Last week, we got teasers of the new creative teams that would be emerging in the Marvel Universe come October when the Marvel NOW initiative begins. Now, instead of one word posters, we get full on previews of three of the most beloved characters as they will appear in a few months.
First up, Tony Stark has a new look thanks to Kieron Gillen and Greg Land in ‘Iron Man’ #1. Check out the cover of the premiere issue featuring Marvel’s Armored Avenger, followed by a taste of what Tony has to deal with, thanks to Comic Vine:
Technical visionary. Unparalleled engineer. Avenger. Iron Man has done it all, from combating the greatest threats facing the Marvel Universe to dealing with his own inner demons. Now, when his greatest invention becomes his greatest mistake, Iron Man must act fast…and build faster! The lethal techno virus Extremis is out in the wild and for grabs to the highest bidder! It’s up to Tony Stark to contain it and that means creating a new suit of armor!
According to Gillen, the story will focus on him questioning things about himself and trying to find out exactly how the universe ticks, what’s this all about and why he does this anyway.” The writer also promised a new suit of armor every issue in the first five issues.
Next is the God of Thunder and son of Odin, Thor. In an interview with Newsarama, writer Jason Aaron revealed that his Thunderer collaboration with Esad Ribic will officially be titled ‘Thor: God of Thunder’. Apparently, the team is looking to scale down the title and focus on Thor himself. Initially, we won’t get the usual interactions with the Warriors Three, Sif, or the rest of the Asgardians. In fact, Aaron talks about sending Thor to some of the farthest corners of the cosmos while dealing with an entirely new villain named Gorr the God Butcher, who the writer describes as “a serial killer of gods. He’s a guy with a serious axe to grind against all immortal beings in the cosmos, and he’s going around doing his best to kill them all off, one at a time, as brutally as possible.”
Check out the cover of ‘Thor: God of Thunder’ #1 below:
And finally, we get a look at Mark Waid and Leinil Yu’s Indestructible Hulk. Out of the three titles that I’m sharing with you now, this has got to be the one I’m most excited for. Just check out this quote from Waid:
“The reception to our approach on Daredevil had a lot to do with how I’m coming at Hulk — assuming that everything we know about Hulk is still true, everything he’s been through — but, as we did with Daredevil, having Banner turn a corner and deciding to take a whole new, less ‘woe is me’ view of his condition. The stories we’ll be telling treat the Hulk less like a time bomb and more like a targeted WMD — and he’ll be moving throughout the Marvel Universe, exploring (on Banner’s behalf, for reasons you’ll see in issue #1) certain corners of the universe — Jotunheim, The Negative Zone, Lemuria. Hulk and Banner have a mission — and it will take them far and wide.”
No more sad sack Bruce Banner here! And it’s about time too, I’d say. The man has been through quite a lot in recent history, so I’m glad to hear that he’s turning a new leaf and embracing his situation. It’s also interesting to note that while Waid has plans to bring Banner in front of other Hulks, but initially the supporting cast will be rather small with Bruce Banner and Maria Hill being the main players.
You can see the cover of ‘Indestructible Hulk’ #1 below, courtesy of IGN:
Have these covers made you more excited about Marvel NOW? What do you think about the heroes’ new looks? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
