Marvel NOW!

"Marvel NOW!"
Promotional image for Marvel NOW!. Art by Joe Quesada.
Publisher	Marvel Comics
Publication date	October 2012 – present
Genre	Superhero
Main character(s)	Marvel Universe
Creative team
Writer(s)	Various
Artist(s)	Various

Marvel NOW! is a 2012 relaunch of several ongoing comic books published by Marvel Comics, that debuted in October 2012 with new #1 issues. The relaunch also included some new titles, including Uncanny Avengers and All-New X-Men. Described as a shifting of the Marvel Universe following the conclusion of the "Avengers vs. X-Men" storyline, Marvel NOW! entails changes to both the publishing format and the fictional universe to attract new readers. Publishing changes include new creative teams for each of the titles and the in-universe changes include changes to character designs and new storylines. It marks the next stage of the Marvel ReEvolution initiative, which began in March 2012.

Publication history

Marvel Comics first announced the launch of Marvel NOW! in July 2012. Marvel Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso described it as "the next chapter in the ongoing saga of the Marvel Universe. " Alonso further explained, "From October through February, we’ll provide at least one great reason for readers—old, lapsed or new—to go into a comic store each week: a new issue #1, featuring an exciting new creative team and driving concept, that’s an easy entry-point into the Marvel Universe." Marvel Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada stressed that it is not a reboot but a shifting of the Marvel Universe following the events of Avengers vs. X-Men. Quesada explained that there will be "a lot of changes to the character status quos, alter egos, costumes, creator shifts, design shifts, the way that we do our covers, digital shifts and the way we start delivering our books".

In March 2013, Alonso announced that Marvel would be launching a new wave of Marvel NOW! titles, dubbed Wave Two, in the summer of that year. Alonso stated "...There are plans for a Marvel NOW! Wave 2 -- a new wave of titles that will generate the same amount of excitement amongst retailers and fans that the first wave did. From "Uncanny Avengers" to "Thanos Rising," Marvel NOW! has been a hit, and we're far from done. Look for exciting new series, starting in July and carrying through next year". It was announced a week later that Avengers A.I. would be the first of these new titles.

Wave One

New on-going series

October 2012

Uncanny Avengers

The first title announced was Uncanny Avengers by the creative team of Rick Remender and John Cassaday. Uncanny Avengers is a new team of Avengers that features a line-up of both classic Avengers and X-Men including Captain America, Havok, Rogue, the Scarlet Witch, Thor, and Wolverine. The team is a response to the events of Avengers vs. X-Men. Remender said, "There’s something that Cyclops said to [Captain America] on Utopia that’s ringing in his head. He didn’t do enough to help. And Steve (Captain America) is taking that to heart. Coming out of AvX with the landscape shifted and changed as much as it is, there are events that lead Steve to recognizing that he needs to do more".

A+X

A+X also debuted in October 2012. Each issue includes two stories featuring a different team-up of an Avenger and a X-Man. The first issue spotlights Hulk and Wolverine by Jeph Loeb and Dale Keown as well as Cable and Captain America by Dan Slott and Ron Garney.

November 2012

All-New X-Men

All-New X-Men by Brian Bendis and Stuart Immonen features the return of the five original X-Men, plucked from the past including a teenage Jean Grey, whose adult counterpart died in 2004. Bendis said, "Jean coming back now is unlike Jean coming back before. This isn’t a reincarnated Jean, this isn’t a clone; this is Jean. She is coming here wide-eyed, but you also have to remember she’s coming into a world where she’s died. [It wasn’t] a great death, and I don’t want to spoil anything for AvX but she’s witnessed some things about her friends and loved ones that will make her feel wonderful, but also shock her to her very core and change all of her relationships... She’s going to witness what has happened to the X-Men and what she’ll do to try and change that, at a time when maybe her powers aren’t at their fullest yet".

Captain America

Captain America is written by Rick Remender and drawn by John Romita Jr.. Remender described the tone to be "almost like Kirby Sci-Fi Indiana Jones". "High adventure dipped in sci-fi spy fantasy with heavy focus on the man under the suit. Steve’s fabric and his relationships drive our story and the action is the byproduct. Tonally it’s very serious. You want to make sure the characters go up against things that feel like real threats and [put] them into interesting situations. It’s a lot less of the connection with S.H.I.E.L.D. and the spy work and more big high adventure super hero stuff with sci-fi that I tend to lean into."

