Tom Hardy wants to sink his teeth into a Spider-Man-Venom crossover. But which Spider-Man? Venom: The Last Dance (out October 25) is the third and final film in Sony’s Venom trilogy, marking Hardy’s fourth outing as the symbiote-bonded Eddie Brock, who we last saw in the mid-credits scene of 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home. After a haywire spell cast by Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange brought him into the Marvel Cinematic Universe alongside other Spider-Man villains from throughout the multiverse, Eddie spent his stint in the MCU at a bar in Mexico before he was blipped back to Sony’s Spider-Man Universe — leaving the almost-Sinister Six shy of one member and never crossing paths with Peter Parker 1 (Tom Holland), Peter 2 (Tobey Maguire), or Peter 3 (Andrew Garfield).

“I would love to fight Spider-Man. I would love to fight him now. I’m happy to fight Spider-Man today, 100 percent,” Hardy said onstage during the Venom 3 New York Comic Con panel. “I would never say never. We were specifically set up to bring Venom to a movie format, and that’s what we’ve done. The Last Dance is the final piece in that trilogy, and we’re really excited about that.”

But with there being three live-action Spider-Men, ComicBook asked Hardy to clarify which webhead he wants to tango with after The Last Dance. “Tom Holland, without a shadow of a doubt,” Hardy said in our exclusive interview (below).

After he faced off with another comic book adversary in 2021’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage — Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson), a.k.a. the symbiotic serial killer Carnage — Hardy said that a potential run-in with Spider-Man depended on Sony and Marvel Studios’ ongoing partnership concerning the Spider-Man movie rights.

“I would be remiss if I wasn’t trying to steer any kind of connectivity,” he told Esquire. “I wouldn’t be doing the job if I wasn’t awake and open to any opportunity or eventuality or be excited by that. Obviously, that’s a large canyon to leap, to be bridged by one person alone, and it would take a much higher level of diplomacy and intelligence, sitting down and talking, to take on an arena such as that.

“Should both sides be willing, and it be beneficial to both sides, I don’t see why it couldn’t be,” he continued. “I hope and strongly, with both hands, push, eagerly, towards that potential, and would do anything to make that happen, within what’s right in business. But it would be foolish not to head towards the Olympic Games if you were running 100 meters, so yeah! I want to play on that field.”

In Venom: The Last Dance, Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and Venom are on the run, hunted by both their worlds: on Earth, by the military (at the charge of Chiwetel Ejiofor’s character) and off-world, by the God of the Symbiotes, Lord of the Abyss, King in Black: Knull. In the conclusion to the Venom trilogy, “The duo are forced into a devastating decision that will bring the curtains down on Venom and Eddie’s last dance,” per the synopsis.

In addition to Hardy and Ejiofor, Venom 3 stars Juno Temple (Ted Lasso), Rhys Ifans (The Amazing Spider-Man), Alanna Ubach (Euphoria), Peggy Lu (reprising her role as Mrs. Chen), and Stephen Graham (reprising his Venom 2 role as Detective Mulligan). Kelly Marcel, co-writer of the first two films, makes her directorial debut and directs from a script she co-wrote with Hardy. Avi Arad (Borderlands), Matt Tolmach (Morbius), Amy Pascal (Spider-Man: No Way Home), and Hutch Parker (The Wolverine) are the producers with Marcel and Hardy. Venom 3 is in theaters Oct. 25.

The post Tom Hardy Reveals Which Spider-Man He Wants Venom to Fight (Exclusive) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Chiwetel Ejiofor is about to be a Marvel movie veteran in more ways than one. The actor starred in Doctor Strange as Baron Mordo, and fans saw his path from hero-in-training to potentially dangerous villain. This month he’s set to make the jump from the MCU to Sony’s universe of Marvel characters, taking on the role of General Strickland in Venom: The Last Dance.

While both characters are integral to Marvel movies, they couldn’t be more different. Mordo is a sorcerer, a master of dark and ancient arts. Strickland is much more grounded, rooted in what we know of as reality, making him an interesting fit for a film about symbiotic alien goo that can take over other life forms.

Ahead of Venom: The Last Dance‘s arrival in theaters this weekend, ComicBook.com spoke with Ejiofor about the differences between his two major Marvel characters.

“It’s just such a different character, and that’s the main thing,” Ejiofor told us. “For General Strickland, just how organized everything is, and the responsibility. How Earthy it is. It’s all just kind of built on reality and on these really high stakes for him, this attempt to keep in line the military part of this incredibly secret facility. His life, in many ways, is being complicated by the scientific wing of that, headed by Doctor Payne. So they end up in this kind of conflict about what’s best, and the best ways to proceed with these alien life forms. And all of that, all of those dynamics, were really interesting to play. And fun to play, with Juno [Temple].”

Mordo and Strickland are such different characters that it would be hard to find some common ground that could connect them in-universe. Before knowing who Ejiofor was playing, though, many Marvel fans thought his role could somehow be related to Mordo, or even an alt-universe version of the character in disguise.

Those theories almost all stem from the “crossover” between Venom and the MCU in the post-credits for Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Spider-Man: No Way Home. The former saw Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock and his Symbiote end up in the same universe as Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, while the latter saw those characters shipped back to their universe, although they left a little piece of Symbiote behind.

This gave both Marvel franchises a way to connect with one another if need be, but there hasn’t been any real connective tissue between Hardy and Holland’s characters on-screen.

Given this lack of connection, it seems as though the door is still open for Ejiofor to reprise his Mordo role in the MCU, should a future opportunity arise.

The post Chiwetel Ejiofor Breaks Down Big Difference In His Venom, MCU Characters appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Spider-Man star Tom Holland might be headed to the world of Christopher Nolan. On Monday, reports indicated that Holland is set to star in the currently-untitled new feature from Nolan, which will be released by Oppenheimer distributor Universal Pictures in theaters and on IMAX screens on July 17, 2026. Holland will join Matt Damon, who previously appeared in Oppenheimer as General Leslie Groves​ and Interstellar as Dr. Mann.

Plot details are currently unknown about the new Nolan movie, except for the fact that it is not set in the present day. Nolan is expected to write as well as executive produce alongside his wife Emma Thomas. Production on the project is expected to begin in early 2025.

That latter detail is particularly interesting, especially in the context of Holland’s work portraying Peter Parker / Spider-Man in various projects for Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios. Initial reports indicate that in 2025, Holland will likely be juggling production on Nolan’s movie with the highly-anticipated Spider-Man 4, as well as 2026’s Avengers: Doomsday. Spider-Man 4 has been in the works in various capacities for several years now, with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton confirmed to be directing it earlier this fall. While Spider-Man 4 does not currently have a confirmed release date, some fans have already begun to speculate that it could debut in between Doomsday and 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars.

“It needs work, but the writers are doing a great job,” Holland shared of the script for Spider-Man 4 earlier this month. “I read it three weeks ago and it really lit a fire in me. Zendaya and I sat down, read it together and we at times were bouncing around the living room.”

As far as Nolan’s mystery film is concerned, the director explained in a previous interview that the subject matter will not be as dark as Oppenheimer.

“I definitely– part of me wants to leave the story behind,” Nolan explained. “I mean, it’s a great privilege to be able to talk about a film that you’ve made that’s now going into the home and on 4k and Blu-ray and all the rest. It’s great to be able to sit here and talk to you about the success of the movie. That’s a huge privilege. But the subject matter is very dark. It’s nihilistic. And, yeah, there’s part of me that’s quite keen to move on and maybe do something, you know, not quite as bleak.”

The post Tom Holland Joins Christopher Nolan’s New Movie, What Does It Mean for Spider-Man 4? appeared first on ComicBook.com.

It’s wild looking at the fall 2024 television season and seeing both Marvel and DC shows getting acclaim as they enter their respective back halves. HBO’s The Penguin is getting phrases like “best of the year,” and “Emmy contender” thrown around; meanwhile, Agatha All Along is the dark horse breakout that many Marvel Cinematic Universe fans are pleasantly surprised to be enjoying so much. As the discourse about both series flows, there is one thing that is true about both of them, collectively: they are performance-driven shows, built on two very talented lead actors.

And with their respective levels of success and/or acclaim, Agatha All Along and The Penguin are proving that some new-age theories about entertainment are dead wrong, and the old ways are still true: franchises are built primarily on star power, not necessarily just the power of IP.

Let’s just step back and look at this: The Penguin and Agatha All Along were initially met with overwhelming skepticism. The question of why either show needs to exist was asked often and repeatedly, with the only real answer being the strength of the performances of Colin Farrell as Oz Cobb/Penguin in The Batman, and Kathryn Hahn as Agatha Harkness in WandaVision. That didn’t seem like enough to justify spinoff series for two minor characters – but both Penguin and Agatha have been wise to take those central performances as foundations, and build on them with entire ensembles of acting talent.

Penguin is giving Sofia Falcone actress Cristin Milioti the breakout she’s long deserved, and all but locking her for the Emmys next year; it’s also earning praise for Rhenzy Feliz, a young actor who has been trying to break through in projects like Marvel’s Runaways. Agatha All Along is both reminding fans that Aubrey Plaza is a top-tier talent while breaking in new Marvel franchise talent like actor Joe Locke – who is just now breaking out with the reveal that he’s Scarlet Witch’s son Billy Maximoff, the magical Young Avenger known as Wiccan. Those standout supporting actors are also bolstered by many talented veteran actors, with a list that includes the likes of Clancy Brown, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Mark Strong, and Michael Kelly for Penguin, and Debra Jo Rupp, Patti LuPone, Sasheer Zamata and Ali Ahn for Agatha All Along.

The buzz on both shows makes it undeniable that the individual performances and character interactions are taking precedence over any in-universe ties, crossovers, or cameos. Now granted: by the time Penguin and Agatha both come to an end, one or both shows may get the biggest signal boost from some kind of late-game crossover or game-changing reveal for the franchise. Yet it feels like Penguin showrunner Lauren LeFranc and Agtha All Along showrunner Jac Schaeffer (no dots to connect there…) are much more interested in focusing on complex and layered characters, created by actors who have the talent to deliver on them.

Marvel Studios and DC Studios are hopefully taking note that the old star-driven franchise model isn’t yet as dead as many declared it to be. Loyalty to an actor and their performance as a character will get audiences to engage with even the most unlikely IP concepts. Farrell and Hahn’s now-proven ability to go from supporting roles to carrying shows also proves that no casting should be taken frivolously, as any breakout performance is potentially a new spinoff project of some kind. For the actors, it should be well-earned validation (and future leverage) that the craft is still a valuable commodity.

The Penguin airs Sunday nights on HBO and streams on Max. Agatha All Along streams on Disney+.

The post The Penguin & All Along Prove Superhero Franchises Are Driven By Actors, Not IP appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Deadpool and Wolverine are bound to be some of the most popular Halloween costumes of the year, so it’s only appropriate that the movie has launched a new TV spot, reminding people that it’s still in theaters as the spooky season approaches. In the new ad, Marvel teases the wide variety of spooky characters the movie has in store, right up to reminding you that it’s got “vampires” — cut to a shot of Wesley Snipes as Blade. While theatrical windows seem to be getting shorter all the time, Deadpool & Wolverine has remained on the big screen nonstop since its release in July, playing concurrently with its home release and continuing to pass new box office benchmarks all the time.

Most recently, Deadpool & Wolverine surpassed Barbie, last year’s highest-grossing film, to take #12 on the list of all-time highest-grossing blockbusters at the domestic box office. It has taken less than 90 days for the movie to rack up $636 million in North America and more than $1.3 billion worldwide.

The foul-mouthed buddy comedy brought back Hugh Jackman for his last “one last ride” as Wolverine — unless there’s a sequel! — and reunited him with Ryan Reynolds, who admitted that after Disney acquired Fox, he wasn’t sure whether he would ever get to make a third Deadpool film. The movie was directed by Stranger Things and Free Guy veteran Shawn Levy.

You can see the TV spot below.

The movie has been a breath of fresh air after a few rocky years for Marvel Studios in particular and superhero movies more broadly. With few exceptions, most comics adaptations have been performing like like Madame Web and Joker: Folie a Deux than Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3 and Deadpool & Wolverine. The box office as a whole has been struggling, with a number of reliable tentpole franchises starting to show their age. Besides the stumbling Marvel monolith, series like Mission: Impossible and Transformers have had some pretty high-profile disappointments in the years since Hollywood’s brief, pandemic-related shutdown.

Deadpool & Wolverine, like Guardians, also managed to draw rave reviews from critics, lending some credibility to James Gunn’s long-held philosophy that people aren’t tired of superhero movies — they’re tired of lazy, uninspired superhero movies, and if you make a good one, they’ll show up for it.

