Marvel Comics announced two new miniseries today at the Lucca Comics & Games festival in Italy. First up, “Black Widow & Hawkeye” will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the two Avengers’ debut in “Tales of Suspense” next year. The four-issue comic, written by Stephanie Phillips with art by Paolo Villanelli (“Captain Marvel: Dark Tempest”), will see Clint Barton go on the run after being accused of an assassination attempt, with Natasha Romanoff — who recently bonded with a symbiote in the pages of “Venom” — coming immediately to his aid. “But as echoes of their past ripple into the present, it will take all their faith in each other — and the lessons learned along the way — to protect their futures.”
Phillips jokes, “I love getting the chance to dig deep with Natasha Romanov and Clint Barton to tell a fast-paced spy story that celebrates their 60th anniversary. Nothing is as it seems, and I’m having a ton of fun writing these characters. Not to mention they both look great for 60.” The first issue releases March 13. Black Widow, created by Stan Lee, Don Rico, and Don Heck, first appeared as an Iron Man villain in “Tales of Suspense” #52 (released January 10, 1964), while Hawkeye, also created by Lee and Heck, debuted as her accomplice in issue #57 (June 9, 1964). The book marks their second “solo” team-up title, after 2010’s “Widowmaker” (by Jim McCann, Duane Swierczynski, David López, Manuel Garcia et al.)
Also announced was “X-Men: Forever,” a four-issue tie-in to ‘Fall of the House of X’ by Kieron Gillen and Luca Maresca. Starting March 20, the series will wrap up the remaining plot threads from “Immortal X-Men,” including “the quest for Dominion, the interpersonal conflicts of the Quiet Council, the escape from the White Hot Room, and of course, the divine intervention of the Phoenix.”
Gillen states, “‘X-Men Forever’ is Luca and myself doing a coda to ‘Immortal X-Men,’ a requiem for the Krakoan age and generally setting fire to all time and space. It’s the manipulative hand in the steel glove that is ‘Rise of the Powers of X.’ By the time it drops, you’ll be wondering what on earth is going on with certain characters, and ‘X-Men Forever’ will give you all the answers.” “Rise of the Powers of X” begins on January 10, while “Immortal X-Men” will conclude with issue #18 on December 27, 2023.