Deadpool

Deadpool is written by comedian Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan and drawn by Tony Moore. In terms of concept, Duggan said, "It starts with a man who has decided that America has a lot of problems that can only be fixed by bringing back our former leaders, our great American Presidents. But that’s not how it works out. Once they’re back, they have a completely different idea of what they need to do and what the country needs. It’s a distasteful job having to send our presidents back, but Deadpool is up for the job and is suited for it."

Fantastic Four and FF

Fantastic Four by Matt Fraction and Mark Bagley, and FF by Fraction and Mike Allred debuted in November 2012. In Fantastic Four, the superhero family takes a vacation into space to expand their children’s view of life, while FF features a new team consisting of Ant-Man, Ms. Thing, Medusa, and She-Hulk. Fraction said that "both titles stand on their own after the initial storyline sets up the status quo for each, but each one relates and interrelates".

Indestructible Hulk

Indestructible Hulk by Mark Waid and Leinil Yu, picks up a few weeks after the events of Jason Aaron's Incredible Hulk. Waid said, "No one's seen Hulk or Banner for a few weeks, which has the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. really nervous. S.H.I.E.L.D., in particular, has gone to great lengths in recent years to make absolutely certain that it's impossible for Banner to stay off the grid for any length of time—and yet, he's vanished. And this literally affects the entire planet. Every country is on the equivalent of orange alert. Airport security is a nightmare. World leaders are ready to bunker down at a moment's notice. Surveillance cameras are selling faster than they can be manufactured. Everyone's tense. Maria Hill, in particular, has taken “Finding Banner” as her own personal mission, and when our story opens, she's finally taking her first break in weeks. And as it happens, her timing sucks."

Iron Man

Iron Man by Kieron Gillen and Greg Land also debuted in November 2012. Gillen said, "The story will focus on him (Iron Man) questioning things about himself and trying to find out exactly how the universe ticks, what’s this all about and why he does this anyway. It’s going to be one of the major themes of the book going forward."

Thor: God of Thunder

Thor: God of Thunder by Jason Aaron and Esad Ribic, is set over the course of a millennium. Aaron said, "ultimately it's all about Thor, and by showing him in three very different eras of his life—as the young hotheaded god of the Viking Age, as the accomplished and legendary Avenger of the present, and as an aging king of a broken future Asgard".

X-Men Legacy

X-Men Legacy by Si Spurrier and Tan Eng Huat is centered around Legion (David Haller), the son of Professor X. Spurrier said, "As far as I know the idea of basing the series round David has been in the works since the plotting of Avengers Vs. X-Men. David’s story grows organically from those events. In fact I’d go so far as to say it’s the tale that really needs to be told in the aftermath period. My brief was pretty simple: take a thoroughly screwed-up young character—who’s been handled so differently by so many narrative teams down the years that it’s tricky for anyone to say for sure exactly who he is or what his voice might be and launch him into the Marvel Universe... Show us who he is. What he can do. What he wants to do but can’t yet."

December 2012

Avengers and New Avengers

Avengers by Jonathan Hickman and Jerome Opena debuts in December 2012, while New Avengers by Hickman and Steve Epting is set to debut in January 2013. Hickman said, "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.

Avengers Arena

Avengers Arena, a new series by Dennis Hopeless and Kev Walker takes 16 young heroes from the Marvel Universe including Avengers Academy's Hazmat, Mettle, Reptil, X-23 and Juston Seyfert and his sentinel; Annihilation's Cammi, and Darkhawk; Runaways' Nico Minoru, and Chase Stein; and a host of new characters, and pits them against each other in a kill-or-be-killed reality-show-like scenario on Murderworld run by Arcade.

