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For those not versed in the basics, Legacy numbering counts all issues of all incarnations and volumes of a given title in an unbroken line as if it had never been canceled, relaunched, or renumbered.

Daredevil #650 was originally announced by Zdarsky himself back in August 2021, as the Daredevil story of the time was building toward the recently wrapped Devil’s Reign crossover event. 

Back in 2021, Zdarsky announced Daredevil #650 as coinciding with the Legacy numbering of Daredevil #38. However, since then, it seems the decision was made to relaunch the title after Devil’s Reign rather than continuing the volume’s numbering, with the most recent Daredevil volume wrapping up with Daredevil #36. 

But as you can likely intuit, 36+2=38, so it seems Daredevil #650 will stick to generally the same timeframe as was previously announced, just shifted in its main numbering thanks to the relaunch.

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As for the contents of Daredevil #2/#650, Marvel has announced a whole host of creators including Rafael DeLatorre, Alex Maleev, Paul Azaceta, Phil Noto, Chris Samnee, Klaus Janson, and Mike Hawthorne. Marvel also promised more creators joining the issue would be announced soon and less than 24 hours later, they announced two more. 

Daredevil veterans, writer Ann Nocenti and artist John Romita Jr., join the celebration in stories that pays homage to their late ’80s run, which Marvel says had a profound effect on DD’s legacy. 

In a story tackling real-world issues, Nocenti will explore Daredevil’s “complex relationship” with the inhabitants of Hell’s Kitchen and “the dire changes on the horizon” in a story drawn by Zdarsky. ‘JRJr.’ will draw a sequence for the issue’s main story featuring Typhoid Mary – a creation of Nocenti and Romita Jr.

Typhoid Mary is now the love interest of the recently retired Wilson Fisk. 

Marvel has released a couple of images from those stories which can be seen in the gallery below. 

 “It’s not often that a comic gets to issue two these days, so … oh wait, it’s issue 650?! Well in that case I’m over the moon that we get to celebrate with so many legendary Daredevil creators!: Zdarsky said. “Daredevil is a title that has had so many amazing runs that it wouldn’t feel right to have an anniversary issue without inviting the people who made the book so special for so many years.”

Here’s a gallery of interior pages from series artist Marco Checchetto and Rafael DeLatorre, along with new images from Zdarsky and Romita Jr. :

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Daredevil #650 is due out August 17, with covers from Checchetto, Bill Sienkiewicz, Gary Frank, and Pete Woods.

Time will tell how the story that launches in Daredevil #650 stacks up to the best Daredevil stories ever.

The post Get a look inside Augusts milestone Daredevil #650 appeared first on Game News.

From birth, Shang-Chi was raised as a living weapon, capable of doing all kinds of harm to anyone who crosses him or his family. Now, he’s attempting to make up for his family’s misdeeds by leading the Five Weapons Society, which he took over from his corrupt father.

However, as he steps into this leadership role, Shang-Chi also has another power to contend with: the Ten Rings, a deadly weapon from another dimension that he fears will corrupt him, too.

That’s where we find the hero at the start of his new series, in Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings #1. Written by Gene Luen Yang, illustrated by Marcus To, colored by Erick Arciniega, and lettered by Travis Lanham, the debut issue begins with members of the Five Weapons Society approaching the Ten Rings and questioning why they aren’t ruling the world if Shang-Chi has possession of them.

Luckily, Shang-Chi steps in before the Rings can do any damage to the seemingly power-hungry duo. Check out a preview below.

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The solicitation text for Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings #1 warns that “every bounty hunter, assassin and evil syndicate in the Marvel Universe” wants to take the Ten Rings, which will force him to either master them or give in to the evil forces he’s trying so hard to overcome. 

Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings #1 will be available July 20.

Ahead of the new series, revisit the Marvel Comics history of Shang-Chi and his Ten Rings. 

The post Shang Chi and the Ten Rings #1 brings the Master of Kung-Fu closer than ever to the MCU appeared first on Game News.

Even though she used her signature power – and even the accompanying catchphrase – the results looked a little different in the MCU than in comics.

In comics, when Kamala embiggens, she actually changes size and shape. But in the MCU, true to her crystalline energy powers, she forms a sort of larger, armored body around herself.

