X-Men: Kingbreaker #1 Preview

Marvel has released a five page preview of X-Men: Kingbreaker #1 from Dustin Weaver, which is quite impressive. Rachel is featured on the third page in full Phoenix firebird attacking a Shi'ar ship.

http://www.marvel.com/news/comicstories.6097.FIRST_LOOK~colon~_X-Men~colon~_Kingbreaker_%231

Marvel February 2009 Solicitations

CBR and Marvel have advanced Marvel February 2009 solicitations for X-Men Kingbreaker and other War of King tie-ins that Rachel might be included in:

X-MEN: KINGBREAKER #3 (of 4)
Written by CHRISTOPHER YOST
Penciled by DUSTIN WEAVER
Cover by BRANDON PETERSON
The fuse has been lit in the Shi'Ar Empire and an intergalactic powder keg is about to explode. After the shocking events of last issue, the rest of the universe just found out how dangerous Vulcan is... but right now Vulcan is more concerned with a now free HAVOK and POLARIS. And as the ruthless new Imperial Guard hunts down MARVEL GIRL, everything begins to converge. Will there be any X-Men left to fight the WAR OF KINGS?
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99


MARVEL SPOTLIGHT: WAR OF KINGS
Written by JOHN RHETT THOMAS
Since the early '70s, Marvel's cosmic comics have occupied a corner of the Marvel Universe that has provided some of the best and biggest stories the company has ever produced. And now, in the shadow of the twin triumphs of ANNIHILATION and
ANNIHILATION: CONQUEST, and springing directly from the action of SECRET INVASION, comes WAR OF KINGS! As DARK REIGN confounds planet Earth, the Inhumans are on a collision course with the Shi'Ar Empire. Anyone who has been following the action from X-MEN: DEADLY GENESIS through EMPEROR VULCAN knows what's in store for Black Bolt when he squares off against the most powerful mutant among the stars! It all sets up the kind of sweeping cosmic event that will provide some awesome reading pleasure through 2009 — and SPOTLIGHT is here to give you full insider access with the creators and characters behind the event!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$2.99

The good news is this probably means War of Kings will start in March if a Spotlight is coming out in February.

But I have a problem with Vulcan being called “the most powerful mutant among the stars”. Vulcan is so overpowered it’s not funny, but Havok and Rachel should be able to give him a run for his money on that one. Especially with solar-charged Alex and Phoenix-powered Rachel. With Polaris’ powers being technically non-mutant, I guess that would exclude her. I realize Marvel wants to overhype Vulcan for a major crossover event, but after Deadly Genesis, RaFotSE, Emperor Vulcan and Kingbreaker, this is getting tiresome.

Marvel War of Kings Information

Very little info is available about Marvel's War of Kings, the upcoming cosmic crossover event that Marvel is either keeping really hush-hush (due to Secret Invasion, maybe?) or is just not promoting very well.

Marvel still hasn't made any announcements about what exactly the format of War of Kings will be, besides the lead-up books that have already been solicited.

A couple of weeks I mentioned War of Kings to a few of the guys at my LCS, and they hadn't really heard of it and weren't clear on what it was.

So, here's my rundown of what's been said online about War of Kings so far:

Basic Premise:

Vulcan's expansion of the Shi'ar Empire brings him into conflict with the Black Bolt of the Inhumans (due to the Inhuman/Kree alliance). This causes all heck to break out space, drawing all of the cosmic characters into the battle. How all of that happens (especially why the Inhumans are on the collision course with the Shi'ar) will be set-up in the initial Secret Invasion: War of Kings one-shot

Issue List:

Lead-Ins:

Secret Invasion: Inhumans 1-4 (August 2008 - November 2008)
Guardians of the Galaxy 8-10 (December 2008-January 2009)
X-Men: Kingbreaker 1-4 (December 2008 - March 2009)
Secret Invasion: War of Kings One-shot (January 2009)
War of Kings: Darkhawk 1-2 (February 2009-March 2009)


Main Storyline (This is just speculation):

War of Kings 1- ??? (probably 4-6 issues, starting in March or April 2009, written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning) (Mini-series)


Tie-Ins (Just speculation):

Guardians of the Galaxy 11-14
Nova 23-26 (this likely won’t be where a major part of the story plays out, but may be impacted by the events of War of Kings)

Characters That Will Be Involved:

Shi’ar - Vulcan (Gabriel Summers, Emperor of the Shi'ar), Deathbird (Vulcan's wife, and former Empress of the Shi'ar), Imperial Guard, Shi'ar Death Commandos (in X-Men: Kingbreaker)


The Starjammers - Former X-Men Marvel Girl (Rachel Grey/Summers - Vulcan's niece), Polaris (Lorna Dane), and Havok (Alex Summers - Vulcan's brother), Ch'od, Raza, Korvus (sigh, unfortunately), and Lilandra (former Empress of the Shi'ar and Deathbird's younger sister/Vulcan's sister-in-law).


