For the first time in nearly two decades, an official Justice League tabletop RPG set in the DC universe is swooping to the rescue – and it's being worked on by non other than comic book legend Mark Waid.

Announced ahead of its crowdfunding campaign launch in July 2026, the Justice League Unlimited Roleplaying Game allows players to either "create a unique hero or assume the identity of established characters." While you'll find a few superhero systems amongst the best tabletop RPGs (including Marvel Multiverse Roleplaying Game and an upcoming Invincible RPG), none of those feature Mark Waid, the writer behind iconic comic books like Kingdom Come, a seminal Daredevil run, Superman: Birthright, and Justice League itself.

The Justice League TTRPG isn't just about beating up bad guys and stopping bank robbers, though. According to the press release, its "narrative delves into the profound responsibility of bearing this mantle. In the beginning, players will answer five fundamental questions, the League's 'Tacit Clauses,' which define each character's moral code." As you'd expect from a comic book-inspired game, those origin stories are key parts of your adventure; you choose your heritage from options like Amazonian or Kryptonian and decide the archetype you'd like to embody. That ranges from the hopeful, Superman-esque Champion of Tomorrow or the fear-inducing, Batman-inspired Dark Knight.

In terms of gameplay, the Justice League Unlimited Roleplaying Game puts an emphasis on fast-paced combat, time-sensitive sections where you're fighting to save civilians, "Interlude Moments" that encourage exploring your character's personality or relationships, and the ominous-sounding Crisis Die. This "unleashes catastrophic events that alter history’s course, such as an unforeseen alien invasion, the loss of powers, or the arrival of a time traveler."

The CEO of publisher D20 Culture, Peterson Rodrigues, says that "working with comic legend Mark Waid to create something new in this universe has been such an honor. With the Justice League Unlimited Roleplaying Game we are really pushing our work to new heights to create an original and bold system for players to immerse themselves in the tales of the Justice League, we cannot wait to bring this to audiences across the world."

Meanwhile, Wait adds that tabletop RPGs "have such an amazing opportunity to bring new stories to fans and allow them to experience these beloved worlds and characters in a whole new way. Approaching Justice League Unlimited Roleplaying Game my priority has been to set up a new story that fits authentically into this canon and builds upon it to provide a narrative playground for players to make their own."

We don't have a release date for the Justice League Unlimited RPG yet, but you can find out more via the game's Gamefound page.

Want something new to play? Try the best board games, or the best card games.

Newsarama can exclusively reveal that Archie Comics is set to cause a food fight to end all food fights in Jughead: Piemageddon, a new one-shot comic from writer Tom King and artist Dan Parent, later this summer.

"I wanted to write a comic that spoke not only to our time, but to all times—a comic that challenged facile definitions of love and literature by transcending those perpetual platonic shadows and revealing a priori the tragic and comedic conditions inherent to our own precious, dissected, humiliating, human condition," says King. "Also, I wanted to write a comic where like a lot of people are getting hit by pies."

Jughead: Piemageddon is the follow-up to Archie: The Decision, a previous Archie one-shot from King and Parent back in 2024 that saw Archie Andrews struggle with the age-old choice between Betty and Veronica. Comparatively, Piemageddon looks set to be more of a classic goof with far-reaching consequences. It even promises a look at both Old Man Archie and Old Man Jughead when it releases on July 15.

"It’s so good to be teaming up with Tom again, especially in this very Jughead-centric story," says Parent. "Even though I love drawing the girls, it’s nice to work on Jughead, who is probably everyone’s favorite character in the Archieverse."

"It’s always good to do slapstick," he adds. "There is not enough slapstick in comics, or for that matter, the world, and here, Tom presents the ultimate in slapstick humor: the pie fight! And to the youth of America who are not familiar with this classic form of slapstick comedy . . . you’re welcome!"

You can check out several of the covers for Jughead: Piemageddon from Parent, Jen Bartel, Elsa Charretier, Marguerite Sauvage, Greg Smallwood, and Francesco Francavilla below:

"What these two have created is something completely unique and fun, and also perfectly Archie, or in this case, perfectly Jughead," says Mike Pellerito, Archie Comics editor-in-chief. "And it's a great time—not only is the Supergirl movie coming out this summer, based on Tom's and artist Bilquis Evely's iconic Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, but Tom is hard at work writing the live-action Archie movie at Universal, helmed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. So, with all these wonderful things happening—especially in the 85th anniversary year of Archie—we've decided to celebrate with a pie fight!"

Here's the official solicit text for Jughead: Piemageddon, straight from Archie:

"This is it—the hottest comic of the summer, fresh out of the oven! The incomparable writer TOM KING (of the upcoming Archie movie!) teams up with legendary artist DAN PARENT to present one of the wildest events to ever take place in the Archie Universe! Picture it: Riverdale, some year A.D. What was supposed to start out as a showcase of Jughead’s pie-eating skills morphed into the wildest food fight America—no, THE WORLD—has ever seen. Betty vs. Veronica (kind of), Reggie being . . . well, Reggie. Hot Dog lounging. Friends turned to enemies. Hearts broken. Crumbs everywhere. What’s to become of Riverdale? And will Jughead ever get to taste a sweet morsel of pie? All this AND a peek at Old Man Archie & Jughead. No matter what your favorite flavor is, this issue has something for you. Have a taste for yourself in JUGHEAD: PIEMAGEDDON!"

Jughead: Piemageddon – written by Tom King with pencils by Dan Parent, inks by Rich Koslowski, letters by Jack Morelli, and colors by Rosario "Tito" Pena – is set to release on July 15, 2026. While you wait, be sure to keep an eye on Newsarama.

The sadistic killer Muse played a big role in Daredevil: Born Again season 1. And though he didn't make it out alive, his memory still looms large in season 2, particularly for psychiatrist Heather Glenn (Margarita Levieva) who nearly fell victim to Muse.

But is Muse's haunting legacy hinting at something far more sinister for Heather as Daredevil: Born Again season 2 goes on? There's some comic book precedent to suggest we're looking at a big evolution for Heather Glenn.

We'll explain it all below, but beware, we'll be getting into spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again season 2, so turn back now if you're not caught up with the currently ongoing streaming show.

There's a growing theory among fans that Heather Glenn may find herself compelled to become a new Muse, with the name 'Lady Muse' bouncing around for her potential new identity.

Though Heather isn't a character from comics, Muse does indeed have a successor who is a woman, though the circumstances of how his identity is passed on are far different from what may be happening in the MCU. Here's everything you need to know about how Heather Glenn could become the next Muse.

Lady Muse in comics

Muse is a bit different in comics than his Daredevil: Born Again incarnation. Though the MCU version of Muse seems to be a normal human who is possessed of sadistic bloodlust, his equally vicious comic book counterpart is actually a super-powered Inhuman.

Along with physical abilities like super speed and strength, the comic Muse also has a power that is kind of an inverse of Daredevil's radar sense, allowing him to absorb sensory information from his entire environment leaving everyone in the vicinity unable to perceive him. These powers also seem to have a secondary aspect that triggers after his death.

Just like in the show, Muse dies dramatically, but in comics he goes straight to Hell where his soul continues to dwell and scheme – not a particularly uncommon fate for villains in Marvel Comics. While in Hell, Muse encounters a fragment of the soul of a still living artist named Morgan Whittier (it's comic book magic, best not to try and explain it too much), opening the door for him to possess her.

As told in 2025's Daredevil: Unleash Hell, Morgan becomes a new Muse – she doesn't actually call herself Lady Muse – taking on Elektra who is currently also operating as Daredevil. Though Elektra gains the upper hand, she's stabbed with her own sai by Muse, echoing her first death back in the '80s at the hands of Bullseye. In response, Elektra kills Morgan as her last act, with their fight continuing in hell as they both die.

Their path back from Hell involves Elektra saving Morgan from their evil, demonic counterparts, with none other than Ghost Rider carrying them back to Earth. We're guessing those parts of the comics probably won't make it into the relatively grounded Daredevil: Born Again, but the story still sets a precedent for a woman to follow the original Muse as his successor.

Will Heather Glenn become Lady Muse in the MCU?

In the episodes of Daredevil: Born Again season 2 released so far, Heather has become a shill for Kingpin's anti-vigilante agenda, offering up damning psychological profiles of any so-called vigilantes she's ordered to condemn despite their innocence of the charges.

Her motivation goes back to her arc in Born Again season 1 in which she starts treating Muse as a patient before he reveals his true identity to her by attempting to murder her in cold blood. Though Matt Murdock intervenes as Daredevil, Heather ends up killing Muse by shooting him in self-defense.

Her very understandable trauma leads her to end her burgeoning relationship with Matt in a disagreement over whether Muse and Daredevil are equally dangerous because they both wear masks.

This has resurfaced in multiple scenes, including one in episode 3 in which Heather is secretly holding onto Muse's mask, reminding her of how she nearly died. Her reaction is a mix of fear and fascination, indicating that she's somehow become obsessed with his secret identity and how it may have allowed him to indulge in his brutal crimes.

So far we haven't seen Heather show any sign of Muse's capacity for horrific murder, but the subtle clues that have been piling up and her turn as Kingpin's newest lackey have fans concerned that it's only a matter of time before the troubled psychiatrist does something drastic.

Daredevil: Born Again season 2 is now streaming on Disney Plus, with new episodes dropping weekly. Make sure you never miss an episode with our Daredevil: Born Again season 2 release schedule, or get up to speed with the rest of Marvel Phase 6 with our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows.

Marvel and DC are in the midst of a series of crossovers bringing together the best loved characters of both universes, with Spider-Man/Superman #1, the next one-shot in the series, arriving later this month. If you're ready for it now, you're in luck, as we've got your first look at one of the stories in the anthology one-shot.

The story, titled 'Metropolis Marvels,' is written by Dan Slott, who has written more Spider-man comics than anybody else, along with Marcos Martin, one of the best modern Spidey artists who has worked with Slott multiple times. 'Metropolis Marvels' brings together Spider-Man Noir and the original Golden Age Superman as Noir comes face-to-face with Lex Luthor.

Here's the page:

Marvel's Spider-Man/Superman #1 follows DC's Superman/Spider-Man #1, on shelves now. Spider-Man/Superman #1 contains nine stories, each of which features not just the two main characters but others such as Steel, Supergirl, Gwen Stacy, Thor, Wonder Woman, and more.

"Everyone here at Marvel is excited to be re-teaming with our friends at DC for another colossal crossover, this time to celebrate the 50th anniversary of our two icons, Spider-Man and Superman, first teaming up!" Marvel editor-in-chief CB Cebulski said when Spider-Man/Superman #1 was announced. "I can't wait for fans of every generation to read these spectacular stories that our titanic talent are telling, featuring all-new, easily accessible stories about the ever-growing Spider-Man and Superman families meeting for the first time."

Spider-Man/Superman #1 goes on sale April 22. Meanwhile, Prime Video's Spider-Noir live-action show premieres on May 27. And after that, DC's Supergirl movie hits theaters on June 26. For more, check out the best Marvel Comics events ever and the best DC events ever.

There's a new era of the Avengers on the horizon for Marvel Comics which will coincide with the release of Magic: The Gathering's new Marvel card set. It all starts with Avengers: Armageddon #1, which will include a special edition Magic card that is exclusive to the comic.

The card included with Avengers: Armageddon #1 is called 'Warstorm Surge,' and features art by Ryan Stegman that shows Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Iron Man trying to tame the rampaging Red Hulk, seen below along with the text of the card:

"A dramatic turning point in Avengers history, Avengers: Armageddon promises to change the face of Earth's Mightiest Heroes in a way not seen since Avengers Disassembled and leads directly into a new era of Avengers kicking off later this year," reads Marvel's description of the comic event and its Magic tie-in. "With Magic: The Gathering | Marvel Super Heroes, players can add the Avengers and other Marvel heroes to their deck with cards that feature unique artwork inspired by the pages of Marvel Comics. Avengers: Armageddon #1 celebrates both exciting launches with a bonus card insert, creating a can't-miss collectible for both comic readers and Magic: The Gathering players to find right at their local comic shop!"

Magic: The Gathering has increasingly brought pop culture characters from non-Magic franchises into the fold, with Marvel being an ongoing collaborator. That connection makes sense considering Magic producer Wizards of the Coast is a subsidiary of Hasbro, which holds the Marvel action figure license. Hasbro's Marvel Legends line even released a set of figures that had exclusive Magic cards packed in.

Avengers: Armageddon #1 goes on sale June 10, just ahead of the June 26 release of the Magic: The Gathering | Marvel Super Heroes card set. For more, check out the best Marvel Comics events of all time.

Disney's Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge attraction is undergoing some changes in April with an influx of classic characters and a new story to boot. Just as the new Galaxy's Edge debuts, Marvel is publishing a tie-in comic that sets up the new adventure.

Titled Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge – Echoes of the Empire #1, the five issue limited series is written by Ethan Sacks, writer of the original Galaxy's Edge comic from 2019, and drawn by Jethro Morales and Roi Mercado. It will touch on some of the most beloved characters in the Star Wars mythos, including Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Chewie, Boba Fett, and more.

Here's a gallery of unlettered pages along with the main cover for Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge – Echoes of the Empire #1 by Phil Noto:

"NEW SECRETS OF GALAXY'S EDGE REVEALED! Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Chewbacca head to Batuu in search of important intel and stumble upon a dangerous relic – one that puts them on a collision course with the Empire!" reads Marvel's bare bones description of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge – Echoes of the Empire #1.

"We're returning to Batuu and we're bringing the biggest stars in the Star Wars galaxy with us," writer Ethan Sacks says in a statement. "A major new era is dawning at Galaxy's Edge and consider Echoes of the Empire a Holocron that reveals the secret story behind that experience. It's going to be epic and Jedi (drawing) Masters Roi Mercado and Jethro are making sure every page looks amazing."

Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge – Echoes of the Empire #1 arrives on April 22, just a month ahead of the theatrical release of The Mandalorian & Grogu on May 22. For more, dig into our guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and shows that are in the works.

X-Men '97 season 2 premieres this summer, but you'll be able to return to the beloved series a little bit early with a comic book prequel that fills in some of the gaps between season 1 and season 2. The five issue limited series is written by Steve Foxe and drawn by Salvin Espa, the creative team of the first volume of the X-Men '97 comic that accompanied season 1.

The comic will directly set up X-Men '97 season 2, introducing some of the biggest plotlines and characters that will feature in the new season, including multiple new teams. In the end of season 1, most of the main team of X-Men were sent hurtling through time on a collision course with Apocalypse, while a few X-Men were left behind with no idea what happened to their teammates.

"Extinction-day has come and gone, and your favorite X-Men are lost in time!" reads Marvel's official description of X-Men '97: Season 2 #1. "Spinning out of Marvel Animation's X-Men '97 series, follow the X-Men left behind in a world that hunts and hates mutantkind! Can they survive? And just where - or when - are the X-Men now?! No X-Men '97 fan can miss this one!"

Here's a gallery of both covers for X-Men '97: Season 2 #1 including the main cover by Todd Nauck and a variant by Jhony Caballero:

"I feel exceptionally grateful that Salva Espin, Matt Milla, and I get to tell more stories fleshing out the world of X-Men '97! Everyone who watched Season 1 knows the team left us one heck of an era-spanning cliffhanger, and our prequel for Season 2 doesn't take any cheats or shortcuts around that wild status quo," says Foxe in a statement. "We got to work closely with the series team to make sure this comic is a vital, additive experience for our mutants - what's left of the X-Men, anyway…"

X-Men '97 Season 2 #1 goes on sale June 3. The animated series premieres sometime this summer, though no specific premiere date has been announced. In the meantime, check out the best X-Men stories of all time.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day arrives in theaters this summer, and the three main stars of the movie, Punisher, Hulk, and Spidey himself, are colliding in a new comic that kicks off just in time for the film's release.

The five issue limited series is titled Spider-Man: Long Way Home, borrowing the naming conceit of the first three MCU Spider-Man movies. It's written by Marvel superstar Jonathan Hickman, who spearheaded the X-Men's Krakoa era and the latest incarnation of the Ultimate Universe, including writing Ultimate Spider-Man. The new series is drawn by long time Marvel artist Adam Kubert, who has had memorable runs on many Marvel heroes, including Hulk and Spider-Man. Colorist Frank Martin rounds out the creative team.

Spider-Man: Long Way Home is billed as "unrestrained" by mainstream Marvel Comics continuity, telling a standalone story about Spidey, Punisher, and Hulk all adventuring in the South American jungle in search of a reality-altering Cosmic Cube – to keep it out of the hands of the villainous AIM organization.

Here's a gallery of uncolored interior pages from Spider-Man: Long Way Home along with the main cover by series artist Adam Kubert along with a variant cover by Dave Johnson:

"A DARK HOMECOMING AWAITS… It's a world before the Punisher. A world where the existence of the Hulk is but a whisper of a rumor. A world where A.I.M. has just developed a Cosmic Cube in the jungles of South America," reads Marvel's official synopsis for Spider-Man: Long Way Home. "Frank Castle, Bruce Banner and Peter Parker are all on a mission to keep the Cube out of the wrong hands – including each other's. In this three-way free-for-all for the power of the cosmos, who will come out on top?"