If you’re like us (total comic book nerds) that moment, along with the episode’s big reveal, put you in mind of a totally different Marvel Comics character.

Speaking of that big reveal, spoilers for Ms. Marvel episode 6 – and we mean serious spoilers. Be warned!

In the episode’s first stinger scene, Kamala’s tech-genius friend Bruno reveals that he’s discovered that the true source of her powers isn’t her ClanDestine DNA – that simply provides a connection to the mystical energy of their home dimension. 

As it turns out, Kamala’s powers themselves come from a genetic mutation.

As in, Kamala Khan is a mutant. The first confirmed mutant in the mainstream MCU, in fact.

By now, you’ve probably put together that the way Kamala uses her powers plus her newly revealed mutant DNA put us in mind of Hisato Ikichi, AKA Armor of the X-Men from Marvel Comics.

First introduced back in the landmark Astonishing X-Men, Armor has the power to create armor of spiritual force powered by her ancestors around her body.

If that sounds a little bit like what we just explained about Kamala Khan in the MCU, you’re not alone.

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Kamala Khan’s new MCU powers, though not limited to body armor that forms around her body and “embiggens” her, are certainly somewhat reminiscent of Armor’s mutant abilities – down to a connection to the spiritual power of her ancestors.

Now, we’re not saying Marvel Studios just gave Armor’s powers a palette swap for Ms. Marvel in the MCU. And we’re definitely not saying Ms. Marvel should somehow take Armor’s place in the X-Men when they eventually come to the MCU.

But we are saying that it’s interesting that some of their themes and abilities line up – especially given Kamala Khan’s newly revealed mutant nature.

There’s one other thing Armor and Ms. Marvel have in common, and unlike the possible resemblance between their powers, this one’s straight from comic books: they’re both extremely good at annoying Wolverine during team-ups.

Both Armor and Ms. Marvel have had adventures alongside the most violent and hardcore member of the X-Men, and both have earned his respect through those same adventures, even as they annoyed the ever-loving crap out of him (as teen girls often do to old men).

So maybe, if nothing else, that’s something we’ve got to look forward to.

Kamala Khan’s team up with Wolverine is one of the best Ms. Marvel stories ever.

The post Did Ms. Marvel borrow her MCU powers from a comic book mutant? appeared first on Game News.

Among the many unforeseen surprises in the one-shot (and there are a few), the one thing we knew for sure would happen is the second annual vote for a new X-Men team – including a member voted on by readers themselves.

So who made the cut? Along with a perhaps surprising winner of the aforementioned fan vote, there are some mainstays – and some even bigger surprises than the member elected by fans.

Spoilers ahead for X-Men: The Hellfire Gala #1

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Oddly enough, the votes for the new X-Men members are revealed by Scarlet Witch, who is allowed to psychically tap into the minds of the mutants of Krakoa to take volunteers and nominations for X-Men membership and to take a tally of the vote.

In the first round of winners of the X-Men election, it’s announced that Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Synch will all remain on the team – while the newest member, elected by fans (but nominated in the story by Emma Frost), is Firestar, for whom it’s stated the vote was “not close”.

(We don’t know if that applies to the real world or just on Krakoa, as Firestar’s real-world fan vote tally isn’t revealed in the issue).

After she accepts her place on the team, Firestar is quietly confronted by her former Avengers teammate Tony Stark, who implies that she should act as a spy among the X-Men for the rest of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

Scarlet Witch then reveals that Forge has been chosen to be part of the team – much to his apparent chagrin, as he’s working on a secret black ops project for Magneto and Xavier which is so secret he telepathically assures them he’ll get kicked off the team to keep it hidden if he has to.

Forge in turn nominates Havok for X-Men membership, for which he too is chosen. Magik then insists on membership, with no one refusing her request. 

Finally, Iceman, indirectly but slyly referencing his friendship with Firestar from their days as Spider-Man’s so-called ‘Amazing Friends’ (an ’80s Marvel cartoon reference that has since become somewhat canon), volunteers for the final roster spot.

This leaves the new X-Men roster as:

• Cyclops
• Jean Grey
• Synch
• Firestar
• Forge
• Havok
• Magik
• Iceman

There you have your new X-Men for at least one more year, assuming Marvel Comics chooses to repeat the Hellfire Gala for a third go-round in 2023 – unless of course, something happens to disrupt Krakoa and mutant society before then.