“People say ‘superhero fatigue,’ but I think that you see now that’s not a real thing,” Gunn said shortly after he was tapped to take over DC Studios. “People are fatigued with repetition. I don’t think it’s just superhero movies; I think you’re seeing it now in spectacle films in general…there’s a lot of spectacle films made, and they just have gotten really generic and they’ve gotten boring, and they’re not about characters, and there’s no emotion.”

The post Deadpool and Wolverine Halloween Teaser Reminds Fans Its Still in Theaters appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The Spider-Verse and the Venomverse will collide in a Marvel event next year. One of the many announcements to come out of New York Comic Con is Spider-Verse vs. Venomverse. The only information we have on the event is a piece of teaser art with the title, which rests on a black background with spider webs. Spider-Verse vs. Venomverse kicks off in May 2025, and if we go by the name, it’ll pit characters from both the Spider-Verse and Venomverse against each other. Spider-Verse will be represented by web-slinging characters, with Venomverse featuring alternate versions of the Lethal Protector.

The original Spider-Verse was a 2014-2015 event that saw the return of Morlun, who brought his Inheritors along with him so they could eradicate every Spider hero across the multiverse. Spider-Verse is also known for introducing Spider-Gwen, who has become one of the most popular heroes in the Spider-Man corner of the Marvel Universe. Along with the Edge of Spider-Verse tie-ins, there were two sequel series, 2018’s Spider-Geddon, and 2022-2023’s End of the Spider-Verse. Sony Pictures adapted the storyline for 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse animated movie.

Venomverse was a 2017 event where several Marvel heroes were given symbiotes to help Eddie Brock fight a deadly new species called the Poisons. Just like with Spider-Verse, there were spinoffs and sequels, such as Edge of Venomverse and 2018’s Venomized, and it was also killed off in Death of the Venomverse. Marvel recently brought back the Venomverse for Venomverse Reborn, so it now has enough Venomized characters to support a war against the Spider-Verse.

There were many more Spider-Man and Venom announcements at Marvel’s Spider-Man and His Venomous Friends panel Sunday at New York Comic Con. Fans got to see a trailer for “8 Deaths of Spider-Man.” Writers Joe Kelly and Justina Ireland and artists Ed McGuinness and Gleb Melnikov are collaborating on the 10-issue story arc in Amazing Spider-Man. With Doctor Doom replacing Doctor Strange as the Sorcerer Supreme of the Marvel Universe, one of his first acts will be equipping Spider-Man with a new mystical costume and eight extra lives to combat an evil god and his scions. 

Spinning out of Venom War is Eddie Brock: Carnage by Charles Soule and Jesus Saiz. As its title suggests, Eddie Brock will become the new host of the sadistic Carnage symbiote. “He’s been VENOM, he’s been ANTI-VENOM, he’s been THE KING IN BLACK…now, Eddie Brock has made his darkest bond yet as he joins with the one-and-only CARNAGE!” a description of the series reads. “Can he control his new other’s endless bloodlust? Or will he be give himself over to madness and murder?”

What are you most looking forward to in Spider-Verse vs. Venomverse? Let us know your thoughts on social media @ComicBook!

The post Marvel’s Spider-Verse vs. Venomverse Teaser Reveals a Multiversal Clash appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Agatha All Along brought back a familiar face from WandaVision this week and should probably spawn a popular piece of Marvel merch. Episode 6 decided to give us Billy Maximoff’s extended backstory for everything that happened in WandaVision until now. In doing so, Joe Locke’s character enlisted the help of Evan Peters’ Ralph Bohner. Now, MCU fans of the Disney+ shows haven’t heard that name in a while. But, the Quicksilver actor cameoed again and relayed a lot of the Westview details to Billy and his boyfriend. He also told the kids that Agatha Harkness basically lured him in, took his house and ruined his life. The witch seems to have laid claim to all his stuff and that includes his wardrobe. Agatha’s shirt choice near the end of this episode stems from this otherwise innocuous comment. 

When Billy tries to break into Agatha’s house, he runs afoul of the WandaVision antagonist. She catches him trying to escape with her family amulet and then interrogates him. But, rather than the sleek TV procedural we saw these events through in Episode 1, it’s just in her living room. She’s got a toy water gun and Kathryn Hahn is wearing a Bohner Family Reunion t-shirt. (The shirt reads “pitch a tent” for good measure.) So, once that image made its way to social media, Marvel fans had a field day. They’re calling for the shirt to get tossed into production so they can own such a goofy suggestive statement on their chests. It makes sense, that AvengersCon gear moved after Ms. Marvel. Something similar could happen here too. The viewership numbers on Agatha All Along have been fantastic so far.

Agatha All Along: Marvel’s Wandavision Cameo Merch Is Something That Every MCU Fan Should Want

The man responsible for this iconic shirt decided to bless us with the rationale behind this delightful costume choice. Daniel Selon Hopped on Instagram to share his thoughts about making this wild t-shirt. It turns out, the costume designer talked to Kathryn Hahn about the backstory for Bohner and that’s where the design of this delightful top came from. , throughout the run of Agatha All Along, we’ve seen the titular witch squatting in Westview at that familiar abode. This episode even mentions the fact that Bohner’s physical media collection got stolen by Agatha. ( if you pay attention to the scene where she tapes Billy up and throws him in the closet, those Blu-rays are hanging out in the background.) This is just another layer of laying it on thick that she took over this man’s house and wouldn’t let it go.

“Here’s an origin story for you: Kathryn brilliantly asked me, ‘where did Agatha’s clothes come from? If I’ve taken over Ralph Bohner‘s house, whose clothes am I wearing?’ So we decided that for the lucid version of the interrogation scene, we should see her wearing something that existed in Ralph’s closet,” Selon revealed. “I thought, he’s definitely a graphic t-shirt kind of dude and I bet there’s an old family reunion t-shirt in his dresser drawer. How about a camping theme? Jac and the writers brainstormed some jokes, my team sketched this graphic and here we are! Privately I wondered, are we really going to squeeze a boner joke into this dark and mysterious show about witches? Is this the best job ever? The answer to both questions was YES!”

Ralph Bohner Fits Into The Grand Marvel Tradition Of Tying Things Back In

Of course there’s no such thing as an MCU title not tying back into the main story lines that have helped establish all of these different shows and movies. But, Agatha All Along is special in that regard because it decides to revisit an element from an older MCU show that was a bit divisive in its time. (Mostly because the audience worked themselves into thinking that major reveals were coming for the future of the MCU from WandaVision instead of it being a story about Scarlet Witch and Vision alone.) Moments like Avengers: Endgame having to revisit Thor: The Dark World come to mind. Fans might want to prepare themselves now for that moment in Avengers: Secret Wars when for some reason Secret Invasion plays a role in the wildness. Just like those moments, there’s always a measure of lemonade to be made from the varying fan opinions.
How did you feel about Agatha All Along Episode 6? Check out all the pop culture discussion over at @ComicBook!

The post Agatha All Along: Marvel’s WandaVision Cameo Merch Is Something That Every MCU Fan Should Want appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The Ultimate Universe has introduced Spider-Man’s most infamous clone, but not in the way you think. “The Clone Saga” from the 1990s shook up the Spider-Man mythos with the revelation that Peter Parker had a clone named Ben Reilly. To make matters worse, it was believed that Ben was the original Peter Parker, and the Peter fans had followed for decades was the clone. All that confusion was eventually straightened out, and Ben garnered a devoted fan following all his own. Factor in the existence of Kaine Parker, the Scarlet Spider, another Spider-Man clone, and you can understand why Spidey fans have strong feelings toward clones. That’s what makes what Ultimate Spider-Man just did all the more interesting.

*WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Ultimate Spider-Man #10. Continue reading at your own risk!

Ultimate Spider-Man #10 was created by Jonathan Hickman, David Messina, Matthew Wilson, and VC’s Cory Petit. The bulk of the issue is centered on Ben Parker and J. Jonah Jameson’s investigation into the buying and selling of Stane/Stark Industries. It has been secretly sold through offshore companies numerous times, with the paper trail leading back to Oscorp. When Ben and Jonah confront Gwen Stacy, wife of Harry Osborn, with what they’ve found, she cusses them out.

Ben and Jonah eventually meet with Harry and conclude that Harry has used Stane/Stark resources to fight crime as the Green Goblin. After Harry threatens them, he says that deep inside Stane/Stark are files that reveal Wilson Fisk works for The Maker, and how Maker has reshaped their world. Harry gives Ben and Jonah the information but warns that powerful people will be after them if they publish the data. It’s why Harry wears a mask, to protect his loved ones. However, the reporters aren’t putting their real names on the article. Instead, they opt for a pseudonym, a fictional newsman to throw the bad guys off the scent.

And the name they come up with is Ben Reilly.

Ben Reilly once replaced Peter Parker as Spider-Man

Miles Warren, aka the Jackal, is a villain with an obsession with Spider-Man and cloning, and is the creator of Ben Reilly. Ben was named after Uncle Ben and Aunt May, taking Ben’s first name and May’s maiden last name of Reilly. Ben showed up in Peter’s life when Aunt May became gravely sick, and the two “brothers” formed a quick bond, with Ben taking on the moniker of the blue hoodie-wearing Scarlet Spider. Norman Osborn tricked Peter and Ben into believing that Peter was the clone and Ben was the original copy. Part of the fallout was Peter leaving New York with Mary Jane, with Ben staying to fight crime as the new Spider-Man.

This was a dark time for a section of Spider-Man fans, who missed following Peter’s adventures. Marvel changed course and came up with a storyline to show that Peter was indeed the original. The truth was discovered when Ben died in Peter’s arms. Poor Ben has died and been brought back to life/cloned several times, leaving his psyche fractured. The most recent example of this turned Ben into a Spider-Man villain.

Spider-Man’s clone Ben Reilly is the new villain Chasm

The Spider-Man Beyond era saw Ben Reilly replace Peter Parker as Spider-Man once again after Peter was left injured. The Beyond Corporation had been manipulating Ben, erasing his memories and mutating him into the villainous Chasm. Ben teamed up with the X-Men villain Madelyne Pryor in the Dark Web event, where they battle the X-Men and Spider-Man in Limbo, which was also transported to New York City.

This year saw the release of Chasm: Curse of Kaine, a miniseries by writer Steve Foxe and artist Andrea Broccardo that brought Spider-Man clones Ben Reilly and Kaine Parker into conflict. “Kaine Parker is on a mission to track down his fellow clone Ben Reilly. But has becoming Chasm made Ben beyond saving? Or is there an even more menacing presence pulling his strings?” a description of the series reads. Chasm: Curse of Kaine concludes in November, so we’ll have to wait and see what happens when Ben Reilly and Kaine Parker collide.

As you can see, Ben Reilly has had quite a roller coaster of a career. He’s gone from hero to villain, back to hero, and now a villain again. And now his name has made it into the pages of Ultimate Spider-Man. Depending on how long the series lasts, there may come a day when we see Ben Reilly get to meet Peter Parker. The only question is will they be friends or foes?

The post A Spider-Man Clone Makes His Ultimate Universe Debut (But With a Twist) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

We’re just days away from the blockbuster return of Eddie Brock / Venom, with Tom Hardy reprising his role as the beloved Marvel villain in this month’s Venom: The Last Dance. While it’s unclear exactly what the cinematic future holds for Hardy’s Eddie, it sounds like his comic counterpart is headed for a major change. On Saturday, Marvel Comics officially announced Eddie Brock: Carnage, a new ongoing series that will be written by Charles Soule with art by Jesus Saiz. As the title suggests, Eddie Brock: Carnage will see the former Venom, who has most recently given up his title to become the new King in Black, transform into the latest incarnation of his onetime foe, Carnage.

Eddie Brock: Carnage #1

·       New ongoing series, on sale February 2025

·       Written by CHARLES SOULE

·       Art by JESUS SAIZ

·       Cover by IBAN COELLO

·       Foil Variant Cover by MARK BAGLEY

·       THE MOST LETHAL PROTECTOR OF ALL! He’s been VENOM, he’s been ANTI-VENOM, he’s been THE KING IN BLACK…now, Eddie Brock has made his darkest bond yet as he joins with the one-and-only CARNAGE! Can he control his new other’s endless bloodlust? Or will he be give himself over to madness and murder? Writer Charles Soule (DAREDEVIL, DARTH VADER) and artist Jesus Saiz (PUNISHER, DOCTOR STRANGE) lead us on a journey into the darkest parts of the Marvel Universe with bloody death as our only guide!

While we wait for Eddie Brock: Carnage, fans can turn to Venom: The Last Dance. Set after the events of 2021’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Eddie Brock and the symbiote Venom go on the run when they are hunted by both of their worlds. In addition to Hardy, the cast of The Last Dance includes Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple, Rhys Ifans, Peggy Lu, Alanna Ubach, Clark Backo, Cristo Fernández, and Stephen Graham.