Cable and X-Force

Cable and X-Force, a new series by writer Dennis Hopeless and artist Salvador Larroca is also set to debut in December 2012. The team consists of Cable, Forge, Domino, Colossus and Doctor Nemesis. Hopeless said, "In my mind this is a crime series, so I tried to cast the book like you would a bank robbery. This isn't a family or a school. It's a crew. A safe cracker may hate her getaway man, but at the end of the night, she still needs him to drive the car. Cable puts the team together for their skills, not because he thinks they'll get along."

Thunderbolts

Thunderbolts by Daniel Way and Steve Dillon features a line-up consisting of Deadpool, Elektra, Punisher, and Venom, led by Red Hulk. Editor Jordan D. White said, "They're a team of loners, but all highly trained and highly skilled as either mercenaries or soldiers. This is a black ops dream team... They're all characters with their own very particular morality, who do the things they do because they believe in them. They believe they are doing right, even if the world around them might not."

January 2013

Morbius: The Living Vampire

Morbius: The Living Vampire by writer Joe Keatinge and artist Richard Elson debuted in January 2013. Keatinge said, "There are very strong horror elements to it, but there's a lot more to it than that... This is a book largely about people who have absolutely no easy role in society. The outcasts. The people on the fringe. The people of the Marvel Universe who are even too weird for the X-Men.

Savage Wolverine

Savage Wolverine a new series written and drawn by Frank Cho also debuted in January 2013. Cho said, "This isn't just a solo Wolverine story. It's actually a team-up story with Shanna the She-Devil. Both Wolverine and Shanna have similar assertive personalities. The story is not just a quest to get home; it's a story about surviving each other's company and the Savage Land.

The Superior Spider-Man

The Superior Spider-Man by Dan Slott and Ryan Stegman follows up the events of The Amazing Spider-Man #700. Slott said, "This is still very much the world of Spider-Man. There may be a new Spider-Man here, doing things in a new and different way, but you’re going to see the Spider-cast reacting to this. You’re going to see how this Spider-Man will deal with our Spider-Man’s villains. How will he react to this Spider-Man’s supporting cast? Whoever makes it out of The Amazing Spider-Man #700 will find a different Spider-Man waiting for them when Superior Spider-Man starts."

Uncanny X-Force

Uncanny X-Force by Sam Humphries and Ron Garney focuses on Psylocke, who survives the events of "Final Execution", the final story arc running in Rick Remender's Uncanny X-Force. The team's line-up also includes Storm, Puck, Spiral and newcomer Cluster. Humphries said, "I think it's fair to say that Psylocke is a survivor. She's someone who rises above her complicated past and the tragedy and figures out what's best for Betsy. I can't spoil anything, but at the end of Rick's run, we leave Betsy in one situation, and in the first issue of my run, we pick up six months later, and Betsy is definitely in a life transition point. It's kind of being in that moment that kicks off the events of that first arc.

Young Avengers

Young Avengers by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie features a line-up including Wiccan, Hulkling, Miss America Chavez, Hawkeye, Marvel Boy and Loki. Gillen said, "The first arc is pretty much Loki puts the Avengers together. [sic] And of course Loki did inadvertently put the original Avengers together, but why is he actively trying to put this team together? The readers know that Loki is bringing the group together. The characters don't. There's a sense that Loki is clearly the manipulator here".

February 2013

Fearless Defenders

Fearless Defenders by Cullen Bunn and Will Sliney centers on a new all-female team that includes Valkyrie, Misty Knight and Danielle Moonstar amongst others. Bunn said, "The basic idea of the book is that Valkyrie is choosing a new team of Valkyrior, and she's been asked to choose all these women from the heroes of Midgard (Earth), instead of from Asgard".

Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy by Brian Michael Bendis and Steven McNiven features the line-up reestablished in Bendis' Avengers Assemble (Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, Groot, Rocket Raccoon and Bug) plus a new member; Iron Man. Bendis said, "Here's an Avenger (Iron Man) who wants to get to the next level and he's just not going to get it where he is, but if he does a tour of duty with the Guardians he may find himself opening up his eyes to things that will help him with his inventions and the way he sees the world".

Nova

Nova by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness, launching in February 2013, centers on the new Nova, Sam Alexander and answers questions about the character's origins.