Marvel has released two first-look interior preview pages to August 17’s X-Men #13 that features the first adventure of the new line-up, and with new variant covers to the issue, including a design variant featuring Firestar’s new costume by artist Pepe Larraz and the first of Russell Dauterman’s new trading card variant covers that will highlight the team’s new members.

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For all the upcoming adventures of the new team and much more, stay on top of our listing of all the new X-Men comics planned for release in 2022 and beyond.

The post Meet the new X-Men, including the 2022 fan vote winner appeared first on Game News.

In addition to a new logo (below), DC has also revealed a trailer for the issue featuring the Three Jokers, which led us to speculate about their return in Batman #125. However, pages from the latest preview show Bruce merely dreaming about the tripled Clown Prince of Crime.

Still, it sets an ominous tone for Zdarsky’s first arc. See below:

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Zdarsky, Jiménez, and Morey begin their run together with ‘Failsafe,’ a six-issue story arc (the beginning of what Zdarsky calls a “long haul”) that introduces a mysterious new threat to the Caped Crusader: Gotham City’s billionaires are being gruesomely murdered.

“Bruce Wayne is at a turning point, haunted by dreams of a dark future,” reads DC’s description of ‘Failsafe,’ which also seems to double as the name of this new supervillain. “With the discovery of an archenemy’s involvement and a tragedy unfolding, the Dark Knight’s nightmares are just beginning.”

The writer compared Failsafe to Doomsday, the Kryptonian monster who once killed Superman. 

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“When DC approached me to write Batman, I immediately thought about things that could really challenge the character mentally, physically, and in terms of his relationships,” Zdarsky said in an interview with ComicBook (opens in new tab). “Failsafe is his Doomsday. When I started mapping out the story I got really excited about where it could take the title.”

The 48-page Batman #125 also includes a backup story written and illustrated by Belén Ortega starring Catwoman. Gotham City erupts in chaos when the criminal underworld fights over one of the city’s crown jewels. Caught in the middle, Selina has to figure out how to stop the bloodshed while maybe making a few dollars in the process.

Zdarsky is no stranger to Batman, as he just wrapped the 10-issue DC Black Label series Batman: The Knight, the first three issues of which were collected in a 96-page compendium edition on May 10 and included a Batman #125/’Failsafe’ preview.

Jiménez and Morey last illustrated 2021’s Batman #117 (opens in new tab), which was also then-writer James Tynion IV’s last issue.

Here’s a four-page unlettered preview of their work on Batman #125.

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When first announced as the new Batman writer, Zdarsky initially revealed that he’s working closely with the artist on crafting a somewhat different visual take on Batman and Gotham than Jiménez’s previous work alongside Tynion.

“Early on in the process, I let him know I’d be going a little darker with the scripts and Jorge immediately grabbed onto that and turned in pages that were gritty and intense, but still had the bigger-than-life energy of a Jorge Jiménez drawing,” Zdarsky explains. “He’s the best! Truly the best.”

Newsarama previously spoke to Jiménez and Morey about their new approach to Batman.

As for what comes after ‘Failsafe,’ again the writer says he’s in it “for the long haul,” saying that, much like his current Daredevil run at Marvel Comics (which relaunched with a new #1 in June), he plans to stick around for an extended stay on the title. What’s more, his plans will ripple out across DC’s Batman line into other titles.

“I’ve been cooking up plans that will be felt through all the Bat-titles, which have an amazing roster of talent on them, and I think readers will be pretty happy,” promises Zdarsky.

Though well-known creators from Frank Miller to Ed Brubaker and many more have worked on both Daredevil and Batman, Zdarsky may be the first writer to write both DC’s premiere urban vigilante and Marvel’s at the same time.

Batman #125 by Chip Zdarsky and Jorge Jiménez goes on sale July 5. Here’s a look at all of Batman #125’s variant covers, by artists Jim Lee, InHyuk Lee, Gabriele Dell’Otto, Simone di Meo, Jiménez, JOCK, Alex Garner, and Chip Zdarsky.

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With Batman getting some creative changes, now’s the perfect time to start keeping track of all the new Batman comics planned for release in 2022 and beyond.