No X-Men, other than the X-Starjammers - According to Nick Lowe to IGN, the only X-Men participating in War of Kings are the Starjammers. And don't expect anything about Kitty Pryde and her magic space bullet to be addressed in it either (that was asked about at SDCC).


The Inhumans (Black Bolt, Medusa, Crystal, Triton, Karnak and Gorgon)


Nova – DnA told NovaPrimePage that “Although Nova won't play a central role in War of Kings like he did during Annihilation, the story arc in his book will be very much determined by the Shi'Ar/Inhuman struggle.”


Guardians of the Galaxy - I have very little knowledge of the cosmic Marvel and anything going on with the Guardians of the Galaxy or Nova. It seems like the Guardians have been going through a radical lineup change lately and I have absolutely no idea who any of the characters are or what is going on, so I'm the last person who should be writing any sort of guide for them. I can't find a good source of info online, so Wiki is your best bet.


Darkhawk – Former New Warrior Darkhawk will have a two issue WoK mini-series from writer C.B. Cebulski and artist Harvey Tolibao

Continuity/Required Reading

Other than the lead-ins, the following stories are needed to understand what’s going on, especially with Vulcan & the Starjammers:

Uncanny X-Men 466-471 (Shi’ar massacre of the Grey family)
X-Men Deadly Genesis 1-6 (Vulcan is revealed)
Uncanny X-Men 475-486 (Xavier takes an X-team after Vulcan)
Emperor Vulcan 1-5 (Vulcan vs the Starjammers)

Annihilation
Annihilation: Conquest
Guardians of the Galaxy

Preview Art:

Secret Invasion: War of Kings:
Preview Page 1

Preview Page 2

Kingbreaker #1 Preview

Marvel January 2009 Solicitations

The Marvel January 2009 solicitations have been released, and the lead-in to War of Kings is in full swing.

X-MEN: KINGBREAKER # 2
The Story: Marvel Girl, Korvus and Lilandra are the only resistance to Vulcan’s reign, but Vulcan aims to end their rebellion. With Havok, Polaris and rest of the Starjammers in prison, they don’t stand to get much help. The Shi’Ar Empire is expanding under Emperor Vulcan’s reign… Come see the road to the WAR OF KINGS!
Rated T+ …$3.99

In Stores: Jan 21, 2009

War of Kings officially gets underway with a one-shot in January. No indications on whether or not the Starjammers will appear (especially considering it's being released between Kingbreaker 1 and 2 coming out), but it sounds like Vulcan will be involved.

SECRET INVASION: WAR OF KINGS ONE-SHOT # 1
The Story: It’s finally here…WAR OF KINGS! The Secret Invasion may be over, but the Inhumans are still reeling from the terrible wounds inflicted on them by the Skrulls. And this time, the Royal Family and their massively powered people have been pushed too far! You have never seen the Inhumans like this – and it’s only the beginning! Plus: How will the empire-expanding Vulcan react to these recent universe-shaking developments? Before this double-sized shocker is over, vengeance will be had, daring alliances will be forged, and the first shots in a destiny-changing battle will be fired! The acclaimed team of writers Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning (NOVA) and artist Paul Pelletier (GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY) unite to revamp heroes, reveal villains and rock the universe!
One-Shot/Rated T+ …$3.99

In Stores: Jan 7, 2009

Cover For X-Men: Kingbreaker #2

Marvel has released the cover for X-Men: Kingbreaker#2.

The good news it is featuring Rachel, Lilandra and Korvus, but, unfortunately, it's not some of Brandon Peterson's better work.

In other news today, Nick Lowe was answering questions this week in CBR's X-Position, and was asked about the lack of female characters in X-books:

Is there any chance that the X-teams will be getting an estrogen injection? I've always felt that the books were at their best when the teams were evenly split between men and women, but it seems like a lot of the best female characters (Kitty, Rachel, Lorna, Betsy) have been pushed aside. I think any of these characters could enhance the X-books, so why not use them?

Hold on, hold on, hold on. Rachel and Lorna are still around. Just because they’re out in Shi’Ar space doesn’t mean that they aren’t important. As for the X-Men in San Francisco, we totally agree with you. Don’t be surprised if you see more of Dazzler, Domino, and another surprise lady.

Nick, considering how utterly irrelevant Rachel and Lorna have seemed to the core X-books, I'm not sure I see how they are important while in Shi'ar space.