“These things [usually] come in threes,” Hardy explained in a previous interview with Digital Spy. “If there’s going to be a new one – and they depend heavily on the success of each individual one, so you can’t count on them ever happening again – every one has got to be as if it was the last one. But I think it’s really important, if you go into something, thinking that one, two and three are the same… the same story, the same film. So that you don’t surprise yourself by being caught out by suddenly having to do a third from nowhere. There’s got to be some continuity into a third and fourth and fifth, and if somebody says ‘no’, that’s fine. Let it go, and you move on to something else.”

As mentioned above, Eddie Brock: Carnage #1 will be available wherever comics are sold at some point in February 2025.

The post Eddie Brock Isn’t Marvel’s Venom Anymore, He’s Something Much Worse appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The next era of Marvel’s Spider-Man will begin this November, hitting the ground running with an intriguing new story titled The 8 Deaths of Spider-Man, and now Marvel has released a brand new trailer to get the hype train moving. The 8 Deaths of Spider-Man puts Spidey in a very unexpected position, as thanks to a new Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Doom, Spider-Man ends up tasked with the tall order of taking down an evil god and his scions, something that used to take everything Doctor Strange had. The new adventure is sure to be quite the rollercoaster ride, and you can find the full trailer in the video above.

With Doom as the new Sorcerer Supreme, he’s wasted no time changing things up. Part of that is to find ways to delegate things, though you wouldn’t necessarily think that defending the world from a powerful ancient threat would be one of the first things on the list. Doom sees Spider-Man as more than capable of handling the job, but he needs a power boost in order to get the job done.

That’s where the title comes in, as The 8 Lives of Spider-Man refers to Doom using his newfound power to give Spider-Man 8 extra lives in order to save the world. That leaves some room for trial and error, but we are still talking about life and death, so not that much room. Doom also gives Spidey a magic-powered upgrade with his new suit, and yet he is still technically the underdog.

As the official description reveals, fighting this threat was an annual affair for Doctor Strange, and every time it happened the battle took everything Strange had. Spider-Man has never fought this threat at all, and he’s not exactly used to magic either, so he’s not exactly starting out with an advantage, extra lives or not.

The 8 Lives of Spider-Man will pick up after Zeb Wells and John Romita Jr wrap up their run on The Amazing Spider-Man, with the new story boasting the talents of writers Joe Kelly and Justina Ireland and artists Ed McGuinness and Gleb Melnikov. The story will take place over 10 issues and will kick off in Amazing Spider-Man #61, which hits comic stores on November 13th. You can get an idea of what to expect from the official descriptions of Amazing Spider-Man #61 and #62 below.

“THE 8 DEATHS OF SPIDER-MAN BEGIN! The world has changed, Doctor Doom is Sorcerer Supreme, but he has no plans to spend his time like his predecessor. Each year, Doctor Strange would use every ounce of his power and experience to save the world from an evil god and his scions. This year, Doom is delegating this task to… SPIDER-MAN?! The leader of Latveria has given Spider-Man a new, magic-powered suit and EIGHT EXTRA LIVES with which to save the world?! True Believer, they won’t be enough…”

“THE 8 DEATHS OF SPIDER-MAN CONTINUE! Spider-Man, one death down, faces the next SCION OF CYTTORAK! That’s right, the god Spider-Man faces is the patron of JUGGERNAUT! Juggernaut is about ten times more powerful than Spider-Man with only a fraction of Cyttorak’s power! To quote a wise philosopher… Uh-oh.”

Are you excited for The 8 Deaths of Spider-Man, and what do you want to see most from Spider-Man’s next chapter? You can talk all things comics and Marvel with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

The post 8 Deaths of Spider-Man Trailer Teases Marvel’s Next Big Spider-Man Story appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Tom Hardy looks to bring Venom’s movie saga to a thrilling close in Venom: The Last Dance, and that adventure wouldn’t be possible without the comics that introduced Venom to the world. First brought to life by Todd McFarlane and David Michelinie back in Amazing Spider-Man #299, Venom has since become one of Marvel’s most popular characters, and now he’s developed a new legion of fans on the big screen. Crazily enough McFarlane and Hardy hadn’t actually met before New York Comic-Con, but ComicBook’s Chris Killian had the chance to be in the room when McFarlane, Hardy, and Venom: The Last Dance director Kelly Marcel all finally crossed paths, and you can watch the moment play out in the video below!

During ComicBook’s interview with Marcel and Hardy, McFarlane surprised the pair after we subtly brought up who created the character. McFarlane entered the room, telling them how special it is to see a character he worked on so long ago reach a whole new audience thanks to the work Hardy, Marcel, and the rest of the team have done in bringing Venom to life in film.

“I appreciate meeting the two of you,” McFarlane said. “I just wanted to say from a personal point of view it’s been a pleasure, seeing this character that I created so long ago with David Michelinie, the writer. But even more so that there’s rarely a day that goes by I don’t run into somebody, usually like kids that come around, they go, ‘Man, I just love those Venom movies, Todd.’ ‘Oh, thanks.’ I just came up with a design that we had no idea (would take off) and you guys are now taking it to the world, right? It’s just been an utter pleasure to sit back and watch it I just want to say thanks to you.”

Marcel told McFarlane “We love him, We love him. We’re such big fans.” Hardy added, “Thank you for creating Venom”, but McFarlane responded, “Oh no, you guys take it to the next level.” Hardy added, “Oh no, we get to play with him. So thank you.”

The Future

While this very well might be Venom‘s final film, it most likely won’t be Knull’s, as Marcel says The Last Dance is really “the beginnings” of Knull’s on-screen story. Marcel assured fans that they know just how important Knull is, and they hope they are laying the same foundation for Knull as they did Hardy’s Venom.

“We were always aware of Knull, but knew that we needed to lay the foundation of the Venom character, and his relationship with Eddie, before introducing him. This is just the beginning for Knull,” Marcel said. “We’re in spoiler territory now and we hope some of the fun of watching this movie is not knowing what will happen, but trust me, we know full well how important Knull is to the fans, so just as we laid a foundation for Venom, we hope we are doing the same for Knull. The King in Black is way too powerful for ‘one and done.’”

Venom: The Last Dance hits theaters on October 25th.

The post WATCH: Venom Creator Todd McFarlane Surprises Venom: The Last Dance Star Tom Hardy (Exclusive) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Marvel fans are now blaming a new character for the carnage of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Agatha All Along Episode 6 revealed that Lilia Calderu was the one to put the sigil on Billy Maximoff and that opens up quite the can of worms for Scarlet Witch fans. On one hand, the older witch was clearly trying to protect Joe Locke’s character from witches like Agatha Harkness. But, at the same time, she indirectly set all of that wildness after Wanda Maximoff got the Darkhold into motion with her little spell. Calderu couldn’t have dreamed that all of this would tumble down this way. And still, here we are with a dead Scarlet Witch and a young boy on a quest to reunite with his brother. (Oh yeah, and multiple casualties over in Earth-838!)

Billy Maximoff just wanted to have his palm read, and this all led to him receiving that bad news from the divination witch. From there, she discovered his identity and placed a sigil on him so that no one could locate him and use his latent power for nefarious purposes. One problem, that means his mother wasn’t able to find him at the tail end of WandaVision. She took the Darkhold because of the loss of her family and desire to reunite with the boys. Who knows what happens if she discovers that a boy a few towns over somehow magically acquired Billy’s soul. (There’s also the lingering question of what happened to Tommy in all of this…) Still, maybe the Scarlet Witch doesn’t decimate that parallel Earth if she had been aware of her son.

Marvel Fans Blame New Character for Doctor Strange 2 After Agatha All Along

Wanda Maximoff’s characterization is a topic that still ignites an immediate firestorm online anytime it’s brought up. The Darkhold is corrupting influence and she simply wasn’t in the mental state to stave off its evil allure. But, after WandaVision, any attempt to make the Scarlet Witch a villain was going to ruffle some feathers. This reveal of Lilia Calderu as partially responsible for the domino effect fits right into these moments of characterization. Poor Wanda is just a passenger on this wild ride we’ve all gone on. For director Jac Schaeffer, it’s more complicated than all that. It’s both the reality of wielding such power and making the decision to employ special abilities. She told Deadline about that dance this week.

“Yeah. I mean, I think that these moments like Agatha siphoning Alice’s power, Wanda creating the hex, these moments of big power … I don’t like being like, ‘They have no control, and the power is controlling them,’ but I do think it’s always a discussion, and I think that’s what big feelings are, to me,” Schaeffer clarified. “The big power expressions are just metaphors for big feelings, so to answer your specific question about him blasting them off the Road, there will be more unpacking of that in later episodes.” 

“But what I do hope is clear from Episode 6, is that he does not have a handle on his power. From both the blasting to the telepathy, that is not something that he can actively control,” she adds of Billy. “He can’t, at this point, seem to actively control any part of it, which makes him the perfect person to be with Agatha. And also, it’s the scariest situation.”

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Still Falls On Wanda, But Fate Is At Play Too

Interestingly, Schaeffer’s read seems to indicate that this whole situation is caused by Wanda. She had a choice about the Darkhold and got seduced by its power. Our girl isn’t completely spotless here. However, the strings of fate are moving all the while. It feels like a previous iteration of Agatha All Along probably had someone pulling the strings, but those plans have probably changed! Mephisto fans should be excited by the prospect. But, it’s hard to tell for sure. However, none of that really undoes Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness or the damage Wanda has caused in recent years. Maybe she’ll come back and we can see how Marvel addresses all this new information by the end of the show?

Do you feel like it’s really Lilia’s fault? Check out all the pop culture discussion over at @ComicBook!

The post Marvel Fans Blame New Character for Doctor Strange 2 After Agatha All Along appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Later this week Tom Hardy will be seen on the big screen in Venom: The Last Dance, marking his third feature film starring as the Marvel antihero. Though he’s been playing the role of Venom on screen for six years now, Hardy didn’t actually meet Venom’s co-creator Todd McFarlane until very recently…and ComicBook had a hand in getting the two creatives together for the first time.

Speaking with Tom Hardy and Venom: The Last Dance writer/director Kelly Marcel, we asked the pair if they recalled who created the iconic comic book character, with both quickly naming McFarlane. Having dropped his name themselves, we then opened the door and had the man himself enter the room for a full introduction to the pair.

“I just wanted to say from a personal point of view it’s been a pleasure, seeing this character that I created so long ago with David Michelinie (on screen),” McFarlane said to Hardy and Marcel. “There’s rarely a day that goes by I don’t run into somebody, usually kids that come around, they go, ‘Man, I just love those Venom movies, Todd.’ ‘I just came up with a design that we had no idea (would take off) and you guys are now taking it to the world, right? It’s just been an utter pleasure to sit back and watch it, I just want to say thanks to you.”

“We love him, We love him,” Marcel told McFarlane. “We’re such big fans.”  

McFarlane and Hardy then went on to have fun exchange.

“Thank you for creating Venom,” Hardy said to McFarlane, prompting the creator to respond: “Oh no, you guys take it to the next level.

“Oh no, we get to play with him,” Hardy added. “So thank you.”

Across the two live-action movies that have been released, Venom has brought in over $1.3 billion at the global box office. The upcoming Venom: The Last Dance will no doubt push that number even higher, while the future for the character may also be even more open than the title for the sequel implies.

McFarlane’s influence on Marvel Comics (and comics at large) has been felt not only in the Venom feature films (where character beyond Venom that he co-created also appear) but even in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This summer’s hit movie Deadpool & Wolverine paid homage to McFarlane’s iconic cover from 1987’s Incredible Hulk #340, featuring the reflection of The Hulk in Wolverine’s claws, by recreating the moment with Hugh Jackman and Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk in a brief moment.

What is Venom: The Last Dance about?

In Venom: The Last Dance, Tom Hardy returns as Venom, one of Marvel’s greatest and most complex characters, for the final film in the trilogy. Eddie and Venom are on the run. Hunted by both of their worlds and with the net closing in, the duo are forced into a devastating decision that will bring the curtains down on Venom and Eddie’s last dance.

Venom: The Last Dance stars Tom Hardy, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple, Rhys Ifans, Peggy Lu, Alanna Ubach and Stephen Graham. The film is directed by Kelly Marcel from a screenplay she wrote, based on a story by Hardy and Marcel.

Venom: The Last Dance opens in theaters on October 25th.

The post Venom Movie Star Tom Hardy Finally Meets Co-Creator Todd McFarlane (Exclusive) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Marvel Comics has confirmed that they’re moving to the future with Daredevil, announcing at New York Comic Con that they will publish an “Old Man Logan” style story for the man without fear officially titled Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell. According to Marvel, the series will be “Set in a Marvel Universe future on the brink of collapse, the series introduces a grizzled, older version of Matt Murdock.”