"I'm so happy to be working with Adam Kubert again and even happier that we're getting to work on Spider-Man: Long Way Home," Hickman says in a statement. "Absolutely no one is going to see this one coming."

"[Editor Jordan D. White] barely got the words out before I yelled 'Yes!' to Spider-Man: Long Way Home," adds Kubert. "A five-issue Hickman saga with Spidey, Hulk, and Punisher? Total no-brainer. With Frank Martin making the mayhem pop! Just Make Mine Marvel!"

Spider-Man: Long Way Home #1 goes on sale June 17 followed by the theatrical release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day on July 31. While we wait, it's a perfect time to dig into the best Spider-Man comics of all time as well as the best Spider-Man movies of all time, ranked.

After more than 20 years, DC and Marvel's biggest and best crossover JLA/Avengers (or Avengers/JLA depending on the issue) is returning to print as a monthly comic with a new facsimile edition re-release that recreates the original 2003-2004 series in its entirety.

This is only the second reprint of the crossover, following an extremely limited re-release in a single volume after the 2022 death of George Pérez, the legendary artist of JLA/Avengers, who created the comic alongside writer Kurt Busiek in a landmark run on the monthly Avengers series.

The original release of JLA/Avengers was decades in the making, with Marvel and DC initially planning the comic for the early '80s before it was canceled, with George Pérez, already a superstar artist for both publishers even creating promotional art with the two teams squaring off. While JLA/Avengers does indeed feature the two top-tier superhero teams duking it out, it naturally leads to the JLA and Avengers joining forces.

Here's a gallery of the original covers of the four issue JLA/Avengers limited series:

"It's the grandest Marvel and DC comics crossover of them all and an icon-packed event decades in the making!" reads the official description of JLA/Avengers. After years of anticipation, JLA/AVENGERS reunited acclaimed writer Kurt Busiek (Marvels) with his AVENGERS collaborator George Pérez - an artistic legend for both companies - to assemble every single member of Earth's Mightiest and the World's Greatest in one blockbuster book! Universes collide as the Justice League fights the towering Terminus and the Avengers face the awesome menace of Starro! Each team must undertake an epic quest on the other's world, with the fate of both realities in the balance!"

DC will republish JLA/Avengers #1 on May 27, followed by Marvel's Avengers: JLA #2 on June 24. The reprint then jumps back over to DC for JLA/Avengers #3 on July 22, finally wrapping up with Avengers: JLA #4 on August 26. They'll all get new variant covers which have yet to be revealed.

Dig into the best Marvel stories of all time as well as the best DC stories of all time,

Marvel video game fans rejoice, there's a new collection of classic Marvel games coming to modern consoles courtesy of Limited Run Games. Titled Marvel MaXimum Collection, the package will include 13 retro games, headlined by X-Men: The Arcade Game.

Other games announced so far include Spider-Man/X-Men: Arcade's Revenge, Captain America and the Avengers, Spider-Man/Venom: Maximum Carnage, Venom/Spider-Man: Separation Anxiety, and the controller-smashingly difficult Silver Surfer NES game.

"MARVEL MaXimum Collection is action-packed, featuring 13 comic-to-console and handheld counterpart titles from the past! And of course, arcade perfection is delivered with the legendary X-Men: The Arcade Game!" reads Limited Run's description of the collection. "With all new music from legendary game composer Chris Huelsbeck and robust new features, MARVEL MaXimum Collection is the perfect assortment of nostalgia for fans everywhere!"

Here's the announcement trailer:

That leaves six more titles to be revealed, and there are some great options out there. LJN made a whole series of Marvel games for the Sega Genesis, NES, and SNES including 1989's notoriously frustrating Uncanny X-Men and its follow up, Wolverine, as well as Spider-Man for the Genesis, and Spider-Man: Return of the Sinister Six.

All four of those would be more than welcome additions, as would Sega's 1993 X-Men game and its 1995 sequel X-Men: The Clone Wars, both of which I personally poured countless hours into. I'd also be shocked but pleasantly surprised if 1994's Incredible Hulk, originally released on the Genesis, made the collection.

In terms of what's announced, I am of course completely pumped for a rerelease of X-Men: The Arcade Game, especially as the collection version will allow up to six players in multiplayer mode, recreating the definitive arcade experience. This has been a difficult game to come by in recent years. There was a port to PS3 and Xbox 360, but that was delisted back in 2013. I'll be excited to snag the collection, as it'll be a perfect companion to 2024's Marvel Vs. Capcom Fighting Collection.

No release date for Marvel MaXimum Collection has been announced. It is slated to be available on PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series S/X, and Steam.

For more, check out our picks for the best Marvel video games of all time, and take a look into the future at our rundown of all the upcoming Marvel games that are currently in the works.

If you've been waiting to dive into the global sensation Jujutsu Kaisen, now's the perfect time, as Viz Media has just announced a complete box set of all 30 volumes of the original manga, and some other goodies.

Here's how Viz describes the set on social media:

"A legendary demon's power threatens the world, and one teen’s desperate choice ignites an all-out war. Packed with all 30 volumes, volume 0, and a double-sided poster, the Jujutsu Kaisen Complete Box Set by Gege Akutami releases Fall 2026."

If you haven't read or seen it, Jujutsen Kaisen focuses on bizarrely strong high school student Yuji Itadori, who becomes a sorcerer in order to control the so-called Cursed Energy, a mystical power source generated by all humans via negative emotions. Yuji also acts out of necessity, having unwittingly become the physical host of Sukuna, the King of Curses. As a sorcerer, Yuji takes on all manner of Curses and evil beings who harness Cursed Energy for malevolent purposes.

With 30 volumes to hunt down, it can be daunting to even start reading Jujutsu Kaisen, let alone reading the entire thing. But with the whole manga packed into one box set, half the legwork is done for you, so all you have to do is dive in.

Jujutsu Kaisen has been adapted into an extremely popular anime which just released its third season in January. It's also been turned into several video games, and the characters have even shown up as in-game skins in battle royale/building game Fortnite.

A manga spin-off titled Jujutso Kaisen: Modulo launched in late 2025 as a weekly series in Shonen Jump, which is all about "sorcerers and aliens."

The Jujutsu Kaisen Complete Box Set releases in fall, though no specific date has been given. For more, check out the best anime to watch in 2026.

Thor has become a human man living on Earth, with no memory of his origin as an Asgardian. But he's still dealing with mythical problems, including the return of one of his most bloodthirsty mythical foes, Dario Agger, the Minotaur, in The Mortal Thor #11 by writer Al Ewing and artist Juann Cabal.

The Mortal Thor follows the ending of The Immortal Thor, which concluded with Midgard being totally cut off from Asgard, the existence of which has been forgotten by everyone on Earth. That includes Thor, who now believes himself to be a normal human named Sigurd Jarlson, an alias he previously used while hiding among humans.

Now he's got to take on one of the most dangerous enemies Thor has ever faced, with the corporate monster Dario Agger coming back into the picture. And though he doesn't remember Asgard either, he does still feel an inexplicable hatred of Sigurd Jarlson.

Check out the newly revealed cover for Mortal Thor #11 by Alex Ross:

"HORNS OF THE MINOTAUR! Dario Agger doesn’t remember the Gods of Asgard. He doesn’t remember what it is about Sigurd Jarlson that...irritates him," reads Marvel's official description of Mortal Thor #11. "But when Dario Agger is irritated - with a man or a god - he has a very simple solution. Murder. Somewhere in the city, a man with a hammer has nowhere to go but down…"

Dario Agger was a primary enemy for Thor in Immortal Thor as the leader of the destructive and domineering corporation Roxxon, even going so far as to buy the rights to Thor's existence by purchasing the fictional version of Marvel Comics that exists within the Marvel Universe, rebooting him as 'Chad Hammer,' a vapid, slogan-spouting himbo.

The Mortal Thor #11 goes on sale June 10. While we wait, check out our picks for the best Thor stories of all time.

Everything old is new again as Dan Slott, the creator who has written more Spider-Man than anyone, is back writing the wall-crawler in a new comic series that revives the 2008 era Brand New Day branding. The comic kicks off in May, just ahead of the theatrical release of Spider-Man 4, which borrows the Brand New Day name for its subtitle.

Much like the movie, Spectacular Spider-Man: Brand New Day involves the Punisher, who is confirmed to be part of the film, along with Mr. Negative, who is rumored to be one of its villains. The central villain in the comic story, however, is Kingpin, who possesses an important object known as The Lexicon that everyone, including Spider-Man, wants for themselves.

Joining Slott is one of Marvel's top artists, Marcus To, while classic Spidey artist from the original Brand New Day era Marcos Martin will draw back up features in each issue. It seems that the comic is intended to be ongoing, running alongside the main Amazing Spider-Man series. It's not exactly clear whether the comic flashes back to the original Brand New Day era, though it appears to be a revival for modern continuity.

"Spider-Man discovers one of the most valuable items the Kingpin, A.K.A. Wilson Fisk, possesses - THE LEXICON. This directory of the Kingpin’s criminal enterprise could destroy the criminal landscape of New York City and that’s Spider-Man’s goal when he takes it," reads Marvel's official description of Spectacular Spider-Man: Brand New Day #1. "But Fisk isn’t the only person who wants the Lexicon… Mr. Negative would love his competitor’s secret information, but so would Frank Castle himself, the Punisher. Taking the Lexicon sure seemed like a good idea to make the city safer, but it’s painted the biggest target ever on Spider-Man’s back! DO NOT MISS THIS IN-COMICS CONTINUITY ADVENTURE THAT WILL ECHO FROM SPIDER-MAN’S PAST INTO SPIDER-MAN’S PRESENT AND FUTURE!"

"We've got the killer art team of Marvel's biggest secret weapon, Marcus To, and new shorts by the Inkpot Award-winning legend, Marcos Martin!" says Slott in a statement. "With Marcus, this is going to be one of the best looking books on the stand, and with Marcos, we're going to have these incredible short features that will ensure that NEW readers can jump right in, even if they've never read a Brand New Day issue!"

Spectacular Spider-Man: Brand New Day #1 goes on sale May 13, followed by the theatrical release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day on July 31. In the meantime, learn about all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows that are in the works.

Spider-Man and Venom are about to cross over in Marvel's Death Spiral event, but it's what happens when the smoke clears in May's Venom #258 by writer Al Ewing and artist Carlos Gómez that could have the biggest impact on Spidey and Venom's world.

As readers likely know, Mary Jane is the current host of the Venom symbiote after bonding with it in a life-or-death crisis. She's been operating as Venom for some time now, and despite her close relationship with Peter Parker, it seems the symbiote anti-hero still has some beef with Spider-Man.

On the newly revealed cover of Venom #258 by interior artist Carlos Gómez, seen below, Peter and MJ walk along a bridge together, while a vision of their alter egos locked in combat hangs in the sky above them.

Check it out:

"THREE’S A CROWD! In the aftermath of Death Spiral, Mary Jane Watson and Peter Parker have a long overdue heart-to-heart...but when the masks go on, Venom and Spider-Man have some unfinished business!" reads Marvel's official description of Venom #258. "And one way or another, this is going to lead to a BIG change for Venom and MJ!"

Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson have been unable to get it together as a couple for years now, with every reunion seemingly ruined by circumstances beyond their control, usually due to Peter's secret life as Spider-Man. With their relationship now strained by MJ's own secret identity as Venom, it may take a miracle to bring them back together.

Venom #258 goes on sale May 20. For more, check out the best Venom stories of all time.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem launched a whole new era for the heroes in a half-shell, and with the movie's continuity spreading into an animated series, and now comics, the world of Mutant Mayhem is getting bigger by the day. Now, a classic TMNT character who goes back to the earliest days of the franchise is joining the cast, with Fugitoid making his debut in IDW's Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #4.

Written by Andrew Joustra and drawn by Louie Joyce, Tales of the TMNT #4 brings the quirky and beloved android into the continuity of Mutant Mayhem with a twist that helps him fit right in alongside the new TMNT.

Newsarama spoke with Joustra about bringing Fugitoid into a new era, while also hearing from Joyce about his design process for creating the revamped hero, who goes from being an elder scientist's mind in a robot body to a much younger engineer closer to the Turtles' age. Along the way, we've also got an early look at pages from Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #4.

Newsarama: Andrew, talk to me about Fugitoid! What do we need to know about this version of the character?

Andrew Joustra: Fugitoid is my favorite TMNT character, so it was especially important to me to honor the things that made Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s version unique while making him feel like he firmly belongs in this new iteration.

To be more relatable with our turtles, we’ve aged Zayton Honeycutt down, so he’s 19. He’s a brilliant scientist and he’s developing technology that ends up attracting the attention of the E.P.F. who hire him and fund his research. But it’s not what he signed up for and through a series of devastating events, Zayton winds up in the body of a robot that goes on the run.

What's the process like for bringing a classic character into this latest incarnation of the TMNT? I have to imagine things can get tricky when dealing with corporate IP.

Joustra: Honestly, I was very fortunate to have a good amount of freedom and support from both Nickelodeon and IDW in reimagining the character. Chris Yost and the team from the Tales animated series signed off on my scripts and Rustam Hasanov who was a character designer for the show came in and did designs for Fugitoid, Zayton and a few other characters.

I wanted the look to be consistent with the characters in the show and Mutant Mayhem, so like those I looked at the action figure from the original Playmates toy line first. That’s why he has the gold and black color scheme and similar shapes.

In your mind, is this basically the continuation of the show? We've seen comics before that go down the route of being something like a new season of a show, conceptually.

Joustra: I would say so, yeah. I had read all the scripts and seen the existing episodes when I started writing, so I was careful not to contradict anything that had already been done. I know the continuity is a little murky, but the events of Mutant Mayhem, Chrome Alone 2 – Lost in New Jersey, and the Tales series all take place before this arc begins.

How does writing the comic compare to working on scripts for the animated version?

Joustra: I feel like for a comic script I get to be a lot more specific about what I’d like to see in each panel. It’s almost like directing (which is something you try to avoid in writing a screenplay). With animation you know that what goes on the page is going to get storyboarded and changed repeatedly, while there’s less iterating with comics.

A comic script is also more conversational. In a lot of the descriptions, I’ll just be talking to Louie asking him to try things a certain way. It’s a lot of fun.

Louie Joyce: When I first saw Mutant Mayhem I looooved the unique visual aesthetic of the film! It's so playful, sketchy and grotesque! I also really liked how Tales of the TMNT took that aesthetic and translated it to a more 2D, cartoony style.

It's been so much fun taking all that visual inspiration, smooshing it up with my own stylistic inclinations and pouring it out onto the comics page. I've always loved the Turtles, and there have been so many great takes on them over the years, but this iteration feels like the perfect fit for me as an artist!

Speaking of new TMNT… what can you tell us about the upcoming movie, if anything? Just a taste.

Joustra: I can’t say much other than Shredder is the villain and the turtles are not remotely prepared for what’s coming. High stakes, lots of action, and I truly think it’s going to blow people away. It’s been a blast seeing it come together.

Pie in the sky, if you could bring in any classic TMNT character to the current version, who are you picking?

Joustra: Fugitoid was my dream character to write and I'm still pinching myself that I was able to do that. I'd love to do more stories with him, whether it's in this iteration or something else. More Fugitoid!

But if we're talking another character, I think it would be fun to do a new story with Armaggon, the shark mutant. Sharks make their way up the East River from time to time, which we’ve already established was exposed to some ooze, so you never know… (cue Jaws theme).

The X-Men are about to embark on one of their weirdest adventures ever in X-Men Annual #1, which pits them against a villain known as The Creationist with power over "imagination itself." The team will venture into a drawing to defeat the villains, appearing as unfinished pencil drawings among a fully rendered world.

X-Men Annual #1 is written by Ryan Stegman and drawn by lead artist Steve Skroce along with additional pages from Sanford Greene and Stegman himself.

We've got your first look at pages from the annual here by Skroce, showing off the members of the Uncanny X-Men alongside special guest star Jean Grey, the Phoenix. It also gives a glimpse of how the X-Men will look as unfinished art in a world of stories in a page by Stegman.

Check it out:

"When an all-new mutant menace known as the Creationist forces four artists to visualize monsters that tear through reality, the X-Men must survive an attack where imagination itself becomes the enemy," reads Marvel's official synopsis for X-Men Annual #1. "Now they have to stop the Creationist before his nightmare visions consume the world."

The annual spins out of the ongoing Uncanny Gail Simone and artist David Marquez which focuses on a team based out of Louisiana led by Gambit and Rogue who are training a squad of mysterious young mutants.

The entire X-Men line is about to enter a new era known as 'Shadows of Tomorrow' that brings some shake-ups to the series that are part of the franchise, though Uncanny X-Men remains as one of the flagship X-Men titles.

X-Men Annual #1 goes on sale March 4. For more, check out the best X-Men comics of all time.