Secret Avengers

Secret Avengers by Nick Spencer and Luke Ross features a team consisting of Black Widow, Hawkeye, Mockingbird, Hulk, and a new Iron Patriot, which works closely with S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Nick Fury, Jr. and Phil Coulson. Spencer said, "This really is a S.H.I.E.L.D. book. I think it's something we've been long suffering for and is long overdue. This gave us a nice excuse to get a proper S.H.I.E.L.D. comic going. This Avengers initiative within S.H.I.E.L.D. is obviously a big focal point of the book, but it still is a S.H.I.E.L.D initiative so everything originates there. So Nick Fury and Agent Coulson are very much involved in the missions. Nick will be in the field with the team. That's his role. He's the S.H.I.E.L.D agent that goes with these characters on the missions. Coulson has a fun role in that he's backup and support. He's the guy who makes the pitch, and brings in the team. So they're a big part of every issue and in some ways they're even our leads.

Uncanny X-Men

Uncanny X-Men by Brian Michael Bendis and Chris Bachalo, centers on Cyclops and the remnants of his Extinction Team following the conclusion of Avengers vs. X-Men, including Magneto, Magik and Emma Frost although the romance between Cyclops and Emma Frost is finished. Bendis said, "The romance is done. They are not together anymore romantically. It's pretty hard to come back from what they went through in Avengers Vs. X-Men. Things were said, powers were stolen, and as we will discover in the very first issues of Uncanny X-Men, some things happen between them that cannot be taken back".

March 2013

Wolverine

Wolverine by the creative team of Paul Cornell and Alan Davis debuted in March 2013. Cornell said, "This is the series that gets into what makes James Logan (Wolverine) tick, that shows him being, as he puts it, 'a regular guy,' interacting with civilian friends of his in New York City. The most amazing thing about James is that he's been alive so long, gone through so many extraordinary things... but holds on to being a guy who likes to hang out in bars with good company... He's a man of the people. I'm going to poke that and see what happens."

May 2013

X-Men

X-Men by writer Brian Wood and artist Olivier Coipel will feature an all-female cast, including Jubilee, Storm, Rogue, Kitty Pryde, Rachel Grey and Psylocke. Wood said, "I feel like as far as the X-Men go, the women are the X-Men. Cyclops and Wolverine are big names, but taken as a whole, the women kind of rule the franchise. If you look at the entire world as a whole, it's the females that really dominate and are the most interesting and cool to look at. When you have a great artist drawing them, they look so amazing and always have." This is set to debut May 29th, 2013.

Other on-going series

Avengers Assemble

Starting with issue #9, Kelly Sue DeConnick and Stefano Caselli will take over duties on Avengers Assemble. DeConnick revealed the initial lineup includes Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Spider-Woman, and Captain Marvel. She said, "I'm interested in them as celebrities. I'm interested in how you work being a hero and a celebrity -- how that status works for them. I'm interested in new media ideas, as well, and I'm trying to weave a little of that through... The Avengers in the age of the internet -- how does that affect their public personas? And the ideas of evolution and transformation and the different ways that these people look at the future."

Journey into Mystery

Kathryn Immonen and Valerio Schiti will write and draw Journey into Mystery starting with issue #646. The series shifts focus from Loki to Sif. Editor Lauren Sankovitch said, "We had it Loki-centric... going forward with #646 we wanted to mix it up a little bit. Sif’s been in the thick of it, she’s a born warrior, she’s got a lot of fight and verve and fire to her! We talked at length about what this story could be and what her story could be, and it all came down to...one single question: what does she want? I think Sif, above all, wants to be a better warrior."

Red She-Hulk

Starting with issue #58, the title and focus of Hulk shifted to Red She-Hulk, still written by Jeff Parker with art by Carlo Pagulayan and Wellington Alves.

Wolverine and the X-Men

Starting from issue #19, Wolverine and the X-Men will be part of Marvel NOW! and will continue to be written by Jason Aaron and drawn by Nick Bradshaw. Aaron said, the series would follow the events of Wolverine and the X-Men #18, in which the character Broo was shot in the head, and would return to the same type of stories that they were doing before Avengers vs. X-Men, "This is our first Marvel NOW! issue, issue #19, so if anything we're trying to get back to where we were before the 'AvX' madness. It picks up right after the events of 18. There were a lot of angry people on the Internet, which was great. It made my day."