Though set in its own continuity, Marvel will be bringing in a heavy hitter for the series that will cement its place as being in the vein of that classic Wolverine tale as artist Steve McNiven will return to Marvel to draw the series. He’ll be joined by former Daredevil writer Charles Soule who will pen the series. The pair previously collaborated on Death of Wolverine and Return of Wolverine.

“I know whatever idea I write is going to be executed masterfully by Steve, and that level of trust allows you to take a lot of risks,” Soule said. “It’s been a really interesting process because the way we made it is something I wouldn’t do with an artist that I didn’t have this level of collaboration and trust with. We’ve been working on this book for four years, and that time has been well spent.”

“I started out by going why are not more people learning from Frank [Miller] and the storytelling he does,” McNiven said. “I was inspired by his work on Dark Knight Returns. To a certain degree, the structure of a 16 panel grid forces you to do different storytelling techniques.”

Marvel’s official description for Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell reads as follows: “Years into the future, a powerless Matt Murdock is no longer Daredevil, but he’s still the Man Without Fear! Doing whatever he can to help those in need in a city broken beyond repair, he’ll finally be able take the fight to where it matters most when something catastrophic happens causing his powers to miraculously return. With no one by his side, Daredevil has little chance against the evil permeating every corner until Captain America entrusts him with a mission to safeguard the world’s only hope…”

The upcoming Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell marks the latest storyline to feature an aged Matt Murdock in a far-future Marvel Universe. Previously Marvel Comics published Daredevil: End of Days by Brian Michael Bendis, David Mack, Klaus Janson, and Bill Sienkiewicz, which saw the hero dying at the hands of Bullseye and kickstarting a new mystery. The recently released Avengers: Twilight from Chip Zdarsky and Daniel Acuña also featured an older Murdock, who retired from being a super hero and became a lawyer full time (only to be assassinated by the fascist government for his work).

To put a nice bow on everything, Daredevil’s exact whereabouts in the world of Old Man Logan were never revealed in the pages of Mark Millar and Steve McNiven’s storyline, with the implication being that like all the other heroes he had died at some point. The 2018 sequel series Old Man Hawkeye revealed that Daredevil took up the moniker of his sensei, Stick, and was living in a remote location where he trained Clint Barton.

The post Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell Gives Matt Murdock the Old Man Logan Treatment appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Over the two most recent episodes, Agatha All Along answered a bunch of major questions about the mysterious Teen played by Joe Locke, first by revealing in Episode 5 that Teen is actually Wanda and Vision’s son, Billy Maximoff and then in Episode 6 revealing exactly how Billy exists at all when Billy and his twin, Tommy were supposedly erased when the Hex fell. We also found out that Billy doesn’t want power from The Witches’ Road at all — he just wants to find his brother.  With Billy back, fans naturally are eager to see Tommy return as well but now we have the same question that Billy has in the series: where is Tommy Maximoff?

Functionally, the “how” of Tommy Maximoff’s survival is likely to be similar to Billy’s. We now know that Billy survived the fall of the Hex because, as his existence was being erased, just outside the Hex young William Kaplan was headed home from his Bar Mitzvah when his family was involved in a car crash. William Kaplan unfortunately died, but Billy’s soul was able to move into William’s body, causing him to be reborn. Given that Agatha All Along followed Billy’s Marvel Comics backstory, it’s pretty likely that the how of Tommy’s existence post-Hex will be similar — the comics aren’t very specific about the mechanics of Tommy’s reincarnation so Agatha All Along probably won’t linger too long on the details. It’s the where of it all that actually matters and this is where things could get interesting.

Tommy’s Story in Comics is Connected to the Young Avengers

In the comics, Billy finds Tommy as part of recruitment for the Young Avengers. While Billy isn’t specifically looking for Tommy as part of the Young Avengers, the team does locate Tommy being held in essentially juvenile detention for people with powers after an incident in which Tommy vaporized his high school using his powers. At the facility, he was texted and experimented on, something that the Young Avengers freed him from. It was later that Billy and Tommy realize they’re twin and, thus, their identities. If we had to guess — and that’s kind of the point here so we’re going to — Tommy may be enduring something similar in the MCU. If that is the case, what The Witches’ Road might give Billy at the end (provided he survives) is not Tommy’s exact location, but the path by which to find him.

That idea, of course, leads us to an even bigger bit of speculation: Agatha All Along could lead to the creation of the Young Avengers. While the MCU has already introduced numerous characters traditionally associated with the Young Avengers and even went as far as to, in The Marvels, show Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) reach out to Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) to seek out other young heroes and start a new group, a proper “Young Avengers” hasn’t yet happened. If Agatha All Along doesn’t end with The Witches’ Road leading Billy directly to Tommy, it could instead see him connected with Kamala and Kate, leading to the creation of the Young Avengers and sending them out to find others. It’s something that would leave the door open for Tommy to have his own comics-accurate backstory as well as set the stage for a future MCU project (and one that fans have been clamoring for for years.)

It’s also worth noting that Billy’s boyfriend’s name is Eddie. That’s a name that’s really quite close to Teddy and, in comics, Billy’s boyfriend is Teddy Altman, aka the Young Avenger Hulkling.

Could the Quest to Find Tommy Be Part of The Multiverse Saga?

If Agatha All Along doesn’t directly lead to the Young Avengers, however, the show has already provided a path for Agatha All Along to connect to the larger “Multiverse Saga” beyond merely being a WandaVision spinoff. One of the things that was established at the end of WandaVision was that Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) heard her boys crying out for her somewhere in the multiverse. This, of course, led to the events of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. While it might be a little weird to have one of the twins exist in the main universe and the other have ended up in another reality, Episode 6 of Agatha All Along saw Billy admit that he can feel Tommy, but he can’t find him. That could be a clue that the other Maximoff brother is in a different reality — essentially a so close yet so far away sort of situation. Maybe the end of Agatha All Along will lead to Billy and Agatha (Kathryn Hahn) on a multiverse adventure. You know, if they somehow manage to trust one another.

Wherever Tommy is, now that we’ve established Billy’s existence and centered Billy’s reason seeking out Agatha and for walking The Witches’ Road around finding his missing twin, it’s almost guaranteed that the story begun in WandaVision won’t be over with this latest Disney+ series. It’s just a question as to where the road will lead us next.

Agatha All Along is now streaming on Disney+. New episodes arrive Wednesdays at 9pm ET.

The post Agatha All Along: Where Is Tommy (And Could He Lead to the Young Avengers)? appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Daredevil: Born Again finally confirmed that one of the Marvel hero’s creepiest villains will be debuting in the Disney+ series. It’s been a busy New York Comic-Con for Marvel Studios. They revealed that the MCU show will hit the platform on March 4, 2025. Now, fans can look forward to Muse springing onto the scene to make Matt Murdock’s life a series of terrible trials. Don’t get it twisted, like more Daredevil stories on TV, Kingpin will still loom large as an antagonist. But, Muse will add some shades of gray with spray paint cans in Daredevil: Born Again. There’s a battle for the soul of New York City brewing and this struggle gets a new combattant. One that sees some serious flaws with the way that both Charlie Cox’s hero and Vincent D’Onofrio’s villain go about their rivalry. 

Producer Sana Amanat told the crowd this news at New York Comic-Con. But, fans who have been paying attention absolutely gleaned this already. For starters, the D23 footage shown in the summer clearly showed Muse wreaking havoc in New York City. Secondly, the installation at D23 had the villain’s name clearly scrawled in the time portal with the new Daredevil suit and some other spicy details. So, it’s not really a surprise. But, it is interesting to have Marvel Studios say the word Muse out loud so far from the show’s release next year. Expect the marketing for Daredevil: Born Again to lean into some brutality that Deadpool & Wolverine and Echo employed in their promotional tours.

Early returns on Muse have been good. Back at D23, the character’s design in live-action got a thumbs up from Charles Soule, aka the man that invented Muse. After seeing the footage unveiled during the Disney Expo, he had to tweet his reaction. “So, as revealed at #D23 yesterday Muse is in Daredevil: Born Again! [Ron Garney] and I created this serial killer/ misunderstood artist in 2016 for our Daredevil run,” the creator wrote. “From what I’ve seen, they stuck to the brief; very glad they nailed Ron’s amazing design!Incredibly cool.” The other attendees seemed to be in agreement with this assessment from Soule. All of the signs point to something amazing coming down from Marvel Studios when the show gets underway.

Daredevil: Born Again has inspired a lot of conversation on social media, as you would expect. The series is a follow-up to a Netflix classic that garnered a massive following on the Internet. Being a show in that bucket, there was a lot to live up to and it seems like Marvel Studios got the memo that this show really had to feel like the previous one. Both Vincent D’onofrio and Charlie Cox have been overly effusive in their praise of the show and its retooling. Whatever was going on before wasn’t exactly like the Netflix series, and the changes have been well-received. With Muse aboard, we’re headed for something that feels a lot more like a new addition to this saga rather than just simply picking up the banner for Season 3. After all, the Marvel fanbase is constantly clamoring for fresh ideas, maybe this show can manage to do both!

Are you surprised thart Muse is a part of the show? Check out all the pop culture discussion at @ComicBook!

The post Daredevil: Born Again Confirmed To Include One of the Hero’s Creepiest Villains appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The final few minutes of Marvel’s WandaVision are among the most heartbreaking in the entire MCU. In order to free the people of Westview that she’d trapped, Wanda Maximoff made the choice to give up the family she’d created, moving on without her sons Tommy and Billy. Not only were the two boys real to Wanda, but the post-credits scene for WandaVision teased that they actually existed somewhere else. As Wanda hid out in a log cabin in the mountains, searching for answers in the Darkhold, she heard the boys calling out to her.

That moment seemed to hint at Billy and Tommy living in another reality somewhere across the multiverse. That was addressed in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, as Wanda tried to take over her life in another universe and get her boys back. After the most recent episode of Agatha All Along, however, that WandaVision post-credits scene feels a little different, and seems like it could be hinting at the Billy and Tommy we now know exist in Earth-616. WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Agatha All Along! Continue reading at your own risk…

The fifth episode of Agatha All Along confirmed what many fans assumed — that Teen was actually Billy Maximoff. A week later, the sixth episode filled us all in on how Billy ended up in Agatha’s company. It was revealed on Wednesday that the spirits of Billy and Tommy managed to escape Westview when the hex collapsed. These souls that Wanda created out of her love managed to make it out into the real world, but neither of them had bodies to possess.

A young man named William Kaplan was in a terrible car accident just as the hex was collapsing, and Billy’s soul found a way into his body, bringing it back to life and inhabiting it as his own. We still don’t know where exactly Tommy ended up, but Billy is 100% certain his twin brother is also alive somewhere in the world.

So what does all that have to do with Wanda? This new revelation about Billy and Tommy actually makes Wanda’s story — and that post-credits scene — even more tragic.

Wanda traveled the multiverse looking for her sons. She killed people in order to accomplish her mission. She lost herself for most of that journey. Ultimately, she came back around and left the alternate-reality Billy and Tommy with their family, shortly before losing her own life.

That story is already a heart-breaking one, but it gets even sadder knowing what we now know. Billy and Tommy were right here, the whole time, not very far from Westview. Sure, they look different than they did when they were Wanda’s boys, but they’re very much alive. She could’ve found them and connected with them without ever leaving the country, let alone the universe. She lost everything when she didn’t have to.

You could probably use this new information to read that WandaVision post-credits scene a little differently as well. With Billy and Tommy’s souls still on the same plane of existence as Wanda, they could’ve been subconsciously calling out to her, looking to reunite their family.

When she says goodbye to her sons at the end of WandaVision, just before the hex collapses, Wanda tells them, “We could never leave each other, even if we tried.” That turned out to be more true than Wanda realized.

The post Agatha All Along Just Made the MCU’s Most Emotional Post-Credit Scene All the More Heartbreaking appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Daredevil: Born Again has a confirmed release date on Disney+. During New York Comic-Con’s Marvel panel, Vincent D’Onofrio and Charlie Cox revealed that their MCU series kicks off on March 4, 2025. Before now, Marvel fans only knew that the title would be up around the first half of the year. With this confirmation, there’s something else for MCU die-hards to obsess over once Captain America: Brave New World flies into theaters. As the holiday season approaches, there was some feeling we would get some sort of announcement about Charlie Cox’s return as Daredevil. It’s been a while since we saw his prospective Avenger back in She-Hulk. In addition, D’Onofrio’s emotional turn in Echo represented his last Marvel cameo too. It’s full-steam ahead towards 2025 on Disney.