DC Comics boss Jim Lee has commented on the "advantage" manga and anime has over American comics – and how he enjoys the challenge that their competition presents.

"The stories told in Japanese manga and anime are incredibly powerful," Lee told Japanese publication Nikkei XTrend (via Anime Corner). "I often find myself wondering, 'What is missing in Western comics, and why aren’t they able to achieve the same flavor?' Also, I think manga has an 'advantage' over American comics, which are mostly about superheroes, and that’s where the majority of sales and readers are concentrated."

Lee has been the president, publisher, and chief creative officer at DC Comics since 2023. He started out as an artist for Marvel Comics, and his style was used for the designs in X-Men: The Animated Series.

"In Japan, it’s closer to 'literature,' and anyone can read it, and it’s not just hero stories. There’s a much wider range of genres, like stories about cooking and soccer. You can draw stories from that," he continued. "So I’m very happy that the manga has been so successful, because it gives me a 'goal' to aim for. The manga market is bigger than our industry, so the question becomes, 'What can we learn from this?'"

Manga and anime are only on the rise across the globe, including in the West. Just last week, streaming giant Netflix partnered with MAPPA, the animation studio behind Jujutsu Kaisen, to "work together on new projects with a global perspective, from story development to merchandise."

For more, check out our picks of the best anime to add to your watchlist, or take a look at our guide to all the new anime in 2026.

Marvel Studios has been billing its upcoming Wonder Man streaming series as something different from the usual MCU fare, and it's already bringing in some seriously eccentric characters and concepts from comics. That includes taking what could be the next step in assembling the weirdest incarnation of Earth's Mightiest Heroes ever – the Great Lakes Avengers.

Doorman, a relatively obscure mutant hero with the ability turn his body into a portal of dark energy, is confirmed as part of the cast of Wonder Man, making him the second member of the GLA to make it into the MCU alongside the unkillable Mister Immortal, who appeared in an episode of She-Hulk as a scummy ex-husband.

Along with Mister Immortal and Doorman, the original Great Lakes Avengers includes three other heroes, each of them oddballs, including Dinah Soar, a pterodactyl-esque human-hybrid; Flatman, whose body is 2-dimensional and incredibly pliable; and Big Bertha, a super model who can inflate her body to massive size.

The Great Lakes Avengers in comics

Introduced all the way back in 1989's West Coast Avengers #46 by writer/artist John Byrne, the Great Lakes Avengers are an aspiring team of heroes who decide to borrow the Avengers name to declare themselves the protectors of the middle of the US, with the standard Avengers headquartered on the East Coast, along with the previously mentioned West Coast squad protecting the other side of the country.

Though their use of the Avengers name is unsanctioned, West Coast Avengers members Hawkeye and Mockingbird take the Great Lakes team under their tutelage to help them become heroes in their own right. However, they're never fully given actual Avengers status.

The GLA do eventually change their name away from calling themselves Avengers, however, they keep up their gimmick of borrowing another team's moniker. First, they take on the name The Lightning Rods, after the Thunderbolts. Then, after discovering they're all mutants, the GLA founders decide to change their name to the Great Lakes X-Men.

Finally, they settle on the name Great Lakes Champions, borrowing a team identity that has been used several times in Marvel continuity, most recently as the name of the Marvel Universe's premier team of teenage heroes.

All that said, the team's last appearance brought them back to the Great Lakes Avengers name – still not sanctioned, but at least tolerated thanks to their continued heroism despite not exactly being great at it.

The Great Lakes Avengers in the MCU

We won't know exactly what role Doorman plays in Wonder Man, but we know he's got a key connection to the story thanks to the so-called "Doorman Clause," an insurance waiver that actors within the reality of the MCU are required to sign to certify they don't have super powers, meaning he almost certainly will have some kind of abilities in the show.

That still leaves the question of whether Marvel is actually assembling a new team of lovable misfits not as dysfunctional as the Thunderbolts/New Avengers, nor as powerful as the main squad. The unsatisfying answer is, no matter the clues or cameos that Marvel peppers into its shows, we won't know exactly who's going to show up until Marvel tells us.

It's entirely possible there's some kind of payoff building for the introduction of multiple members of the Great Lakes Avengers. But there's just as much likelihood that both Mister Immortal and Doorman could be one-off appearances meant to expand the MCU and bring in longtime fans.

The trouble is, if Marvel is building yet another team – even a jokey one – there's no telling how long it will take. It seems a bit unlikely Marvel would put much energy into the Great Lakes Avengers while there are still so many errant characters already waiting to be brought into the MCU at large, such as Hercules, Clea, and Skarr (son of the Hulk).

Nonetheless, I've personally been delighted to see some of my favorite Marvel weirdos make it into the MCU, and if Marvel Studios does somehow decide to assemble the GLA, I'll be there in the front row. Heck, they made a Wonder Man show, a hero whose profile is only just above the Great Lakes Avengers. Anything is on the table.

All eight episodes of Wonder Man premiere on January 27 on Disney Plus. For more, stay up to date on all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows that are in the works.

Jeff the Land Shark is one of the heckin' cutest li'l guys in the whole Marvel Universe. But as his many fans know, he's got a bit of a mischievous streak, and now it's landed him in some hot water (pun intended) as he faces his day in court.

Thankfully, he's got Matt Murdock along for the ride to help him avoid jail time in It's Jeff Meets Daredevil #1 by Jeff's co-creator, writer Kelly Thompson, and longtime Jeff artist Gurihiru. We've got your first look at the one-shot right here, featuring Jeff all dressed up in a fine suit with Matt hard at work defending him.

Check it out:

"THE ADVENTURES OF JEFF THE LAND SHARK CONTINUE WITH DAREDEVIL! In this special new story from star Jeff team Kelly Thompson and Gurihiru, Jeff the Land Shark learns the meaning of courage from THE MAN WITHOUT FEAR!" reads Marvel's official description of It's Jeff meets Daredevil #1. "Plus, the latest season of IT'S JEFF appears in print for the very first time so you can enjoy all the adorableness and chaos the way Daredevil himself would - without a phone screen!!! Don't miss what happens when Jeff wins the lottery, goes to the groomer, and best of all…TAKES ON THE HULK!"

It's Jeff is one of the longest running of Marvel's current crop of digital first Infinity comics, which are first released on the Marvel Unlimited app before being collected in print.

It's Jeff Meets Daredevil #1 goes on sale February 18. While we wait, check out the best Daredevil stories of all time.

Lin Lie is the current Iron Fist, though he's not carrying the mantle alone as he's got his predecessor Danny Rand (now known as Ghost Fist) and his protege Pei at his side. Now all three will have to join forces with White Tiger, White Fox, and Elektra of Daredevil fame to defend the mystical city of K'un-Lun, where the power of the Iron Fist originates.

They'll all unite in Deadly Hands of K'un-Lun, a new five-issue limited series written by Yifan Jiang, one of the writers of the hit video game Marvel Rivals, in which Lin Lie appears as Iron Fist, and drawn by veteran Marvel artist Paco Medina.

Jiang describes Deadly Hands of K'un Lun as a "mini event" which brings the story of Lin Lie and his arch-enemy, the demonic Lin Feng, to its "climax."

"It's like a mini event in scope, it's about an unlikely group brought together by a shared crisis, in this case, Lin Feng's invasion," Jiang tells Newsarama. "Without spoiling anything, we're going to see how Feng is able to pull it off, and how each step of his plan forces someone to rise up and stop him. Feng has his own path to walk, what's waiting for him at the end of the road is... well, it's not what you'd expect."

And it's an ensemble not unlike Rivals. That's the magic of the vast stage for storytelling the Marvel U provides. I still can't believe I got to write Karnak and Elektra. I never thought I got White Tiger before and yet here I am, having way more fun with her than I ever expected, can't wait for you to see how cool we made her!"

"At the center of it all is Lin Lie," the writer continues. "We're drilling deeper than ever before, we're exploring who he really is through his relationships with these characters, and how his choices would shape him beyond DEADLY!"

Along with Elektra, White Tiger, and White Fox, the Iron Fists will be joined by Karnak of the Inhumans and newer hero Aero, with Jiang saying Deadly Hands is "an ensemble, not unlike Marvel Rivals."

"That's the magic of the vast stage for storytelling the Marvel U provides," Jiang explains. "I still can't believe I got to write Karnak and Elektra. I never thought I got White Tiger before and yet here I am, having way more fun with her than I ever expected, can't wait for you to see how cool we made her!"

And though Jiang didn't work on Iron Fist while writing for Marvel Rivals, the game still informs aspects of how Deadly Hands comes together.

"What I am carrying from writing for Marvel Rivals, is my attention to the dialogs. Because you have to make a personality pop in just a few lines, across almost every map and with almost every possible character pairing. It really pushed me to dig deep, find their similarities and differences, experiment, and make them shine."

Artist Paco Medina, who has drawn everyone from the X-Men, to the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, and just about everyone else in the Marvel Universe, is instrumental to bringing Deadly Hands of K'un Lun to life.

"I adore his amazing work on Spider-Boy and X-Men! As soon as I found out we got Paco, I told my editors Mark and Lauren that he's too good for me and I don't deserve him. I asked for a refund but they said get the hell out!" Jiang jokes. "His lines are clean and precise, the action is dynamic as you'd expect in a kung-fu book, and his ability to draw facial expressions! Paco is absolutely the best partner I could hope for, every day is a blast, and I do feel sorry for all the crazy scenes I'm throwing at him."

Along with some of Medina interior pages from Deadly Hands of K'un Lun #1, we've also got a gallery of character design sheets, as well as the newly revealed cover of Deadly Hands of K'un Lun #3.

Here's the cover:

"THE IMMORTAL IRON FIST GAINS AN INHUMAN EDGE…BUT AT WHAT COST?! IRON FIST, ELEKTRA and WHITE FOX are overrun as the conquering army of WAR FISTS descend upon Manhattan!" reads Marvel's official solicitation text for Deadly Hands of K'un Lun #3.

"Even with the help of the INHUMAN’S most powerful fighter, KARNAK, and promising upstart, AERO, Iron Fist makes a desperate gamble at great personal cost – but is he prepared for the repercussions?! Meanwhile, PEI has uncovered the secret of how the War Fists are gaining their powers, and the truth is even more horrifying than they could have ever imagined and could spell the end to the Iron Fist Legacy - forever!"

And here's the character gallery:

"I'm an Iron Fist fan from way back, just like y'all. And you have no idea what's waiting for you! K'un-Lun has always had a very special place in my heart because I'm Chinese, I'm rooting for it by default. And it's not just Lin Lie, it's Danny and Pei, too," Liang concludes.

"DEADLY brings Lin Lie's story that's been cooking for years to a climax. Like I said, it's a mini event. Long-time fans are in for a feast; for the new readers, we're making it as accessible as we can, so don't hesitate, jump on board with us. From the bottom of my heart, I'm pouring everything into this book, and I sincerely hope you like it!"

Deadly Hands of K'un-Lun #1 goes on sale February 18, followed by #2 on March 25, and #3 on April 29. Release dates for Deadly Hands of K'un-Lun #4 and #5 have yet to be announced. For more, read up on the best Marvel Comics events of all time.

The Merc With a Mouth is getting a new ongoing comic series titled, appropriately, Wade Wilson: Deadpool. Written by Benjamin Percy with art by rising Marvel star Geoff Shaw, the new story catches up with Deadpool following some horrible misdeed for which Wade is seeking not absolution, but punishment.

We've got a new preview of interior pages from Wade Wilson: Deadpool #1, showing Deadpool taking on a warehouse full of villainous scientists who chase him down in a small crop duster airplane, dosing him with poison.

Here's the full gallery of pages:

Deadpool's race against the crop duster is reminiscent of one of the most iconic scenes famed horror/suspense director Alfred Hitchcock ever filmed. In the movie North by Northwest, Cary Grant's Roger Thornhill flees from a small airplane that pursues him across a field - the comic panel (seen above) even uses a very similar angle to the scene. The moment has been referenced countless times.

"DANGEROUS. UNHINGED. DEADLY. Deadpool is a man on the brink, and that means the jobs are deadlier, the stakes are higher, and the humor is darker than ever before," reads Marvel's official description for Wade Wilson: Deadpool #1. "But Wade Wilson isn't laughing. A dark memory haunts Deadpool, as a mysterious client leads him down a troubling path. This way lies redemption? No, something far worse. Wade can never be forgiven for what he's done... the new ongoing series begins!"

What has Wade done? We won't find out until Wade Wilson: Deadpool #1 goes on sale on February 11.

Ready for more of Wade Wilson's adventures? Dig into our picks for the best Deadpool stories of all time.

There are very good superhero stories that came out in 2025. DC's Absolute offerings continue to blow the doors off the industry, the Ultimate universe is gunning towards an ultimate conclusion, and Grant Morrison wrote a Batman/Deadpool crossover.

But there's only one book that's delivering the superhero space at its best — making an old idea new — while also pushing to the creative edges of the comics form: Absolute Martian Manhunter from Deniz Camp and Javier Rodríguez.

A twisted universe

AMM meets the same brief of every other book in DC Comics' Absolute line, which goes like this: Darkseid, the cosmic god of fascism and apathy, created a new parallel DC Universe in his own image. Have you ever felt that the world was just deep down broken? In the Absolute Universe, that's empirically true. The same familiar superheroes are here, battling evil with fewer resources, more challenges, and prevailing in spite of it all. Batman's not rich, Superman never got adopted, Wonder Woman grew up in hell, not paradise, and the Martian Manhunter is "the Martian," a bodiless psychic force sharing the mind of FBI agent John Jones.

Traditionally, private detective John Jones is the civilian identity of J'onn J'onzz, the last of the Green Martians, better known as the shapeshifting Justice League stalwart, the Martian Manhunter. At least, when he bothers to have a secret identity at all — over time and different retellings, John Jones has been a guise that J'onn fabricated, or a recently passed human detective whose identity he adopted.

Camp and Rodríguez's revamp turns the singular character into a transcendental buddy cop duo, battling a wave of anti-social violence in John's hometown of Middleton. The Martian Manhunter's traditionally sprawling set of superpowers (speed, flight, strength, shapeshifting, invisibility, heat vision, and more) are culled into a single focus: John's ability to deescalate violence in the material world and the Martian's ability to address its roots on the psychic. With that narrative concept, Camp and Rodríguez have built a visual playground for Rodríguez's best skill: Color.

Vibrant headspace

While Javier Rodríguez has been making comics since the 1990s and has more than a few original graphic novels under his belt in his native Spain, in the American comics market, he primarily works as a colorist. When he does step up to do interior art, it's often for just a few issues, or, lately, for projects in which printed color is an inextricable facet of the story. Of that latter category, Absolute Martian Manhunter is maybe the best example yet.

For their telepathic detective who battles the emotional roots of social isolation, Camp and Rodríguez chose to visualize emotion as color — bright yellow, orange, red, and magenta, multiple greens and blues. Color billows out of characters' mouths, filling the air like the secondhand smoke of a noir hero, with John Jones and the Martian as the only beings who can breathe it in.

Absolute Martian Manhunter is a book where every character's emotions are on display, but nobody can actually communicate. The root of every problem is the inability (or refusal) to connect; John with his wife, John's non-verbal son with the world, bystanders with their loved ones, perpetrators of violence with their communities. On constant display is the inefficiency of language to bridge the gap between minds, and the difficulties people have in finding their voices in the first place. The Martian speaks in "concept constellations," clusters of equally descriptive words presented simultaneously, because no single human word suffices.

It's the kind of inventiveness of text and visual, and harmony of art and story, that comics usually only approach when they're the work of a single creator. AMM has three, between Camp, Rodríguez, and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. The team displays an expert understanding of what's possible with comics imagery, and also with the comic as a physical object, punctuating the biggest mic-drops of the series with a trick of printing and reader participation.

When Absolute Martian Manhunter really wants you to sit up and pay attention to duality in unity, it prints one image on a page, another mirror-flipped image on the opposite side, and invites you to hold the comic itself up to the light, to see the two pages as a single visual.

Exactly the kind of creativity and inventiveness that is easily squeezed flat under the monthly comics churn, corporate pressures, and tendency to choose the reliable over the experimental. And all that visual wow is in the service of a story with a true point of view on modern American isolation packaged in the best scifi allegory. In a crowded year of superheroic bangers, Absolute Martian Manhunter stands above — there is simply no other superhero book like it on the stands.

While Absolute Martian Manhunter tops the list, there's something for everyone in the best comics of 2025.

You could say that 2025 was an unusual year for comics, but then every year seems to be unusual to some degree for the medium. Between economic uncertainty here in the United States generally, the overall state of the direct market, and some lean months from the Big Two, it's not exactly been a show of strength this year.

That's not to say there haven't been some serious highlights. While the comics industry itself maybe isn't in the best place ever, creators have continued to do some of their finest work. Just as a single example, DC's Absolute Universe has been a highlight this year, and several books feature prominently in our rankings.

