Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto’s epic run on Daredevil will give way to a crossover event called Devil’s Reign in December, one of several “tentpole” events Marvel announced in August. And in the Mighty Marvel fashion, the main Devil’s Reign title will be accompanied by all sorts of tie-in titles in January, February and beyond.
In case you missed the news, Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto, the creative team for the ongoing Daredevil title, are also the creative team behind the crossover event’s main miniseries. It will run for six issues and will see the Kingpin “bring his full criminal and political power to bear on the super heroes who call NYC home.” Yep, NYC’s mayor is declaring war on the superhero community, and he’s got his new team of Thunderbolts on his side.
Let’s take a look at what’s coming in January and February …
In issues #3 and #4 of the main miniseries, stuff hits the fan for New York as the Kingpin loses “whatever shred of decency that may have been left of him” and he unleashes his deputized super villain army on the city.
I think the other miniseries to keep an eye on during this crossover is Daredevil: Woman Without Fear, which features Elektra behind the mask. This one is also written by Zdarsky, the architect of the event who has also been doing some interesting things with Elektra in the main Daredevil title. It’s drawn by Rafael De Latorre, features some striking covers by Chris Bachalo and pits the former assassin against Kraven the Hunter.
Part of the Kingpin’s plan is to disgrace various superheroes with blackmail material he’s collected over the years. One of those heroes is Emma Frost, and she’ll get the spotlight in Devil’s Reign: X-Men, courtesy of Marauders writer Gerry Duggan and artist Phil Noto. They previously worked together on the Eisner-nominated The Infinite Horizon. Frost used to be a New York-based villain and apparently has a secret past with Wilson Fisk, which will come to light in this miniseries.
The Winter Soldier gets a one-shot tie-in to the event in January, courtesy of writers Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing, and artist Nico Leon. You can probably see the pattern emerging — if you’re a hero with a a dark past, chances are the Kingpin’s gonna use it against you.
“Chip and Marco’s Daredevil has been one of our favorite books on the shelves since its debut, so of course the Hivemind is deeply excited to be contributing to its culmination in Devil’s Reign,” Lanzing told SYFY Wire. “Kingpin has never been a more terrifying villain than he is right now—which lets Collin, Nico and I go all-out with a shadow-soaked showdown between Fisk and one of the few fighters alive who might be able to stand against him: Bucky Barnes.”
Speaking of villains, the Kingpin’s army will be featured in Villains for Hire, by Clay McLeod Chapman and Manuel Garcia. I’m not really sure why they chose that particular title, considering they’re referring to the team as the Thunderbolts, but hey — comics! And that’s not even the strangest part of all this …
No, the winner of the most bonkers/random tie-in title goes to Superior Four, by Zac Thompson and Davide Tinto. While the rest of this event seems very street-level and New York-focused, this one shows us what Otto Octavius is up to — and that’s collecting multiverse versions of himself to form an army, or something. I dig the multi-armed Hulk with the bowl cut, and the use of Ghost Rider’s chains as Octopus arms is clever, but I’m not sure what any of this has to do with Daredevil. I guess we’ll find out in January.
I don’t think it was obvious when the comic was announced, but the upcoming Luke Cage: City of Fire miniseries written by Ho Che Anderson is a Devil’s Reign prelude As you can see from the cover of issue #2, it features ElektraDevil, while the cover to issue #3 feature Jo Rockhead, who can turn people to stone a la a medusa (but not Medusa).
In February, Ben Reilly jumps into the fray as he takes on the Kingpin’s son, the recently returned Rose. It’s by writer Anthony Piper and artist Zé Carlos.
“As a lifelong comic book nerd, I was already hyped about the opportunity to craft a story for possibly the most iconic Super Hero of all time, but to do so during one of the most interesting shake-ups in the character’s history is both thrilling and challenging, and something I’m excited to be a part of,” Piper told ComicBook.com.
In addition to all the event miniseries and one-shots, some issues of regular Marvel titles will also cross over with Devil’s Reign — including January’s Spider-Woman #19 and February’s Moon Knight #8.
But wiat — there’s more Moon Knight crossover action in March …
Regular Moon Knight writer Jed MacKay will team up with artist Federico Sabbatini for Devil’s Reign: Moon Knight, where our hero is imprisoned by Fisk after getting beat down by the Thunderbolts.