Friday News Bites for 10/3/08

Here's a quick round-up of the news from around the web this week related to Rachel Summers, Kingbreaker and War of Kings:

IGN talked to X-Editors Nick Lowe and John Barber about the future of X-Books, and the Starjammers and War of Kings came up. Unforunately, it doesn't seem like any of the other X-Men will be helping the Starjammers:

IGN Comics: Unsurprisingly, Havok and the rest of the Starjammers are going to be playing a large role in War of Kings next year. Outside of the main event and the Kingbreaker prologue, will the X-Men be caught up in this storyline? Will the main team be reunited with these castaways anytime soon?

Lowe: The X-Men won't play a role in War of Kings. They've got enough on their plates. But definitely check out Kingbreaker. You'll get to see some of the best Havok/Polaris stuff in years.

Y'know, if Scott's brother was captured and on the verge of being executed, and Rachel, Lilandra and Korvus are the only remaining Starjammers fighting the whole Shi'ar empire, you would think Scott might actually be interested in sending someone to help??? It's not like the X-Men have that much on the plates in San Francisco...

The X-Editors go on to talk about future crossovers, which hopefully the X-Jammers and Rachel will be back on earth for:

IGN Comics: Outside of these two events are there any big, encompassing event books that the books are building towards, a la Messiah Complex. Given the success of MC, is a follow-up at least being considered by the various writers and editors?

Lowe: There certainly are. We have a big plan for the summer of 2009 that will have big ramifications with the rest of the Marvel U, and then we have a huge "Messiah Complex" style crossover coming in 2010.

Speaking of War of Kings, on Marvel.com, there is a video interview with Cosmic writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. Marvel has also opened their War of King hub, but there isn't much there yet.



Comic Book Urban Legends brought up the never published Phoenix Limited Series:

COMIC URBAN LEGEND: Rick Leonardi and Chris Claremont began work on a Phoenix mini-series that never saw the light of day.

STATUS: True

Reader Jonathan Nathan suggested this one, and yes, apparently Chris Claremont and Rick Leonardi began work on a Phoenix mini-series spun out of Uncanny X-Men that was canceled after pages were already finished!

You can read more about it this site's Phoenix Limited Series page.


To wrap up this week's new bites, here's some fun fan art done by Carly Monardo, which is "What if Rachel was drawn by Gary Baseman":



Check out Carly's blog for a lot more great Excalibur artwork.

Chris Yost Answers Kingbreaker Questions on X-Position

X-Men Kingbreaker scribe Chris Yost was in the X-Position hot seat this week, and had a bit to add about what happens in Kingbreaker with Rachel:

Let’s get to those “X-Men: Kingbreaker” now, courtesy of Askani's Flame:

1) At the end of “Emperor Vulcan,” we saw that Rachel (along with Lilandra and Korvus) is out of Vulcan's grasp and on the run. Will we see her growing into more of a leader and leading the offensive to rescue the rest of the Starjammers? Also, is there any chance of a rematch between her and Gladiator or a battle with the Death Commandos?

Rachel's sole purpose in life is to rescue Alex and Lorna now, and she's trying it pretty aggressively, you could say. But she's a bit of a hothead, so Lilandra and Korvus have to rein her in a bit. It's three people against an Empire now. Rachel vs. Gladiator round 2? Yes, but not the way you might expect. Much, much worse.

2) Polaris is again captive at the hands of a madman. Will this cause her to lose the sanity she has regained over the past few years?

No. Polaris is too strong for that. The only thing she's going to lose is restraint. Aw, yeah.

3) Will any of the galactic players outside the current ones found in "Emperor Vulcan" have cameo roles in "Kingbreaker" (i.e. Medusa, Nova, etc.)?

You'll see the universal reaction to what Vulcan is doing. He's aggressively expanding his empire, and he steps on a few toes along the way. And by 'stepping on toes,' I mean killing people.

Marvel December Solicitations - X-Men: Kingbreaker #1

CBR has the December X-Solicits early, including the Kingbreaker solicit:

X-MEN: KINGBREAKER #1
Written by CHRISTOPHER YOST
Penciled by DUSTIN WEAVER
Cover by BRANDON PETERSON
WAR OF KINGS lead-in!

The X-Men have been defeated. Havok , Polaris and the Starjammers are being held and tortured in the most secure prison in the universe. Marvel Girl, Korvus and Lilandra are being hunted by the Imperial Guard. Vulcan is Emperor of the Shi'Ar Empire and his expansion has begun. No King will stand when Vulcan and his armies are done. Join Christopher Yost (X-FORCE) and Dustin Weaver (Star Wars:KOTR) as they spin the story of a fight against insurmountable odds. Do not miss this mini-series that will change the shape of the Universe and pave the way for the War of Kings.
32 PGS./One-Shot/Rated T+ ...$3.99

The solicit says it is a One-Shot, but this is probably a mistake since previous articles stated it was a four part mini series.

Update: Chris Yost confirmed on CBR that it is indeed a mini-series, not a one-shot.