It's also still been a solid year for manga, which we've included in our overall rankings this year. While we've historically separated manga out into its own yearly ranking, internal discussions this year concluded with: why? (There are plenty of arguments for and against, I know, and trust me they were all had.) As such, you'll find plenty of manga here as well.

Continue reading to discover the GamesRadar+ ranking of the 25 best comics of the year, culminating in our pick for the best comic of 2025. Don't agree? Feel free to also share what your pick is in the comments below. – Rollin Bishop, US Managing Editor

Comics of the Year 2025

25. Star Trek: Lore War (IDW)

The big closer to IDW's landmark revamp of its Star Trek titles, Lore War (which is an event and not a specific comic, but so it goes) crossed over from the main Star Trek series to Star Trek: Defiant, and even found time for a few one-shots like the delightful semi-sequel to the Eisner-nominated Shaxs' Best Day, titled – what else – Shaxs' Best Day.

In the crossover, Data's evil brother Lore became god of the Star Trek universe, remaking reality to his liking, with only Deep Space Nine's Benjamin Sisko remembering how things were supposed to be before… And eventually assembling a team of franchise all-stars to take down Lore and return reality to normal. A semi-remix of the classic X-Men crossover Age of Apocalypse but with Starfleet, the writers and artists involved absolutely go wild, giving us Borg Vulcans, Scotty with his brain ripped out, and all the absurdity and giddy inspiration you'd want from an event. Yeah, they boldly went for it with this one. – Alex Zalben, Contributor

24. Sleep (Image Comics)

The premise of Zander Cannon's new series, which is still ongoing as of this writing, is relatively simple: every time Jonathan Reason, an unassuming, religious man just trying to live his life in his small town goes to sleep… Something happens. Specifically, something destructive and deadly happens. But since he's asleep, we, the reader, never get to see what it is. Instead, alongside Jonathan we delve deeper into the spiraling horror that is the realization he can't be a good man if he's hurting everyone around him at the same time.

This central idea – is he werewolf? A vampire? Something far worse? – is explored in full both from the human and psychological perspective, and mythologically as well, as things start to happen to the daytime version of Jonathan, visible on his body. The art style Cannon employs is simple and cartoony, the whole thing rendered in black, white, and grey, with splashes of red… Not the ultra-realistic pencil-work one might expect for this sort of thing. But that inviting look only makes what's happening to Jonthan all the more terrible, even as there are also hints there might be a light at the end of the tunnel. It's glib to say, but do not sleep on this book. – Alex Zalben, Contributor

23. Batman: Dark Patterns

There are times when you read a Batman story and you go, "oh cool, he's doing Batman stuff." And then there are other times you read a Batman story and realize this is a run that's going to go down in history. Dark Patterns is the latter. In it, writer Dan Watters and artist Hayden Sherman craft four, three-issue mysteries for Batman, relatively early in his career (think: year two, not year one). Not only are they actually detective-style mysteries versus the sorts of things Batman can punch his way out of, each has its own unique direction and feel.

In one, an entire apartment building seems to be aligned against the Dark Knight for unknown reasons. In another, Batman starts seeing patterns of the old Red Hood Gang, where there might be none. Through Watters' careful prose, and Sherman's transcendent artwork, these patterns all build to come together into four unique tales that really are one, and will live on your bookshelf right next to other classics like The Long Halloween. – Alex Zalben, Contributor

22. I Was A Fashion School Serial Killer (Image Comics)

Creators Doug Wagner and Daniel Hillyard have never held back before with their books, which range from blood-soaked madness of Vinyl to the plushies-attack weirdness of Plush. And they don't hold back with this one, either, which you can probably intuit from the title. But it's also their most accessible work by far, following new fashion student Rennie Bethary. She excels in her studies, but also just happens to make all her clothes out of the human skin and bones of her victims.

What makes this one work so well isn't just the parallel of the cut-throat world of fashion school paralleled with literal cut throats, but that the team makes sure Rennie has a real awakening as a person at the same time. Add in absolutely hilarious and brutally over-the-top violence that goes several levels past Looney Tunes, and you have a new satirical classic that, fingers crossed, gets the great sequel all horror hits deserve. – Alex Zalben, Contributor

21. Tower Dungeon (Kodansha)

There are plenty of "climb down into the dungeon" and "climb up the tower" fantasy manga out there, with varying levels of quality, but none are quite like Tsutomei Nihei's Tower Dungeon. While the name is to the point – there's a tower, it's a dungeon – the minimalist worldbuilding and decisive linework make for a sprawling, fantastical story about climbing a dungeon that's a tower from the creator of Blame and Knights of Sidonia.

Notably, Tower Dungeon only finally started releasing English volumes this year, and it's quickly shot up my own personal list to the point that I recently spent 45 minutes digging through my local bookstore looking for the one and only copy of the third volume it had on hand. If there's one truly new recommendation from me this year, it's Tower Dungeon. – Rollin Bishop, US Managing Editor

20. News From The Fallout (Image Comics)

Writer Chris Condon and artist Jeffrey Alan Love have crafted a comic unlike anything you've ever seen with News From The Fallout. The six-issue Image Comics series starts with a nuclear test outside Nevada, and spirals into one of the most harrowing horror books you'll read this year.

Part of that is due to the central concept of the series, which is too good to spoil here (though we will say that at least in the first half, the best comparison point is the supernatural noose-tightening terror of 30 Days of Night). And Condon knows how to sharply craft characters thanks to his excellent work on everything from That Texas Blood to Green Arrow. But it's Love's art that kicks this to the next level. Somewhat riffing off the idea of the horrific human-shaped ash markings left behind from a nuclear blast, the whole book is presented like a shadow play, something the team explores to its fullest as the book continues. Truly, a book unlike any other. – Alex Zalben, Contributor

19. The Seasons (Image Comics)

Rick Remender and Paul Azaceta's whimsical horror for Image was instantly captivating and delightfully unsettling in equal measure. Summer, Winter, Spring, and Autumn are the Seasons Sisters, the daughters of a world-renowned detective duo who vanished in mysterious circumstances some years ago. That's the least of young Spring's worries, though, when a sinister circus comes to town, leaving devastation in its wake. She sets out to investigate and gets pulled into a candy-colored nightmare.

Feeling not unlike Ray Bradbury's creepy carnival story Something Wicked This Way Comes if it was brought to life by Wes Anderson, The Seasons is visually beautiful, witty, and at times genuinely scary. It's also shot through with a palpable love of the medium, particularly European comics (Tintin feels like a key influence). The first arc ran for eight issues, with the second, uh, season launching in February 2026. – Will Salmon, Streaming Editor

18. W0rldtr33 (Image Comics)

James Tynion IV and Fernando Blanco's cyberpunk thriller returned for a third season that explored the backstory of its naked assassin, PH34R. As the truth behind the Undernet's deadliest weapon becomes clearer, however, the more complex and troubling this story was revealed to be. Hopping back and forth between the comic's present and a blasted post-apocalyptic future, it was a trippy and often bracingly adult nightmare.

W0rldtr33 is a singularly unsettling fusion of science fiction concepts and eerie horror that probes at the dangerous edges of the internet. There's always been the risk that this comic could tip over into a heavy-handed anti-online screed, but the most recent run counteracted that by adding a hopeful note. As an older and wiser Yoshihiro Sato says at one point, the internet is "All of human knowledge. It's every good idea we ever had at our fingertips, to grow by and to learn by." Even with this sunnier outlook, however, W0rldtr33 remains one of the most disturbing comics on stands today. – Will Salmon, Streaming Editor

17. Assorted Crisis Events (Image Comics)

In the realm of writing licensed superhero comics that speak eloquently to modern political anxieties without crumbling under the juxtaposition of the (said with love) inescapably ephemeral consumerism of it all, Deniz Camp is maybe the best currently doing it. But what Assorted Crisis Events makes clear is how much Ultimate Avengers and Absolute Martian Manhunter represent Camp pulling his punches.

Assorted Crisis Events is where Camp puts his body blows. The short story series, a collaboration between Camp and artist Eric Zadawski is set in a world beset by as many different metaphorically resonant time-travel-related tragedies as their imaginations can conjure. Each issue is lightly linked by the appearance of an unhoused man with a jetpack, flitting through the background like a more compassionate but equally powerless Rorschach.

Comics storytelling offers a wealth of tools to present the passage (or lack there of) of time and enhance nonlinear narratives, and Camp and Zadawski leave none untouched. They're also really good at it, seamlessly pulling off feats like an issue where each page is read in a loop, except for the pages where it's important that it's not. All put together, it's the feel-bad series you still can't put down, a well-prescribed course of bitter pills masterfully bottled. – Susana Polo, Contributor

16. Gachiakuta (Kodansha)

I was initially drawn to Kei Urana's crack at shonen manga for the simplest reason: it looks cool. It has style – fashion – rarely seen in this space, drawn from a well of graffiti and streetwear viewed through a lens of clear admiration, and rendered with so much ink that I have to wonder if there's a tanker truck parked outside the mangaka's studio. The very literal world of trash that young protagonist Rudo roots through after he's framed for murder and exiled to the bottom of the world – he's understandably peeved about this – is remarkably easy on the eyes, though less so on the nose, we're told.

It still looks cool. Gachiakuta, as any fans of the recent anime will tell you, has striking character designs and intense, almost caricaturized expressions that stick to your mind. But what's kept me on this train is the unbelievable mileage the series gets out of its power structure, built around "Givers" who wring immense strength out of cherished, cared-for, and unassuming items. Nowhere else will you see glasses, boots, and scissors – or in Rudo's case, gloves capable of giving power to any neglected item – brandished with such inventive flourish. In Gachiakuta's quiet moments, you just want to see more of the world and its people; at its most intense, you want to see what the heck the fights will come up with next. – Austin Wood, Senior Writer

15. The New Gods (DC)

They say that if you come at the King, you better not miss, and that is also true for Jack "the King" Kirby's Fourth World characters. If a comic creator isn't approaching a New Gods story with ambition, what are we even doing here? Fortunately writer Ram V and artist Evan Cagle have ambition in spades.

In this story, Orion has orders to find and kill a child god before he can come into his mysterious powers. Horrified, but unable to refuse, Orion begs his brother/opposite, Mister Miracle, to save the baby, and gives him a week's head start. But that's really just the beginning of a story that grows bigger and more expansive with every chapter.

Each issue features at least one guest-artist-drawn sequence, allowing Cagle more time for his intricate linework on a monthly schedule. In another book, that could give the whole thing a distractingly disjointed feel, but the team here chooses their moments — flashbacks, meanwhiles, exposition — and collaborators to match. The New Gods is as much a celebration of artists as it is a cosmic adventure story, and that might be the most Kirby-honoring thing about it. – Susana Polo, Contributor

14. The Apothecary Diaries (Square Enix)

The manga adaptation of Natsu Hyuuga's novel series – art by Nekokurage, compiled by Itsuki Nanao, and with character designs from Touco Shino – remains some of the most compelling paper available today. Distinct from both the novels and the hit anime, the manga beautifully captures moments in time in a way that can repaint scenes in your head. Richly detailed and amusingly expressive, this period piece mystery drama marries Asian historical fiction and early medical science in an imperial court with few winners. It's a story of tireless political scheming, women exploited by the society around them, and a heroine too brilliant for the world to hide.

Maomao, a young and eccentric apothecary with a tongue as sharp as her wit, escapes and inevitably stumbles into perilous fates through her own creativity and curiosity. Intrigued by the potential source and effects of an unknown poison, she is uncontainable. Confronted with the malice of an abusive poisoner, she is unflinching. Maomao keeps The Apothecary Diaries together and keeps it moving, cutting through sometimes-dragging exposition like acid through a rich sauce. Engrossing investigations and memorable side characters furnish a world that is ultimately hers – hers to analyze, hers to survive, and maybe one day hers to change. – Austin Wood, Senior Writer

13. Ultimates (Marvel)

Though 2025 has been a tough year for Marvel, its Ultimate Universe line has produced most of its best stand-out titles as it entered its third and final year. Though several Ultimate Universe titles could perhaps land among 2025's best, we're pinning the medal on the line's arguable flagship, Ultimates, which has been all about the trials and tribulations of rallying a force of unlikely heroes to take on The Maker, the megalomaniacal villain who crafted the entire reality.

The biggest failing of Ultimates is its expiration date. Its story of gathering an interesting team of the Ultimate equivalent of the Avengers has a big climax on the horizon with the final battle with The Maker looming in early 2026, which closes the book on the entire line. However, the work done by writer Deniz Camp and artist Juan Frigeri makes me wish the story had more time left. – George Marston, Staff Writer

12. Absolute Batman (DC)

There's a strong argument that there are better comics in DC's Absolute universe line – Absolute Wonder Woman is the more technically impressive, Absolute Martian Manhunter the more dazzlingly ambitious – but it's hard to deny that the Dark Knight's adventures were the most consistently exciting this year. In the comic's second year this none-more-jacked version of Bruce Wayne faced off against a freaky reinvention of Mr. Freeze and a Bane who is even bigger than he is.

There's a bananas energy to Absolute Batman, along with a mordant sense of humor – a panel of Bats gleefully booting a child villain into the ocean in #6 had no right being as funny as it was. But alongside the boundary-pushing violence, there's also a deep sincerity to this series, Scott Snyder's scripts finding new ways to torment Bruce Wayne, while also offering him unexpected hope in his friends from Crime Alley. In an up-and-down year for DC's core Batman book, Bruce's Absolute adventures have been never less than essential. – Will Salmon, Streaming Editor

11. Vinland Saga (Kodansha)

It almost feels unfair to include Vinland Saga, the long-running historical fiction manga from creator Makoto Yukimura, in any comics competition. But a new book did, in fact, release in English earlier this year – and the manga itself concluded its Japanese release after two decades – which means it is once again technically qualified to participate and inevitably appear.

Vinland Saga is and has been a beautiful treatise on protagonist Thorfinn's growth from a revenge-obsessed warrior to a pacifist looking to build a community, and Book 14 is firmly into the latter part of the story. Without spoiling anything, the latest English book is a renewed test of Thorfinn's most meaningful statement, "I have no enemies," that also happens to be beautifully executed. And with the Japanese release having finished and the English conclusion on the horizon, there's never been a better time to catch up. – Rollin Bishop, US Managing Editor

Comics 2025: The Top 10

10. Captain America (Marvel)

Marvel relaunched its core Captain America title this year with the red hot team of Chip Zdarsky (fresh off a lengthy run on Batman) and artist Valerio Schiti. Their new book immediately announced itself as a mature and melancholy take on Steve Rogers' adventures, taking us back to almost the beginning of his story and pairing him up with another super-soldier, the war-weary and damaged Dave Colton. The two Caps are dispatched to Latveria to deal with the rising threat posed by young dictator Victor Von Doom and find all their moral certainties challenged.

Contrasting Steve Rogers with a very different bearer of the Captain America name is nothing new, but there's a timely purpose to Zdarsky and Schiti's series. The first arc tackled US intervention in foreign states and the legacy of 9/11, but struck a fine balance between real world politics and comic book action, with Schiti's work both elegant and visceral. Where this is all going remains to be seen, but the first five issues make for a sophisticated reinvention of an iconic hero. – Will Salmon, Streaming Editor

9. FML (Dark Horse)

This eight-issue series from writer Kelly Sue DeConnick and artist David López (with Clayton Cowles' letters and Christ Peter's colors) might best be described as Pacific Northwest Gothic. It's autobiographical. It's totally fiction. It's a gonzo look at post-2020 suburban life. It's a blisteringly earnest memoir of parenthood. It's about two protagonists, Gen X mom Patty and 16-year-old Riley, openly based on DeConnick and her own son, navigating supernatural metamorphosis and deadly real true crime.

FML is about all of those things, but it could really be about anything: DeConnick and López are such superlative storytellers it would be a pleasure simply to watch them cook. DeConnick builds a large cast of colorful characters with expert speed, and rides that sweet center of the Venn diagram overlap between parody, honesty, and satire so real you shout "YIKES" at the page. López switches between three distinct drawing styles — representing the present day/real events, and Patty and Riley's own in-fiction artistic styles — so adroitly you could believe he's three different artists. It's rare to see a comic so playful that is also so graceful in saying what it wants to say, and they should be commended for it. – Susana Polo, Contributor

8. Absolute Wonder Woman (DC)

While Absolute Wonder Woman, from writer Kelly Thompson and artist Hayden Sherman as well as colorist Jordie Bellaire and letterer Becca Carey, technically began in late 2024, the Absolute Universe title published the majority of its run so far in 2025 – and what a year it's been for the new take on the Wonder Woman mythos. Thompson and Bellaire are putting out some of their best work ever here.

Absolute Wonder Woman finds Diana having been raised on the Isle of Hell, for example, with a stronger focus on magic and while DC and Marvel have a bad habit of introducing new universes seemingly just to do so, Absolute Wonder Woman existing makes the entire line worthwhile. There's a reason it won the Eisner for Best New Series this year, and if you're not already experiencing the ongoing visual feast that is Absolute Wonder Woman, well, what's stopping you? – Rollin Bishop, US Managing Editor

7. Witch Hat Atelier (Kodansha)

The jury is still out, but this might be my favorite magic system. Witch Hat Atelier grabs the fantastical and supernatural with both hands, dragging them down to earth where we, too, can reach out and touch them. Magic doesn't just happen; it's not fireballs in your palms, and it's not a matter of will. It's drawn, carefully and systemically, and might be applied in countless ways, convenient or calamitous.