A lot of hype has circled Daredevil: Born Again since the moment it was announced. The vocal fanbase for the Netflix series has talked so much about how much this show meant to them. When Marvel Studios got the first drafts of the show back, they opted to retool a lot of it and go with new directors because of how anticipated this all was. Marvel Television head of streaming Brad Winderbaum is confident in the series. The Official Marvel Podcast asked him about Daredevil: Born Again and he thinks it shares a lot of DNA with a current Marvel Studios favorite. “Daredevil is incredible. It’s similar in some ways to X-Men ’97 because it’s reviving something that the fans love,” Winderbaum said earlier this year. “But it’s taking it in a new direction.”

“These characters have matured. The universe is different than it was. Things have changed. Society’s changed. Matt and Wilson have changed, and their characters are going to collide in ways we’ve never seen before,” Winderbaum shared. “It’s no longer enough to try to murder each other. There’s a whole game of politics at play.”

With all of this news today, the positive press for the show continues unabated. It seems like a firm release date will only ignite calls for more details about the show. New York Comic-Con should render some more tidbits about the series and tease fans with even more hints about what Matt Murdock is going to be up to in 2025. This year of Marvel Studios releases really puts the unnecessary fervor about the last year and change into perspective. 2023 was weird for a number of reasons. (Actors/writers strike, inflation paranoia, global conflict, etc.) This year, a mix of fan favorites has gotten sentiment on social media right back up to where it was around the end of 2022 or so. Now, Marvel is hoping to carry that momentum into 2025.

Do you think we get a trailer before the year is over? Check out all the pop culture discussion at @ComicBook!

The post Daredevil: Born Again Release Date Revealed, Marvel Favorite Returns Sooner Than You Think appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Agatha All Along finally revealed who put that sigil on Billy and Marvel fans are shocked about the identity of that witch. Episode 6 of the MCU show explained that Lillia Calderu was the one to “put a sigil on that boy.” Yes, Patti Lupone’s character said those words earlier in Agatha All Along and now they’ve taken on a new meaning. During those earlier trials on The Witches’ Road, Joe Locke’s character was shrouded in secrecy as the other coven members couldn’t quite decipher his identity. However, Episode 6 makes it clear that Agatha really knew all along. Billy Maximoff is the product of the hex breaking down and the boy’s soul being bonded to poor William Kaplan’s body after a tragic car crash. Viewers can see that Calderu’s divination magic allowed her to see the catastrophe.

Confronted by that morbid future, Calderu decided to scrawl down a quick spell on a tile and slipped it into the boy’s coat pocket. Someone grabs his jacket and gets it back to Billy as they’re evacuating his bar mitzvah. As it would happen, the Westview Incident (i.e. The Hex from WandaVision) is happening nearby and the illusion is becoming unstable. Billy and his parents flee in their car and a general panic ensues among the people leaving the young man’s party. As they’re navigating the way home, the Kaplan family unsuspectingly drifts into oncoming traffic and Billy’s mother has to swerve to avoid a truck that is barrelling down on the family sedan. Unfortunately, that quick jerk of the steering wheel sends the car careening off the road and hits a tree. Which jumpstarts our narrative for Agatha All Along.

Agatha All Along Reveals Who Put the Sigil on Billy

As the car sits with massive damage, both Kaplan’s parents are okay. But, their adolescent son is in rough shape. He was in the exact place to take the brunt of that crash into a tree. After his heart stopped beating, young Billy Maximoff’s soul swept into his body. Now bonded, William woke up yelling for his brother Tommy and was disoriented from not being in the Maximoff house in Westview. From there, he lives three years under a new identity with strange powers. Upon digging into the Westview anomaly, he figures out that Agatha Harkness is the person he should be looking for. Ralph Bohner cameos and mentions meeting Billy before and tells the kid about Tommy. Now, with that information, the young witch sets off to find his brother down The Witches’ Road.

Billy meets up with all the other witches as Agatha Harkness is assembling this coven and now viewers know that he’s met most of them before in random ways. He followed Jennifer Kale as an influencer, Alice was one of the emergency workers that saved him after the accident, Sharon called him a hooligan after breaking and entering, and Lillia Calderu worked at his bar mitzvah. It’s an interesting game to go back and think how this knowledge colors his interactions with each witch. (It also raises the possibility that he’s met Rio Vidal before too… Something to ponder as we continue!) There is also some wiggle room when it comes to interpretation here as we don’t see who returned Billy’s coat during the evacuation.

Is Billy’s Sigil Just A Misdirect For A Larger Mystery 

Could Rio really be responsible for the sigil? It’s a little unlikely at the moment. It really feels like Calderu’s scrawling is your ultimate culprit. But, it also feels like Aubrey Plaza’s absence is there for a reason here. Her visage is obscured when we see the events from earlier in Agatha All Along from Billy’s perspective. Sure, we know he’s the long-lost Maximoff boy now. But, it sure does seem like director Jac Schaeffer and the creative team are hiding an even bigger reveal when it comes to Rio Vidal. This entire exercise is now feeling more like a red herring than ever. A sidequest devised to keep the fanbase focused on the red ball in one hand while the other picks your pocket. We’ll know more as Agatha All Along screeches towards that Devil’s Night finale. 

Were you shocked by Agatha All Along Episode 6? Check out all the pop culture discussion over at @ComicBook!

The post Agatha All Along Reveals Who Put the Sigil on Billy (And You’ll Never Guess Who It Really Is) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Agatha All Along dropped a ton of lore this week and upended one of the most popular pieces of evidence about Rio Vidal’s true identity. Episode 6 is all about Billy Maximoff and how he ended up on The Witches’ Road. One of the big reveals was who placed the sigil on the boy, and it ended up being Lillia Calderu! The divination witch read Billy’s future and tried to protect him. In her haste, she decided to place the sigil on the boy so that he wouldn’t be in danger of some other witch finding him and using his tremendous power for their own gain. However, the power of the sigil makes it so that she wouldn’t remember his identity either. This revelation means one of the earliest clues about Rio Vidal’s true nature was not what it seemed on first blush. The fan base is absolutely shocked by these developments.

When Agatha Harkness was putting together her coven, she took the teen around to all the different witches within the miles radius around Westview. Their early trip to Lilia Calderu left them with a list of names to pursue on this journey. A bunch of Marvel fans’ eyebrows went straight up when she drew a black heart instead of a name for one of the entries. Of course, their imaginations jumped right to Rio Vidal. But, it seems as though the black heart might be from Lilia remembering Billy and not being able to write down his name. It really fits when you think about it and feels so crushing as she was trying to prevent this exact scenario from taking place. Yet and still, destiny came for Billy and she could only protect him for a little while longer.

Agatha All Along Just Debunked a Popular Rio Vidal Fan Theory

Rio Vidal might really never have been meant to travel down The Witches’ Road with the coven at all. Mrs. Hart looks like she was the plan at Green Witch and the other women just panicked when Sharon bit the dust in the first trial. As Rio Vidal crawled into frame, it became clear that the witches did summon her, but this wasn’t a part of Lilia’s roster earlier in the series. The small detail had some Marvel fans believing she could even be Blackheart or some other comics deep cut. (That one theory was massively aided by the idea of Mephisto finally making some sort of appearance in Agatha All Along after being teased multiple times in WandaVision. Now, that theory has taken a bit of a hit as well.

Aubrey Plaza has been very mum on what’s going on with her Marvel character. Despite the relative silence out of Marvel Studios, the fans think they’ve already got this one figured out. A couple of observant viewers noticed that some of Rio Vidal’s costume design slots in nicely with the Death tarot card that debuted earlier in the series. As an existing Marvel Comics character, that does make a measure of sense. Other moments with the Green Witch lock into place too. Her approaching Billy tentatively after his close call in Episode 4, Rio’s disappearance after Alice’s demise, her absence from Billy’s flashbacks during this episode? It’s all very suspicious when you stack it all up. There’s also the matter of her longstanding unspoken relationship with Agatha, and fans think that links back to the death of the Harkness witch’s son.

Rio Vidal Isn’t Blackheart, and That Means The Death Fan Theory Still Has Legs

The bottom line here is that Rio Vidal isn’t going to be some sort of wild pull like Blackheart. Death is much more reasonable guess in this scenario. In addition, a Mephisto appearance seems a bit unlikely, so adjust your expectations accordingly. (Challenge level: impossible.) Plaza’s palpable chemistry with Kathryn Hahn will prove enough of a reward without some massive third act swerve. But, the latest episode helps set Marvel fans on the right track of expectations as the finale looms larger and larger. There are other surprises lurking in Agatha All Along. However, they might not be exactly what people were expecting in those first few chapters.

What was your favorite detail from Agatha All Along Episode 6? Check out all the pop culture discussion over at @ComicBook!

The post Agatha All Along Just Debunked a Popular Rio Vidal Fan Theory appeared first on ComicBook.com.

A new update on Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and its DLC during New York Comic Con 2024 may shed light on the release date of Marvel’s Venom. Insomniac Games and PlayStation have yet to reveal any game called Marvel’s Venom, but we know of the existence of a Marvel game from the pair following last year’s massive Insomniac Games leak.

Marvel’s Venom — or Venom: Lethal Protector as it is called in the leak — is scheduled to release in 2025, according to some of the leaked material. However, other leaked material, from the same server hack, suggests a 2027 release. Which of these is accurate, remains to be seen, but the aforementioned update may point to the 2025 leak.

The aforementioned update during New York Comic Con 2024 was that Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 would not be getting any story DLC, unlike its 2018 predecessor, Marvel’s Spider-Man, which got three different bits of story DLC.

What does this have to with Marvel’s Venom? Well, they are both from Insomniac Games and the project teams have considerable overlap, if not are the same exact teams. To this end, resources saved from not making any story DLC for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 are resources poured into its other projects. This also means work on Marvel’s Venom should commence quicker, though how Marvel’s Wolverine — also in the works at Insomniac Games — factors into this remains to be seen.

It is also worth pointing out the infamous leak itself may have materially changed plans. In fact, it is possible this — and other projects in the pipeline — have been scrapped as a result of the leak. If not this, potentially changed dramatically. And even if neither of these things are true, there is no doubt the leak itself slowed down proceedings at Insomniac Games, at least for a little bit.

Whatever the case, any Marvel or PlayStation fan hoping to play Marvel’s Venom sooner rather than later, this new update about Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and its lack of DLC is good news. Because assuming the project is still in the works, it will now come sooner than it would have if Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 DLC happened. Whether a 2025 release is on the table though, it seems unlikely at this point. If it was, it probably would have been revealed by now, but PlayStation has been shrinking the time between reveal and release of many of its games, so a 2025 release can’t be ruled out completely.

The post Marvel’s Venom PS5 Release Date May Be Closer Than You Think appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 players who’ve been asking nonstop for DLC since the Spider-Man game released around this time last year can stop asking now because it’s not happening. Insomniac Games, the developer of all of PlayStation’s current line of Spider-Man games, confirmed as much this week amid the Marvel Games announcements happening during New York Comic-Con. A PlayStation Blog post accompanying those announcements confirmed that there is “no additional story content planned” with not even an “at this time” included, don’t expect any DLC for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.

The comment about no DLC happening for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 came from Aaron Jason Espinoza, the senior community manager at Insomniac Games who penned the post for the PlayStation Blog. Insomniac Games hasn’t really been responding to the many, many requests for info about possible DLCs, and we now know that’s the case because no DLC is happening anyway. The post itself was about the PC version of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 which was just announced with the DLC remarks squeezed in.

“While we have no additional story content planned for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, we’re delighted to bring all of our previously released post-launch content to the PC version, including New Game+, new suits and color variants, Photo Mode features, and more,” the post said.

Insomniac Games never really hinted at the fact that Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 would be getting any DLC, so it’s not like the developer is going back on its word or anything like that. Rather, it was the DLC rollout for the original Marvel’s Spider-Man that got players thinking the same post-launch plans might be applied to Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Marvel’s Spider-Man got a trio of DLCs available through one larger bundle called Marvel’s Spider-Man: The City That Never Sleeps with those DLCs released in October, November, and December during 2018. The timing of those DLC releases put them all just within a year after Marvel’s Spider-Man released in September 2017, so this would be around the time that Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 got DLC (or at least an announcement) if it were to be happening.

Of course, the verdict of no DLC for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 probably has everything to do with the fact that Insomniac Games is already working on another game: Marvel’s Wolverine. We’re several years out now from when that new Marvel game was revealed with pretty much nothing to see or hear from it in any official capacity, though recent rumors have suggested that we might be hearing more about it soon. If Insomniac Games is working on that game, however, it makes sense that DLC for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 would be skipped.