Limited series

Age of Ultron

Between March 2013 and June 2013, Marvel will publish a 10 issue limited series titled, Age of Ultron by writer Brian Michael Bendis and a rotating team of artists including Bryan Hitch, Brandon Peterson, and Carlos Pacheco. The storyline, set in the Marvel NOW! continuity, sees a ravaged Marvel Universe under the rule of Ultron. Bendis explained "from page one" Ultron will be in control of the world with Marvel Senior Vice President of Publishing Tom Brevoort adding, "This story opens where other stories tend to end".

Thanos Rising

Thanos Rising, a five issue limited series by the creative team of writer Jason Aaron and artist Simone Bianchi, tells the origin story of the supervillan, Thanos. Aaron said, "This is without a doubt one of the creepiest stories I've ever gotten to write for Marvel. It's the origin of an outer space serial killer, the story of the universe's weirdest romance and a grand cosmic tragedy, all wrapped up in one. This is me taking five issues to really dig into the head of a space-faring world conqueror, mass murderer and hopeless romantic. I love writing stories with villains as the main character, and this book is about Thanos all the way." Marvel previously announced a Thanos origin story titled Thanos: Son of Titan to be written and drawn by Joe Keatinge and Richard Elson, respectively, but was canceled prior to its planned release in the summer of 2012 and the creative team moved over to Morbius: The Living Vampire.

One-shots

Marvel NOW! Point One

This one-shot debuted in October 2012 features six short stories from the creative teams of Brian Michael Bendis and Steve McNiven, Matt Fraction and Mike Allred; Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness; Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie; Nick Spencer and Luke Ross and Dennis Hopeless and Gabriel Hernandez Walta. Tom Brevoort, Marvel's senior vice president of publishing, stated that the intent of this book is to set the stage for several of the Marvel NOW! series and plots.

Wave Two

New on-going series

July 2013

Avengers A.I.

Avengers A.I., by the creative team of writer Sam Humphries and artist Andre Lima Araujo, debuts in July 2013 and serves as an aftermath to the Age of Ultron event and the first new title in Marvel's Wave Two of Marvel NOW! comics. The book will follow a team of synthetics brought together by Hank Pym in order to combat a new danger. Humphries said, "Artificial intelligences are a product of human ingenuity, and although they are going to be going down their new path, they will remain a mirror to humanity...Understanding that and exploring that in ways that are going to be funny and touching and endearing are definitely going to be parts of this book".

Limited series

Infinity

Infinity is a 6 issue limited series written by Jonathan Hickman with a rotating team of artists including Jim Cheung, Jerome Opeña and Dustin Weaver. The storyline will see Thanos attack a vulnerable Earth whilst the Avengers are away in space uniting the universe against a common enemy, the Builders. Hickman said, "that the story is coming organically out of what's been going on during Marvel NOW!. Things that we've seen unfold in Avengers, New Avengers, Thanos Rising, Guardians of the Galaxy and others are the catalyst for Infinity." Executive editor Tom Brevoort added, "Somebody like Daredevil, who's used to dealing with more street-level problems, has to suddenly face foes and situations that are a little bit out of his ordinary weight class".

