The next major push for Marvel Comics is their Avengers NOW! initiative, giving relaunches and major new storylines – and even some creative shakeups – to their popular Avengers comics. The company came to San Diego Friday for a panel full of announcements and surprises.
Senior Editor Nick Lowe introduced the panel he’d moderate, Axel Alonso, E-i-C, writer Rick Remender, writer Jason Aaron, writer Nick Spencer, writer Nathan Edmondson.
The Avengers NOW! poster was shown, talking about the “incredible new series and big storylines coming.”
First up, Captain America #25 in October 2014 that will reveal Sam Wilson as the new Captain America. “This 25 issues has been one big story,” Remender said, “and now will lead right into AXIS. We’ll see what Zola and Red Skull are cooking up, and we’ll see the consequences of what it takes to stop that.” Adam Hughes and Steve McNiven are doing variant covers for the series.
Nick Spencer joined the panel late, and Alonso said, “Arriving late… like one of his scripts!”
All this leads up to All-New Captain America #1 in November. Remender said, “I wanted to put Steve through the meat grinder. Someone like him, you want to find a way to put him through something like “Daredevil: Born Again.” We wanted to sideline him in a way that we haven’t seen before. So he’s out of commission physically and has to train his replacement. He earns the mantle in issue 25 in a way that Sam feels that he’s ready.
“His origin is a unique comic book origin, and speaks to a modern audience. I’m having a lot of fun writing from the perspective of a modern-day Captain America.”
Also announced next: Captain America and the Mighty Avengers, a relaunch of that series with a new #1 in November, by Al Ewing an Luke Ross . (see art below)
