DC has decided to relaunch it’s lineup with 52 new issues starting in September. It’s meant to be a starting point for new readers they hope to draw in and trimming the fat. I’ve looked over what they want to do and I’m quite excited over the idea. My pull list is going to get longer. Again.
Naturally, others have already done this but I thought I’d throw in my two cents over what I would do if Marvel relaunched its line. This is only a thought experiment. I’m more familiar with this corner of the comic universe and I thought this would be fun. This does not in any way suggest that what Marvel is currently doing is bad.
I would just like to trim some of Marvel’s fat. (Particularly the X Men line). And this is how I would do it.
Two things first. No creative teams will be listed as both Marvel and DC are good at poaching talent from other mediums and each other to create the books they sell each month. Also, these are just bare ideas, most not even fleshed out..
Marvel has an ultimate line which is getting it’s own revamp very soon. That tried to imagine Marvel heroes and villians if they had been launched in the 21st century rather than in the 1960s.
This is how I’d do it if I was launching in THIS decade.
So, yes, folks. Continuity is GONE.
CAVEATS:
Marvel will NEVER do this. But one thing DC is attempting to try with this 52 relaunch is a consistency with the creative teams. So you really will get a year’s worth of issues with the same creative team. I wish both companies would do this consistently. If an artist, in particular, needs a break, maybe have that fill in artists be dedicated to that particular book.
Finally, just for clarity’s sake, Marvel has a dedicated Adults only line labeled MAX. A few of these must be done in this way and I’ve indicated as much down below.
WITH ALL THAT IN MIND, HERE WE GO, IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER.
2. Iron Man: Billionaire Industrialist Tony Stark uses his suit of armor to keep himself alive and make a difference in the world of armed conflicts.
3. Hulk: Bruce Banner is on the run from the experiment that created the monster inside him.
4. Ms. Marvel: The same accident that created the fantastic four irradiated test pilot Carol Danvers and granted her superpowers. Now she goes where the military can't in a quest to prove herself and get justice.
5. Spiderman: An irradiated Spider bit college student Peter Parker and changed his life forever.
6. Black Widow: Spy action from a former Russian agent who defected to our side.
7. Captain America: A soldier out of time. Retired during WWII by being cryogenically frozen. Woken up to combat a new kind of terror.
8. Fury, Director of SHIELD: Fury heads a special ops squad that goes where others can't to intervene in a crisis.
9. Thor: An Asgardian exiled to Earth for a crime he didn't commit has found a new home and a new reason to fight.
10. Journey into Mystery: The Asgardians is Marvel’s wild take on Norse Mythology and considering how much some of those gods like to intervene on Earth this is their book and the Marvel Universe’s reaction to it.
11. She Hulk: Bruce Banner's cousin Jen Walters once saved Bruce's life and her own has never been the same since. Bounty Hunter, Skip Tracer, Lawyer, her natural desire to help gets her into all kinds of trouble.
12. The Pantheon: If Journey into Mystery is about the Norse Gods, this one is about the Greek Gods. The Greek Gods love to play with us. Unless we fight back.
13. The Avengers: Occasionally there are threats too big for one hero to handle. When the city and the world is under threat we need their help.
14. Damage Control: A group of Insurance Agents pursue claims filed by those who have been victimized in some way after heroes and villians have clashed in the city.
15. The Defenders: This is a group of humans, all affected in some manner by the insanity happening in their city, trying to build a bridge between super powered beings, mutants, and humans through whatever action they can to promote peace.
16. Daredevil: A lawyer who works New York’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood for justice. When that justice fails he dons a mask and gets justice his way as Daredevil.
17. Elektra: (MAX) An assassin with one line she'll never cross--unless her life depends on it. If you become her target nothing short of her death will stop her.
18. Thunderbolts: Former Supervillians attempt to make a fresh start tackling tough cases that only they can. A member of the Avengers oversees them and outside of a core few, they take who they need from a rotating roster depending on the mission.
19. Dr. Strange: A paranormal psychologist taps into mystical powers to save us all from a darkness that very few can perceive.