A young witch named Coco is catapulted into the world of magic through an encounter that hammers home both the dangers and delights of the craft and sets her on a course that could shake the fundamentals of magic – a powerful ancient art once available to anyone with the right tools, pens and ink and additives, but now guarded by the few witches trusted with its safekeeping and study.

Much is made of forbidden tomes, but the greatest spell in Witch Hat Atelier is the unmistakable art of creator Kamome Shirahama. Just as magic is made tactile, one of the liveliest fantasy worlds in years is rendered with texture and grit – rough stone and fuzzy wool, gnarled wood and cloying mud – that you can practically feel under your fingers as you hungrily turn page after page. – Austin Wood, Senior Writer

6. Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum (DC)

In superhero terms, 2025 is the year of Superman. James Gunn's summer blockbuster leads the charge, but in comic terms, it's DC Black Label's Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum that stands out. Created by writer W. Maxwell Prince, artist Martín Morazzo, and colorist Chris O'Halloran, the team behind Image's horror favorite Ice Cream Man, The Kryptonite Spectrum is less a scary take on Superman, and more a semi-twisted version of the Man of Steel's classic Silver Age sci-fi tales.

Comparisons to the legendary All-Star Superman are the easiest touchstone for The Kryptonite Spectrum, but the Ice Cream Man team puts a psychedelic body transformation spin on the throwback concept as Superman enlists Batman to help him test the effects of several new varieties of the eponymous mineral. It all winds up tying back to a classic villain, sealing the deal on a story that takes Superman into compellingly quirky new territory. – George Marston, Staff Writer

5. Chainsaw Man (VIZ)

Are there better comics this year than Chainsaw Man from creator Tatsuki Fujimoto? Sure. Unequivocally, even. But were there comics that I looked forward to reading every single week in the same way as Chainsaw Man? No. Unequivocally, even.

While the earlier arcs of Chainsaw Man focused almost entirely on Denji, the recent ones are as much if not more about Yoru and Asa, the War Devil and her host. Chainsaw Man loves its gore and violence and horrible, inexcusable actions, but that's also why its unsubtle examination of America's love for all of the above while Denji continues to hope for connection despite his own misfortunes works so well. – Rollin Bishop, US Managing Editor

4. The Power Fantasy (Image Comics)

Two volumes in and counting, Kieron Gillen and Caspar Wijngaard's alternate superhero history is still as narratively twisty and visually spectacular as ever. Perhaps even more, as now that they've established a baseline they can start twisting the plot even harder.

Wijngaard brings his expressive color work, eye for fashion, and use of striking blacks, while Gillen brings his plot architect sensibilities and proven skills in winding up a bunch of psychologically damaged people and watching them bounce off each other. But in this case, each bounce could destroy the world, as the story revolves around seven people (colleagues? rivals?) whose capacity for instant destruction of human life equals the nuclear capacity of a world power.

Recent issues have dived into the past of this alternate history of the 20th century, paying off big secrets like exactly why Western Europe appears to have been wiped off the map, and piled more reveals, surprises, and Utilitarian philosophy on top. It's no small task, to build a new alternate superhero history of the world, as The Boys, Invincible, and Watchmen adaptations grab millions of eyeballs, but Gillen and Wijngaard have this one well in hand. – Susana Polo, Contributor

3. Dandadan (VIZ)

Creator Yukinobu Tatsu has taken a fairly basic premise – boy who believes in aliens, girl who believes in ghosts – and stretched it into a captivating battle-meets-slice-of-life manga. Even among contemporaries, Dandadan is a standout for its clean action and strong emotions, making everything from battling yokai the size of a castle to navigating the hardships of daily school life seem of equal importance.

A lesser manga would have run out of steam after completing its initial arc, but Dandadan continues to layer complexities and personal relationships all while expanding its core cast in a way that would make One Piece's Eiichiro Oda proud. There are plenty of comics that explore similar ground, if not exactly the same, but few do it with as much grace and love for both big feelings and big fights like Dandadan. – Rollin Bishop, US Managing Editor

2. Transformers (Image Comics)

One of the great comics surprises of the last few years has been Skybound's Energon Universe, which started when Robert Kirkman and Lorenzo De Felici's sci-fi saga Void Rivals revealed itself to be linked to fresh new takes on both Transformers and G.I. Joe. Since then Daniel Warren Johnson has been steering the robots in disguise's headline book, initially drawing it himself before handing over to Jorge Corona. This Transformers emphasized the human scale of the war between the Autobots and the Decepticons, with highly-detailed and often bone-crunching work from Corona that made you feel every blow.

Alas, all good things must come to an end. Johnson and Corona bowed out with #24 and a devastating battle between Optimus Prime and Megatron. But ends are also usually new beginnings when it comes to comics – the series was relaunched with #25 and the new creative team of Robert Kirkman and Dan Mora. The latest arc has found the Autobots divided while the Decepticons re-group following their previous defeat. It hasn't quite hit the heights of the Johnson years yet, but the run is still young and this is still a great comic. – Will Salmon, Streaming Editor

Comic of the Year 2025

1. Absolute Martian Manhunter (DC)

All of DC's Absolute books are good, but Absolute Martian Manhunter transcends. Writer Deniz Camp and artist Javier Rodríguez reimagine J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter, as FBI agent John Jones and his psychic alien passenger, the Martian. It's a transcendental buddy cop duo against anti-social violence in their all-American community.

Color is the visual motif of the book, emotions rendered in flat primary and secondary colors, thoughts floating out of people's heads in vibrant invisible smoke that our hero huffs in order to read minds.

But AMM never gets so trippy that it forgets to be grounded. Camp and Rodríguez have a real point of view in the pilot's seat of this ship made of science fiction metaphor, and a playfully creative understanding of the comic book as a physical object. Together they've made a comic that has to be seen and held in the hands to be believed; the best Big Two book in a crowded field of contenders. – Susana Polo, Contributor

Absolute Martian Manhunter isn't just the best superhero comic of 2025 – it pushes into the wild spaces of the form itself.

Celebrate the best of 2025 with GamesRadar+

I've been reading Marvel Comics basically my entire life, starting with the ones my dad would hand me as a young kid in the early '80s. It's been close to 40 years since I fell in love with the House of Ideas, none of which have passed without me devouring as many comics as I could get my hands on – with Marvel perennially at the forefront of my superhero taste. Well, almost none. Then 2025 happened.

I've been just about as "Make Mine Marvel" as it gets. Even my career has largely focused on covering Marvel. But as the year has rolled on, I've found myself less and less engaged with the majority of the publisher's output. You could say I've been disenchanted, disconnected, and just a little tired by Marvel's 2025 comics, to the point that I struggled to find many worthy titles to submit for consideration on our best of the year list.

The world outside your window

That's a first for me, and it's definitely disappointing. With most of the Marvel Universe stuck in the One World Under Doom status quo, the X-Men line saddled with an ineffective, nostalgia-locked overarching philosophy, and many other series simply failing to develop compelling stakes, Marvel has felt far too static for the bulk of 2025.

It's also a little baffling, as Doctor Doom is my favorite character. I love the idea of him taking over as Sorcerer Supreme, the central conceit of One World Under Doom, and writer Ryan North's Fantastic Four took our top spot in our ranking of the best comics of 2024.

But the plotline of Doom as world conqueror stuck around far too long, with much of Marvel's output steeped in the event, something that can easily turn into the doldrums for a story with its own potential. And the X-Men line, while enlisting some talented creators, has floundered in the shadow of the age of Krakoa, which set a nearly impossible-to-surmount bar for any new X-titles arising in its wake.

Meanwhile, other popular characters such as the Scarlet Witch are stuck in a never-ending cycle of limited series that take the place of a monthly ongoing series, a sales gimmick that reflects the publisher's apparent inability to offer timeless, compelling comics in favor of grasping for the meager sales of a dwindling core customer base.

Creative woes

This brings me to Marvel's other major issue in 2025: a dearth of new talent. Yes, there have been a few folks who have dipped their toes in the water, but it feels increasingly like Marvel is circling the wagons around just a handful of writers who each helm as many titles as they can cram in.

I won't name names or try to parse the deeper hows-and-whys of this apparent strategy, but it's likely got something to do with the publisher's overall skittishness at swinging for the fences. The larger point is that the House of Ideas is starting to feel like it has threadbare walls that do little to prop up even the most dedicated and put-upon of its creators.

It's hard not to interpret it all – static stories, creative downturn – as the effect of a craven, sales-driven outlook in which the corporate side of Marvel seems to have more pull over where the line goes than the editors and talent who actually make the comics.

Perhaps that's merely one reader's insight. I'm certainly basing that analysis on my own opinions and my reading of current Marvel titles rather than stone-cold facts. It seems, though, like Marvel fans as a whole are having a harder and harder time not turning up their nose at series that once wouldn't have just moved the needle, but buried it.

Post-Krakoa blues

The X-Men line is a compelling example of what not to do with Marvel's most groundbreaking characters. The Krakoa status quo changed everything for Marvel's mutants, pushing them forward into a futurist nation of unkillable X-Men with fateful stakes that could upend the entire Marvel Universe.

Following an act like that is hard, especially when simply repeating Krakoa's big twist would certainly fall flat. But taking the X-Men franchise back to a purely nostalgia-driven line and reviving the idea of mutants being "hated and feared" by humanity has put an albatross on the one Marvel property that simply cannot go backwards and still feel credible.

Perhaps it's the success of X-Men '97 that has driven the current approach to the X-Men. Even that is indicative of Marvel taking the wrong lessons, however, as the animated revival series won over fans both old and new by saying something new with the cartoon versions of the characters.

Though the X-Men line is hardly the only corner of the Marvel Universe to feel stuck in a rut, it does come across as a case study in making sausage purely from the gristle, with its otherwise talented creators apparently struggling to find a big breakout moment.

The future of Marvel

So what's next for Marvel? For the embattled X-Men line, the answer has been to suspend or cancel every title in the line for the parlor trick of relaunching everything as a wave of alt-reality titles set in a possible future for the X-Men. But it's a paltry transformation when the core line is so bruised, even with yet another relaunch on the horizon.

At the same time, much of the rest of the Marvel Universe is still tied to the aftermath of the recently concluded One World Under Doom event, which has yielded diminishing returns throughout 2025. I'll stick one feather in its cap – it did deliver some great Doom moments, even if they were spread out a bit too thin by the extended run of the core One World Under Doom series.

My hope is that 2026 brings a return to creator-driven stories that build stakes for the characters in the comics rather than lassoing every title into gimmicky events, which have the potential to stand the test of time among the best Marvel runs ever, rather than simply doubling down on relaunches and variant covers to make an impact.

Marvel would do well to remember what made it the number one superhero publisher for so many decades – its unique and vulnerable characters who can become the vehicle for tales that no other publisher can tell.

Stories like Infinity Gauntlet and Civil War are fine touchstones for the power of a good Marvel event, but what we need right now is a fundamental backbone: great pairings of characters and creators with the runway to build something truly spectacular, like Walt Simonson's Thor or Matt Fraction and David Aja's Hawkeye.

What Marvel needs most of all are stories people want to read not just once, but again and again, that excite fans and make new readers feel included in something bigger than themselves.

For a taste of what the House of Ideas is capable of at its high points, check out our picks for the best Marvel stories of all time.

Superman/Spider-Man is on the horizon this spring, and we now know the story details and creative teams of DC's side of the big crossover event with Marvel.

The main story by writer Mark Waid and artist Jorge Jiménez will feature the two lead characters teaming up against a pair of their arch-enemies as Doctor Octopus and Brainiac, while a slew of back-up stories will bring together different iterations of Spider-Man, Superman, and their allies.

"When journalists Clark Kent and Peter Parker find themselves chasing the same story, the conspiracy they uncover could change the world – especially if Brainiac and Doctor Octopus have anything to say about it. (And we bet they do!)" reads DC's official description of Superman/Spider-Man #1. "Good thing our intrepid newshounds are secretly Superman and the amazing Spider-Man. To bring this clash of reporters‑turned‑heroes to life, Mark Waid and Jorge Jiménez join forces to headline DC's Superman/Spider-Man #1 with an unforgettable lead story."

Here's DC's rundown of the rest of the stories and creative teams in their side of the crossover, which will also include a number of reprint stories:

• Tom King and Jim Lee tell a tale of Lois Lane and Mary Jane Watson, Matt Fraction and Steve Lieber revisit Superman’s pal Jimmy Olsen…and Carnage
• Sean Murphy takes us to the future with Superboy (Legion) and Spider-Man 2099, Gail Simone teams up with Belén Ortega for a look at what happens when Power Girl meets Punisher
• Christopher Priest and Daniel Sampere show us a time when Superboy Prime (who reads all the comics!) decided to visit Spider-Man right after he got the black suit
• Greg Rucka and Nicola Scott take us on an exciting race between the Daily Planet and the Daily Bugle
• Plus, we finally get to answer the age-old question of who would win in a fair fight: Pa Kent or Uncle Ben! (Just kidding, those guys are too nice to fight each other, but Jeff Lemire and Rafa Sandoval will take us deep into the past to see the two men bond in the face of adversity).

And here's a gallery of covers for the event by Jorge Jiménez; Jim Lee, Scott Williams and Alex Sinclair; Daniel Sampere and Tomeu Morey; Dave Johnson; David Nakayama, Gabriele Dell'Otto, Mikel Janín; Raphael Albuquerque; Stanley "Artgerm" Lau, David Talaski, Clayton Crain, and Raphael Albuquerque:

The one-shot will also feature more yet-to-be-revealed covers by Arthur Adams, Chrissie Zullo, Josh Middleton, Scott Koblish, Olivier Coipel, Adam Hughes, Mitch Gerads, Jeff Spokes, Evan "Doc" Shaner, Steve Lieber, J. Scott Campbell, Rafael Sandoval, and more.

Superman/Spider-Man #1 goes on sale March 25. For more, check out the best Marvel stories ever, and the best DC stories of all time.

Hulk: Smash Everything is all about the not-so-jolly green giant attempting to defeat, well, everything. And in Hulk: Smash Everything #2, he's taking on "history" as he tangles with dinosaurs in the prehistoric era.

We've got an early preview of pages from Hulk: Smash Everything #2 by writer Ryan North and artist Vincenzo Carratu showing off not just Hulk's battle with a horde of dinos, there's also an appearance by his arch-foe the Leader disguised as Doctor Strange, having previously used this guise to trick Hulk into fighting the Sorcerer Supreme himself - a close ally of the Hulk from their days on the Defenders.

Check it out:

"HULK SMASHES HISTORY! Pencils down, TRUE BELIEVERS, and pay attention to this next history lesson!" reads Marvel's official description for Hulk: Smash Everything #2. "For centuries, scholars believed DINOSAURS to be among some of the fiercest creatures to ever roam Earth during its prehistoric age - until HULK arrived… Pangea? Evolution? Forget it! History as we know it is about to get SMASHED!"

The concept of Hulk defeating even the very concept of history (while a slight exaggeration) is exactly the kind of charming superhero weirdness I've come to love from Ryan North, whose previous Fantastic Four title topped our list of the best comics of 2024. Who doesn't love the Hulk on a rampage, especially when we get to see him fight dinosaurs? I'm here for it.

Hulk: Smash Everything #2 goes on sale January 26. For more, check out the best Hulk stories of all time.

Welcome to Year in Review: The Best of 2025, our retrospective on all the unforgettable games, movies, TV, hardware, and comics released during the last 12 months. Our experts here at GamesRadar+ have come together to create a comprehensive collection of coverage around games that moved us to movies that challenged us to gear that impressed us – and more. It is truly the most wonderful time of the year.

And what a year it's been! From the release of the Nintendo Switch 2 to the RPG renaissance to the heartwarming hope of superheroes, it truly feels like it never once slowed down – and we're not starting now. We've been busy the past several weeks (and sometimes months) conducting interviews, putting together lists, voting, and generally preparing for a year-end celebration that is worthy of all the hard work throughout 2025 from the creative industries we cover.

Throughout December, we’re looking back at the very best of 2025, so be sure to check in across the month for new lists, interviews, features, and retrospectives as we guide you through all of the most interesting and captivating releases that the past year has had to offer with updates constantly – so be sure to check back in daily!

Best of 2025: Games

Best of 2025: Movies

Best of 2025: TV

Best of 2025: Hardware

Best of 2025: Comics

Ever since DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn announced a new, more superheroic take on Batman in The Brave and the Bold, fans have been begging for a bat-suit that is closer to the Caped Crusader's classic comic look, with a blue and grey color scheme, a yellow oval around the bat-symbol, and white eye lenses. But Gunn has now reiterated that Batman's costume details are "less important" to him than the movie's story and how it portrays the character.

