Back in October, Marvel Comics announced an all-new Secret Wars series would be taking place in 2015 and would later reveal that the story’s “Battleworld” would be made up of different stories from all throughout the Marvel canon. Now, Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso and SVP, Executive Editor Tom Brevoort have revealed new details on the event series, which will have huge ramifications for the entire Marvel universe going forward.
“The Ultimate Universe, The Marvel Universe, they’re going to smash together,” Alonso revealed. “Imagine them as two pizzas. They’re gonna slap together, they’re going to have all-new toppings, some toppings are going to drop off, you’re going to yell about some that are missing, and you’re going to love the new ones that are there. That is the Marvel Universe moving forward. It’s more than just the Marvel Universe and the Ultimate Universe, it’s all the universes you can imagine. That’s it, and this is the Marvel Universe moving forward.”
Many of those universes were previously teased when Battleworld was revealed, featuring the likes of Old Man Logan, Future Imperfect, and Age of Ultron vs. Marvel Zombies. Marvel has now debuted an interactive map of Battleworld further teasing the “countries” that will make up both the arena for Secret Wars and the building blocks of Marvel Comics continuity moving forward. To put it simply, Marvel Comics aren’t exactly rebooting so much as they’re taking the things fans like about the “regular” universe, the Ultimate universe, and all the stories of the past they enjoyed so fondly. Prepare for the All-New Marvel.
Secret Wars is set to begin in May with Jonathan Hickman writing and art by Esad Ribic. You can check out the full announcement video from today’s event in the player below along with the cover to Secret Wars #2 by Alex Ross featuring a Thor throw down!