Marvel shared several tidbits and teasers about the upcoming Fall of X crossover event during a panel at this weekend’s MegaCon. The panel featured Senior Editor Jordan D. White, writers Gerry Duggan and Benjamin Percy, and artist Joshua Cassara.
We don’t know a lot about the overall Fall of X storyline just yet, but we do know a few things. For one, it’ll kick off in this year’s Hellfire Gala special, after getting a preview of sorts in four one-shots. It’ll also involve non-mutant heroes like Iron Man, as Tony Stark lost his company to X-Men villain Feilong and it’s now making its own Sentinels. While the overall plot is still unknown, it’ll involve “danger, conspiracy and sacrifice” that “threatens to shatter everything mutantkind accomplished on Krakoa.”
One thing revealed at the panel is a teaser image that lists all the crossover titles that will be part of the event, including several new titles that we haven’t heard about yet. The list includes current titles like X-Men, Wolverine, X-Force, Immortal X-Men and Invincible Iron Man, as well as the new (yet familiar in some cases) Astonishing Iceman, Children of the Vault, Uncanny Spider-Man, Alpha Flight, Dark X-Men, Realm of X and the previously announced Uncanny Avengers.
Here’s the teaser image by Bryan Hitch:
It’s reminiscent of the Alan Davis/Paul Neary teaser artwork Marvel used back in the 1980s for the Fall of the Mutants crossover — and used on the more recent Fall of the Mutants Omnibus:
Fall of the Mutants was an interesting one, as it was a crossover that really didn’t feature much crossing over. Storylines in Uncanny X-Men, New Mutants and X-Factor ran under the Fall of the Mutants banner, but they did not intertwine like a typical crossover would. It did change the X-Men’s status quo in a major way, as the team pretended it died and moved to Australia to work in secret, kicking off one of the more depressing eras in X-Men history.
But I digress! Enough about the past; the Krakoa era is a long way from Australia. Here are a few things we learned at the panel about Fall of X:
Marvel revealed the cover art by Javier Garron for the first issue of Uncanny Avengers, which arrives in stores on Aug. 16. As previously announced, the new team will feature Captain America, Rogue, Deadpool, Quicksilver, Psylocke and Penance, who must solve the mystery of who the new, murderous Captain Krakoa is—and stop his army of killers from igniting the fires of a new world war.
Duggan will continue writing X-Men, with artist Stefano Caselli. August’s issue #25 will feature a cast change as a result of the Hellfire Gala, including whoever fans chose from the field of candidates this year, plus … Shadowkat!
Kate Pryde returns to her ninja-inspired identity (with a slight letter tweak) and to the X-Men team with a new costume designed by Peach Momoko.
Shadowkat isn’t the only X-Man to get a change; her old boyfriend, Colossus, will take on a new role as leader of X-Force:
Daniel Acuña will join that title as cover artist, along with writer Benjamin Percy and interior artist Robert Gill.
Here’s a look at Ryan Stegman’s cover for Wolverine #36, which is part of the Ghost Rider/Wolverine: Weapons of Vengeance crossover. Why yes, Wolverine is involved in more than one crossover this summer, staying true to form.
A demonic serial killer is murdering innocent mutants. But what is it about this deadly new villain that forces our two heroes to team up? And what buried secret does he share with Wolverine and Ghost Rider’s never-before-seen very first meeting in the past?
The crossover will kick off with an alpha issue, run through an issue apiece of Ghost Rider and Wolverine, then wrap up with an omega issue.
And finally, the cover to Invincible Iron Man #9 by Kael Ngu reveals Tony Stark’s new stealth armor. Stark will offer an alliance to Emma Frost to help take down Feilong and his Stark Sentinels in a story by Duggan and artist Juan Frigeri.