Marvel is going to begin the year with a lot of heavy hitters. As always, 2024 will once again be led by the Spider-Man and X-Men franchises. For Spider-Man the franchise will still be dealing with the Gang War story while also kicking off the new Ultimate Universe. Then on the X-Men side 2024 will begin with the start of Fall of the House of X and Rise of the Powers of X event. Let’s take a look at the big things to watch from Marvel from their January 2024 comic book solicitations.
FALL OF HOUSE OF X LEADS TO RISE OF POWERS OF X
All good things come to an end. When Jonathan Hickman ended his run on the X-Men franchise it was only a matter of time before the Krakoa Era would end. The end of the Krakoa Era begins in January with Fall of the House of X and Rise of the Powers of X. First announced at NYCC 2023 Fall of the House of X will have the creative team of Gerry Duggan and Lucas Werneck. Meanwhile, Kieron Gillen and R.B. Silva will be the creative team for Rise of the House of X.
Admittedly, it is disappointing that Hickman couldn’t return to be the one to wrap up the Krakoa Era he started. But he has obviously moved on to other projects, including several with Marvel. Duggan and Gillen are the right choices for this as they have had the most experience outside Al Ewing during this period of the X-Men franchise.
For Fall of the House of X and Rise of the Powers of X Marvel is going a different route from House of X and Powers of X. As Fall of the House of X and Rise of the Powers of X the other X-Men titles will also be telling stories around both these series. Based on the solicitations for comics like X-Men #30 and X-Force #48, these other X-titles will be wrapping up other loose ends for the franchise.
This all seems to lead to a new future where we could possibly see the return of the School for Gifted Youngsters as the new status quo with Cyclops and Jean Grey as the leaders. That’s at least what the teaser poster for Fall of the House of X and Rise of the House of X implies. Usually, these special Mark Brooks posters for the X-Men franchise hint at the post-event status quo. We’ll see how things go with Fall of the House of X and Rise of the Powers of X.
SPIDER-MAN BEGINS ULTIMATE UNIVERSE ONGOING ADVENTURES
By far the biggest announcement Marvel brought to New York Comic Con was their slate of new Ultimate Universe comic books. We already broke down each of the titles for the Ultimate Universe. Even as Ultimate Invasion turned out to be a dud, a lot of that had to do with expectations from a Jonathan Hickman-written Marvel comic. Now that Ultimate Invasion is over we know that this new Ultimate Universe is a brand new universe.
Starting off with Ultimate Spider-Man being the first release in January is a smart call. Spider-Man is Marvel’s most popular character. Both Peter Parker and Miles Morales defined the original Ultimate Universe. And with how the Spider-Man line is Marvel’s best seller right now this was the obvious choice to kick off the ongoing adventures in the new Ultimate Universe.
What’s most intriguing about Ultimate Spider-Man is the starting point Jonathan Hickman and Marco Checchetto have decided on. Rather than becoming Spider-Man as a teenager, we will be seeing Peter Parker not assume the role until he is an adult. That immediately changes a lot about the direction of Peter B. Parker, as Hickman and Checchetto call him. With how afraid Marvel is to have Peter Parker grow up in Amazing Spider-Man or other Earth-616-based Spider-Man comics, this will be a refreshing take. And it is honestly the direction the character has needed and can possibly break the “Parker Luck” cycle that Amazing Spider-Man creative teams always fall back on telling.
WOLVERINE BUSY WITH SABRETOOTH WAR
Given the stakes of Fall of the House of X and Rise of the Powers of X the X-Men will need everyone to be there to help. Though unfortunately for the X-Men they may have to go through Fall of the House of X and Rise of the Powers of X with one of their heavy hitters. That character is none other than Wolverine as Logan will be busy with his own event titled “Sabretooth War.”
Sabretooth is a character that has been lost in the shuffle during the Krakoa Era. This Sabretooth War story can return the character to being Wolverine’s #1 rival. That’s a spot that Sabretooth has not had for a long time. Its honestly something that would help both Wolverine and Sabretooth out from a creative perspective.
If Sabretooth is returning as a major villain this could be a sign we could see other villainous mutants as well. That’s something we didn’t see much in the Krakoa Era. But what comes after the Fall of the House of X and Rise of the Powers of X could change with Sabretooth being the beginning of that change.
