t and don’t expect a full-blown reboot with new origins published and set in 2016 to follow.
No Deadpool? No thank you!
Peter Parker, always
capnmarrrrk
Love the Labyrinth reference at the end.
So does this mean Donald Glover can actually play Spider-man in the movies as opposed to just his voice in the cartoon?
Anything is possible.
Miles Morales is like 13 isn’t he? Last I looked Glover was much older than that.
Probably Jayden Smith
oh god no
Morales is a cool character…
but you can’t have Morales without Parker.
Maybe the people heading the MCU could make something similar to the Ant-Man stuff, with Pym teaching Lang, but… they don’t have Parker, and make Morales the first Spiderman is a blasphemy.
You could do that with Pym, because he is not important as Parker/Spidey.
Pray for the better fate to Spidey.
Get those keyboards ready, fanboys! It’s Star Wars all over again!
Are you ready for Jar Jar Jarvis?