"The most requested thing would be the blue and grey. Then the yellow around the bat. And THEN the white eyes," Gunn tells a fan on social media who asks specifically about white lenses. "But all of those things I find less important than the character himself, the writing, and the person who plays him."

Gunn's response reflects his earlier comments on the topic, which has become a common refrain among fans who want something a little different from the all-black, tactical style bat-suits that have mostly defined Batman's look in the movies.

"There's a religious aspect to some of this stuff that's very uncomfortable," Gunn stated previously. "Should Batman have white eyes? That's a big subject of conversation. It's like, 'Guys, that's really what matters?' But those are the things they care about. Should his utility belt be yellow? Should he have the yellow crest around the bat? All of that sort of stuff. None of those things are what's most important to me. What matters is the character, the story."

The Brave and the Bold, which has been said to feature not just Batman, but Robin, and potentially other members of the bat-family, will be directed by filmmaker Andy Muschetti, who has one previous DC strikeout under his belt with 2023's much-maligned The Flash.

To be fair though, the return of Michael Keaton's Batman was one of the aspects of The Flash that actually kinda worked. And Muschetti's track record with the IT films and the Welcome to Derry spin-off/prequel could indicate that he'd be a better fit for the Dark Knight, given his affinity for moodier subject matter.

Of course, we also don't know who will play the DCU's Batman just yet - only that it won't be Robert Pattinson's take on the Caped Crusader, whose own, separate continuity carries forward in 2027 with The Batman Part 2. You can keep up to date with everything the DC Universe has in store with our guide to all the upcoming DC movies and shows.

Marvel Comics' Black, White & Blood anthology series is back with a new volume focusing on stories of Logan - better known to some as Wolverine - in the years before he became a superhero and joined the X-Men. We've got an early preview of all three tales from Logan: Black, White & Blood #1, featuring the kind of over-the-top hack-and-slash action promised by the title.

Here's Marvel's description for story one: "Tom Waltz and Alex Lins reveal Logan’s never-before-revealed military service during the 1950s – with a secret connection to a fan-favorite Marvel character!"

And story two: "A mission in seedy 1970s Times Square puts Logan on the trail of a deranged serial killer, as told by Saladin Ahmed and Adam Kubert."

And finally story three: "Survival is the name of the game after Logan escapes from Weapon X – by Larry Hama and Dave Wachter."

Here's a gallery featuring one page from each story, in the order listed above:

Marvel has also revealed the solicitation text Logan: Black, White & Blood #3. Check out the solicit text below, followed by a gallery of the main cover for the issue by Sara Pichelli and a variant by Phil Noto:

LOGAN: BLACK, WHITE & BLOOD #3 (OF 4)

Written by PHIL NOTO, KARLA PACHECO & MARC BERNARDIN
Art by PHIL NOTO, PERE PÉREZ & JAN BAZALDUA
Cover by SARA PICHELLI
VARIANT COVER BY PHIL NOTO
BEFORE YOU SEEK REVENGE, DIG SIX GRAVES!
• Logan took work on a farm to get away from the violence…but when his peaceful neighbors are killed, he’ll need a bumper crop of revenge, courtesy of Karla Pacheco and Pere Pérez!
• Phil Noto reunites Logan with a former brother-in-arms, who needs a favor that will save one life…and end another!
• The man who will be Wolverine stands up for right in the face of a crime against innocents, as told by Marc Bernardin!

Logan: Black, White & Blood #1 goes on sale January 14, followed by #2 on February 4, and #3 on March 11. For more hardcore Wolverine action, check out the best Wolverine comics of all time.

A nearly pristine copy of the original 1939 Superman #1 has sold through Heritage Auctions for $9.12 million USD, officially making it the most valuable and expensive comic of all time. Along with the extreme rarity of any comics from 1939, the copy of Superman #1's almost impossibly perfect condition, rated at 9.0 out of 10 by comic grading authority the CGC (Certified Guaranty Company) drove its price to record levels.

The issue itself was found in a box of newspapers while cleaning out an attic in northern California, with its essentially miraculous condition preserved by its placement among other papers and a perfect set of environmental circumstances.

There's little denying that Superman is the most famous and influential characters of all time, kicking off the American superhero genre all the way back in 1938's landmark Action Comics #1. Just a little while later, the Man of Steel's adventures expanded beyond the pages of Action Comics with Superman #1.

"What a momentous day," Heritage Auctions vice president Lon Allen says in a statement. "I'm thrilled for our consignor. Superman No. 1 is a milestone in pop culture history, and this copy is not only in unprecedented condition, but it has a movie-worthy story behind it. I was glad to see the price reflect that and am honored Heritage was entrusted with this iconic book."

The previous most valuable comic was actually an 8.5 graded copy of Superman's first appearance, Action Comics #1, which sold for $6 million through Heritage Auctions in 2024 - marking a 50% jump in the record-setting price.

If you're looking to dive into the Man of Steel's adventures, you might want to check out our picks for the best Superman comics of all time.

Skybound's Energon Universe is about to engage in one of its first big crossovers this spring as the Transformers will be coming to GI Joe #19 and GI Joe #20 by writer Joshua Williamson and artist Andrea Milana, and colorist Lee Loughridge, and they're bringing along the Energon Universe's third big '80s cartoon/toy franchise, MASK.

The two-issue crossover will bring Optimus Prime and several Autobots will come face to face with Duke and the soldiers of GI Joe, all of whom will have a run-in with Matt Trakker, the lead character of MASK, who is known in the Energon Universe as "America's most wanted man."

"Duke and Optimus Prime meeting for the first time in the Energon Universe? What's led to this momentous meeting of the EU's two greatest heroes?" asks Skybound's official description of the big Transformers/GI Joe crossover. "All we can say is it involves Clutch, Autobot Hound, and America's most wanted man – Matt Trakker!"

Here's a gallery of the many covers for GI Joe #19 and GI Joe #20, followed by a list of the artists for each cover.

• G.I. JOE  #19 by Tom Reilly
• G.I. JOE #19 by Joshua Cassara & Romulo Fajardo Jr.
• G.I. JOE #19 Ben Oliver
• G.I. JOE #19 by Tonči Zonjić
• G.I. JOE #19 by Trevor Hairsine, Andy Lanning, & Romulo Fajardo Jr.
• G.I. JOE #19 by Pye Parr
• G.I. JOE #19 by John Amor & Andres Juarez 
• G.I. JOE  #20 by Tom Reilly
• G.I. JOE  #20 by Joshua Cassara & Romulo Fajardo Jr.
• G.I. JOE  #20 by Ben Oliver
• G.I. JOE  #20 by Tonči Zonjić
• G.I. JOE  #20 by Jorge Corona & Mike Spicer

GI Joe #19 goes on sale February 18, 2026, followed by GI Joe #20 on March 18. While we wait, you can learn all about what's to come for the Transformers in our recent interview with Energon Universe creator Robert Kirkman.

Marvel's X-Men line is closing in on the end of its current 'Age of Revelation' storyline that flashes forward to a possible future for mutantkind. But with the story coming to its end, the publisher is setting the stage for what comes next in X-Men #23, the epilogue for 'Age of Revelation.'

The issue marks the return of artist Tony Daniel to Marvel Comics for his first interior work for the publisher in decades. Daniel's return to the X-Men franchise is especially cool coming on the heels of 'Age of Revelation,' as some of his last Marvel work was part of 1995's 'Age of Apocalypse' the precursor to the current event.

Here's an exclusive preview of X-Men #23, which is written by Jed MacKay, featuring several pages of Tony Daniel's art along with a new variant cover for the issue by Ivan Talavera:

"It's a bit of a pinch-me moment for me! It seems my career has turned full circle, having started my career at Marvel on X-Force, when I was fresh out of high school. It was a dream back then as it is for me right now, on X-Men!" says Daniel in a statement. "I couldn't be happier putting pencil to paper on the series that inspired me to pursue this profession since I first laid eyes on a tattered copy of Giant-Size X-Men a classmate brought to school in the fourth grade. I fell in love immediately and began drawing my favorite mutants on whatever paper I could find."

"And it is incredibly exciting to work with Jed MacKay, who I've been a big fan of for several years now. Reading his stories, I thought of how great it must be for his artists to work with him," Daniel continues. "The way Jed constructs his stories is an artist's dream! Jed has an amazing balance of big action and character development that I think is not just fun for the artists, but also for the fans. Jed gets what makes great comics. If we're having fun, the fans will too. I think there's a lot of fun coming from X-Men!"

X-Men #23 goes on sale January 7. In the meantime, check out the best X-Men comics of all time.

The general manager of Marvel Games has acknowledged Marvel's place in the fighting game canon, and says Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls was made with the goal of reinstating it as a pillar of the genre.

While Street Fighter, Smash Bros., Tekken, or Mortal Kombat is likely the series that sticks out to you when it comes to fighting games, Capcom titles based on Marvel super heroes (including Marvel Super Heroes) could be argued as one of the main pillars of the genre. While Mortal Kombat is more successful commercially, if EVO entrance numbers are anything to go by, Marvel vs Capcom is a far bigger deal to the fighting game community. And while Capcom is not at the helm, Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls marks the return of the brand to fighting games.

Haluk Mentes, general manager of Marvel Games, spoke to Game Informer about the fighting game connection, saying that "from inception, the goal was to reinstate Marvel as a pillar of the fighting game community." And with Guilty Gear and Dragon Ball FighterZ developer Arc System Works developing it, another goal was "to do it with a unique, anime-inspired art-style and some of the best tag-team fighting mechanics out there."

Mentes also speaks about the fairly drastic redesigns of some iconic Marvel characters in the game – with characters feeling ripped straight from a Tokusatsu show. He says that "from the get-go, we collectively started pushing the envelope in terms of design to bring out that unmistakable ArcSys identity," adding that "I particularly love how Iron Man looks in the game – super unique but instantly recognizable."

Marvel wanted the new Wolverine game to bring Logan back in "spectacular and visceral fashion," and Insomniac was "the perfect choice" after the Spider-Man games

Absolute Batman artist Nick Dragotta wants to see the comic book series adapted for the small screen – and he'd love Studio Trigger to do it.

"I'm not in the know, but I know DC makes and licenses quality stuff so I'm excited to see what comes," Dragotta said during an AMA on the League of Comic Geeks forum when asked if he'd had any discussions about adaptations with James Gunn. "Personally, I'd love to see a Studio Trigger anime of Ab Bat."

Studio Trigger is the Japanese animation studio behind Delicious in Dungeon, two episodes of anthology show Star Wars: Visions, and Netflix hit Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.

As for Absolute Batman, which is written by Scott Snyder, the comic features Bruce Wayne as a blue-collar civil engineer in his early 20s instead of a billionaire. By night, he's still the vigilante Batman, but Alfred Pennyworth is an MI6 agent stalking him rather than his faithful butler. The first issue was published in October 2024 as the first title in DC's Absolute Universe imprint. It was the bestselling comic of 2024 and reached number five on the New York Times' bestseller list.

Next up for the DCU Chapter One is Lanterns, which arrives on HBO in early 2026. Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre star as the Green Lantern Corps' Hal Jordan and John Stewart as they investigate a murder on Earth.

For more from DC Studios, check out our guide to the other upcoming DC movies and shows on the way, including Supergirl, Man of Tomorrow, and more.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is currently in production as the fourth film in the Tom Holland starring Spidey franchise. And though the plot of the film hasn't been revealed, the indication that the sequel will be a more "street level" story could point to the influence of the 2023 Marvel Comics event Spider-Man: Gang War.

There are some clues that could indicate the connection between Spider-Man 4 and Gang War, especially with the addition of characters like Punisher, Tombstone, Scorpion, and Hulk to the cast, as well as the rumored inclusion of even more villains such as Mister Negative.

Though nothing is confirmed, the comic history of the Gang War event could offer up some potential details about what to expect from Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Spider-Man: Gang War in comics

Gang War kicks off following the wedding of Peter Parker's friend Randy Robertson and Janice Lincoln, the villain known as the Beetle, who is also the daughter of Tombstone (played by Marvin Jones III in Spider-Man: Brand New Day). The wedding is interrupted by Shotgun, a street level assassin, who opens fire on the crowd, shooting Tombstone with special bullets that pierce his usually bulletproof skin.

With Tombstone out of commission, a power vacuum forms in the criminal underground of New York City, with numerous gangs all blaming each other for the attack on Tombstone, which violated their tenuous peace. Gangs from all over the city quickly take to the streets to battle each other, with villains such as Madame Masque, the Rose, Hobgoblin, Mister Negative, and many more fighting to claim territory.

Desperately fighting against the tide, Spider-Man calls together a team of his allies from around the city to help him quell the uprising. She-Hulk, Miles Morales, Spider-Woman, and Elektra (as Daredevil) all join Peter's cause, with Luke Cage, who was mayor of NYC at the time, also providing support by suspending the city's laws against vigilante superheroes. Jackpot, Cloak & Dagger, and Shang-Chi also become embroiled in Gang War, fighting their own battles.

In the end, it turns out the Madame Masque is behind the attempted assassination of Tombstone, who returns to power after recovering from his injuries. Tombstone becomes the unquestioned leader of New York's criminal network (at least until the return of Wilson Fisk), while New York City's anti-superhero laws, instituted by Fisk in his time as mayor, are finally repealed, allowing Spider-Man and his allies to continue their fight against crime without interference.

Will Spider-Man 4 adapt Gang War?

We already know that Spider-Man: Brand New Day will include many of the characters involved in Gang War, notably Tombstone whose near-fatal shooting kicks off the whole event. The movie will also feature Mark Ruffalo's Hulk, who is of course adjacent to She-Hulk, who is part of the comic story. Crime boss Scorpion is also one of the villains of the movie, with Mister Negative rumored as well.

With Jon Bernthal's Punisher and potentially his comic book protege Rachel Cole also in the mix, it's easy to see how Spider-Man 4, which is said to be far more street level than the world-saving stakes of No Way Home, could be influenced by Gang War, potentially setting up a war between criminal syndicates.

The comic also brings in characters such as Luke Cage, Daredevil, and Shang-Chi, all of whom exist or potentially exist in the MCU. Considering the film is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, who also directed Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, it's not so far-fetched to wonder whether the Master of Kung-Fu could pop in for a cameo.

There's still a lot we don't know about Spider-Man: Brand New Day (which takes its name from a different Spider-Man comic story), but with new set photos cropping up and new theories and rumors making the rounds all the time, it's seeming more and more likely that Gang War could indeed provide some of the basis for the film.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is scheduled to hit theaters on July 31, 2026. While we wait, read up on all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows in the works.

Marvel's Ultimate Universe is about to come to an end partway into its third year of publication, following the impending battle between the world's heroes that its maniacal creator the Maker. Before that, an upcoming one-shot titled Ultimate Universe: Two Years In will set the stage for Ultimate Endgame, the story that will mark the end of the story and of the comic line.

Ultimate Universe: Two Years In #1 is written by Deniz Camp and Alex Paknadel, with art credited to "superstars from across the Marvel Universe." Going by the pages in the gallery below, those artists include Javier Pulido, Phil Noto, Francesco Manna, Lee Ferguson, and Pat Boutin.

The preview follows the Ultimate Guardians of the Galaxy as they travel the cosmos recruiting characters for the battle against the Maker, including Ultimate Daredevil, Ultimate MODOK, Ultimate Phoenix, and more.

Check it out:

"ALL PATHS LEAD TO ENDGAME!" reads Marvel's official description of Ultimate Universe: Two Years In #1. "In preparation for the Maker's return in ULTIMATE ENDGAME, the Ultimate Guardians have been traveling all across time and space, recruiting members new and old… Travel across all the corners of the Ultimate Universe! Don't miss the dawn of many new characters, including ULTIMATE DAREDEVIL!"

The Ultimate Universe line currently consists of ongoing titles Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Black Panther, The Ultimates, and Ultimate Wolverine, all of which will come to an end after Ultimate Endgame, which will conclude the story of the new Ultimate Universe. It's unclear if Marvel will eventually attempt another relaunch of the Ultimate Universe, but the current version will not continue.

Check out the best Marvel Comics events of all time.

Adventure Time fans rejoice! A new arc of the Oni Press comic that continues the story of Finn and Jake is about to hit, and it's being billed as a perfect jumping on point for both existing fans and new readers.

Starting in Adventure Time #9 on January 21, writer Nick Winn and artist Austin Baechle will join forces to send Finn and Jake on a new quest to replace the fabled Enchyridion with their own Hero's Handbook.

Newsarama caught up with Winn and Baechle following the announcement of the new arc, digging into what longtime fans of the show can expect, why this makes a perfect point to start reading, and their goals for the new Adventure Time comic arc.

Newsarama: Nick, Austin, this Adventure Time arc is billed as a perfect jumping on point for new readers. What makes it such a good starting point?

Nick Winn: I'd say it's easy to dive right in since it starts with regular old Finn and Jake going on an adventure. Pretty standard! However, like all good adventures, there's gonna be something that just ruins everything, making it a very exciting arc that everyone can get into!