Also, Kingbreaker will hit stores on December 17th, just in time for Christmas. :)

X-Men Kingbreaker #1 Cover

Marvel released the cover of X-Men: Kingbreaker today. The cover art is by Brandon Petersen, who recently drew the covers of the X-Men: Divided We Stand mini-series.

You can view the cover here.

Dustin Weaver will be the interior artist for Kingbreaker. He previously worked on several Star Wars series for Dark Horse, including Star Wars: Rebellion and Knights of the Old Republic.

You can see some of his work on his blog here: http://dustinweaver.livejournal.com/

News Bites for the Week of 9/5/08

It's been rather quite on the Marvel War of Kings & X-Men Kingbreaker front the past few weeks. After the Kingbreaker announcement in August, there's still no definitive word on what series will be a part of Marvel War of Kings or when it will start.

It is possible that this week there was a War of Kings planning session at Marvel with Nova & Guardians of the Galaxy writers Andy Lanning and Dan Abnett.

Dan Abnett reported on his blog that he and Andy are in New York on Wednesday for "a script conflab with Marvel".

So, maybe all the details for War of Kings has yet to be hammered out?


The Quarter Bin posted an interview with Andy Lanning, but few details were given about War of Kings:

Q: You’re going to be tackling another space opera later this year with War of Kings. What can we expect in the battle for the skies?

Andy Lanning: We’re planning a truly epic cosmic tale of warring species: it’s a battle for succession and territory. For the first time since we started writing the cosmic books, we get to link the Kree Empire and the other parts of the Marvel universe we’ve been playing with, with the Shi’Ar Empire from the X-Men titles. We’re also adding the Inhumans to the mix which should result in a unbelievable levels of action and excitement which will have ramifications throughout the Marvel Universe.

Q: Please tell me there’s a chance for a Starjammers/Guardians of the Galaxy team-up.

Andy Lanning: Given the playground we’re working in, that’s distinctly possible!

In this week's MyCup o' Joe (with fill-in C.B. Cebulski), a reader asked a question about Rachel, Alex and Lorna, but received a vague answer:

Posted by Jason on Aug 12, 2008 5:26 AM

3) Will Havok, Marvel Girl and all the other heroes captured by Vulcan be returning to an X-Man series?

JQ: Jason, thanks for the kind words, some good questions here.

3) Sooner than you think! Keep an ear to the ground.

This question was asked a while ago and it seems like this MyCup o' Joe included a bunch of old questions Joe answered before Fan Expo, when Kingbreaker was announced.


If Kingbreaker is on schedule and the first issue comes out in December, it will be solicited in two weeks. So hopefully there will be some sort of big announcement about the artist and possibly the lineup of titles for War of Kings before then.

More on X-Men: Kingbreaker from Chris Yost

Chris Yost has been doing the interview rounds for the upcoming Starjammers mini-series, X-Men: Kingbreaker, and a few more details have been released:

In the Comic Book Resources interview, Yost reveals that Kingbreaker takes place several months after Emperor Vulcan:

“The Shi’ar Empire is aggressively, violently expanding,” Yost told CBR News. “And while Vulcan is leading the charge, it's still his brother Havok that's on his mind.”

“Vulcan is an emotional wreck,” Yost explained. “His twisted life has messed him up pretty bad, and him not killing Havok and the X-Jammers is the question on the Shi'ars minds for sure. Does he enjoy torturing them? At first, maybe. But he wants something more. He just doesn’t know how else to get it.”

At the end of Emperor Vulcan, it was assumed that Rachel and Korvus met up with Lilandra and fled. Yost explains in Kingbreaker that:

“They’ve been on the run, hunted by Imperial Guardsmen and Death Commandos alike. They're intent on finding the rest of their team, and liberating them from Vulcan's grasp,” Yost said. “The group dynamic is rocky to say the least. Lilandra was dethroned, betrayed, and now is working with two people that aren't particularly fond of her. Marvel Girl is mess after choosing Korvus' life over that of a whole species [In “Emperor Vulcan” she chose to save Korvus instead of the Scy’ar Tal]. And Korvus is taking stock of his life. Rachel was the only thing that was keeping him with the X-Men, and now she's putting distance between them. He's can't help but love her, but at the same time, he's been a prisoner most of his life. His heart may not be in this crusade.”

Yost also talked to Wizard, and gave a few added details:

YOST: In the meantime, you've got Marvel Girl, Korvus and Lilandra who ended up free. Vulcan's been hunting them down relentlessly. They're trying to find their friends and free them, but Vulcan's not letting up at all. He's using the Death Commandos, the Imperial Guard, the entire might of the Shi'ar Army to find the Phoenix and kill it.

And it seems like there's a few surprises planned:

Question: Anything you'd like to add?

YOST: The one thing I'd say is that there are a few surprises in store. It's not going to be just another Vulcan vs. Havok thing. We've got some tricks up our sleeves.