The post Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Won’t Be Getting Any Story DLC appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will be ported over to the PC platform on January 30th, developer Insomniac Games and Marvel Games announced this week. The pair shared the news of the PlayStation 5 game’s inevitable PC version this week as the game made an appearance during the Marvel Games showcase at New York Comic-Con. Once Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 makes its PC debut via the Steam and Epic Games stores, the complete Spider-Man collection from Marvel Games will be on the PC platform. This Spider-Man game, however, will follow PlayStation’s divisive trend of requiring a PlayStation Network account if you want to play it.

A new trailer for the game dropped today for PC users to check out in case you’ve been avoiding anything about Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 till you knew for sure that a PC version was coming. Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered came to the PC first and was followed by Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales in the same year, so a Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 port was always expected.

Just as it has with other PC ports, PlayStation partnered again with Nixxes Software to bring Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 over to Steam and the Epic Games Store. In a post over on the PlayStation Blog talking about the PC version, Mike Fitzgerald, the core technology director over at Insomniac Games, said that the PC version will support keyboard and mouse controls, ultra-wide support, and various graphics options PC users would expect for their games, though a full breakdown of what’s included as far as settings go hasn’t been shared yet. You’ll also be missing out on DualSense features like haptics and adaptive triggers if you’re playing on a keyboard and mouse, however, so it may be worth dusting off the DualSense for this one.

Unfortunately for those who’ve grown disgruntled by PSN account requirements for PlayStation’s games brought over to the PC platform, you’ll need one for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 as well. Two different notices shared on the Steam page confirmed as much by saying in no uncertain terms “Account for PlayStation Network required.”

PlayStation Network accounts did not used to be mandatory for PlayStation’s PC games, but when one was required for Helldivers 2 post-launch, the whole situation exploded. Those who’d already been playing Helldivers 2 didn’t want to create a PlayStation account just to keep playing the game — some of the naysayers just didn’t want to which, fair enough, while others cited PlayStation’s history of info leaks and breaches as a reason to be wary of putting their info out there in a new account.

Multiplayer games on PC requiring a PlayStation Network account make sense to a degree, but after God of War Ragnarok released, it became clear this was to be the standard moving forward. That idea is reinforced by the PC version of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 even though neither Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered nor Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales required it, so if you’re planning on playing this sequel on the PC, you can expect to be signing into your PSN account.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will come to the PC platform on January 30th.

The post Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Gets PC Release Date, Requires a PSN Account appeared first on ComicBook.com.

On Friday at New York Comic Con, Wizards of the Coast revealed the first Magic: The Gathering cards featuring characters from the Marvel Comics universe. The reveal comes almost one year after Marvel and Wizards of the Coast announced that they’d join forces as part of the Magic: The Gathering Universe Beyond program. That agreement includes the creation of full Magic: The Gathering expansion sets designed around Marvel characters, the first of which will be Marvel’s Spider-Man in 2025. But fans won’t have to wait that long to bring Marvel heroes to their Magic deck. The first Marvel Magic cards will be available in a Magic: The Gathering Secret Lair Superdrop featuring five Marvel heroes.

Going on sale on November 4th, the Marvel Superdrop includes cards featuring Captain America, Black Panther, Iron Man, Wolverine, and Storm. Each group of cards has a legendary creature card representing that hero (perfect for building Commander decks) and reprints of previously released Magic: The Gathering cards with new artwork and flavor text to match its Marvel hero.

In a press release, Wizards of the Coast promises this is only the beginning of its Marvel-themed products. Here are additional details provided about the Secret Lair Superdrop Marvel sets, which go on sale in limited numbers on November 4th: 

Secret Lair x Marvel’s Captain America 

Justice, liberty, honor—these are the values Captain America protects with his shield held high. That’s why each and every courageous card in this drop, including the all-new, legendary Captain America, is dedicated to protecting the downtrodden. Because it’s not enough to just win your next Commander battle, you have to win the right way. This drop features card art by Anthony Devine, Howard Lyon, Ryan Pancoast, Livia Prima, and Chris Rahn. 

Contents: 

• 1x Captain America, First Avenger 
• 1x Sigarda’s Aid as “Captain America’s Aid” 
• 1x Flawless Maneuver 
• 1x In the Trenches 
• 1x Sword of War and Peace as “Shield of War and Peace”

Pricing: 

• Non-foil: $39.99 USD 
• Rainbow foil: $49.99 USD

Secret Lair x Marvel’s Iron Man 

Billionaire, genius, Super Hero, and now Secret Lair Drop—Tony Stark really has done it all. High-tech, low-drag, all power—this drop features sleek art and five cutting-edge cards, including an all-new legendary Iron Man card, that will put you into the armor of one of the Avengers’ most inventive Super Heroes. This drop features card art by Bud Cook, Justyna Dura, Lie Setiawan, Anna Steinbauer, Marco Teixeira.  

Contents: 

• 1x Iron Man, Titan of Innovation 
• 1x Galvanic Blast 
• 1x Commander’s Plate 
• 1x Sol Ring 
• 1x Inventors’ Fair 
• 1x Treasure token 

Pricing: 

• Non-foil: $39.99 USD 
• Rainbow foil: $49.99 USD

Secret Lair x Marvel’s Wolverine 

All right, bub… it’s time to brawl. This deadly drop combines mutant healing factor with killer instincts to bring you five ferocious cards inspired by the X-Men’s most relentless member, including an all-new, legendary Wolverine card. Grab this drop and the bones of your next Commander deck will be made of adamantium. Ain’t no stinkin’ way you’ll lose. This drop features card art by Victor Adame Minguez, Alexander Mokhov, Anna Podedworna, Eliz Roxs. 

Contents: 

• 1x Wolverine, Best There Is 
• 1x Berserk
• 1x Rite of Passage 
• 1x Rhythm of the Wild 
• 1x The Ozolith as “Adamantium Bonding Tank” 

Pricing: 

• Non-foil: $39.99 USD 
• Rainbow foil: $49.99 USD

Secret Lair x Marvel’s Storm 

Shutter the windows and head down to the cellar, Storm is coming. This gale-force drop features stunning artwork of Marvel’s Storm across five fierce cards, including the all-new legendary Storm card. Summon the fury of the elements and turn the X-Men’s most electric leader into your next commander. This drop features card art by Miguel Mercado, Francisco Miyara, Kevin Sidharta, Magali Villeneuve, Pauline Voss.

Contents: 

• 1x Storm, Force of Nature 
• 1x Lightning Bolt 
• 1x Jeska’s Will as Storm’s Will 
• 1x Ice Storm 
• 1x Manamorphose as “Ororo Borealis”

Pricing: 

• Non-foil: $39.99 USD 
• Rainbow foil: $49.99 USD

Secret Lair x Marvel’s Black Panther 

Leaping from the heart of Wakanda into the depths of Secret Lair, Black Panther is on the prowl. Featuring the alter ego of warrior king T’Challa, this drop brings the power of Vibranium to bear across five majestic cards, including an all-new legendary Black Panther. Protect your people, punish your enemies, and preserve your position as commander and king. This drop features card art by Tyler Jacobson, Jake Murray, Ernanda Souza, Swayart, and Salvatorre Zee Yazzie. 

Contents: 

• 1x Black Panther, Wakandan King 
• 1x Secure the Wastes 
• 1x Primal Vigor as “Bast’s Blessing” 
• 1x Heroic Intervention 
• 1x Karn’s Bastion as “Wakandan Skyscraper” 
• 1x Warrior token 

Pricing: 

• Non-foil: $39.99 USD 
• Rainbow foil: $49.99 USD

Marvel Comics characters coming to Magic: The Gathering will likely fuel debates over the Universe Beyond program. While some longtime Magic players feel that adding characters from intellectual properties outside of Magic: The Gathering detracts from their ability to immerse themself in the game, it’s hard to argue with results, and The Lord of the Rings: Tales from Middle-earth reigns as Magic’s bestselling expansion set of all time. It’ll be interesting to see if it remains so after Marvel’s Spider-Man debuts next year.

The post Magic: The Gathering Reveals First Marvel Cards, Dates Full Spider-Man Set appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Andrew Garfield addressed making a Marvel return as Spider-Man again. Right now, The Amazing Spider-Man star has been doing the rounds promoting We Live In Time. At basically every stop on the tour, he’s been asked about being Peter Parker again in some capacity. It seems clear now that Garfield would love to return if the story serves his version of the Marvel hero. One of the big things that Spider-Man: No Way Home did well was give his iteration of the Web-Slinger an arc that acknowledged the past in his two movies. But, the MCU entry also carved out room for Peter Parker’s story to continue if Sony got the idea to do another one. The door is clearly open at this point. The actor told PEOPLE that his phone’s always there if Marvel and Sony want to hammer something out. 

Still, fans should all keep in mind that Garfield isn’t just going to stroll in to be Spider-Man again if it can’t measure up to the movie that came before it. Interestingly, he seems to hold Spider-Man: No Way Home in some real regard. Peter 3’s subtle moments helping Tom Holland’s variant navigate his own personal tragedy really struck a chord in the audience. There are multiple screenings where Garfield’s Wall-Crawler swooping in to save MJ got louder cheers than Tobey Maguire stepping through a Sling Ring portal. So, the people behind it really got that story right for the majority of people out there. (Yes, the viewers who felt like the movie was disjointed exist too, different strokes for different folks.) Whether it’s Spider-Man 4 or something else, the star says both studios are going to have to bring it on the story front.

The Spider-Man star said, “I think what it would take is a great idea, a great concept. Something that is surprising and odd and fun, joyful. It has to be worthwhile. I think we had such a great time on that last one that you want to just go, ‘Okay. Leave it. It was great. It worked. It was a risk and it really, really worked.’” 

“I’m so happy that they had the courage to do it. It’s such a great idea. I would never have had that foresight,” Garfield added. “So, I’m really just proud and happy that I get to be a part of that. But if there’s something that can be concocted and thought up that feels additive to the canon of that character, then for sure.”

So, that all sounds lovely in the aggregate. Garfield has loved and will always love the role of Spider-Man. After a rough few years, the fanbase has completely wrapped him in adoration for his take on Peter Parker. The last time viewers saw him in the red and blue tights, it was a smash-success that netted more than a billion dollars at the box office. All of that is great! However, as is the case a lot with comic book movies right now, it all depends on the story that Sony and Marvel Studios want to tell. You could fill a book up with quotes from Tom Holland, Tobey Maguire and Garfield about not wanting to just make a movie with fanservice moments. (Some fans agree with that sentiment! Sure!) 

If we were to place odds on it, you’ll probably see both Garfield and Maguire in some capacity by Avengers: Secret Wars at the latest. While that’s not a slam dunk, it sure feels likely right now. Getting both Spider-Men to fit into that narrative is a bit more slippery for Marvel Studios. They have an entire line of Avengers to get in there, along with Deadpool, Wolverine and The Fantastic Four. Goodwill from the audience will flow like water once we get to that MCU crossover. But, how that script looks is going to determine a lot. And, if you think that’s going to be a big negotiation, imagine how in-depth the conversations around an “Amazing Spider-Man 3” would be now. The Multiverse means nothing is out of reach, but someone’s going to have to put forth a great effort to bring Garfield back.

Do you think we’ll see Garfield as Spider-Man again? Check out all the conversation at @ComicBook!

The post Andrew Garfield Has a Stipulation for His Spider-Man Return appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Spider-Man actor Andre Garfield’s emotional moment with Elmo on Sesame Street might be the best thing you see on the Internet today. In a sweet conversation, the monster asks the Marvel star how he’s been since the last time they saw each other. Garfield hesitates for a moment before asking Elmo if he really wants to know. But, the character insists, and the Spider-Man star explains that his mother passed away recently. It turns out, Garfield hasn’t really been talking about it and could use a friend to lend some support. What follows is a few moments of the most touching interaction that will leave you feeling better about the world and all of our places in it. 

Yes, the Marvel actor is sad about her passing. But, he takes a lot of comfort from their time together and the impact his mom had on so many people around her. It’s just the best stuff and Elmo does a great job of listening to everything Garfield has to say. Apparently, the Sesame Street character was a favorite in the star’s house growing up, so this all reads as extremely emotional for everyone involved. Take a look for yourself down below.

“You sure you want to listen? I’m just thinking about my mom today. She passed away not too long ago and you know, I just miss her a lot,” Garfield told his friend. Elmo was really sad to hear that, but the Spider-Man star assured him that it was okay. The actor continued, “You don’t have to say sorry. It’s actually kind of okay to miss somebody.” When the Sesame Street character told Garfield that he always feels sad when he experiences loneliness, the Marvel hero assured his friend that those feelings were completely natural. 