The post Batman #125 sets an ominous tone for Zdarsky and Jiménez run appeared first on Game News.

But what are the best Thor stories in Marvel Comics? If you’re champing at the bit for more Thor, these are our picks for the best Thor stories of all time.

10. God Butcher/Godbomb (Thor: God of Thunder #1-11)

It’s safe to call this one a modern classic.

Jason Aaron is a man who was truly born to write Thor, and his first arc is appropriately ambitious, pitting three different versions of Thor (from three different time periods) against the terrifying Goor the God Butcher. By showing us the once, current and future versions of Thor, Aaron is able to examine the character from many different angles, something that’s not always easy to do in a medium in which change is often just an ‘illusion.’

But thankfully, it’s not all character psychology as Aaron throws in action sequences and fight scenes (expertly drawn by Esad Ribic) that will inspire metal bands for years to come. This run is a perfect distillation of the stories that came before turned up to eleven.

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9. Thor: The Mighty Avenger

Believe it or not, there was a time before Chris Samnee was a household name. But for Thor fans who were paying attention, he was a best kept secret.

In the lead-up to the theatrical release of the first Thor movie, Roger Langridge and Samnee presented a different kind of Thor than the one comics readers were used to. His adventures were a little bit more lighthearted, but still maintained an epic heart, pitting Thor against Fin Fang Foom and Namor. 

But more than anything else, it thrived in providing an essential look at Thor’s relationship with Jane Foster. It simply hasn’t been written better before or since.

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8. Mangog (Thor #154-157)

You can’t have a best Thor stories list without a story from Stan and Jack. They were always ready to take Thor in bold new directions, and this story featuring Mangog introduces a Ragnarok scenario that it seems even the God of Thunder cannot survive.

As one would expect, Thor wins the day – but not through sheer power. In fact, he can only fight Mangog to a draw. Odin is able to revive the monster’s family, quelling his hatred and in turn his strength. This is a mighty Marvel tale that stands up with the best of them.

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7. The Eternals Saga (Thor Annual #7, Thor #283-301)

This classic story was started by Roy Thomas and finished by Mark Gruenwald and Ralph Macchio, with artist John Buscema eventually giving way to Keith Pollard. But it was born from the imagination of Jack Kirby, as all the creators involved tried to take Kirby’s vision of the Eternals and the Celestials – which mostly inhabited its own universe prior and marry it to the Marvel Universe.

The result is something that has left an impact on Asgard ever since, with future creators finding new ways to weave in those familiar Kirby elements whenever possible. Even Thor: Ragnarok bears that mark – and ‘The Eternals Saga’ may have at least a little bit to do with that.

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6. Thor: Disassembled (Thor vol. 2 #80-85)

All good things must come to an end and as the ‘Disassembled’ storyline ripped through Avengers, it eventually fell to Thor as well. 

The beauty in this ending is Michael Avon Oeming’s reverence for the character’s history, revealing the nature of the cycle of Ragnarok and how it all weaves together.

It’s a love letter, not only to Thor but to comic books in general and the cycles of death and rebirth within them.

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5. Mjolnir’s Song (Thor #380)

Part of the way through his run, Walt Simonson ceded art duties to the still exceptionally talented Sal Buscema – but he would occasionally jump back to the drawing board. Thor #380 sees our hammer-wielding hero facing off against a seemingly insurmountable foe, the Midgard Serpent.

To this point, readers had seen Thor stare down against any number of men, beasts, or demons, but this time things are different. Hela casts a curse that weakens Thor’s bones and the Midgard Serpent, Jormungand, is large enough to encircle the entire planet with its body!

But the issue isn’t memorable just for being a helluva fight. Simonson decided that the best way to translate the sheer size of the serpent was to do the entire book as a series of splash pages. The result is a comic that looks nothing like anything that came out at the time and served as a precursor for the big, bombastic storytelling tropes of the ’90s.

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4. Thor vol. 3 #1-6

A lot happened when Thor was taken off the board in the years before the first Marvel Civil War. But after Tony Stark’s failed attempt at cloning the Thunder God, it was time for Thor to return. And boy did he.

