Marvel's The Death of Doctor Strange continues in December and continues to expand that same month with the event's latest tie-in one-shot, Death of Doctor Strange: X-Men/Black Knight #1, on sale December 19.
The unusual hero pairing is written by Si Spurrier with art by his Way of X partner Bob Quinn, and a cover by Cory Smith.
Spurrier of course was the writer of the recent Black Knight: Curse of the Ebony Blade limited series that redefined the character and established a new status quo that looks like it'll play a role in this one-shot.
With the world under siege by "vile" extradimensional forces due to the collapse of the magical safeguards Doctor Strange put around the Earth with his death, London is on fire. Dane Whitman sees the carnage via his new Ebony Siege, a throne made of the same material his Ebony Blade is made from that serves as sort of a Marvel Comics version of DC's Mobius Chair, which allows the person sitting in it to see through time and space.
Here's a look at four pages from the special:
The problem is Dane sees a transformed X-Men attacking London, and he, his new-found daughter Jacks (who he now shares the Ebony Blade curse with), and a character familiar to X-Men readers Faiza Hussain (who is the wielder of King Arthur's Excalibur in the Marvel U) team to try to save the X-Men and in turn London before an "even deadlier threat" destroys everything.
"I've always dreamed of writing Doctor Strange," says the writer. "Typical Spurrier luck that some dirty rat murdered him before I got my shot. All the same: the world's gone to hell - multiple hells, actually - since the Sorcerer Supreme got supremely snuffed, and in our story, we take a look at the unique nightmare which turns its demonic appetite upon London... and the X-Men.
"Dare you enter the Hungry Lands...? One valiant Knight does. But she (yeah, she) is biting off more than she can chew."
Spurrier is seemingly referring to Jacks, the new edition to Marvel's Black Knight mythology, which may or may not be getting some new attention due to Dane Whitman's MCU debut (played by Kit Harington) in November's Eternals film.
Spurrier says over the last year he's had the "pleasure and privilege of sculpting the future of the Black Knight" ... or to be more accurate, the Black Knights.
"Because now, for the first time, we have a single superheroic identity being shared between two individuals," he explains, "Dane Whitman and his daughter Jackie Chopra: two broken people, one hero. Pooling their strength and sanity against the corrupting influence of their signature weapon: the cursed Ebony Blade."
But Spurrier isn't overlooking the X-Men side of the equation, because as noted he was also the writer of Way of X in the mutant corner of the MU and reports it's also been his "pleasure and privilege" to be a part of the X-writers during what he calls the "most exciting and fertile period for those characters in recent years."
He calls his work on that series and "the huge new project it'll lead into after this month's Onslaught Revelation" a career highlight.
That's right. Even when Marvel is making news it's teasing new news...
"So imagine my joy when the opportunity arose to combine the two things in one creepy, cosmic place," Spurrier says, circling back to December's Death of Doctor Strange: X-Men/Black Knight #1. "And to be reunited with my Way of X brother Bob Quinn on art? Perfection. We're bringing you snark, horror, secrets, and lies from myths you thought you knew, and a positively devilish new look for your favorite merry mutants..."
Speaking of the death of Doctor Strange and the X-Men and Avengers character the Scarlet Witch, we still have questions about the timing of their deaths along with Spider-Mans so soon before their MCU returns.