Garfield added, “You know, that sadness is kind of a gift. Kind of a lovely thing to feel in a way, because it means that you really loved somebody when you miss them. And when I miss someone, I remember. When I miss my mom, I remember all the cuddles I used to get from her. All the hugs I used to get from her. It makes me feel close to her when I miss her, in a strange sort of way. So, I’m happy to have all the memories of my mom and all the joy she brought me. And, the joy she brought my brother, and my dad, everyone she ever met, everyone around her. So, when I miss her, I remember it’s because she made me so happy. So, I can celebrate her and miss her at the same time.

While we all love the Spider-Man actor for his part in our favorite franchise movies, it’s important to remember the things in life that make us happy every day. A constant part of Garfield’s story and message throughout his Marvel tenure has been inspiring younger fans. He might have only been a part of three movies in Sony’s ongoing franchise, but the impact is felt. This small moment with Elmo is going to mean a lot for younger viewers that might be handling the same emotions for the first time. A quick scroll through social media has seen plenty of older fans remembering the good times with their own parents and loved ones in the wake of this clip. That might be the most important thing of all. Sometimes you don’t even have to take down a super-villain, instead, it’s as easy as giving your mother or someone you love a ring to let them know how much they mean to you.

What brings you joy? Did you love this video? Check out all the conversation at @ComicBook!

The post Andrew Garfield’s Emotional Story With Elmo Is the Best Thing You Will See Today appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Avengers: Endgame concluded an 11-year arc for the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s founding father. Robert Downey Jr. first began playing Tony Stark in 2008’s Iron Man and quickly cemented himself as the evolving franchise’s cornerstone, appearing at the end of The Incredible Hulk one month later to remind fans that a team was being assembled. That team came together in The Avengers (2012) and expanded the MCU into the cosmos, setting up a multi-film crossover arc revolving around the Infinity Stones that would not completely culminate until 2019. When that ultimate series finale hit theaters, the Tony Stark that audiences knew from the original Iron Man was almost a completely different person.

Sure, he was still a genius billionaire philanthropist, but the playboy days were long retired. Stark married Pepper Potts and became a father, taking his life far from the pomp and circumstance spotlight and instead to a quiet cabin in upstate New York. Stark’s daughter, Morgan, has only appeared in Avengers: Endgame thus far, where she was four years old for her entire screen time.

Avengers: Endgame Deleted Scene Shocks Fans

In another timeline, audiences would have gotten glimpse into Morgan’s future.

In an Avengers: Endgame deleted scene that recently resurfaced on social media, Tony Stark is transported to the Soul World (Waystation) after snapping his nanotech Infinity Gauntlet. This is the same realm that Thanos was sent to after he snapped his fingers in Avengers: Infinity War. Just as Thanos was confronted by his adopted daughter, Gamora, Tony is confronted by his daughter, Morgan. While Thanos saw a younger version of Gamora, the Gamora he had first met years prior, Tony sees his four-year-old all grown up to her teenage years played by Katherine Langford (13 Reasons Why).

“It worked?” Tony asks.

“Yeah,” Morgan replies. “It worked for me. I got to live and grow up. For you, I can’t answer.”

“I’m sorry, I think I might have made a bad decision,” Tony says back. “I’m scared that I made a mistake.”

“I know, and I know it’s going to be tough for you to let go,” Morgan responds. “But if someone had to do that so the rest of us could… I’m proud of you. And sad. I’m strong, like mom. And I’m happy. I’m happy that we had the time that we did and that you were there for me until you couldn’t be.”

“If you’re happy, I’m happy,” Tony concludes. “I love you 3000.”

This scene was revealed back in 2019 in the months after Avengers: Endgame hit theaters but is still finding its way to new audiences. When it began cycling through Twitter again earlier this week, many responded by asking “is this real?” and “how haven’t I seen or heard of this scene before?”

Other fans applauded the creativity of the Soul World moment between the father-daughter duo but added that it was smart to cut it from the final Avengers: Endgame product.

“I wish I went the rest of my life having never seen this. Tony’s sacrifice doesn’t need any second guessing by him in limbo essentially. Were extremely fortunate this wasn’t in the Final Cut,” user @SaltyBuc91 wrote.

“The dialogue was so bad! Lmao I know they were making a touchy moment but yeah it’s better without this. Tony being sure of his sacrifice was all these movies were being built up to,” user @ChuckFresco wrote.

Langford herself has also commented on the scene getting axed, noting in November 2019 that it was “such an honor” to play Morgan Stark even if her lone scene wasn’t part of the final cut.

“I’m such a huge fan of the Marvel films,” Langford said. “So when Marvel reached out to me to play Iron Man’s daughter, that was such an honor. Ultimately it didn’t make it into the film and creatively that makes sense and that’s totally fine.”

Avengers: Endgame is available to stream on Disney+. Robert Downey Jr. is set to make his return to the franchise in 2026, this time portraying Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday.

The post Avengers: Endgame Iron Man Deleted Scene Resurfaces and Marvel Fans Are Shocked appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Spider-Man movie star Tom Holland is trying to show everyone that he’s a changed man when it comes to leaking secrets of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Holland has finally been cleared to admit that he knew that Robert Downey Jr. was returning to the MCU franchise as Doctor Doom well before it was announced to the world during Marvel’s Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2024. Holland was so determined to turn around his infamous reputation as a leaker of MCU secrets that he claims “I strategically have done no press,” since finding out RDJ was going to be MCU Doom.

In his full breakdown of the situation during the Rich Roll podcast, Tom Holland revealed that “I’ve been speaking to [Robert Downey Jr.] a lot, especially about him making his [Marvel] return, which is super exciting.”

Holland had to admit that getting that hot scoop left him burdened by knowledge like he was Thanos: “That was a tough secret to sit on, because I have a reputation for ruining things and I strategically have done no press,” Holland said.

How Many Marvel Movies Has Tom Holland Spoiled?

Tom Holland’s history of spoiling his Marvel movie projects is extensive. In 2016, during production on Spider-Man: Homecoming Holland told fans on a live Facebook Q&A about a scene they were filming in Homecoming involving helicopter harnesses and a dunk in a lake for his stunt double. This turned out to be the first battle between Spider-Man (Holland) and The Vulture (Michael Keaton), which left Peter Parker getting dropped in a lake by the flying villain. A year later, right before Spider-Man: Homecoming was released, Holland jumped the gun on confirming the new MCU Spider-Man movies would be a trilogy.

When Holland’s Spider-Man became a breakthrough character, Marvel Studios included him in their big two-part Infinity Saga finale, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Holland turned out to be a nightmare for Marvel PR: months after Homecoming was released, Holland did an Instagram live unboxing of a gift from Hulk actor Mark Ruffalo, which included a first print of the Avengers: Infinity War poster, which Holland was not all supposed to reveal. The next year (2018), the massive cast of Infinity War was doing media events around the world to promote the movie. Screenwriter Stephen McFeely gave Holland the wrong tip about one event, making the actor believe it was held after a premiere screening of Infinity War – leading Holland to take the stage exclaiming “I’m alive!” and spoil his death scene as Spider-Man before release day.

Blowing up Infinity War’s big twist ending didn’t teach Tom Holland to be better: during the promotional tour for Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), Holland nearly tripped over his words and nearly revealed that there would be more than one Spider-Man in the film – and his beau Zendaya had to stop him from mentioning who bought Avengers Tower after Homecoming – an MCU secret that is still going to this day.

Now it’s 2024 and it seems Tom Holland has finally stepped his game up as a human vault. Tony Stark would be proud of his protege (if he were still alive). However, news that Holland was in the loop on RDJ being Doom – and the recent non-spoiler that a Spider-Man 4 script has him and Zendaya hyped (Venom? Miles Morales?) – makes us wonder if the big plans for an awkward Spider-Man and Doom meeting aren’t already in the works.

Avengers: Doomsday has a release date of May 1, 2026. Spider-Man 4 is in development.

via Variety

The post Tom Holland Knew About Robert Downey Jr. Playing Doom and Somehow Kept It Secret appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Sebastian Stan is the latest Marvel actor to say he’s open to a DC role down the line — but in his case, he already has his eye on one in particular. The Captain America franchise regular says he would love to turn up as Batman baddie The Riddler in James Gunn and Peter Safran’s upcoming DC Universe. Of course, while Gunn and Safran definitely have plans for a Batman movie, it seems likely Riddler will be on the back burner for a while, considering that the character was just used in The Batman.

The character of The Riddler is one of the most popular Batman villains in the comics, and has been for decades, but certainly he has been one who has changed a lot over time. Live action interpretations aren’t always tracked to what’s going on in the comics, either.

“I don’t know if Batman’s for me, but never say never,” Stan told Happy Sad Confused when pressed on the idea of a DC role. “I don’t know. There’s so many characters — I told you, I always had a soft spot for that Riddler, but that one’s been done.”

You can see the full interview below.

The character has previously been played in live action by Frank Gorshin on Batman, Jim Carrey in Batman Forever, and Paul Dano in The Batman.

Riddler has, at times, been reinvented as something of an antihero, so that’s something Stan could obviously lean into. He has spent the last decade or so straddling the line of good and evil as Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier.

It seems he will be straddling that line again as part of Thunderbolts, a team that matches him up with a bunch of previous Marvel movie villains on a Suicide Squad-style team of deeply flawed villains and antiheroes being forced into heroism by a government operative (here, Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus).

In the interview, Stan seems to confirm long-standing rumors that Thunderbolts was pretty radically reworked, but claims that he is happy with the final product and confident the movie will play well for audiences. He also had nothing but good things to say about working with both Louis-Dreyfus and Wyatt Russell, whom he calls one of the funniest people he’s ever met.

Russell is set to reprise his role as John Walker/U.S. Agent in the film, one that he originated in Falcon and the Winter Soldier. It isn’t clear whether Walker will recur in the upcoming Captain America: Brave New World.

The post Sebastian Stan Reveals the DC Villain He Wants to Play and We Need It Now appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Spider-Man 4 star Tom Holland just gave us a hint at his wishes for Miles Morales in the MCU. Since the success of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, it feels like it’s only a matter of time before the younger version of Spidey makes his way into a Marvel Studios project. Morales has only seen that popularity grow in the ensuing years with Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and appearances on Disney Jr.’s Spidey and his Amazing Friends. Now, Holland is speaking up to see the hero make his MCU debut sometime in the future. As an added bonus, the Marvel mainstay wants to play a role in that actor’s life like Robert Downey Jr. did for him when he was introduced as Peter Parker. It never hurts to have a role model and the comics have always prized Peter’s relationship to Miles. Check out what the star had to say when he sat down with Rich Roll right here.

Holland said, “If I would be lucky enough to somehow bring Miles Morales into my Spider-Man universe and into the MCU, I’d love to do for a young kid what [Robert] Downey [Jr.] did for me.”

This isn’t the first time that the Spider-Man actor has shown Miles Morales some love. When asked about his favorite Spider-Man movie, Holland has routinely shouted out the Spider-Verse franchise and what it’s done with the character. In fact, he went so far as to say that the first movie in that lane was the best of any offering featuring the character. The Internet really got behind this take and people have fallen in love with Miles Morales in a way that’s genuinely hard to argue with. Check out Holland’s rationale and think about if he has a point with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

“I think the first Spider-Verse movie is the best Spider-Man movie that has ever been made. I am so proud of everyone involved,” the MCU star revealed to the Associated Press. “Amy Pascal is like my mom. I was supposed to go with her as her date. I couldn’t go because I’m here working. But I’m incredibly proud of them. I’m excited for the second one. I’m sure it will live up to every expectation, and I can’t wait to see it.”

With that kind of praise, it’s no wonder he wants to see Miles make the leap to live-action. However, it’s probably more likely we see him, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield make their way over to animation before a live-action Miles Morales project hits theaters. (Marvel fans will remember that Garfield has already appeared in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse as a hologram memory…) ComicBook previously asked that movie’s directors, including Justin K. Thompson, about getting the three live-action Peters in there. Thompson argues that all of that would be icing on the cake and what they’re focused on is getting Miles’s story with his family right. So, anything is possible in the multiverse.

“I think, I think as long as we focus on our characters, as long as we focus on why he’s doing what he’s doing and why it matters, I think that will always be our North Star no matter what,” Thompson admitted. “But I can tell you, I can promise you it’s going to be amazing. It’s going to be spectacular. It’s going to be fantastic. It’s going to be Spider Man.”

So, who knows where the crossover with Miles Morales is going to happen. Holland seems very keen on getting to play mentor to whoever ends up wearing that mask in live-action. Sony has made no secret of their intention to get one of their most popular characters on screen with one of these other Spider-Men. (Also, don’t forget about Spider-Gwen/Ghost Spider, she’s definitely coming with.) All of these rumblings plus the constant flux of the Spider-Man 4 script hover over any public comments like the one Holland made. It seems like the MCU’s Spidey wants to see this happen before he hangs up his tights. Could we see it before Secret Wars? We hope so. But, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Miles swing onto the scene after the rumored soft reboot of the MCU after that massive crossover.

