In a lot of ways, the holidays are about tradition. Everyone’s got ’em. It might be a family latke recipe, or getting together to watch Die Hard, or arranging the Christmas tree ornaments so the cats don’t knock them off the lowest branches. Here at Multiversity, we have an annual tradition of looking at shared comic book universes and politely ask them to do something differently. It’s one part new years resolution, one part gift giving- to us, every one!
Today, we are taking a look at the House of Ideas, Marvel Comics. We’ve been pretty excited about a lot of Marvel books this year, and we have a lot of suggestions of how they can continue to capitalize on their success. Let’s take a look!
Hear Me Out: X-Men Theology Podcast
Don’t worry, I’m under no delusion that this would ever actually exist but imagine if it did. Here’s the pitch: Nightcrawler, Kate Pride, and Exodus talk to each other about their faith, their struggles with it, and the ways in which the Krakoan era has challenged or reinforced aspects of it.
Why a podcast though? Well, as much as I think a comic like this could be fascinating – see Hickman & Yu’s “X-Men” #7 – the kinds of direct discussions I pictured really fit best as a podcast. It’s a medium built for talking and back-and-forths. Marvel’s already shown they’re willing to make scripted shows so why not one that’s “unscripted” featuring these characters? I think this could be an absolutely fascinating use of these characters and make for a totally new experience.
I know I am one of three people that might actually want this, considering I wrote an entire essay on the subject of religion and the X-Men, and I’m sure some would find this absolutely insufferable. However, would it be more insufferable than whatever we got instead with Nightcrawler last year? No. No it would not be. – Elias Rosner
Don’t publish a series just to publish a series
After finishing the insane horror epic that was “Immortal Hulk” I said to myself, “How do they follow that?” The answer is they don’t, not really. No disrespect to Donny Cates and Ryan Ottley, both of whom have done good work for the House of Ideas and for themselves, but it was always going to be tough gamma-irradiated shoes to fill. And why publish this series at all? I haven’t spoken to anyone who was desperate for another “Hulk” comic by a different team. It would have been better to let the series breathe. This is one way Marvel Comics should differ from its parent company, Disney. They’ve been publishing “Hulk” comics for over half a century. If they want to do right by the Banner family, the big green guy could have used a break. Marvel should hold off on greenlighting a new series until they are convinced they have an exciting pitch. – Jaina Hill
Bring Forth Scarlet Scarab
It may be hard to believe, but it was only this year the MCU introduced its first Arab hero in Moon Knight’s Layla El-Faouly (played by the delightful May Calamawy), aka Scarlet Scarab. Based on an obscure pair of Invaders/Thor characters, Layla provided some sorely needed Middle Eastern representation, and her addition to the comics continuity should be a priority for Marvel. Yes, erring on the side of caution is always a good idea, especially since Marvel Studios may not know what’s next for Layla (we don’t even know if she’s from a Muslim or Coptic family), but a 616 version of her would be an inherently very different character from her Moon Knight counterpart, so why hold off any longer? – Christopher Chiu-Tabet
DRM-free Comics Wen?
If you read my DC Comics wishlist, this may seem familiar and that’s because it is. I figure, if I’m asking one, I should ask both.
Maybe 2023 will be the year that Marvel Comics starts offering DRM-free purchases of digital comics. I was holding out hope that Amazon would have used its monopolistic power to pressure these big companies into joining the DRM-free backup program through ComiXology like Apple did for music way back when but NOPE. Instead they said “fuck you,” killed the program entirely, and now I can’t even buy the rest of “Department of Truth” and make my own reading order since Image shut down its storefront years ago due to the ascendency of ComiXology.
