Marvel had a relatively quiet first day at the 2017 New York Comic Con next to DC and Image, with most of their plans for the new year already laid out. Regardless, there was still some news and a few new announcements:
– At the “Marvel Legacy: Next Big Thing” panel, it was announced Weapon H, a hybrid of Wolverine and the Hulk, will be given his own solo title. (Nick Lowe called the decision “the most 8-year-old idea ever.”) The character, whose true identity is a soldier named Clayton, was introduced by Greg Pak and Mike Deodato Jr. in this year’s “Weapon X”/”Totally Awesome Hulk” crossover ‘Weapons of Mutant Destruction.’ The comic will begin in March.
– Stan Lee began the day with a video message on Twitter speaking out against “hatred, intolerance and bigotry.” Echoing his soapbox columns from his time as editor-in-chief, Lee reminded fans that Marvel was a place for anyone “regardless of their race, gender, religion or color of their skin.”
– However, a retailers’ panel that morning soon turned awkward when some disgruntled retailers complained to Marvel’s upper management, including editors Tom Brevoort and Nick Lowe, that their attempts at diversity had caused a downturn in sales. Several comic book store owners started using phrases like ““black,” “homo” and “freaking females,” leading to booing from other booksellers.
– Focusing on the books themselves, a “Marvel Super Hero Adventures” comic was announced for April. Tying into the new preschool franchise, the series will be written by Jim McCann (“Marvel Zombies Christmas Carol”) and illustrated by Dario Brizuela (“Marvel Super Hero Squad”).
– There will be two X-Men annuals in January. The “X-Men Gold” annual by Marc Guggenheim and Leah Williams (“The Totally Awesome Hulk” #1.1) will reunite the original Excalibur team, while the “X-Men Blue” one will start a crossover with “Venom” titled ‘Poison X.’ Cullen Bunn will collaborate with “Uncanny X-Men” artist Edgar Salazar on that book.
– At the panel for the prose imprint Marvel Press, there was a thoughtful discussion between Jason Reynolds (Miles Morales: Spider-Man) and Ronald L. Smith (the upcoming Black Panther: The Young Prince) about how superhero stories can help start “difficult conversations about complicated social issues,” and who would win a fight. We also learned Smith’s novel will feature Prince T’Challa visiting the South Side of Chicago. The Young Prince will be published January 2.
– Gore Verbinski, the Academy Award-winning director of Rango, the original Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy and The Lone Ranger, is in talks to direct Gambit. The Channing Tatum film is currently undergoing rewrites and hasn’t got a release date.
– Iron Fist will make a guest appearance on Luke Cage season two. Barring Luke Cage’s introduction in Jessica Jones, this will be the first time one of The Defenders‘ leads have appeared in another character’s show.
– An original character called Morningstar is being introduced in the mobile game Marvel Contest of Champions. A tyrannical queen from medieval times originally named Haasen, she was sealed during an uprising in a magic iron maiden to suffer for all eternity until she was freed by Mephisto. She now searches for her sword, Fleur du Mal, which is currently wielded by Guillotine, another character created for the game who then crossed over into the comics.