Austin Baechle: The new arc begins when Computer Princess tasks Finn and Jake with replacing the Enchiridion. Our heroes journey across OOO and start writing their own Hero Handbook using Finn's new robot arm. For current readers, the story picks up loose ends and provides new context; for new readers, there are some flashbacks to a couple previous comics. Nick does a great job setting up where we're at now and what to look forward to!

Per the press release, the arc focuses on Jake and Finn creating their own adventuring guide. What will that entail for them?

Winn: Lots of exploring! If they're gonna make their own adventuring guidebook, they're gonna have to go far and wide to see some pretty cool and crazy stuff. You can't just write down different types of grass in a hero book! You gotta see three legged wolves, Hot Dog Knights, Flame guards and maybe even some Giants.

Austin, what are the goals you set for yourself when merging your style with the world of Adventure Time?

Baechle: I really wanted to stay true to the world and designs that we all love while adding some of my own texture. I thought it would be cool to go with a rougher line to keep things feeling organic.

You're introducing Robot Finn in this arc, following a long tradition of ersatz versions of fantasy heroes. How will this affect Finn himself?

Baechle: Finn's heroics will always be most exciting to me when he's faced with himself. In my opinion that's a harder villain to kill than any other. Finn's not going to like having another Finn running around OOO but I can guarantee his heroics will be tested and he'll come out stronger and more mathematical.

How has it been working together on Adventure Time?

Winn: We just got back Austin's pencils on Issue 1. And y'all...if I could do a backflip, I'd do 10. He's an absolute fantastic artist and plussed up the script in ways I didn't even think about. He's perfect for ushering new and returning readers to OOO with only a few panels!

Baechle: Working with Nick has been awesome! He's very creative and has a great handle on the whimsy that brings Adventure Time to life.

Austin, what's your favorite thing you've drawn so far?

Baechle: I hate to say because it's a bit of a spoiler... My second favorite thing to draw was Marceline going full bat! She's working through some things.

What do you want fans of Adventure Time to know going into 'Handbook Heroes'?

Winn: I'd say look forward to meeting old and new heroes that will aid Finn and Jake on making their handbook while getting into the personal aspects of Finn and his new robot arm. Without spoiling anything "Sometimes you just gotta keep it pushing."

Baechle: 'Handbook Heroes' takes classic characters and breathes new life into them so it's a perfect story for any fan. The Enchiridion was cool but heroism will reach mathematical new heights with Finn and Jake writing the handbook!

Check out our picks for the best animated shows ever, Adventure Time included

Sadie Sink's character in Spider-Man: Brand New Day remains a mystery, but a new photo from the set of the film may offer up some clues at her role. In the image, she's seen wearing camo fatigues and combat boots - not exactly a fashion sense associated with many of Peter Parker's love interests or allies from comics. Instead, this may indicate that she's playing a comic book character with more ties to the Punisher than to Spidey himself.

We're talking, of course, about Rachel Cole, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan who Frank Castle takes under his wing in his crusade against crime. Created by writer Greg Rucka and artist Marco Checchetto, Rachel Cole is one of Punisher's closest and most trusted allies, meaning that Sink could be working closely alongside Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle, who is already confirmed to appear in Spider-Man 4.

Rachel Cole in comics

Rachel Cole first appeared in 2011's Punisher #1, with the former marine initially encountering Frank Castle while both of them were hunting a criminal organization known as The Exchange. The group was responsible for the death of Rachel's fiance at their wedding when they were caught in a crossfire between two rival gangs.

This leads Rachel to begin a mission of revenge, eventually taking her into the path of the Punisher when they both attack the same gathering of Exchange leaders. After a face-off between the two, they part ways, with Castle warning her not to interfere with his plans.

However, Rachel later saves Frank from the criminal group known as Black Spectre, with the pair then forming a tenuous alliance, eventually growing to trust each other as the only two people who truly believe in their mission.

Through her association with Punisher, Rachel becomes embroiled in the saga of the Omega Drive, a computer drive with information on numerous criminal agencies that is protected by Daredevil, Spider-Man, and more.

Eventually, when Rachel is put on trial for murder, she's defended by none other than Matt Murdock, going on to escape from prison with the help of Frank Castle.

Rachel Cole hasn't shown up much in recent comics, but she's definitely still out there in the Marvel Universe, meaning that if she is indeed part Spider-Man 4, there's every likelihood that she could come back in comics sooner rather than later as well.

Rachel Cole in the MCU

It's still unconfirmed whether Sadie Sink is actually playing Rachel Cole in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but considering her appearance in the set photos and the involvement of Jon Bernthal's Punisher, it's not a stretch to imagine she could indeed be playing Frank Castle's trusted ally.

While we don't know a ton about the plot of Spider-Man 4, we know that it's set to be a much more street level movie, dealing with Spidey getting down and dirty not just with Frank Castle, but with Tombstone, the Scorpion, and even Mark Ruffalo's Hulk.

With all that in mind, it might make a lot more sense for Sadie Sink to be playing a more active role in the story than a simple love interest for Peter Parker - though it's also possible she could become that as well. It's not a comic precedent, but it's also not unheard of for the MCU to shake things up in that way, especially because Sink is much younger than Rachel Cole in comics.

That could be a mark against the idea that Sink is playing Rachel in Spider-Man 4, or it could be an indication that her place in the movie isn't so cut-and-dried, or even that she could be some kind of composite of characters. And of course, there's also the potential that Marvel Studios will play up her connection to Daredevil as well.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is scheduled to hit theaters on July 31, 2026. While we wait, stay up to date on all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows in the works.

Original Walking Dead artist Tony Moore is of course no stranger to horror comics, and now he's mixing his scary pedigree with a western twist in a story to be published in a new anthology from the recently revived EC Comics.

Titled Outlaw Showdown, the comic features contributions from numerous top name creators alongside Moore, who both writes and draws his story, titled 'Fire in the Hole.' Joining Moore on the anthology are writers John Arcudi, Christopher Cantwell, and Ann Nocenti, as well as artists Sebastián Cabrol, David Lapham, and Dan Mcdaid. The one-shot also features a reprint of a classic EC story by legendary writer Harvey Kurtzman and equally legendary artist Jack Davis.

We've got an early preview of pages from Moore's story, along with a look at the issue's covers by Moore himself as well as artists Lee Bermejo and Ladrönn. Check it out:

"Written and illustrated by the legendary Tony Moore (The Walking Dead, Battle Pope), 'Fire in the Hole' relishes in betrayal, death, and dismemberment that you will never be able to unsee," reads the official description of the Moore's story. "So, if you’re brave enough to look on, do so with caution, because 'Fire in the Hole' may not be suitable for the eyes of the weak or considered cowardly!"

EC Comics was a classic Golden Age comic publisher specializing in horror, sci-fi, and other pulpy comics with an often gruesome flair. The publisher shuttered in the '50s following a moral panic around the increasingly lurid content of popular comics, which led to the implementation of the longstanding comics code of publishing guidelines. EC has now been revived as an imprint of Oni Comics.

Outlaw Showdown #1 goes on sale October 22. Check out our picks for the best horror comics of all time.

My Hero Academia has become a global phenomenon on the back of the seminal manga, created by Kōhei Horikoshi. With a live-action movie now in the works, screenwriter Jason Fuchs is opening up about how involved Kōhei has been in the development of the script - and according to a recent interview with EW, the mangaka is directly involved in creating the story of the film.

"There's no treatment, there's no outline, there's no scenes, there's no nothing that Kōhei doesn't give notes on, react to [with] thumbs up, thumbs down," Fuchs tells EW, explaining Kōhei is "very involved" in the process of adapting his beloved manga. . "That makes me feel really confident that we're gonna deliver something that fans, like myself, feel great about."

In addition to working on the script for My Hero Academia, Fuchs is the co-creator and co-showrunner of It: Welcome to Derry, the Stephen King-fueled prequel to the recent It reboot and its sequel.

My Hero Academia is set in a world where just about everyone has some kind of super-power - some useful, some more quirky. When Deku, one of the few kids of his generation who doesn't have an inborn power, encounters the world's top hero, All-Might, he inherits his incredible power.

Deku goes on to master All-Might's inherited power bit-by-bit, forging alliances with his fellow students at the school where he trains his abilities and making enemies of those who despise All-Might and the other heroes.

Having dug in myself as a fan of western superhero comics, I can say that My Hero Academia is not just a world-class manga and anime, it's one of the best teen superhero stories ever told. It's impossible not to be drawn in by Deku and his quest to become the world's greatest hero, and the challenges he faces along the way are more than enough to shock and steel him against the worst of the worst.

The final season of the My Hero Academia anime is now streaming on Crunchyroll. No release date for the live-action film has been announced. While we wait, dig into our picks for the 25 best anime shows you can watch on Crunchyroll right now.

It's been 30 years since the classic X-Men event Age of Apocalypse rewrote mutant history with an alt-reality ruled by Apocalypse. To celebrate the milestone, writer Jeph Loeb, one of the architects of the original event, is returning to the world of AoA for a story that brings a new team of X-Men out of the dystopian reality and into the Marvel Universe proper.

Working with artist Simone Di Meo, who handles everything from pencils to colors himself, Loeb is telling a new Age of Apocalypse tale that he's had in mind since the original event ended that seems to involve a conflict between the AoA X-Men and their mainstream Marvel counterparts.

Newsarama spoke with Loeb about his return to Age of Apocalypse and his plans for returning to the venerable story decades later. Along the way, we've also got some interior pages by Simone di Meo, as well as covers by Di Meo, legendary X-Men artist Art Adams, and original Age of Apocalypse artist turned Darksiders video game co-creator Joe Madureira.

Newsarama: Jeph, did you ever imagine you'd be returning to the Age of Apocalypse all these years later?

Jeph Loeb: LOL! Of course not! I have to give credit where credit is due - first, to Scott Lobdell who built the AoA universe and gave me the chance - as a rookie in the X-Men office - to play in it. All the good ideas were his, I was lucky enough to play with them.

Then, thirty years later, Marvel editor in chief CB Cebulski called out of the blue and asked if I wanted to come back to the X-Men. We talked for a while about how AOA ended and how I had something else in mind.

Next thing I knew I was on the phone with X-Men group editor Tom Brevoort talking about what X-Men of Apocalypse could be after all this time. So it was a lot of steps to get me back into this world.

How has your perspective on the concept changed over the years?

Loeb: This was a story I had always wanted to tell, but it required what I pitched as "making it count." It had to affect continuity, which (let's be fair) AOA when it flipped back to Xavier's Timeline... Other than Nate "X-MAN" was now here, had not affected the then current continuity. Our hope - our plan - is that this time it will.

X-Men of Apocalypse brings back some of the most popular characters of the original story. Who have you connected with this time around? Have your favorites changed?

Loeb: It was more like a lot of reconnecting. I loved Scott and Joe Madureira's creation of Creed and Wild Child; I get to play with X-Man and Forge again and that relationship; Blink and Morph are so much fun and still very real - and Gambit is the heart of the team which is different from the first time around.

X-Men of Apocalypse deals with a threat that could "doom" the world. What can you tell us about what this team is up against?

Loeb: Ah, that would be telling - but it becomes very clear in X-MEN OF APOCALYPSE #1 - out in November! (Unabashed plug!)

You're working with Simone Di Meo on X-Men of Apocalypse. What makes him the perfect collaborator for a story like this?

Loeb: I'm so fortunate to be working with Simone on this. He is pencilling, inking AND coloring the stories which elevates everything I write. When I first saw his artwork, it reminded me so much of how Joe Mad changed the look of Marvel comics (Joe really came into his own on AOA - 30 years ago).

So when Simone signed on, I called Joe to see if he would do the covers and he asked who was drawing the book - and I assumed that Joe hadn't been keeping up with comics because he's like a billionaire video games creator now. But, he drew first blood when he said "It better not be Simone Di Meo - because that guy is too good for comics - I want him for games!" Sorry, Joe - get in line! (laughs).

Actually it's why Joe agreed to do the variant covers - to help more people see what Simone is capable of!

X-Men of Apocalypse marks 30 years since the original story. Did you have any idea at the start that the concept would have the impact it's had? How does this comic continue that legacy?

Loeb: I'm incredibly grateful to the fans, new readers, old readers who have discovered and rediscovered a different take on an amazing/astonishing group of characters - the all new, all different X-Men! This time - it counts! Thank you all!

Check out our picks for the best X-Men stories of all time, Age of Apocalypse included.

The Predator franchise has taken its titular hunters the Yautja all across the galaxy, and to many different time periods on Earth. But in Predator: Badlands, we'll get a window into their culture like never before. Though we'll have to wait a little while for the film, we can get our first glimpse of the Yautja in their home environment in a new preview of interior pages from Marvel's Predator: Badlands one-shot comic.

Check out the pages by writers Ethan Sacks and artist Elvin Ching, and covers from Juan Ferreyra and CAFU, as well as a movie variant taken from the Predator: Badlands poster:

The Predator: Badlands prequel comic is "produced in close collaboration" with the film's director Dan Trachtenberg. It focuses on a young Yautja named Dek (played by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi in the film) as he prepares for his first hunt.

In the movie, Dek will be joined by Elle Fanning's Weyland-Yutani synthetic, Thia, representing a crossover between the Predator and Alien franchises.

"Badlands is the first Predator movie to draw inspiration so heavily from the comic books," says Trachtenberg. "So it's with great delight that you and I now get to look at splash pages, from the minds of Ethan and Elvin, of a formative adventure for our characters that serves as a perfect companion to the film. Dek kicking ass in his very own comic book is a dream come true."

Predator: Badlands #1 will be released on November 12, just a few days after the movie's November 7 theatrical release.

Stay up to date on all the sci-fi movie news you need to know.

MCU breakout star Echo is taking the spotlight in a new comic book one-shot that will introduce a new power for the Indigenous hero which Marvel states will "redefine her adventures in the Marvel Universe."

Written by Taboo of Black-Eyed Peas fame, and his regular co-author B. Earl, who previously co-wrote a Daredevil and Echo limited series, and drawn by Jim Terry, Echo: Seeker of Truth celebrates Native American Heritage Month by sending Echo to new stomping grounds and upgrading her abilities with a "mysterious new gift."

The one-shot will also include the print debut of Echo's digital first Echo: Dream Descent Infinity Comic by writer Melissa Flores and artist Kyle Charles. It also features an intro by artist Jim Terry as well as an interview with Ray Taken Alive, Cyril Archambault, Lawrence Archambault and Dallas Nelson, the team behind the Lakota language dub of the original 2012 Avengers movie.

We've got an early look at interior pages from Echo: Seeker of Truth, along with covers for the issue by Echo co-creator David Mack, Carmen Carnero, and Maria Wolf. Check it out:

"When her cousin goes missing in Los Angeles, Echo goes to the City of Angels to find out what happened to her," reads Marvel's official description of Echo: Seeker of Truth #1. "But what she discovers is a series of disappearances centered around a mysterious wellness cult called Wisteria Meadows. As Echo dives deeper into the mystery, she’ll discover a truth about herself she never imagined. But who is the faceless puppet master behind the cult, and what is their sinister plan?"

Echo's usual comic powers include being able to mimic the movements of others on top of being a highly-skilled hand-to-hand combatant and an expert in multiple weapons. In the MCU's Echo streaming series, she also develops the ability to channel the power of her ancestors into enhanced strength and other effects.

"Being able to write our second Echo story feels like a super power or strength," Taboo states. "As a proud Native American/ Mexican storyteller, having that platform to co-write about super heroes that resonate within our Marvel Universe, is what I call 'good medicine' and much needed to inspire our readers."

"Being a storyteller who loves to marry myth to pop culture, it's exciting to be able to revisit Echo in a tale that will bring another dimension to her abilities," adds B. Earl. "When our editors asked us to develop a new power for her, we made sure to build it into our own mythic language that was revealed in a previous series."

Echo: Seeker of Truth #1 goes on sale November 5.

Read all about Echo's comic book history.

Stylishly sinister roguelike game Cult of the Lamb made waves thanks to its balance of creepy story and cute aesthetics, a combo that makes it perfect for adaptation into other visual media. True to form, Oni Press is bringing Cult of the Lamb back to comics with a new one-shot that tells of a schism between the Lamb and their flock in which "non-believers will be re-educated."

Written by Alex Paknadel and drawn by Troy Little, Cult of the Lamb: Schism Special will tell the tale of the Lamb's first challenge for leadership of their own cult.

We've got an early preview of interior pages from Cult of the Lamb: Schism Special as well as covers for the one-shot by interior artist Troy Little and fan-favorite painter Peach Momoko.

Check it out:

"In the aftermath of their first and closest follower's sacrifice, Lamb continues their bloody quest to defeat the Bishops of the Old Faith, but they lack the conviction to tend to their growing flock back at the cult," reads Oni's official description of Cult of the Lamb: Schism Special #1.