20. The Punisher: (MAX) One man wages a never ending war on the vilest criminal set.
21. The Daily Bugle: Investigative reporters dig up the stories that no one talks about in a world gone very very strange.
22. Avengers Academy. New heroes are always needed to combat new threats. This is where they receive training, with the hope that they can better the world in the future.
23. Mary Jane: Gossip Girl in the Marvel Universe. Should appeal to all ages.
24. Blade (MAX): A hybrid creature of darkness hunts others of its kind and a lot more. When the sun goes down, the Marvel Universe gets dark very fast.
25. Runaways: Kids with a variety of powers and origins discover that they have supervillian parents. They go on the run to defeat those parents but in the process make enemies of everyone they meet. They’re looking for a place to settle so they can clear their reputations.
26. Black Panther: Political intrigue in a country in the midst of a revolution.
27. The Starjammers: Outerspace action with encounters of the strangest beings in the cosmos.
28. Ghost Rider: A spirit of vengeance posesses a human to make the guilty atone for their crimes. But what if the vessel is the guiltiest one of all?
29. Werewolf By Night: It takes a monster to slay a monsters.
30. NY X: Not every newly manifested mutant has access to Charles Xavier. Those that don't make other options.
31. X Men: (The 2000 film had this right). Scott, Jean, Ororo, Beast and Angel. Xavier and Magneto and their idealogical clash over where the mutant race should go next.
32. Generation X: Academy for the gifted and their struggles at school. A rotating team of instructors for guest shots. Primary students are the following: Rogue, Kitty Pryde, Bobby Drake, Pyro, Jubilee and Nightcrawler.
33. Wolverine (MAX): solo adventures of a semi team player trying to understand who and what he is.
34. X Factor: A Mutant organization designed to police it's own in a world that fears them. Wolverine leads this as he's trying to atone for past sins. Domino, Wolfsbane, Bishop, Sage, and Elizabeth Braddock (before she got the Ninja Assassin body) make up the team.
35. Shang Chi: Master of Kung Fu. I was thinking more spy action but in a more over the top way like Bond. Perhaps an industrial espionage angle.
36. Black Widow: Pale Spider (MAX): This is Yelena Belova, a graduate of the same school that Natasha came from. (And featured in a mini with the above title). This is hardcore spy action--as realistic as we can be in the Marvel Universe.
37. Exiles: Perhaps to pay homage to all this continuity we lost we can assemble a team that does a sort of wormhole hopping multiverse tour of all creation attempting to right wrongs . This way we get glimpses of what the Marvel Universe used to be like.
38. Marvel Team Up. It always pays to have a friend along to help out.
39. Marvel Comics Presents. This is the place for mini series and other vignettes featuring our favorite heroes and villians.
40. What If: Alternate tales of new and old tales, taking an Exiles approach to storytelling.
41. The Hellfire Club. When humans, mutants and super powered beings worked together to create chaos, this group leads the charge.
42. The Eternals. These are the beings that keep the universe in order. And they don’t always get along.
43. Marvel Illustrated: This line has been used the in the past to publish adaptations of classics but I would go further and leave things for stuff like their Stephen King adaptations or Orson Scott Card's novels.
44. Marvel Adventures. This is the kid friendly take to stories featuring the characters we know and love.
45. Icon: This line is like Marvel Illustrated only it’s reserved for creator owned properties.
46. Crossgen: To date, Sigil, Ruse and an upcoming Mystic are three titles that used to belong to a separate company that went bankrupt a few years ago. Marvel has acquired these assets and has so far produced these mini series. I would just put this in a single line and rotate them accordingly. Personally, I’d like to see “The Path” come back.
47. Weird Western Tales: Marvel has a number of Western heroes and villians in their stable (sorry). Use this to showcase them.
For titles 48-52 I’d like to borrow an idea from somewhere else and call these titles the open slot positions. Do something completely new either from their original catalog or more breathing room for other creator owned ideas.
Will this ever happen? Who knows? This is only a thought experiment.
