Marvel has announced two new ongoing titles for it’s All-New All-Different Marvel line-up kicking off in the US Fall: DOCTOR STRANGE #1 from creators Jason Aaron (Star Wars, Thor) and Chris Bachalo (Uncanny X-Men, Avengers), and a Miles Morales led SPIDER-MAN #1 from his co-creators Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli.
These announcements in part answer some of the mysteries surrounding the images teasing the new Marvel universe released earlier this month, including one of an axe wielding Dr. Strange and Miles Morales quite clearly playing in the mainstream Marvel universe. Following Secret Wars, Marvel is set to unleash a brand new line-up on readers, although the company has been hesitant to call it a reboot.
The biggest question we had from the second teaser image, apart from The Thing being in the Guardians of the Galaxy, was why Doctor Stephen Strange was wielding an axe. The press release for DOCTOR STRANGE doesn’t answer that question, but it does hint at the direction of the new book, his first solo title in a number of years following his starring role in New Avengers.
From inside his Sanctum Sanctorum – the strangest place in this or any universe, the Master of the Mystic Arts protects this realm from the supernatural. A dark new power is rising. One that will have repercussions for all magic users. The threat is growing, and Strange knows he won’t be powerful enough to stop it. If he is to have any kind of hope, it will take a different kind of Sorcerer Supreme. Because all magic comes with a price, and it’s high time Stephen Strange balanced the scales.
“None of Marvel’s other heavy hitters walk the same beat as Dr. Strange,” says Jason Aaron in an upcoming interview with Marvel.com. “None of them have to face the same sorts of repercussions whenever they use their powers. Being the Sorcerer Supreme is a unique responsibility. And it’s one that Stephen Strange embraces. Even though there’s no doubt that his job is one day going to leave him dead, damned or insane. So I want to celebrate all the weirdness that is Dr. Strange, while having him face a challenge unlike anything he’s ever faced before. One that rewrites the rulebook for what it means to be the Sorcerer Supreme.”
From the press release for SPIDER-MAN, it’s clear that (as per the original teaser image) there will be more than one Spider-Man running around in the new MCU come “Fall” as the fan-favourite character of Morales finally joins the main Marvel family.
A stranger in a strange land, Miles patrols the rooftops of a New York City that is very different from the one he knew. A world where countless heroes guard it’s skies and streets. A world where Miles is counted among the ranks of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, the Avengers. A world where Peter Parker is still alive. Though their paths have crossed before the landmark series Spider-Men, with Miles now living in Peter’s universe – is this town big enough for two Spider-Men? More importantly – how did Miles come to be here in the first place?!
“This is a very big deal to [Sarah and I],” says Brian Michael Bendis in an interview with Marvel.com. “For [Miles] to have grown up and flat-out earned his place in the Marvel Universe, as Spider-Man, is frankly so much more than we could have hoped for when we first sat down to design him and his life. When it became clear that I was going to follow Miles into this new adventure I was really hoping that Sara would see the value in it being both of us that do this together. I was thrilled that she agreed immediately.”