X-Men: Kingbreaker Details

Marvel finally updated with more details about X-Men: Kingbreaker, the Emperor Vulcan follow-up that will lead-in to War of Kings, what was announced at the X-Panel yesterday at Fan Expo in Toronto.

X-Men: Kingbreaker will be a four issue mini-series that begins in December. No artist has been announced so far. As previously announced, it will be written by Christopher Yost.

Marvel.com has an interview with writer Chris Yost, which describes what the series will be about:

... but right now he's focused on breaking Havok, whose refusal to break is driving Vulcan crazy—well, crazier, as the case may be.

But while Vulcan fills much of his days and nights torturing his big bro as well as Havok's lover, Polaris, and Starjammers teammates Raza and Ch'od, the aforementioned Shi'ar expansion also remains a high priority, one that will drag the Empire and their unstable ruler into War of Kings.

"The Shi'ar are back to their aggressive, conquering ways and Vulcan is at the forefront," reiterates Yost. "For his own reasons, he's determined to make the Shi'ar the preeminent force in the universe.

Yost has these teaser about what's in store for Rachel and the other Starjammers:

"Marvel Girl, Lilandra and Korvus [are] still free," notes Yost. "Now more than ever, their goal remains unchanged. Whereas before it was personal for Havok, now it's personal for all of them. By the time it's all over, they'll either be the tightest, most bonded group of X-Men ever, or they'll be dead."

Of course all this just scratches the surface of what to expect when X-MEN: KINGBREAKER debuts just in time for the holidays, as Yost gives a tantalizing mini-preview of what's to come:

"Death, torture, intergalactic war, revenge, jailbreaks, the hunt for the Phoenix, a team of superpowered alien murderers, brother versus brother, and the lead in to what could be the greatest cosmic event of all time."

More from Chris Yost on Newsarama:

NRAMA: Are Havok, Polaris, and Rachel going to continue to be exiled in space for the time being?

CY: While 'exiled' may not be the right word, they'll be operating in space for the immediate future. They could have gone home after “Rise and Fall.” They probably wish they had, actually.

NRAMA: These books have a uniquely dysfunctional family dynamic; care to discuss? Vulcan seems to dislike Rachel Summers in particular...

CY: I'm a huge fan of the Summers family, and I love that one of them went crazy insane and became a villain. Not like 'hanging out with the Goblin Queen' or 'semi-possessed by Apocalypse' villainy, but wholly sociopathic, full on villainy.

You'll see in Kingbreaker that while Vulcan has some very obvious goals, something else is weighing heavily on his mind... his family. And yes, he doesn't care for Rachel, something that's only going to get worse.

X-Men: Kingbreaker - War of Kings Starjammers Tie-in

During the X-Men Panel at Fan Expo in Toronto Canada today, Marvel announced that the Starjammers’ story will continue in X-Men: Kingbreaker, which will lead-in to the War of Kings Cosmic crossover events.

Kingbreaker will be written by Chris Yost (writer of Emperor Vulcan). This is likely a 4-6 issue mini-series that will likely start in December. (Although, Peter David said during the X-Panel said it would start in November, it was not included in the November Solicitations released by Marvel earlier this week).

No further details were revealed during the panel, but expect interviews and further announcements this weekend.

A fan asked the panel whether Kitty Pryde and the giant space bullet will appear in War of Kings, and the answer was (unfortunately) no. (Too bad, considering how close Rachel and Kitty are, but it's likely Kitty's fate will be handled in one of the core X-books.)

Stay tuned for further War of Kings and Kingbreaker updates this weekend!

MyCup o' ... Bill Rosemann

Marvel Comic Editor Bill Rosemann was filling in for Joe Quesada at MyCup o' Joe this week, so naturally there were some questions about War of Kings:

JM: Okay, so War of Kings is probably your next big über-thing. What's the nutshell on that?

BR: You have Vulcan expanding the Shi'Ar Empire at a frightening pace. You have the Inhumans…well, I can't yet say what they're up to until Secret Invasion: Inhumans hits…but they're up to something big! Those two trains are locked on a collision course and we're lining up an amazing collection of creators to document the fireworks. That's right, Abnett & Lanning get to play with all the toys now!

JM: We seem to keep coming back to War of Kings. Now whereas I don't think this is gonna be a Secret Invasion- or World War Hulk-level deal, it will be pretty far-reaching for you guys, right?

BR: What's so fun about seeing War of Kings come together is the way Abnett and Lanning are stepping back, spotting all these different threads, and weaving them all together into one big ol' knot. They understand how all the characters and situations from the X-Men and Heroes and cosmic corners of the Marvel U all relate to one another and why now is the time to let their story unfold. So, yeah, this event won't have as many chapters as some of our other blockbusters, but we're guessing that all sorts of readers will be interested in and enjoy the craziness being cooked up.

Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning & Bill Rosemann Talk War of Kings

All of the major comic news sites have interviews with writers Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning (AKA DnA, who write Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy, along with the Annihilation series), and Marvel editor Bill Rosemann. Here are the Starjammers related highlights:

From IGN:

IGN Comics: Can you break down the basic structure of the story? What titles will it encompass and when can fans expect to see it in stores?

Rosemann: Seeds are being planted now and throughout 2008 in titles such as Secret Invasion: Inhumans, then the opening shots will be fired in early '09. And never fear, as the armies march closer to the battlefield, Marvel will be releasing the official list of War of Kings titles.

DnA: Battlelines are being drawn up right now, all will be revealed as we move from the end of '08 into '09.

From Newsarama:

While Marvel's previous "cosmic" events -- Annihilation and Annihilation: Conquest -- have mostly been relegated to cosmic characters that don't touch the rest of the Marvel universe, this event will involve much of what is going on now throughout the 616, particularly in Secret Invasion. For example, Marvel editor Nick Lowe said at Marvel's Secret Invasion panel that Chris Yost will be writing something with Vulcan that will lead up to the event and will include Havok, Polaris and Marvel Girl.

NRAMA: It looks like the Shi-Ar will also play into this. You haven't worked with them before as part of your cosmic stories, have you? What's that going to be like to get your hands on those characters?

AL: No. When we were doing the Annihilation stuff, [Ed] Brubaker was doing the Rise and Fall of the Shi'Ar Empire stuff. So at that stage, the Shi'Ar were kind of off the table for us, because they obviously had their own involved storyline that Ed was working on with the X-Men books. Obviously, now, things have lined up quite nicely so that we are able to involve them in the War of Kings story. It's yet another great cosmic classic that we're getting to work with. Basically, we've done the Kree, we've had Skrulls, so it's been a nice progression to work our way up to the Shi'Ar.

DA: The nice thing for us is that sometimes the characters out of the X-office do remain sort of separated because they have a continuity all their own. And the Shi'Ar are so important, cosmically speaking, I'm glad we get to use them now, because otherwise there would have to be an increasing question in Marvel readers' minds that we've had these Annihilation events, so why haven't we seen the Shi'Ar in them? You'd think it would be affecting them in some sort of way. So it will be great to show there's that we're sort of linking up different parts of the Marvel Universe, and it's really exciting.

AL: It's almost like the Shi'Ar Empire has been sitting there like they've had very noisy neighbors. This is them starting to bang on the walls and yelling to shut up. [laughs]


NRAMA: An advantage of the timing of doing a story with the Shi'Ar Empire is it now has a character like Vulcan, who has been explored quite a bit lately and has ties to the Summers characters in other parts of the Marvel Universe. Can you talk about Vulcan's role in this at all?

AL: Not too much. Not beyond the point that everyone will know going into this book that Vulcan is taking the Shi'Ar into an overly expansive time at the moment. They're kind of expanding their empire. So that, more than anything, at some point, is going to make him butt heads with some of his cosmic neighbors. And that -- and seeing what their reaction to that state of mind is -- leads to what's going to happen in the War of Kings event.

NRAMA: We've see the Starjammers in the teasers as well. So are they going to be playing a part in this?

DA: All the people you've seen in the teasers will play a part, greater or lesser, in this story. We're drawing together strands from different parts of continuity, and it would be remiss of us not to make sure that anybody who would be affected doesn't get touched upon. So we get to connect up characters that wouldn't otherwise have met, necessarily. And I think that's great. It has that sense of cosmic scope where everyone really is in the same universe. And also, if we've done this correctly, all of those characters will have some role to play in the greater story as well.

From CBR:

When the “War of Kings” finally does erupt, it won’t be a simple Good vs. Evil type of conflict. “This isn't a traditional heroes versus villains story, but it is going to have a true epic scale with clearly defined sides,” DnA remarked.”

“Each side of this battle thinks they are right " which makes it awfully deadly for those caught in the crossfire!” Rosemann added.

The titles and tie-ins which will make up “War of Kings” have yet to be revealed, but readers can expect a prologue and a core mini-series which will be written by DnA.

Marvel War of Kings - Secret Invasion Tie-In

At San Diego Comic Con, Marvel has announced War of Kings - which the "Who Will Rule" teasers were alluding to.

Here is CBR's report from the SDCC Secret Invasion Panel:

Regarding the cosmic characters and the "who will rule" teasers -- it's called War of Kings, a Secret Invasion tie-in. It begins in August with Joe Pokaski's Secret Invasion: Inhumans. Vulcan will play a big role, as does Havok, Polaris, Marvel Girl and more. A slide then appeared depicting Black Bolt. "That guy is going to be pretty pissed off," Pokaski said.

