It’s never a boring day in the world of Marvel Comics. As the publisher’s solicitations for the winter draw closer, they’ve already revealed some of the events in store for their various heroes in a couple of months. And for both the Fantastic Four and Iron Man specifically, they’re going in some interesting directions as new creative teams are brought on to their respective comics.
First up is the Fantastic Four, whose new run will begin in November. Taking over from Dan Slott and a succession on artists that included Cafu and Rachael Stott will be Squirrel Girl’s Ryan North and Dark Ages’ Iban Coello, and covers by Alex Ross, as revealed by Entertainment Weekly. Instead of big, cosmic epics that made up much of Slott’s run, North said his intentions are to tell smaller, more intimate stories, which involves the Four leaving Earth entirely.
“I want to do these smaller, self-contained stories in the vein of ‘60s Star Trek where they go down to a planet, find a weird thing, fix the weird thing, and move on,” explained North. Admitting that he wouldn’t be able to top Slott, the new approach felt natural to him, while also not retreading ground that Marvel’s First Family has gone through over the decades.
However, the first handful of issues will see the Four split up from one another. The debut issue will focus on The Thing and his wife Alicia Masters (as of Slott’s run), while issue two will be about Reed and Sue, then finally Johnny in the third issue. After that, they’ll be back together as “four weirdos who roll into town where there’s a mystery or a problem or some sci-fi thing, solve the problem, and then move on.”
And then there’s Iron Man. Current X-Men writer Gerry Duggan and artist Juan Frigeri (Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy) are coming together for Invincible Iron Man #1. Following November’s Iron Man #750 by departing team Christopher Cantwell and Angel Unzueta, Tony Stark will find himself without his money or friends, but a contract hit out on his life. Surviving long enough to find out who put the bounty on his head will be Tony’s goal, and it’ll feature some of his older armor suits we haven’t seen in some time.
Speaking to Marvel, Duggan called it a “privilege” to follow up Cantwell’s run, especially as he’s taking over shortly before Iron Man’s 60th anniversary in March 2023. “We have an epic tale for Stark and plans for old foes, including flashbacks to some of his classic armors. How about a little Silver Centurion for his diamond anniversary?” teased Duggan. “Armor up, you’re gonna need it.”
Invincible Iron Man #1 will hit shelves on December 7.
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