Death and Return of Superman creator comes to Marvel for Heroes Reborn and to kill Sam Wilson

page from Heroes Reborn: Marvel Double Action #1 — (Image credit: Marvel Comics)

Acclaimed writer/artist Dan Jurgens returns to Marvel Comics as the penciler of Heroes Reborn: Marvel Double Action #1, which delves into the past of the Heroes Reborn timeline in which the Avengers never formed and the Squadron Supreme are Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

Best known for his work on the Death and Return of Superman, Jurgens now turns his pencil to depicting the death of another prominent hero - Sam Wilson, the Falcon - and we've got a preview of interior pages right here:

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In the world of Heroes Reborn 2021, the Falcon is the crime-fighting partner of Nighthawk, a kind of Batman pastiche from the Squadron Supreme. And like Batman, this version of Nighthawk has had several different folks in the role of the Falcon over the years, starting with Sam Wilson. Trouble is, Sam was murdered by the Green Goblin way back in the '70s.

Marvel Double Action presents a kind of in-universe flashback tale presented through the lens of a faux-reprint story meant to have taken place in the distant past of the new Heroes Reborn universe. In this case, the story mimics the classic Spider-Man tale 'The Death of Gwen Stacy,' down to the homage on the cover and Green Goblin's involvement.

"A TALE FROM THE SQUADRON’S PAST! Years ago, Nighthawk and his trusted partner, the Falcon, patrolled the streets of Washington, DC, from the vile criminals that lurked in the dark," reads Marvel's official synopsis of Heroes Reborn: Marvel Double Action #1. "But that all changed one fateful night…Re-presenting for the first time ever: the Night Sam Wilson Died!"

Oddly enough, Heroes Reborn 2021 also includes the introduction of a new Falcon as the partner for Nighthawk - none other than Miles Morales, who doesn't have Spider-Man to be inspired by in the timeline of the event series.

As for Jurgens, though he's most prominently associated with DC and Superman, he's had a few stints at Marvel over the years, including working as both writer and penciler of Captain America and writing Thor for some time, among other Marvel work.

Marvel Double Action #1, from writer Tim Seeley, penciler Dan Jurgens, inker Scott Hanna, colorist Chris Sotomayor, and letterer Cory Petit goes on sale June 2.

Yes, indeed, Dan Jurgens represents on Newsarama list of the best Superman stories of all time.

I've been Newsarama's resident Marvel Comics expert and general comic book historian since 2011. I've also been the on-site reporter at most major comic conventions such as Comic-Con International: San Diego, New York Comic Con, and C2E2. Outside of comic journalism, I am the artist of many weird pictures, and the guitarist of many heavy riffs. (They/Them)