J. Michael Straczynski and Olivier Coipel were up to the task of redefining Thor for a post-Civil War Marvel Universe. They did so by acknowledging the gap and taking their time to establish Thor’s supporting cast, even if they did have to put him in a strange new place (Broxton, Oklahoma) to do it.

The result was a run that humanized Thor while also reminding readers what made him so cool to begin with.

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3. The Ballad of Beta Ray Bill (Thor #337-340)

You had to know this one would have a spot on the list. When Walt Simonson introduced the horse-faced Korbinite known as Beta Ray Bill and imbued him with the power of Thor, he flipped everything we knew about the God of Thunder and his hammer on its head! But in doing so, he created a new hero and added to the mythology of the character.

With this story, Thor became more than just a singular hero but rather a heroic ideal. And the selfless Bill became a lens for readers (and Thor himself) to examine the Odinson through. Bill became Thor’s reminder that he needed to continue to strive to be the best hero he could be despite his brash and sometimes impulsive demeanor and his friendship with the worthy alien has been a mainstay and fan-favorite ever since.

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2. Skurge’s Last Stand (Thor #362)

Part of the reason that Walt Simonson’s run is so revered is for the way that he was able to elevate characters that had never really been given a chance to shine. To this point, Skurge the Executioner was little more than a hapless henchman serving the will of Amora the Enchantress.

But with Hela’s armies bearing down on Asgard, Skurge made a character defining decision. Sick of being laughed at, Skurge stayed behind to face the hordes and claim his place in Valhalla. It’s a hero’s turn coming from one of the most unlikely of places and Simonson plays it perfectly.

“…and when a new arrival asks about the one to whom even Hela bows her head, the answer is always the same. He stood alone at Gjallerbru and that answer is enough.”

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1. The Surtur Saga (Thor #340-353)

“The sound of thunder reverberates through a billion billion worlds… DOOM!”

With that, Walt Simonson began to build up the threat of Surtur the fire giant, and by its end “The Surtur Saga” would cement his legacy as the greatest creator to ever work on the character. It’s one thing to tease out a threat over the course of a year – it’s another to deliver on it. By the time Thor and Surtur were forced to come to blows, readers were enthralled with the journey and cared about Thor and his supporting cast in a more meaningful way than they ever had before.

And it wasn’t just Simonson’s writing but his art and collaborations with letterer John Workman and colorist Christie Scheele that made this run, and this story specifically, the quintessential take on the Thunder God.

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The post 10 Best Thor stories of all time appeared first on Game News.

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Since the announcement of Edge of Spider-Verse, which will “end the Spider-Verse as we know it,” according to promotional materials, Marvel Comics has been promising a new title from Slott spinning out of the events of the limited series. Now we know Slott’s new title will be nothing less than a revival of the adjectiveless monthly Spider-Man series which was originated in 1990 by writer/artist Todd McFarlane.

And Slott’s not going it alone – he’s bringing another legendary Spider-Man creator with him: artist Mark Bagley, who has been drawing Spider-Man since the early ’90s himself. 

In that way, the new adjectiveless Spider-Man is something of an all-star jam on the wall-crawler, bringing back a title, writer, and artist all associated with some of Spidey’s most classic stories for a new fight against the villainous Morlun.

But rest assured, Marvel Comics promises the new Spider-Man title, while dealing with concepts such as the Spider-Verse and heroes including Miles Morales, Ghost-Spider, and numerous other Spider-characters, will also tie in directly to writer Zeb Wells and artist John Romita Jr’s current run on Amazing Spider-Man.

Here’s a gallery of interior pages from Spider-Man #1 to go along with Bagley’s cover, seen above:

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“How does it feel to be writing Spider-Man again? Like I’m home. Like there’s nowhere else I’d rather be. How does it feel to be working on it with Mark Bagley, one of the greatest Spidey icons of all-time?! Honored, excited, and unstoppable!” quips Slott in the announcement. 

“We are not going to let you down,” Slott promises. “We’re going to take BIG swings in each and every issue! And the first thing we’re doing, right out of the gate, is the Spider-Verse comic to END all Spider-Verse comics!”

Spider-Man #1 goes on sale October 5.

Dan Slott has written some of the best Spider-Man stories ever.

The post Dan Slott returns to ongoing Spider-Man title appeared first on Game News.