CHIP ZDARSKY & DANIEL ACUÑA’S AVENGERS: TWILIGHT
With Chip Zdarsky working on Batman and other creator-owned work it seemed like he was done working for Marvel for the time being. That is not the case as Zdarsky will be working on a new event comic book titled Avengers: Twilight. Zdarsky will be joined by artist Daniel Acuña for this new Avengers mini-series.
What’s most exciting is that Avengers: Twilight will be taking place in an alternate universe. Not only that, but it will take place in an alternate universe that has moved away from the age of superheroes. Based on the premise it seems as though the Avengers: Twilight Marvel Universe finally had enough of the constant superhero events. After one final big event where heroes died, the world has moved on with aged versions of Steve Rogers and Kamala Khan still around in the future.
The age of superheroes being gone is a cool way to tackle what Marvel’s Civil War tried. In the teaser video, we also see Tony Stark’s Iron Man tech being utilized by whoever is in charge. Given that it appears the world has embraced a world with superheroes vs villains fights have a lot of potential. Zdarsky and Acuña appear to also bring in some real-world elements of how the world’s government will be working. Uncovering everything makes Avengers: Twilight a comic to keep an eye out for at the beginning of 2024.
MAGNETO RETURN AND OTHER DEAD X-MEN RISE
The most unsurprising announcement in Marvel’s January 2024 solicitation is the Resurrection of Magneto. Magneto is way too popular of a character for Marvel to keep him dead. He is one of the most iconic X-Men. So, it was only a matter of time before he returned.
Given that Al Ewing is writing the series it looks like Resurrection of Magneto will be taking X-Men: Red’s spot in the X-Men line. With Storm appearing to make it her mission to bring Magneto back it does create a question of the reason for his return. It could play into what is specifically going on in Fall of the House of X as that series is called out.
Magneto is not the only X-Men returning in January. A new series titled Dead X-Men will also see the return of mutants who have died during the 2023 Hellfire Gala. Though unlike Magneto or Ms. Marvel, these dead X-Men appear to be returning in zombie form. Which given the stakes of Fall of the House of X and Rise of the Powers of X this may be the last thing the X-Men need during this time.
WILSON FISK RETURNING TO CLAIM KINGPIN DURING GANG WAR?
As of late, we’ve seen Wilson Fisk spend time in the X-Men franchise. However, this has only been done to benefit him as he has been rebuilding his life post-Devil’s Reign. Now Wilson Fisk appears to be ready to reclaim some of his power by taking advantage of the latest NYC Gang War.
That’s where Amazing Spider-Man: Gang War is given more importance. It’s been a while since Wilson Fisk was just the Kingpin of Crime as he shifted to official politics. While Fisk’s son is currently the Kingpin of Crime Marvel has done very little with Butch having that title. Wilson returning as the Kingpin of Crime would put an even bigger emphasis on the street-level heroes
FABIAN NICIEZA & SCOT EATON RETURN FOR NEW CABLE SERIES
Cable is one of those characters Marvel will always give a chance to for a new comic book series. His past success with solo and team titles has given Cable a spot as a go-to character. With this latest Cable mini-series Marvel is bringing back Fabian Nicieza and Scot Eaton.
Rather than being a period piece like the recent Storm and Magneto mini-series, Cable will take place in the present. Specifically, it will be one of many tie-ins to the Fall of the House of X and Rise of the Powers of X event. As with the main X-Men series, Cable will deal with some loose ends from the Krakoa Era by taking on the Neocracy threat.
This certainly indicates that Marvel is planning to wrap up as many things from the Krakoa Era as possible. It does give Cable some importance during this period. What it will mean for Fall of the House of X and Rise of the Powers of X direction will be interesting to see.
MARVEL FEELS VENGEANCE OF THE MOON KNIGHT
While Marc Spector may be dead when 2024 starts that does not mean we will be without a Moon Knight. Not wasting any time Marvel is taking that status quo change to launch Vengeance of the Moon Knight. The big question is obviously who the new Moon Knight is. The costume on the cover for Vengeance of the Moon Knight certainly hints at a lead who will have a darker approach to being Moon Knight.
The good news is that Jed MacKay will be continuing on as the writer of Vengeance of the Moon Knight. MacKay has already proven to know how to write an excellent Moon Knight series. During his run, he has also showcased how he can expand on the Moon Knight mythology. That includes bringing in other characters to have key roles in the story. Because of that, there is much more trust built in for this new Moon Knight direction than the mantle swap Punisher recently had.