Continued belowI doubt this will ever in a million years happen considering Disney’s hatred of the public domain and all things they don’t control. But this is a wishlist. If by some miracle they start letting people purchase comics through Marvel.com (a scary prospect unless they revamp that thing) – and verify previous purchases in ComiXology – and then allowing us the ability to download them to create custom reading orders and whatnot (as is our right with purchased products,) then I want to at least put the vibes out there that it’s a good move. – Elias Rosner
Keep experimenting with collaboration
In 2009, after Spidey sold his marriage to the devil, “Amazing Spider-Man” shifted to a team of writers, including Dan Slott, Marc Guggenheim, Bob Gale, and Zeb Wells. Before long the experiment was abandoned, and we got a full decade of Slott. A few years ago when the X-Men moved to Krakoa, the line was taken over by a TV-style writer’s room, and we are coming up on half a decade of mutant comic sales dominance. This year, one of the best things Marvel published was “Spider-Man Beyond,” written by a team that included Zeb Wells, Kelly Thompson, Saladin Ahmed, Cody Ziglar, Jed McKay, and Patrick Gleason. Maybe the era of Marvel Method has lasted long enough. Maybe there are other good ways to make a comic out there, just waiting to be discovered. The House of Ideas should continue to experiment the ways that their creators work together; it’s yielded some A+ results! – Jaina Hill
Give Wong a First Name
Firstly, Wong did receive a first name (“Jason”) in the 2000s’ kid-friendly ‘Marvel Adventures’ universe, but he still lacks one in the main line. He’s come a long way since being Doctor Strange’s stereotypical Asian manservant, no doubt in part thanks to Benedict Wong’s winning (and increasingly regular) appearances in the MCU, but he’s still being held back from becoming a fully realized character as a result. Are Marvel’s editors that fearful of stepping on Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s (lack of) intention? Or waiting to see if the team on the cinematic side of things blinks first? Either way, giving Wong a canonical first name (Jason or otherwise) would be fantastic. – Christopher Chiu-Tabet
Finally, some video games
When I was a kid, there was a steady stream of superhero games on Gameboy and Sega Genesis. Then there were the dark times. The last year that featured major Marvel video game releases was 2012. After a stream of forgettable mobile games (and Marvel: Avengers Alliance for Facebook, which ruled) we got the excellent Spider-Man games from Insomniac. But then we got a fun Guardians of the Galaxy action RPG in 2021 and this year saw the release of Marvel: Midnight Suns. Oh, and Marvel: Snap, the funnest licensed phone game in forever. I don’t know enough about what’s happening behind the scenes to know why this change occurred, but I know I welcome it! Even if there have been a few whiffs (that Crystal Dynamics Avengers game comes to mind), I am gladdened to even see attempts made. One bad game in a handful of great ones is way better than no games at all. Let’s keep it up Marvel! I can’t wait to be shocked by whatever cool announcement is waiting in 2023. – Jaina Hill
Put Russell Dauterman on Interiors
It’s bad enough the man only had one book this year and it was only one part of one story. It’s worse to realize it was the best part of that issue and that we were so damn lucky to have him on interiors for as long as we did over on “The Mighty Thor.” I miss those digital paintings we would get on a monthly basis. The action, the drama, the style!
Maybe he’s taking a well earned rest by focusing on his cover work which continues to be some of the best in the industry. Maybe they just haven’t found the right project for him to do. Or perhaps Dauterman is readying a series for someone else. Whatever the case, I really hope 2023 sees him come back to do some full issues of comics and since this is my Marvel list, that’s where I’ll be on the lookout. – Elias Rosner
Continued belowStop Forgetting Sunspot’s Black
This has been an ongoing issue for years now, but it’s disappointing that Marvel’s editors, artists and colorists still forget Sunspot (Roberto da Costa) is Afro-Brazilian, not just Brazilian. Take an instance from this month’s “X-Men Red” #9 alone: a triumphant entrance for the character is undermined by how unrecognizable he looks, from his narrow nose to his skin reflecting the fire around him. Even with all that fire (and the straightened hair), I should still be able to tell Roberto is a Black man. Writers should take responsibility to prevent these kinds of oversights too: it’s so disappointing to see such talented creators keep making the same mistake over and over again. – Christopher Chiu-Tabet
Bring in More, Diverse Newcomers
Marvel’s been doing a decent job of diversifying its publishing line, both in terms of who leads books within the fiction and who works on them on the outside. It’s not great or nearly fast enough but it’s still moving in a positive direction. In 2023, I want to see that trend continue but what I really want is for them to promote newer creators on their books. Marvel has a bad tendency to just kind of rearrange its talent pool instead of trying to expand it.
Case in point: Dan Slott doing a second spider series. We didn’t need this. We barely needed a second Aaron avengers book (even though “Avengers Forever” is wicked fun) or the constant rotation of the same 6 artists on the same 5-8 books. Bring in some new blood this year! Take some of the creators that do good work for anthologies or digital first titles and move them onto something bigger and reach outside the usual pool to bring people in. They’ve done it before, they can do it again.– Elias Rosner