As part of the drive, one of its core characters Bloodshot will return in September in the form of Bloodshot Unleashed, Valiant’s first mature readers series.

Bloodshot Unleashed is written by Deniz Camp and illustrated by Jon Davis-Hunt. In the new series the nanite-powered supersoldier journeys across the United States to stop “twisted and lethal” living weapons that break out of a top-secret facility from unleashing “bloodshed and devastation on the neglected small towns and forgotten corners of the country,” battling his own demons along the way.

The debut issue will feature eight covers, including covers by artists on Davis-Hunt, Nicole Rifkin, Pete Woods, and Gerardo Zaffino. Here’s a look at those illustrated covers:

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Bloodshot Unleashed #1 will also feature four variant covers that pay homage to past Bloodshot covers featuring the new FigZero S 1/12 Bloodshot action figure with designer-manufacturer threezero. Newsarama readers get a first look at those covers below. 

In case you don’t know what “FigZero S 1/12” means, the action figure (which is available for preorder (opens in new tab)) stands at 6″ (~15.2cm) tall with – according to Valiant – “a highly-detailed sculpt and fully-articulated body with 39 points of articulation. Accessories include fabric black t-shirt and harness, one katana with scabbard, one semi-Automatic rifle, one submachine gun, one pistol, and four pairs of interchangeable hands.”

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The mature readers Bloodshot Unleashed #1 goes on sale September 22.

The Valiant Universe ranks #3 on Newsarama’s list of the best non-DC and Marvel superhero universes of all time.

The post First look – Bloodshot Unleashed #1 action figure variants appeared first on Game News.

So begins the final issue of DC’s Earth-Prime, the six-issue comic book limited series that brought together the heroes of the publisher’s CW TV universe in a story set in Arrowverse canon. Characters like Batwoman, the Flash, and more starred in each of one of the series’ six issues, challenged by the machinations of a shadowy Big Bad. Now that Big Bad is coming into the spotlight to conclude his plan, and it spells chaos for the heroes of Earth-Prime. 

Earth-Prime’s superheroes came from their TV home to comic books for this multiversal, in-continuity adventure, so it would make sense that the story reverberates in the Arrowverse going forward. But how much it does and whether it will at all is apparently a mixed bag.

Since the series finale just went on sale June 21, we’ll start with one of these before we explain:

Spoilers ahead for Earth-Prime #6: Hero’s Twilight

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Earth-Prime #6: Hero’s Twilight is drawn by Will Robson, written by Jeff Hersh and Thomas Pound, colored by Alex Sinclair, and lettered by Tom Napolitano. If you’ve been keeping up with Newsarama’s coverage of Earth-Prime, you know the comic’s Big Bad is Magog, originally introduced in the pages of the landmark comic book series Kingdom Come. 

Unlike his comics counterpart, the CW-verse iteration of Magog seeks to end humanity’s dependence on superheroes. To do so, he’s assembled a team of villains including the mind-warping Evil Eye, the shape-shifting Clayface, the Flash villain Bloodwork (put in a pin in that), and an alternate-reality version of Kal-El. Together, they become a threat that will require every one of Earth-Prime’s heroes to defeat.

Unfortunately, most of them have disappeared.

After every confrontation between hero and villain, a strange green mist makes the headliners of the CW-verse (and stars of Earth-Prime) disappear from their reality. By the time Magog himself descends upon Central City in the year 2049, the only heroes left to stop him are recent additions to the Flash family: Nora West-Allen, AKA XS, and Bart West-Alen, AKA Impulse.

Doing what little they can to stave off Magog’s assault of Earth-Prime, XS and Impulse finally manage to track down an older Clark Kent from Superman & Lois. Retired from his Superman identity, Clark still manages to give the best advice in the multiverse, spurring the two speedsters to lead one last-ditch attack on the head of the invasion: Magog himself.

XS and Impulse learn that the source of Magog’s power is in his golden spear. The heroes manage to splinter it, negating Magog’s abilities. Just then, before Magog’s army of supervillains can regroup, a strange green cloud brings back the superheroes of Earth-Prime. With the might of the CW’s heroes behind them, XS and Impulse defeat Magog for good, and the world is saved.

Or is it?