Is War of Kings next summer's huge event? Will there be more cosmic stuff? Lowe: "It won't be a summer event, but a winter/spring event."

McCann: "It involves a great deal of cosmic characters and threads. All of that comes crashing together."

From Newsarama:

(Nick) Lowe talked about Vulcan's role in "War of Kings," saying "We've got something coming up at the end of this year with Vulcan that Chris Yost has a very big hand in," saying you'll also see Havok, Polaris and Marvel Girl.

Polask discussed Black Bolt's role in "War of Kings," saying that "we're going to see a different side of the Inhumans," and that Black Bolt will be "pretty pissed off."

IGN has a small report about War of Kings and will have an interview with Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning and editor Bill Rosemann tomorrow morning.

Marvel now has an interview with Dan, Andy and Bill:

At the heart of War of Kings will be Vulcan, the current emperor of the Shi'ar and the spark set to potentially ignite universal chaos. Introduced by Brubaker as the third Summers brother, sibling to the X-Men's Cyclops and Havok, when last we left Vulcan he had solidified claim to his thrown in the X-MEN: EMPEROR VULCAN limited series written by Chris Yost and seemed set to pursue bigger and bloodier conquests.

"Vulcan's a complicated guy with a seriously screwed up personal history," notes Abnett. "[He's] not the most stable of leaders and [now the Shi'ar] are aggressively expanding their empire. This will put them at loggerheads with the universe around them and will certainly color their response to any potential [obstacles] that might come their way."

Those obstacles will include Havok and his team of Starjammers, including fellow X-Men alumni Polaris and Marvel Girl, though both editor and writing team declined comment on how the middle Summers brother would pose a threat from within the prison he found himself confided to following EMPEROR VULCAN.

More updates to follow.

What's Next For Rachel & The Starjammers After Emperor Vulcan?

So far, there hasn't been any word about what will be next for the Rachel and the Starjammers. With Emperor Vulcan’s cliffhanger ending with Havok, Polaris, Ch’od and Raza captured, and Rachel, Lilandra and Korvus regrouping and Vulcan announcing plans to expand the Shi’ar Empire and kill Professor Xavier, obviously the story will continue – the question is where and when.

A short story with Alex and Vulcan will be appearing in Divided We Stand Issue 2. So they haven’t been completely forgotten.

Emperor Vulcan scribe Chris Yost posted on CBR that “There are plans, from even before I came onboard”.

So what could those plans be?

In light of everything that’s happened in Messiah Complex, a Shi’ar invasion of Earth or even a rescue mission seems unlikely.

Professor Xavier is, for all intents and purposes, brain dead. X-Men becomes X-Men: Legacy and will for at least 12 issues be an Xavier solo book with Xavier trying to piecing his memories back together. Vulcan coming to kill him is rather pointless until he recovers.

Meanwhile, the X-Men are officially disbanded while Scott figures out what to do next.

Could Rachel returning to Earth with news of Alex and Lorna’s capture bring the X-Men back together? While it's nice to think that could happen, all signs point to the return of Magneto in Uncanny X-Men 500 as what will bring the X-Men together – a classic storyline for such a major milestone issue. Another space story in Uncanny any time soon seems highly unlikely.

Ed Brubaker stated at Wizard World Los Angeles in 2007 that he had no interest in finishing the story, preferring to leave it as a dangling storyline for another writer to pick up. So as long as he is writing Uncanny X-Men, it seems incredibly unlikely the story will continue there in any form.

That would leave the Vulcan story for either a crossover event (with the X-Men, Marvel Universe or Cosmic Marvel having to stop a Shi’ar invasion) or a separate miniseries.

Is Vulcan even popular enough to carry his own crossover event, whether it’s within in the X-books, Marvel universe or Cosmic Marvel? Space X-Men stories are generally unpopular, Vulcan himself hasn’t caught out with readers and Rise & Fall of the Shi’ar Empire isn’t all that well-regarded of an arc. Sales did steadily decline for Emperor Vulcan, and it wasn’t just fans of Rachel, Alex and Lorna who were thoroughly pissed off at the lack of an ending with Emperor Vulcan. Will that limit the possible avenues to finally end this story?


Some of the possible places for the story to continue:


Secret Invasion

One of the other problems with Vulcan and the Shi’ar attacking Earth is that they have to wait in line for the Skrulls to finish their secret invasion.

Editor Tom Brevoort told IGN that the X-Men will be involved in Secret Invasion, but it will be handled in a separate limited series to avoid disrupting the X-books’ plans for the aftermath of Messiah Complex. This likely will be similar to X-Men: Civil War and will deal with any X-Men revealed to be Skrulls. It's incredibly unlikely anything with the Shi'ar will be involved.

Could something following the Secret Invasion involve the Shi'ar, like a Skrull and Shi'ar alliance? Perhaps, but there is no proof of anything like that happening.


