J. Michael Straczynski Travels The Marvel Universe In 2025
by Tony Thornley
Legendary science fiction and television writer J. Michael Straczynski made his triumphant return to the Marvel Universe last year with Captain America. With that run rumored to be winding down, it looks like his next Marvel project’s going to be a lot of fun for him and us.
Starting in January, Straczynski will team with a line-up of legendary artists to dive deep into some unexpected pairings from all across the Marvel Universe. Each month through June, Straczynski and his artistic collaborators — Will Robson, Bernard Chang, Elena Casagrande, Germán Peralta, Juan Ferreyra, and Phil Noto — will pair a new and, in most cases, unexpected set of characters for timeless stories from across the Marvel Universe.
The series kicks off in January with Doctor Doom & Rocket Raccoon with Robson, in which Rocket finds himself in one of the most unique situations in Marvel history — being asked a favor by Doctor Doom. February will then see Captain America & Volstagg with Chang as the Asgardian warrior needs help, and asks for it from the greatest hero he knows: Steve Rogers.
The other one shots will feature Nick Fury Vs. Fin Fang Foom, Hulk & Doctor Strange (with a Aunt May & Agatha Harkness back up), Ghost Rider Vs. Galactus, and wraps up with Spider-Man Vs. Doctor Octopus.
“I like to go where the fun is, and the idea of putting together Marvel characters who had either never been paired before, or only minimally, seemed like it would be a ton of fun, and it was even more of a blast than I anticipated,” Straczynski explained. “For the first time we could see the original Nick Fury in China along with the Flying Tigers taking on a newly awakened Fin Fang Foom … go to the edge of time and space with Rocket Raccoon and Doctor Doom … see the Ghost Rider slugging it out with none other than Galactus … Aunt May caught in the midst of a supernatural battle alongside Agatha Harkness … the more unlikely the pairing, the more eccentric the combo, the more fun it was to see it come to life. I’ve been sitting on news of this series for over a year and I’m so excited to know it will finally be hitting newsstands starting in January.”
All of these sound like a ton of fun (I love how much that word was used in Marvel’s announcement), and Marvel does need to focus a bit more on timeless tales. I do think a lack of unifying branding is a little weird. I can’t think of one that applies though — Marvel Team-Up wouldn’t work since half of them are fights, and Marvel Two-In-One has only even been a series starring the Thing. Maybe “Marvel Tales” or “Marvel Spotlight” would have worked.
Also, it is a little strange that the press release called these unexpected pairs. Hulk and Strange were teammates on both the Defenders and the Avengers, so that’s not that unexpected. And then Spider-Man and Doc Ock are … well, arch-enemies. Maybe that was one that Straczynski asked Noto what he wanted to draw. Or maybe since Straczynski’s legendary Spidey run didn’t feature many classic rogues, he had one Spidey/Octavius story still in him? I dunno.
Regardless, these are a pretty unique take on the Marvel Universe that I hope we see more of, whether Straczynski continues it past June or another writer jumps in (Jonathan Hickman is one I’d love to see do this).
Check out the promo art and first three covers, and watch for the one-shots to start hitting stores in January!