Titles

Name	Volume	Issue	Creative team	Ref.
Wave One
New on-going series
A+X	1	#1 (October 2012)	Various
All-New X-Men	1	#1 (November 2012)	Brian Michael Bendis (W), Stuart Immonen (A)
Avengers	5	#1 (December 2012)	Jonathan Hickman (W), Jerome Opena (A)
Avengers Arena	1	#1 (December 2012)	Dennis Hopeless (W), Kev Walker (A)
Cable and X-Force	1	#1 (December 2012)	Dennis Hopeless (W), Salvador Larroca (A)
Captain America	7	#1 (November 2012)	Rick Remender (W), John Romita Jr. (A)
Deadpool	3	#1 (November 2012)	Brian Posehn & Gerry Duggan (W), Tony Moore (A)
FF	2	#1 (November 2012)	Matt Fraction (W), Mike Allred (A)
Fantastic Four	4	#1 (November 2012)	Matt Fraction (W), Mark Bagley (A)
Fearless Defenders	1	#1 (February 2013)	Cullen Bunn (W), Will Sliney (A)
Guardians of the Galaxy	3	#0.1 (February 2013)	Brian Michael Bendis (W), Steve McNiven (A)
Indestructible Hulk	1	#1 (November 2012)	Mark Waid (W), Leinil Yu (A)
Iron Man	5	#1 (November 2012)	Kieron Gillen (W), Greg Land (A)
Morbius: The Living Vampire	2	#1 (January 2013)	Joe Keatinge (W), Richard Elson (A)
New Avengers	3	#1 (January 2013)	Jonathan Hickman (W), Steve Epting (A)
Nova	5	#1 (February 2013)	Jeph Loeb (W), Ed McGuinness (A)
Savage Wolverine	1	#1 (January 2013)	Frank Cho (W&A)
Secret Avengers	2	#1 (February 2013)	Nick Spencer (W), Luke Ross (A)
The Superior Spider-Man	1	#1 (January 2013)	Dan Slott (W), Ryan Stegman (A)
Thor: God of Thunder	1	#1 (November 2012)	Jason Aaron (W), Esad Ribic (A)
Thunderbolts	2	#1 (December 2012)	Daniel Way (W), Steve Dillon (A)
Uncanny Avengers	1	#1 (October 2012)	Rick Remender (W), John Cassaday (A&C)
Uncanny X-Force	2	#1 (January 2013)	Sam Humphries (W), Ron Garney (A)
Uncanny X-Men	3	#1 (February 2013)	Brian Michael Bendis (W), Chris Bachalo (A)
Wolverine	5	#1 (March 2013)	Paul Cornell (W), Alan Davis (A)
X-Men	4	#1 (May 2013)	Brian Wood (W), Olivier Coipel (A)
X-Men Legacy	2	#1 (November 2012)	Si Spurrier (W), Tan Eng Huat (A)
Young Avengers	2	#1 (January 2013)	Kieron Gillen (W), Jamie McKelvie (A)
Other on-going series
Avengers Assemble	1	#9 (November 2012)	Kelly Sue DeConnick (W), Stefano Caselli (A)
Journey into Mystery	1	#646 (November 2012)	Kathryn Immonen (W), Valerio Schiti (A)
Red She-Hulk	1	#58 (October 2012)	Jeff Parker (W), Carlo Pagulayan & Wellington Alves (A)
Wolverine and the X-Men	1	#19 (October 2012)	Jason Aaron (W), Nick Bradshaw (A)
Limited series
Age of Ultron	1	#1 (March 2013)	Brian Michael Bendis (W), Bryan Hitch (A), Brandon Peterson (A), Carlos Pacheco (A)
Thanos Rising	1	#1 (April 2013)	Jason Aaron (W), Simone Bianchi (A)
One-shots
Marvel NOW! Point One	1	#1 (October 2012)	Brian Michael Bendis (W), Steve McNiven (A); Matt Fraction (W), Mike Allred (A); Jeph Loeb (W), Ed McGuinness (A); Kieron Gillen (W), Jamie McKelvie (A); Nick Spencer (W), Luke Ross (A); Dennis Hopeless (W), Gabriel Hernandez Walta (A)
Ultron	1	#1AU (April 2013)	Kathryn Immonen (W), Amilcar Pinna (A)
Wave Two
New on-going series
Avengers A.I.	1	#1 (July 2013)	Sam Humphries (W), Andre Lima Aroujo (A)
Limited series
Infinity	1	#1 (August 2013)	Jonathan Hickman (W), Jim Cheung (A), Jerome Opeña (A), Dustin Weaver (A)

In other media

• On December 13, 2012, a special "Marvel Now!" category was featured on the television quiz show, Jeopardy!.

• A costume based of the Marvel NOW! title Indestructible Hulk was made available in the game Marvel Super Hero Squad Online in November 2012.

External links

• Marvel Now - Marvel Comics