‘Amazing X-Men,’ ‘Longshots’ + more will debut in October

Jonathan Hickman, Gerry Duggan, Jed MacKay, Mahmud Asrar, Stephanie Phillips, Giada Belviso and more will usher in a new era of X-Men titles.

Following their announcement last week of an Age of Apocalypse-style event for the X-Men line called Age of Revelation, Marvel has revealed the first five reimagined titles that’ll kick off the event.

Like the 1990s event — which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year — Age of Revelation will show us an alternate world and bring the relaunch of several X-related titles for the duration of the event. The titles are all somewhat new yet familiar, and the first five to debut will be Amazing X-Men, Binary, Longshots, World of Revelation and Laura Kinney: Sabretooth.

Many of the titles can be mapped back to the current line, with Jed MacKay writing Amazing X-Men, featuring Cyclops and many of the characters we’re seeing in the current X-Men title — plus interior artwork by Mahmud Asrar. Phoenix writer Stephanie Phillips will write Binary, which is about the Phoenix force, and Erica Schultz will continue to write Laura Kinney, albeit with the character taking on a different (but familiar) name. Longshots, meanwhile, is the odd one in the bunch, as it is about Longshot and Mojo, but also features Kraven, Wonder Man, Bishop, Hellcat and Rhino in a story written by Gerry Duggan and former Krakoa-era architect Jonathan Hickman.

Here’s more details on the first titles Marvel has revealed, with more expected in the coming days.

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Elektra gets the Red Band treatment in ‘Daredevil: Unleash Hell’

Erica Schultz and Valentina Pinti add a bloody new dimension to the Woman Without Fear’s adventures.

Writer Erica Schultz will continue to tell stories featuring Elektra Natchios in Daredevil: Unleash Hell – Red Band. The mature readers title will feature artwork by Blade and Immortal Thor artist Valentina Pinti.

This is Schultz’s third miniseries featuring the assassin-turned-superhero, but the first to fall into Marvel’s new mature readers line, which “allows Elektra to unleash unrestricted bloodshed against her targets,” according to Marvel. It comes polybagged to protect innocent eyes.

“It’s been such a pleasure to continue writing Elektra, especially donning the horns,” Schultz said. “In this new series, we have the opportunity to show that just because she doesn’t kill doesn’t mean she won’t make you wish she had. Elektra has been known for her brutality, and we’ll see that on display here. Also, with a Red Band rating, that means we can get real nasty with stuff. Don’t know what I mean? You will. Valentina Pinti and I are very excited to show you this new direction.”

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Four ‘Before the Fall’ one-shots precede the next X-Men event

Before Fall of X kicks off this summer, four one-shots will ‘put all the pieces in place’ for the big crossover event.

Marvel has revealed that this year’s Hellfire Gala, an in-book event the X-Men have held since the launch of the Krakoa era, will tie into Fall of X, the upcoming X-Men-themed summer crossover event. But prior to Fall of X, Marvel will release four one-shots that will “tie up long-simmering plotlines, reintroduce major players and put all the pieces in place for the dramatic events of the third annual Hellfire Gala.”

They also plan to hold another fan vote for membership into the X-Men, as they’ve done for the past two years. It kicks off tomorrow.

Each of the one-shots will be written by a current X-title scribe — Kieron Gillen, Al Ewing, Steve Orlando and Si Spurrier — and will feature everything from the return of Apocalypse to a big showdown between Legion and Nimrod.

According to Marvel, Fall of X will answer the question, “Can Krakoa last forever?” which seems to indicate a change is coming to the current X-Men status quo. We know that at one point Jonathan Hickman, the original architect of the Krakoa era, had two more chapters planned in his bigger X-Men storyline, but he backed away from the second part when he realized the creators making Krakoa-focused comics were having such a great time. That suggested Krakoa would go away or change in some way … could that plan be back on?

I guess we’ll find out this summer, but for now, check out the covers and info for the “Before the Fall” books:

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