This is War…but Who’s War? **Updated**
**Latest Update**
Doesn’t add much to the overall mystery but it seems from this tease that Captain America will also face the fury in whatever event This Is War will eventually become. Does that make any difference? Not really but that shield looks like a John Romita Jr shield to me, ridiculous as that statement sounds, I’ll stand by it. Romita has drawn both, The Avengers and Spidey, as well as covering a lot of the AvX stuff but he was also the artist on Avengers #12.1, it’s a tenuous link but a link nonetheless. For some reason I’m now starting to wonder if this even has something to do with the original 31st century Guardians of the Galaxy, Cap’s shield, Thor’s hammer, Wolverine’s claws, all relics of a heroic age that has passed, probably just wishful thinking on my part…
All we’re told by Marvel is we can find out more Sunday, July 15th at the Amazing Spider-Man panel, 12:30PM PST, during Comic Con International 2012. So clearly whatever this event is that Marvel are already cuing up before Avenger vs X-Men has even finished, they’ve decided to announce it at San Diego Comic Con…on the last day. We have a pair of images, one of Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir all smashed up and Wolverine’s claws/ hand in a state of disrepair, what links these two characters? Well currently all that links them is that they’re both in The Avengers but will that still be the case after AvX?
It seems that the only events Marvel can handle nowadays are wars and alternate timelines and then flipping between the two…don’t believe me, let’s take a look at their recent major cross-over event output:
House of M
Civil War
Silent War
World War Hulk
Secret Invasion
War of Kings
Messiah War
Siege
Doom War
Chaos War
Age of X
Schism
AvX
Okay, so I may’ve skewed that list a little to prove my point but you get what I’m saying, Marvel like their wars and their alternate timelines. So is it possible that this new event represents something that encompasses both a war and an alternate timeline? Could this new war be the much mooted Ultron War from the alternate timeline story shown in Avengers #12.1? If one of these images had been Moon Knight I would’ve said that this was definitely the Ultron War, if you recall back in Moon Knight #12 we were told by Brian Michael Bendis that Moon Knight would return in the Ultron War, so I’ve been expecting it some time soon. But it’s not Moon Knight in either of these images, it’s Thor and Wolverine getting their asses handed to them, who could handle these two heavy weights? Maybe Ultron? Maybe not, the fact that whatever it is, will be announced at a Spider-man panel makes me think it’s Spidey-centric. We know that Bendis is leaving Avengers and that once he’s free he’ll be doing something cosmic and quite probably taking over the X-Men books, is it possible that he’s also taking on a 616 universe Spidey book and dragging his Ultron War into that? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see, you can follow the action from the panel live on the Marvel Events App and feel free to talk to other spurious rumour mongers on twitter with the tag #ThisIsWar
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Gavin Jones Chief Sidekick at Sidekick Central, blogger, podcaster, reader of comics and sometimes other books. Lives in his ipad.
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What about the Reckoning War? Dan Slott’s been seeding that in everything he’s written since She-Hulk, and who’s the writer on Amazing Spider-Man? Makes sense for them to announce during the Spidey panel when you look at it that way. On a personal note, it’d mean Slott writing Shulkie again, which I’m all for.
I have heard of this Reckoning War but as I don’t read Amazing Spider-man and have only read a small amount of Dan Slott’s other work at Marvel. What is the Reckoning War all about? Would it involve Wolverine and Thor getting their shit pushed in? Isn’t it cosmic in some way? Is Spidey gonna go cosmic?
Being as marvel show horn their movie universe into their comic universe and his recent unexplained return could it be Thanos, marvel are reprinting Thanos quest in September and another Thanos centric story I can’t recall the name of at present…….bit quick for the Ultron war I think, suspect there would be more of a build up to it than just one avengers .1 issue appearance
Not a bad call there Mr Bumchin, haven’t we already had a fairly recent Thanos focused event though; The Thanos Imperative? Weren’t you reading that? What has Thanos got to do with Spidey too?
You’re probably right about it being too early for Ultron War but Bendis did mention it again in Moon Knight and I imagine that’s a character he’d like to use again soon.
No word of a lie but when I seen the first image of Thor’s hammers my initial thought was “Thanos”.
And obviously Thanos is all cosmic so I am agreeing with Mr Bumchin that I reckon Thanos and leading out out of that a cosmic line.
Thanos to kick everyone who is an avengers arse with no one able to save the day until the avengers get some help from some peeps like Moondragon, Franklin, quasar, and Starfox along with all the cosmic members and when all is said and done and Thanos is down a new team will emerge, a cosmic team, a cosmic avengers team because Marvel love NEW ideas and well there hasn’t been a cosmic avengers team in like what 10 years or so hahahahaha
I’m sure that’s what Bendis is setting up, Cosmic Avengers or something along those lines.
How about the new idea that it’s a return to the old school Guardians of the Galaxy? I only ever read one random issue as a kid and it confused the hell outta me but I loved it, always wanted to go back and get the whole series but just didn’t.
If it’s Thanos, and I’m not saying it ain’t, he’s certainly the Titan of the moment, why is at the Spidey panel?!
You know what though, Guardians of the Galaxy was rumoured to be one of the ‘Secret’ titles that Marvel was working on and Bendis was working on the Avengers titles before and during the Avengers Assemble build up etc and of course launched the title Avengers Assemble to tie in with the Marvel movie universe so its quite possible that this WAR will bring out of it the Guardians of the Galaxy in time for the movie production to be announced?
Thank you for pandering to my mini Guardians of the Galaxy obsession Alex, you’re a great Sidekick. It does all tie in though, they could do a big Cosmic event and launch both Cosmic Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy.
My question though, why don’t Marvel just re brand Guardians of the Galaxy as The Cosmic Avengers? From a marketing angle it would make a lot of sense, they could do a Guardians film but use the brand recognition and success of The Avengers movie to push this movie. I know we’re going totally off the point now but I’m just thinking out loud more than anything
I would think they will try and keep them as separate as they can while still in the same Universe when it comes to movies, reason being if it all goes a bit tits up with a terrible Guardians movie it wont affect the monster that is the Avengers section and like wise if they have a terrible Avengers section movie from Cap 3 or a Hawkeye movie then it wouldnt effect the Guardians that much,
They can still cross over over and have cameo’s but at same time keep there own little part of the Marvel Movie Universe and open it all up even more.
Can you image solo movies leading to or after a Guardians movie a la Avengers, Iron Man and Cape etc but then in 5 to 10 years if people start to wain a tad from the movies a Mega Giant Avengers/Guardians cross over movie of huge size GEESUZ.
Bring the crossover movie, I need the crossover movie. I think that movie would possibly have to be the most expensive movie to film of all time
I think it would be too but can you imagine if the Guardians film (which was announced yesterday for 2014) has a huge success as well like Avengers did?
I could see them spending a couple of hundred million KNOWING they would get a return.
Been totally off the grid, didn’t realise that Guardians had been announced, I have a stiffy the size of Florida
Hahahaha should be great and a nice change from the ones that have been out recently.