As the returned heroes round up the villains, they discover a problem. No one can find the black-clad, evil Kal-El from another reality. This evil Kryptonian, who sought to “save” his world by brutally murdering everyone he considered bad or weak, has completely vanished. The heroes decide not to deal with it just yet, with Jay Garrick calling it “a mystery for another day.”

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But that’s not even the main kicker. On the final page of Earth-Prime #6, a mysterious, green-cloaked figure who appeared throughout the story reveals himself as the late Oliver Queen in his Arrowverse role as the Spectre. Oliver/the Spectre reveals he was behind the appearance and reappearance of the heroes during the battle with Magog, and its purpose was to teach XS and Impulse to rely on each other and to prepare them for something coming in their future.

“They must be ready for what’s coming,” Ollie-Spectre ominously warns.

Earlier in the Earth-Prime saga, Newsarama speculated that Kingdom Come was coming to the CW, with Magog as its primary antagonist. And though that’s still a possibility, the events of Earth-Prime #6 make it seem like this evil Kal-El will be a more immediate threat in the heroes’ future. 

But with the Arrowverse shrinking through a series of recent cancellations, does all the foreshadowing mean anything? The final pages of Earth-Prime #6 are clearly intended to tease a future event. The story in fact end with the copy “The End … For Now.”

But not so fast, says DC. The publisher tells Newsarama nothing in the main Earth-Prime story is connected to any kind of future Arrowverse crossover.

Oddly, however, the Earth-Prime finale also hints at something that will immediately affect the Arrowverse – specifically the upcoming season 9 of The Flash.

A backup story by Hersh and Pound with art by Pablo M. Collar, colors by John Kalisz, and letters by Napolitano (which continues from a back-up in Earth-Prime #5L The Flash by writers Jess Carson and Emily Palizzi, Collar, Kalisz, and Andworld Design) takes place back in 2022, at the A.R.G.U.S. Headquarters, where Cisco Ramon trains the new Phantom Girl to take up a role as a superhero.

When a breakout begins in the security ward, it’s up to the duo to stop a cadre of villains from getting out of A.R.G.U.S. HQ. And though they do manage to stop them (for the most part), there is one escapee that gets by them. That’s Bloodwork, Dr. Ramsey Rosso (played by actor Sendhil Ramamurthy in the Arrowverse), one of the most monstrous villains to ever be on The Flash, who was seen in the year 2049. And the backup story ends with an explicit confirmation of his return to TV.

“To be continued in Season 9 of The Flash,” the story promises.

So The Flash fans should expect to Bloodwork/Ramamurthy in the new season of the series, perhaps even as its big bad. But as to Oliver Queen’s prophecy and preparations, not so much. 

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That makes 2022 Miracleman’s 40th anniversary, and Marvel has announced big plans to celebrate in October – starting with Miracleman #0, a giant-sized, anthology-style one-shot.

Featuring new work by Neil Gaiman and Mark Buckingham, who took over from Moore with Miracleman #17 in 1990, Miracleman #0 will also feature stories by the likes of Jason Aaron and Mike Carey, Ty Templeton, Ryan Stegman, and more. Gaiman and Buckingham’s story will act as a prelude to “their upcoming new chapter,” which is ostensibly different than the anniversary reprint that Marvel already announced.

Alongside the announcement of Miracleman #0, Marvel teases more news to come, indicating a full-on celebration for the cult-classic hero. Marvel also revealed the cover for the one-shot by Alan Davis, which shows the character coming into his power, surrounded by flame.

Miracleman has a long, storied history not just in the comics, but also in the courts. After a back-and-forth battle between Gaiman and Todd McFarlane over the character in the late ’90s and early aughts, it was revealed in 2009 that Anglo – the original creator of Marvelman – had retained rights to the characters all along.

At that year’s San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel announced it had purchased the rights from Anglo, securing the character for its large roster of heroes. New team-up covers seem to indicate that he’ll finally join the Marvel Universe soon, after years of fans waiting for his proper inclusion in the Multiverse.

Stay tuned for more Miracleman anniversary announcements this week, as well as the full October solicitations for Marvel Comics, coming in July.

Alan Moore references Miracleman in his run on Captain Britain, one of the best Marvel Multiverse comic book stories of all time.

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