"More potential followers are rescued by the day, but with no one to indoctrinate them, Lamb’s power stagnates and The One Who Waits becomes weary of his earthly vessel's resistance to the full power and responsibility of the Red Crown. When famine strikes the cult, a challenger to Lamb's mantle emerges, and a new struggle begins . . ."

Cult of the Lamb: Schism Special #1 goes on sale October 19. While we wait, check out our picks for the 25 best roguelike games you can play right now.

Archie Andrews and his pals are coming back to TV in a new show from the same team behind Riverdale, CW's often bizarre, incredibly melodramatic adaptation of Archie's world. This time though, they're fully embracing a totally different side of Archie as he and the Riverdale gang are beset by zombies in an adaptation of the horror comic Afterlife With Archie (via Deadline).

Created by writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and artist Franceso Francavilla, Afterlife With Archie could be described as something like The Walking Dead if it were set in Riverdale. And though one might think that the story would pull its punches thanks to its roots in the all-ages Archie Comics line, it's a bloody, terrifying horror story that doesn't shy away from its zombie-ness.

"When Jughead's beloved pet Hot Dog is killed in a hit and run, Jughead turns to the only person he knows who can help bring back his canine companion - Sabrina the Teenage Witch," reads the official description of the comic. "Using dark, forbidden magic, Sabrina is successful and Hot Dog returns to the land of the living. But he's not the same... and soon, the darkness he brings back with him from beyond the grave begins to spread, forcing Archie and the gang to try to escape Riverdale!"

Aguirre-Sacasa, who is also chief creative officer for Archie Comics, will join producer Greg Berlanti on the adaptation, after also playing a role in developing Netflix's Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, a comic he also wrote and co-created. Sabrina Spellman also plays a key role in the plot of Afterlife With Archie.

That means this is technically the third recent TV incarnation of Archie and his world. And with a script-to-series commitment on Disney Plus, viewers can already look forward to Afterlife With Archie arriving on streaming as a series of one-hour episodes.

No premiere date has been set. In the meantime, stay up to date on all the upcoming comic book movies in the works.

Sue Storm is known as the Invisible Woman, but this December she'll become the Invincible Woman, as Galactus sends the entire galaxy after her. As for what that entails, Sue will transform back into her villainous Malice persona, her dangerous dark side that was originally awakened by the Psycho-Man way back in the '80s.

Malice has been on the minds of fans since Marvel Rivals introduced an extremely popular variant skin for Sue Storm based on the design. What's more, the issue in which Malice returns, Fantastic Four #6 by writer Ryan North and artist Humberto Ramos, will include a code for a free Malice spray that shows her looking particularly menacing.

Here's a gallery of covers for Fantastic Four #6, along with Humberto Ramos' character design for Malice and the spray itself:

"'GET SUE STORM. SO SAYS GALACTUS!' When a message hidden in the structure of reality is decoded, Sue Storm becomes the most wanted super hero in the universe. And that makes both her – and planet Earth – a target for invasion!" reads Marvel's official description of Fantastic Four #6. "The Fantastic Four venture into space to answer Galactus' call, and together, they'll discover the terrifying mystery of the INVINCIBLE WOMAN, forcing Sue to confront possibilities of her powers that she never dared to imagine! Meanwhile, back on Earth, the junior Fantastic Four step up in the main team’s absence!"

Marvel's announcement goes on to explain that the story kicks off when "Extremophile Aliens" invade Earth, leading the FF to leave the Baxter Building unguarded. Their old enemy the Wizard will take advantage of the situation to break in. But a new discovery will "change the fate of the Fantastic Four forever."

Fantastic Four #6 also seems to be introducing a new incarnation of the Future Foundation, based around the "junior FF members" left behind when the main team ventures into space to investigate the mystery of Sue Storm and Galactus.

"Sue has played a lot of roles over her lifetime, and I think she's a really fascinating character,” says writer Ryan North in a statement. "She's smart, she's funny, and she's determined. The Invincible Woman isn't our Sue Storm - and our Sue Storm isn't going anywhere - but she is a version of her that had different things happen over the course of her life. Of course, we've seen a similar situation with The Maker, but the true danger of the Fantastic Four was never an evil Reed Richards - it's an unchained Susan Storm."

Fantastic Four #6 arrives on December 3. The story continues in January 17's Fantastic Four #7 and February 18's Fantastic Four #8.

Check out the best Fantastic Four stories of all time.

Marvel's White Tiger has risen to a new level of prominence thanks to the inclusion of the original version Hector Ayala in Daredevil: Born Again along with his niece Angela Del Toro, who is his successor as White Tiger in the show.

With the hero now on the minds of fans, Marvel Comics is bringing the current White Tiger Ava Ayala, Hector's sister, to the forefront in White Tiger: Reborn, a new one-shot that celebrates the character's legacy while setting the stage for Ava's future as the hero.

White Tiger: Reborn includes two stories, one by writer Daniel José Older and artist Bruno Abdias, and one by writer Cynthia Pelayo and artist Moises Hidalgo, each of which explore different aspects of White Tiger's comic history, and future.

Newsarama caught up with both Older and Pelayo to discuss White Tiger's future in the Marvel Universe, and how Ava Ayala's future is informed by the ongoing legacy of Marvel's first Puerto Rican hero. We've also got a gallery of pages from the one-shot, along with a 'Hidden Gem' variant cover by White Tiger's legendary co-creator, artist George Pérez.

Newsarama: White Tiger: Reborn #1 has been described as a "major turning point" for the character's history. How will this impact the current White Tiger, Ava Ayala?

Daniel José Older: Ah yes, the turning point aspect is one of my favorite parts of this story! And it really marks a new era for both Hector and Ava. It's Ava's story, but she's always grappling with the difficult legacy that her brother left behind and what it means for her. This was an opportunity to step forward for all of them, and I'm thrilled I got to be part of it.

Cynthia Pelayo: Ava Ayala experiences significant growth in White Tiger: Reborn #1 and it’s going to be exciting for readers to witness how she’s evolved and confronted her powerful family legacy. This issue tackles a number of questions from the character’s history while providing a new way forward for Ava.

Jhony Caballero's cover for White Tiger: Reborn #1 features multiple incarnations of the character seeming to team up against D'Spayre. How much do these clues indicate what we can expect from the story?

Older: First of all, how cool is D'Spayre? I love that we got to go deep into the vault for this incredible, terrifying villain. In many ways, this is a story about honoring our ancestors, and giving light to how they lift us up and we lift them up as we evolve together. All of us are here because of our ancestors, and those can also be tricky relationships to navigate, make peace with. I wanted to get into some of those challenges with an action packed, modern noir story.

Pelayo: I wanted to honor the history of White Tiger, particularly Hector’s love of Puerto Rico, the importance of his family, and of course his commitment to helping people. My story tackles each of these elements.

Daniel, you're working with artist Bruno Abdias who is making his Marvel debut on White Tiger: Reborn, and Cynthia, you're working with Moises Hidalgo. What's it been like working with them, and how do they embody the artistic legacy the legendary George Pérez kicked off 50 years ago?

Older: I can't even begin to describe what a pleasure it was working with a talented powerhouse like Bruno! He seemed to intuitively read my mind. I tend to be somewhat sparse with description in my scripts, because I want the artist to bring their vision to the page alongside mine. But of course, I have certain visual concepts in my head. Bruno surpassed anything I could've dreamed up and went above and beyond. And I also want to shout out legendary editor Lauren Amaro, whose thoughtfulness, creativity, and passion really brought this whole project to life. Dream team!

Pelayo: Moises Hidalgo is an artistic genius. It’s been wonderful watching the process unfold and their artistic interpretations. Moises approached the character with such excitement and commitment to maintaining the legacy of White Tiger, while also acknowledging Ava’s new dedication to the role.

Here's everything we know about Daredevil: Born Again season 2, which will include the White Tiger.

It's official: Crunchyroll is adding manga to its app alongside its massive library of anime. Launching in October, Crunchyroll Manga is described as the "Ultimate manga experience," with manga from many different publishers set to grace the app.

Announced titles for the Crunchyroll Manga library include mega hits such as One Piece, Jujutsu Kaisen, Daemons of the Shadow Realm, The Apothecary Diaries, Delicious in Dungeon, My Dress-Up Darling, and many more, with new titles to be added regularly.

Chrunchyroll Manga will be ad-free, with titles from publishers such as AlphaPolis, COMPASS, Square Enix, VIZ Media, and Yen Press, with Shueisha, J-Novel Club, ThirdlineNEXT, highstone, and more to join the app later on. The service will also include manga that has never been available digitally before.

While Crunchyroll Manga is its own separate app, the cost will be an add-on to the main Crunchyroll subscription service. Ultimate Fan subscribers will have access to Crunchyroll Manga included in their subscription, while lower tiers can add it to their accounts for an extra $4 per month.

For just an additional $4, it's pretty darn cool to be able to dig into a whole host of popular and even lesser known manga. I'm currently digging more and more into manga and anime, so having access to a wide library of titles is a huge benefit for me, especially with new chapters coming all the time.

"Anime and manga have always been two sides of the same coin, and Crunchyroll is uniquely positioned to bring them together for fans everywhere," says Crunchyroll chief content officer Asa Suehira. "With this launch, we're not just creating another reading app, we're expanding the ultimate anime lifestyle experience, uniting stories on the screen with those on the page."

Crunchyroll Manga launches October 9 on iOS and Android in the US and Canada, followed by web on October 15. While we wait, check out the best anime shows to watch right now.

The first gameplay trailer for Marvel's Wolverine is here, and the absolutely brutal, bloody gameplay is punctuated by the presence of many of Wolverine's arch-enemies, including a whole host of cyborgs and mecha villains for him to tear through.

We combed over the trailer to spot all the villains present in the clip, and we've also got three top Wolverine villains who don't appear, but who we hope appear in the game.

The Reavers

The cyborg soldiers that Wolverine tears through in the trailer seem to be Reavers, a militia of mutant-hating extremists who alter their bodies with cybernetics. Led by Donald Pierce, the Reavers are responsible for the creation of Lady Deathstrike, and were the villains of 2017's Logan.

Omega Red

A classic '90s X-Men villain designed by legendary artist Jim Lee, Omega Red is a Russian mutant who is also a serial killer. Captured by the KGB, Omega Red is turned into a kind of twisted super-soldier with Adamantium tentacles that enhance his mutant ability to release deadly pheromones known as "death spores."

Prime Sentinel

The big guy who has Wolverine in a chokehold looks a lot like a Prime Sentinel, as seen in X-Men '97. Prime Sentinels are humans who are infected by nanites that turn them into sleeper agents who can be activated to become mutant hunting cyborgs.

Mystique

Mystique appears in the Wolverine trailer, shedding a disguise to take on the Reavers in what seems to be their home base. It's unclear whether Mystique will be friend or foe in the game, or a combination of both.

Bastion

It looks a lot like Mystique's initial disguise in the trailer may be another X-Men '97 character, Bastion, the cyborg creator of the Prime Sentinels who has an agenda to wipe out mutantkind through his advanced weaponry.

Sentinel

There's no mistaking the massive Sentinel that caps off the trailer for Marvel's Wolverine. These are the original mutant-slaying robots, massive killing machines that are all but unbeatable. That's right in keeping with the trailer's themes of anti-mutant cyborgs and mechs.

The Wolverine villains we want to see in the game

Silver Samurai

Silver Samurai is one of Wolverine's most visually striking enemies. A mutant with the power to channel energy through his sword, Silver Samurai would be a perfect addition to a combat heavy game.

Lady Deathstrike

With the Reavers in play, the inclusion of Lady Deathstrike feels almost inevitable as an eventual boss character. An assassin with a vendetta against Wolverine, Lady Deathstrike undergoes an Adamantium bonding process that leaves her with massive, gnarly talons.

Sabretooth

If there's any single villain that absolutely needs to be in Marvel's Wolverine, it's Sabretooth. The bloodthirsty Sabretooth is Wolverine's biggest arch-enemy, a feral killer with a healing factor that rivals Wolverine's who has enigmatic ties to Logan's past.

Learn about all of the best Wolverine villains of all time.

Though it's not officially 100% confirmed, it looks like Brainiac will be the villain of James Gunn's new Superman sequel, Man of Tomorrow, leading Supes to team up with his arch enemy Lex Luthor. Brainiac makes perfect sense for a villain to take on that role, as he's not only one of Superman's longest running foes, he's also got comic connections to Luthor, Supergirl, and Lobo.

Dating back to 1958, Brainiac has undergone many changes over the years, with comics including numerous incarnations of the villain, and other media, such as Superman: The Animated Series and My Adventures with Superman adding deeper and more destructive connections with Krypton. So here's everything you need to know about the many versions of Brainiac, and how he could fit into the DCU.

Silver Age

The original Brainiac debuted all the way back in 1958's Action Comics #242 by Otto Binder and Al Plastino, two of the most influential early Superman creators. In his earliest incarnation, he is an alien conqueror who travels the universe shrinking cities and bottling them up for his bizarre collection.

Though Brainiac evolved significantly over the years, this initial version of the character established that he captured the Kryptonian city of Kandor, holding it hostage in his spaceship. Later, Superman: The Animated Series added the addition that Brainiac destroyed KryptonIn the modern age, Superman would eventually rescue Kandor and restore it to full size, temporarily creating a new orbiting city known as New Krypton.

Computer Tyrant

Brainiac's first major evolution came when he was changed from simply being an alien conqueror into being a diabolical artificial intelligence with a destructive streak, redefining him as a so-called Computer Tyrant named Vril-Dox from the planet Colu. The AI Brainiac later transferred his mind into a nearly unkillable series of android bodies adorned with a metallic skull.

This version of Brainiac became one of his most iconic portrayals, setting him up as one of Superman's most deadly and determined villains, also elevating him into a DC Universe level threat. It's also one of Brainiac's most visually striking incarnations, also introducing his menacing Skull Ship as his base of operations.

Milton Fine

In the '90s, Brainiac took a form closer to his original portrayal as a green-skinned humanoid. In this case, he was actually a human from Earth named Milton Fine, whose body was taken over by Brainiac's AI programming, turning him into a strange, cybernetic schemer with vast psychic powers.

The Milton Fine version of Brainiac anchored a mid-'90s DC event titled 'Panic in the Sky,' in which he uses his psychic abilities to take over the mind of that era's Supergirl to conquer the violent traveling space station known as Warworld and turn it against Earth. Given Supergirl is part of the current DCU, that tidbit could be extra relevant in Man of Tomorrow.

Time Traveler

Following the Milton Fine era, Brainiac was embodied as a series of different upgraded versions, including Brainiac 2.5, Brainiac 6, Brainiac 8, Brainiac 12, and Brainiac 13, some of whom traveled back in time from the far future to use their much more advanced AI intellect and technology to attempt to conquer Earth.

This ties into the character Brainiac 5, a member of the 30th century team the Legion of Super-Heroes, a Coluan hero who is depicted as the benevolent descendant of the present day's villainous Computer Tyrant. Interestingly, it's actually the introduction of Brainiac 5 in 1961 that spurred the first major revision of the present day Brainiac's backstory.

Collector of Worlds

In the mid-'00s, Brainiac was redefined yet again, this time in an attempt to reconcile all the different versions of the villain into one concise timeline. To accomplish this, Brainiac was reintroduced as a kind of prime Brainiac - the villain's true physical form, with all the other previous versions retconned into being clones of the prime Brainiac.

The newly reinvented Brainiac was a seeker of knowledge, seeking out planets with new information to absorb, stealing one of their cities, and destroying the planet. This Brainiac managed to shrink and steal Metropolis, with Superman eventually rescuing both his home city while also restoring the Kryptonian city of Kandor.

No Justice/Legion of Doom

Brainiac's next big move came in 2018's No Justice event, in which Brainiac arrived on Earth not as a conqueror, but with a warning that a massive cosmic threat was on its way to destroy the planet. Both heroes and villains rally to his cause, allowing Brainiac to empower them with his tech.

However, Amanda Waller becomes suspicious of Brainiac's motives, enlisting the Earth's most powerful psychics to probe the villain's mind. The psychic invasion causes Brainiac's head to explode, later leading to the revelation that he would have betrayed the Earth. He's later revived by Lex Luthor, who teams up with Brainiac to form a new version of the Legion of Doom, though Brainiac later betrays him.

House of Brainiac

Most recently, Brainiac returned to Metropolis in 2024's 'House of Brainiac' event with a whole family of android conquerors at his side, including his vicious new companion the Brainiac Queen. 'House of Brainiac' also involved some major retcons to Lobo's origins, showing that Brainiac was responsible for capturing and shrinking Lobo's home city.

Superman and Lobo eventually team up to defeat Brainiac and his cohort, with Brainiac eventually succumbing to a degeneration of his AI mind, dying as Superman promises to save his family. All Brainiac's stolen cities are restored, forming a new planet known as Colu II. With Lobo coming to the DCU in Supergirl, he could be involved in Man of Tomorrow.

While we wait for Man of Tomorrow to hit theaters on July 9, 2026, you can stay up to date on all the upcoming DC movies and shows that are in the works.