Marvel Comics October 2019 Solicitation Analysis

Marvel recently released their October 2019 solicitations. Some of the comic books like the new X-Men ongoings, Marvel Zombies and Amazing Mary Jane were announced in the lead up to or during San Diego Comic Con 2019. Still there are a lot of things that Marvel’s new batch of solicitations that include a surprise end to a major series and Ghost Rider rising up in an unexpected way. Let’s take a look at what other things we should expect in Marvel’s future from their October 2019 solicitations.

NEW AGE FOR THE X-MEN BEGINS

We already did a series by series breakdown of all the new X-Men comics when their solicitations were released during SDCC 2019. What we didn’t have a lot of information about were the final issues of House of X and Powers of X. Now we got an interesting tease about what to expect from both series. Based on the cover and solicitation information House of X #6 will lay the groundwork for why Kate Pryde, Storm and Emma Frost are forming a new Marauders team. Their direction may very well be different from what the other X-Men series are doing in following Xaviers dream.

On the Powers of X side, the finale of that series should clarify what is going on with the children of the X-Men that are leading the comic. The characters that we’ve seen in all the covers of Powers of X have yet to show up in any information about all the new X-Men comics. Powers of X #6 should clarify why that is the case for us.

MARVEL GOES ALL-IN ON MARY JANE WATSON

Another thing we knew coming out of SDCC 2019 was that Mary Jane Watson was getting her own ongoing series for the first time. Given the overall quality of the Spider-Man franchise right now and how Black Cat #1 just debut as the top seller at physical retailers in June 2019, Amazing Mary Jane can very well find similar success. Now what we didn’t fully know was how far Marvel would go with their investment in Mary Jane. After looking at their October 2019 solicitations it definitely looks like they are going all in on Mary Jane as a solo character. 

Afterall, rather than going with a Halloween or zombie route, Marvel has chosen to do Mary Jane variants to all their comics for October. That is a big deal since Marvel hasn’t done this type of thing for new comics but instead go for variants based on anniversaries, movies or other big events. That is a sign that Marvel is expecting big things from Amazing Mary Jane, at least out of the gate.

BLACK CAT STEALS HUMAN TORCH’S HEART

One of the absent Spider-Man Family comics that Marvel didn’t talk about during SDCC 2019 was Black Cat. That’s surprising given how big of a hit Black Cat #1 was. That said Black Cat looks to be making her own headlines in October as a relationship between Felicia Hardy and Johnny Storm is being teased in Black cat #5. Even though we are more than a decade removed from when Spider-Man’s One More Day and Brand New Day took place it is still not fully clear how much of Peter’s history everyone knows. That includes if Johnny Storm, Peter’s best friend, is aware of Felicia and Peter having an intimate history with one another. Whether he does or doesn’t it does look as though Marvel may be making Peter and Johnny Eskimo brothers.

PETER PARKER GETS HIT BY THE 2099 FUTURE

We still don’t have a lot of details on exactly what Marvel plans for the 2099 franchise after it was teased during SDCC 2019. We likely won’t get much information until around the time Amazing Spider-Man #32 since Nick Spencer seems to be leading the charge for the 2099 future’s rebirth. I say around because October is the month that New York Comic 2019 takes. That is likely the place Marvel will go all in on talking about their plans for the 2099 franchise. How Spider-Man 2099 leads that direction and its relation to the events Peter Parker is tackling in Spencer’s book will be very interesting to see take place. Especially if J. Jonah Jameson is sticking his nose in Spider-Man’s business once again.

CAROL DANVERS LAST STAND AS CAPTAIN MARVEL

Just as Carol Danvers’ Captain Marvel has become one of Marvel’s top superheroes her thunder has been stolen by the new hero in town: Star. There are a lot fo questions as to who exactly Star is. But we do know that Star’s debut came at the same time as Carol Danvers’ powers have been suddenly fading. That cannot be a coincidence and is something Carol will notice. Given that Captain Marvel #11 makes it clear that the story will end with “Captain Marvel’s Last Stand” there are a lot of questions to be answered about where Carol goes after this story. That and if Star will continue past this storyline and what role she will serve if she does.

MARVEL ZOMBIES RETURN

Marvel Zombies are back. Just in time to fill the zombie void that was left behind due to The Walking Dead’s end. This is something that Marvel actually announced at the same time it was revealed that Robert Kirkman was ending The Walking Dead. But given that they were able to quickly announce the new Marvel Zombies comic book the Respawn series was likely always planned to be released in October. Releasing Marvel Zombies: Respawn in October is fitting as this is the type of story people are looking for during this period. Filling the zombie void Marvel fans are feeling is just an added plus to the marketing side of things.

BLACK WIDOW AND WINTER SOLDIER REUNITE

One of my favorite Marvel relationships is the one between Natasha Romanoff and Bucky Barnes. Ed Brubaker did a great job establishing the deep history between Natasha and Bucky. Unfortunately due to several different events over the years Natasha has forgotten her relationship with Bucky. Now that could change as a visit to the Red Room may lead to Natasha remembering how closely tied she is to Bucky and the feelings that were lost. That would be a great thing to add back to both characters as their chemistry was special when they were involved in stories together. At least that is what this fan hopes happens in The Web of Black Widow #2.

CHAMPIONS REIGN COMES TO AN END

While it was not directly stated in the solicitation Jim Zub revealed in a recent blog post on his website that Champions #10 will be the last of this series’ volume. Ever since breaking them off from the Avengers, Marvel has been doing their best to make the Champions one of their premiere teams. Unfortunately the Champions as a team have never caught on the way individual members like Miles Morales-Spider-Man, Ms. Marvel and Ironheart have. But as Jim Zub said in his blog post, this is likely not the last time we see a version similar to this incarnation of the Champions around. Marvel won’t give up trying to make them a thing. 

What is likely is that Champions will be on hiatus for the rest of 2019 and will return with a new series sometime in 2020. If Champions does return hopefully the team will be more focused on a roster of five to seven core members rather than immediately starting with an entire army as this recent Champions did.

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