Marvel Comics has put The Marvels, billed as "one of the most sprawling series ever to hit the Marvel Universe," on track for release in April. First announced in February 2020, The Marvels was delayed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which put the majority of the comic industry on hold through the spring of last year.
Written by Kurt Busiek with art from Yildiray Cinar and covers from Alex Ross, The Marvels will tell superheroic stories from across Marvel's 80+plus years of continuity – including the introduction of totally new characters alongside some of the publisher's most well-known heroes.
"The whole idea of The Marvels is to be able to use the whole Marvel Universe — not just all the characters in it, but all the history of it. The sweeping scope of the whole thing," Busiek stated back in February 2020, at the time of The Marvels' original announcement. "Big stuff can happen in the Marvel Universe, but we usually see it confined largely to the Avengers in Avengers, to the FF in Fantastic Four, and so on. The Marvels is intended as a freewheeling book that can go anywhere, do anything, use anyone. It's a smorgasbord of Marvel heroes and history."
Back in the fall, Busiek assured Newsarama The Marvels would return, alongside other titles such as Marvels Snapshots meant to commemorate the anniversary of Busiek and Alex Ross's landmark Marvels limited series.
"It's a big, sprawling book with connections all throughout Marvel history, so it's fun to do and a lot of work, and we really want to have it launch the best it can," Busiek said at the time.
Marvel's announcement of the new release date for The Marvels includes a roster of characters to appear in the title, including Captain America, Punisher, Iron Man, Aero, Spider-Man, Human Torch, Black Cat, and the Golden Age Vision – alongside at least two new characters.
The Marvels #1 is now scheduled for release in April 2021. Look for Marvel's full April 2021 solicitations later this month on Newsarama.
The Marvels will dig into aspects of Marvel Comics history - perhaps including aspects of the best Marvel stories of all time.
