Four new titles have been announced for the Secret Wars event coming later this year: Runaways, Korvac Saga, Weird World and X-Tinction Agenda. Aside from Runaways, which will be using the Battleworld banner, the rest will be using the Warzones title.
Runaways was a series that spawned back in 2003 and ran until 2009. Featuring a cast of kids (and a Dinosaur) on the run after finding out that their parents were a group of supervillains called the Pride, the series was well received by many but was eventually cancelled. Though characters like Molly Hayes (an original Runaway member) have showed up over time in titles like Avengers Arena and the resulting Avengers Undercover, this will the first Runaway title in over half a decade. Unfortunately, this will be a new lineup featuring alternate versions of existing characters rather than the original team. Taking place in a school, the members of Runaways will realize that their headmaster is a supervillain, mirroring the first issue of the original Runaways in which the kids find out the truth about their parents. Alternate teenage versions of Skaar, Jubilee, Bucky Barnes, Amadeus Cho, Cloak & Dagger, along with a new character Saana appear to be a part of the roster so far. An Issue #1 cover and a variant has been released, and while no mention seems to have been made to her, Molly Hayes appears to be on the cover of Runaways #1. The variant cover displays a blonde female wearing a version of the white Fantastic Four outfit (Maybe Valeria Richards?). Noelle Stevenson will be writing while Sanford Greene takes care of artwork.
The original Korvac Saga was a story arc that involved the Avengers and the first Guardians of the Galaxy lineup. The story involved the kind-of-villainous Korvac battling (and ultimately killing) most of the Avengers and the Guardians team when he universe jumps to 616 (Though he does bring them all back to life right before he “dies”). In the new Korvac Saga, the original Guardians of the Galaxy team (who now star in Guardians 3000, with the 3000 referring to their 31st century origins) serves under Korvac (how this happens, you’ll have to check out Issue 1 when it drops). Korvac and the Guardians 3000 are in direct conflict with Wonderman who controls a neighboring piece of Battle World. Wonder Man is backed by a version of the Avengers, whose roster includes Captain Marvel, Jocasta, Black Panther, Vision, Hercules, Moondragon, Yellowjacket, and Black Widow. Penned by current Guardians 3000 writer Dan Abnett and art by Otto Octavius Schmidt.
X-Tinction Agenda was a storyline in the early ’90s that revolved around Alex Summers/Havok (who seems to constantly be overshadowed by his older brother Scott (Cyclops). Having amnesia at the time, Havok resides in Genosha and aids Cameron Hodge in attacking the X-Mansion and succeeds in capturing several mutants including Storm, Warlock, and Wolfsbane who are then brainwashed. After the intervention of several mutants like Wolverine, Gambit, and Psylocke, they succeed in freeing their friends and overthrowing the then anti-mutant Genosha. With his memories regained, Havok decides to stay behind with Wolfsbane to rebuild Genosha in their image. The new X-Tinction Agenda series will continue take place 10 years later in an alternate history that deals with the Genosha leaders’ actions when an epidemic hits their country, threatening to wipe out mutantkind. In this version of reality, the X-Men team that premiered in Giant Sized X-Men #1 will also play a part as Hank McCoy decides to pull this team into the present time instead of the original team that resulted in the All New X-Men books. Maybe this means we’ll see Thunderbird again. X-Tinction Agenda will be written by Mark Guggenheim and will be drawn by Carmine Di Giandomenico.
Weird World is appropriately named. Featuring Arkon, the ruler of Polymachus, Weird World promises the presence of the most bizarre bits of Marvel history. If it’s strange, you’ll probably see it. Inspired in part by Conan the Barbarian, the title will follow Arkon (who has no idea how he got to his part of Battleworld) as he battles his way home. Weird World is also said to be one of the few self-contained books that springs from the Secret Wars. Jason Aaron will write Weird World while Michael Del Mundo provides art.
Marvel announced the new titles through several news sites. Check them out below.
Sources: CBR, Newsarama, Comicbook.com, USA Today