Starjammers Limited or Ongoing Series

From what we heard this time last year, some at Marvel are dead set against another Starjammers series because historically they’ve done poorly.

Emperor Vulcan has sold marginally well, but with sales to comic book stores around 36,000 copies and lots of unsold copies still on the shelves, is there a mandate for an ongoing? Probably not, unless it's another limited series killing time until the "plans" to finally happen. But with the backlash from the last non-ending, would Marvel put other another filler series?


Annihilation

Currently, Marvel is wrapping up the second Annihilation storyline, Annihilation: Conquest (the last issue is out in April). Sales have been okay, but nothing spectacular, with the Conquest books selling less than Emperor Vulcan. Hints have been dropped that there could be another Annihilation series, but it probably wouldn’t be for at least six months or a year. There are also hints that the cosmic Marvel characters could get involved in Secret Invasion.

Former Annihilation editor Andy Schmidt is one of the writers involved in Divided We Stand #2, prompting speculation the Alex story could be a bridge to bring the Annihilation/Cosmic Marvel characters into the Starjammers/Vulcan storyline.

It would be just like Marvel to want to prop up the sales of the Cosmic Marvel titles by adding the X-Men, Starjammers and Vulcan to the mix.


Guardians of the Galaxy

Out of Annihilation: Conquest is coming new Guardians of the Galaxy ongoing series in May, and there has been speculation that they could go and help the Starjammers.

Writer Andy Lanning told Marvel:

"One of our first stories will deal with somebody taking advantage of the aftermath of CONQUEST to expand their power base. [And] apart from the new threats and menaces, we're planning on the return of at lest one old, old foe and an even older hero."

If Vulcan is looking to expand the Shi’ar empire, he’s a likely candidate to be taking advantage of the aftermath of Conquest.

If the Starjammers and Vulcan are going to be part of Cosmic Marvel instead of the X-Titles, the Guardians getting involved in stopping Vulcan or rescuing the Starjammers is a strong possibility.


Uncanny X-Men and Legacy

Like previously stated, it’s unlikely that any Starjammers or Vulcan story would take place in Uncanny or Legacy this year since they are still dealing with the aftermath of Messiah Complex.

Once Xavier recovers from his brain injury, he could gather a team and go help the Starjammers in Legacy.

Or, the story could continue in Uncanny once Ed Brubaker is no longer writing the book.

In several years, there could be an X-crossover with multiple books getting involved in stopping Vulcan. The X-writers don't seem eager to do another crossover event any time soon, and the storylines coming out of Messiah Complex could play out for years to come.

One point often brought up in discussions about an X-Men rescue mission is Scott having to go save his little brother, and how Scott’s involvement would once again repeat the pattern of Alex never escaping the shadow of his older brother. Unfortunately, if the other X-Men are involved, it would be impossible for Alex to avoid being overshadowed by Scott, especially after Scott has solidified his role as commander-in-chief of the X-Men following Divided We Stand.


Astonishing X-Men

Axel Alonso mentioned that there will be a strong sci-fi theme in Warren Ellis’ Astonishing X-Men run (which is expected to start in July 2008). It seems unlikely that it will deal with Vulcan, since Astonishing is designed to be less continuity heavy than the other X-books and the sequel to a long running space storyline wouldn’t easily accessible to new readers.


My conclusion:

Unfortunately, I think all signs point to the Starjammers becoming part of Cosmic Marvel and the most likely scenario is that the rescue mission will be in a Cosmic Marvel title like Guardians of the Galaxy and then Vulcan will be the antagonist for Annihilation 3. Then in several years, Vulcan could target Earth and Xavier and that would be a storyline for one of the X-books or an X-crossover.

Last year at Wizard World Los Angeles, Rachel fans heard an ominous report from a fan who spoke to Ed Brubaker and got the impression that the characters left behind at the end of Rise & Fall of the Shi'ar Empire would be in space for a very, very long time. It wasn’t merely them being written temporarily out of X-books, it was a permanent status quo change. Vulcan becoming Emperor seems to have been part of a long-term plan to establish him as a reoccurring, major villain, and it looks like those left behind were intended to become the new Starjammers for the foreseeable future.

Of course, WWLA '07 spurred the Bring Rachel Home Campaign. Whether or not that worked remains to be seen, but it appears that Emperor Vulcan was merely trying convince fans to like Vulcan and the new Starjammers, and filling time before whatever “plans” are going to happen.

For me, I absolutely hate space stories and wish this would all end as quickly as possible and Rachel would be back in one of the core X-books.


Update 8/26/08 - Marvel has announced that the Starjammers' saga will continue in X-Men: Kingbreaker, a mini-series that will start in December and will serve as a lead-in to the cosmic cross-over event, War of Kings.

Read the latest news about Marvel's War of Kings