Do you think we get Miles Morales in Spider-Man 4? Check out all the conversation at @ComicBook!

The post Spider-Man 4: Tom Holland Shares Miles Morales MCU Hopes (And RDJ Is a Factor) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Marvel’s Wolverine has been basically nonexistent in the news cycle ever since PlayStation-owned developer Insomniac Games announced it over three years ago, but the drought of information may be ending soon. According to an insider who claims to have knowledge of the situation, PlayStation may be “gearing up” to show off more of Marvel’s Wolverine by the end of the year. It’s unclear, however, what event might host a Marvel’s Wolverine appearance and whether or not it’ll be a PlayStation event like a State of Play or a third-party event like The Game Awards.

Twitter user Kurakasis is the insider responsible for this new Marvel’s Wolverine tease, a leaker who’s got a pretty good track record as far as leaks go, particularly when it comes to PlayStation projects. Kurakasis said over on Twitter that the prediction of Marvel’s Wolverine making an appearance soon is a result of a “little digging.”

“From my little digging, it looks like Sony is gearing up to show off some new stuff from Marvel’s Wolverine,” the insider said. “It’s hard for me to determine when it’ll happen, but I’m guessing it’ll be this year—either at TGA or at some unannounced, super-secret event.”

So, when might Marvel’s Wolverine make an appearance if it is to be shown off again by the end of the year? Going three whole years without seeing anything from the game would feel pretty bad for Wolverine fans and those who follow Insomniac Games no matter if it’s Spider-Man or something else they’re working on, so it doesn’t seem out of the question to expect an update this year. There is a Marvel Games “Special Presentation” planned for today during New York Comic-Con, though it’d be quite hopeful to expect something from that event.

Beyond this month, there’s speculation that PlayStation will hold at least one more State of Play this year — perhaps an event in December to cap off PlayStation’s 30th anniversary celebrations — but PlayStation of course hasn’t announced anything of the sort. If nothing else, there’s always The Game Awards which is returning in December, too, and could host a Marvel’s Wolverine trailer or announcement.

Since it was revealed Marvel’s Wolverine has consisted of exactly one teaser trailer released by PlayStation as well as two screenshots that show Wolverine from behind sitting at a bar and another shown above that has him with his iconic claws out. We don’t know who’s voicing him yet nor do we know how closely he’ll resemble his on-screen version played by Hugh Jackman, though one would expect he’d at least resemble Jackman a bit given that that’s the only portrayal of Wolverine most people are familiar with.

Leaks, however, are a different story. Marvel’s Wolverine was one of several games that leaked out early as a result of a hack targeting Insomniac Games. Gameplay clips and other looks at the game surfaced online, though most who saw those were in agreement that they probably didn’t accurately portray parts of the game since they were so early and unfinished. It’s possible those leaks may have played a part in us going so long without Marvel’s Wolverine news as well.

Marvel’s Wolverine is coming to the PlayStation 5 (not the PlayStation 4) but does not yet have a release date.

The post PlayStation Rumored to Show Off Marvel’s Wolverine Soon appeared first on ComicBook.com.

MONSTERS keeps the Halloween spirit alive this month, taking two spots on our list. A rumor from the MCU brings forward a totally awesome Hulk book, and casting news keeps THE BEAUTY trending. Fortnite launches its Halloween event, teasing a lady symbiote skin that brings back a familiar cover. Speaking of familiar covers, a secret Geiger cover makes our list with a great homage. The king of the week goes to the Dark Knight, debuting in the Absolute Universe. Batman takes four spots with amazing artwork from  Nick Dragotta and Jim Lee!

Want to know what comic books are trending each week and why? COVRPRICE.COM uses live sales analytics to identify and compile the most robust market price guide, highlighting the weekly top trending comics. No opinions. Just data. Each week, they present a newly updated list of the TOP 10 COMICS trending in the aftermarket. These trends are due to rumors, fan-favorite covers, story-driven content, and content-related news.

1: ABSOLUTE BATMAN #1 – NICK DRAGOTTA – REGULAR | DC | OCTOBER 2024: This past week was the release of ABSOLUTE BATMAN, and it was an absolute killer debut! ABSOLUTE BATMAN already had a ton of hype behind it before its release. The book takes place in the Absolute Universe, a universe that was created when Darkseid allowed himself to be killed. The Absolute Universe is meant to be a darker, harder dimension for our DC heroes. The universe, created from Darkseid’s energy, is meant to introduce multiple heroes with different designs and origin stories. This book does that, as well as showing the first appearance of the Party Animals, a skull-wearing gang of murderers, and a cameo of this universe’s Joker. We tracked it at a high sale of $30 for an NM copy and a current NM raw price of $17.

2: ABSOLUTE BATMAN #1 – JIM LEE – B&W (1:100) | DC | OCTOBER 2024: Cover A may take the top spot this week, but the 1:100 retailer incentive is moving on the aftermarket, too! Usually, the higher ratio covers don’t sell as quickly due to the higher entry price… but this is Jim Lee! Lee is a legend in the comic book world, and fans of the superstar artist had no hesitation in purchasing this black-and-white beauty! We tracked it at a high sale of $150 for an NM copy and a current NM raw price of $121.

3: GEIGER #7 – GARY FRANK – MIDNIGHT NATION HOMAGE – SURPRISE | IMAGE | OCTOBER 2024: If there is one thing that collectors love, it’s a good secret variant cover! Since Ghost Machine launched its universe, GEIGER has been generating interest lately. While this isn’t a big key issue, it is a phenomenal cover by Gary Frank that pays homage to his cover to J. Michael Straczynski’s Midnight Nation. It is important to note that this secret variant cover had a massive outlier high sale of $100. It looks like it was purchased the day before the book debuted, which now averages a current NM raw price of $12. It must have come from a GEIGER mega-fan who wanted to ensure their copy of this awesome homage! We tracked 22 copies sold at a 7-day growth trend of 637%. 

4: THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN VOL.1 #375 | MARVEL | MARCH 1993: We’re one week away from the debut of Venom: The Last Dance, and Fortnite is releasing the symbiotes during their annual Fortnitemares event. In a competitive event called the Symbiote Cup, players can win She-Venom and Agony skins. If they are unable to win those skins during the event, they can purchase them at a later date. The Venom: The Last Dance trailer shows a variety of symbiotes, and with this information, many fans think we could see She-Venom appear again. This book is getting tons of attention because of the great cover and also the first appearance of Ann Weying (Eddie Brock’s ex-wife and She-Venom). We tracked it at a high sale of $94 for a CGC 9.8 copy and a current NM raw price of $11.

5: MARK SPEARS MONSTERS #1 – MARK SPEARS – COVER B – DRIPPING BLOOD | KEENSPOT ENTERTAINMENT | SEPTEMBER 2024: MONSTERS is still trending on the aftermarket! It isn’t just the Halloween month that keeps these classic monsters going; they have been selling strong since September. The artwork on this cover is reminiscent of a different time in the horror genre. Its nostalgic pull could be why we saw this specific cover’s sales jump. After all, Dracula is a classic! We tracked it at a high sale of $41 for an NM copy and a current NM raw price of $36.

6: ABSOLUTE BATMAN #1 – NICK DRAGOTTA – FOIL | DC | OCTOBER 2024: While Cover A takes the top spot, its virgin foil cover is the next best thing to the 1:100 cover. Dragotta has illustrated a great cover, and for a small bump in price, you can add this cover to your collection. We tracked it at a high sale of $30 for an NM copy and a current NM raw price of $29.

7: THE BEAUTY #1 | IMAGE | AUGUST 2015: Evan Peters, Anthony Ramos, Jeremy Pope, and Ashton Kutcher have been set to star in FX’s new series, The Beauty. The book has received a tremendous amount of interest just based on the sheer star power alone. The casting announcement has shown fans that FX isn’t cutting any corners when it comes to this series. The casting has built up anticipation for the series, which has also translated to a big boost in the first issue’s aftermarket sales! We tracked it at a high sale of $76 for an NM copy and a current NM raw price of $38.

8: ABSOLUTE BATMAN #1 – JIM LEE – FOIL | DC | OCTOBER 2024: ABSOLUTE BATMAN hype plus the legend Jim Lee? Those two factors make for a mind-blowing and highly collectible comic book cover. While Cover A is trending, Jim Lee’s 1:100 cover and this foil cover are also top sellers. Out of all 34 covers released, it looks like Jim Lee covers and the regular covers are the ones to chase! We tracked it at a high sale of $30 for an NM copy and a current NM raw price of $22.

9: MARK SPEARS MONSTERS #1 – MARK SPEARS – COVER A – LOOKING DOWN ON YOU | KEENSPOT ENTERTAINMENT | SEPTEMBER 2024: Cover A books have been the recent trend when books have been hitting shelves. With so many variants to pick from, it seems like the regular covers are getting harder to come by. This book has even more going for it, though. MONSTERS has been doing well on the aftermarket, particularly on the covers featuring classic monsters. So why wouldn’t the cover featuring all the classics not sell well? Some other variants and homages showcase all the classics, but this one is truly terrifying. We are given the perspective of all these monsters looking down upon their victim… us! We tracked it at a high sale of $78 for a CGC 9.8 copy and a current NM raw price of $28.

10: TOTALLY AWESOME HULK #1 | MARVEL | DECEMBER 2015: The rumor mill is at it again! There are a few rumors currently going around about the MCU. The first is related to Captain America: Brave New World. According to a few leakers, the film’s ending and after-credit scene are meant to tease a future World War Hulk project. The second rumor is that Ghostbusters’ Logan Kim has been cast as Amadeus Cho, a successor to Bruce Banner’s Hulk. While he first appears in AMAZING FANTASY #15, this issue marks the first time he transformed into the Hulk. Only time will tell if this issue takes off with any official announcement from the MCU! We tracked it at a high sale of $26 for a CGC 9.4 copy and a current NM raw price of $16.

The post Top 10 Comic Books Rising in Value in the Last Week Include Absolute Batman, Universal Monsters, and Hulk appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Agatha All Along Episode 6 “Familiar by Thy Side” was the much-needed flashback episode, which explains how Billy Maximoff went from being a little superpowered boy conjured up by Wanda Maximoff’s Hex powers, to a powerful magic-user of young adult age. Not only did we get caught up on how Billy Maximoff (Joe Locke) got to this point, but we also got to know why he decided to walk the infamous Witches Road with Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn), after freeing her from his mother Wanda’s enchantment spell.

WARNING: SPOILERS FOLLOW!

Agatha manages to save herself (and only herself) from Billy’s attack on the coven at the end of Episode 5. After pulling herself free from the mud pit, Agatha interrogates/instigates Billy to explain what he’s after at the end of the Witches Road. Billy won’t give up his reason, but Agatha sniffs it out by process of elimination: not his mom (Scarlet Witch), not his dad (The Vision), but his twin brother Tommy.

Billy reveals that after having his “soul” possess the freshly dead boy Billy Kaplan, he can still hear his brother’s soul calling to him from somewhere he can’t determine. He plans to get to the end of the Witches Road to find “what’s missing,” which (to him) is Tommy. Agatha is a means to an end for Billy, who fully remembers his time both befriending and battling her in Westview and knows not to trust her.

This Billy Kaplan/Billy Maximoff/Wiccan origin mirrors the character’s convoluted Marvel Comics history, in which he and Tommy are at first magical conjuring aby Wanda that are eventually revealed to be shards of the devil Mephisto’s soul. Even though the twins are erased (or reclaimed by Mephisto) they are reborn into the world in physical bodies years before Wanda and Vision ever got together, growing up separately as “Billy Kaplan” and “Thomast Shephard.”

It wouldn’t be surprising to see Billy get to the end of the Witches Road with Agatha and find out that Tommy is already reincarnated on Earth (thereby setting up Wiccan’s next mission in the Marvel Cinematic Universe). Or, Billy gets to the end of the road and gets his wish, and Tommy is brought back, setting up something like the “Children’s Crusade” arc from the comics, which saw Wiccan (Billy), Speed (Tommy) and their Young Avengers teammates go on the hunt for Scarlet Witch so that she can help Billy gain control over his powers. That storyline revealed Wanda to be a prisoner of Doctor Doom, and included many of the major characters related to Scarlet Witch, like her father Magneto, brother Quicksilver, and former beaus Vision and Wonder Man. With MCU fans still wanting Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch back in the franchise, it seems like a smart direction to take with this storyline.

Agatha All Along streams new episodes Wednesday nights on Disney+.

The post Agatha All Along Explains Why Billy Is Walking The Witches’ Road appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Spider-Man 4 just got a positive update from Tom Holland and fans should be excited. Rich Roll sat down with the MCU actor to talk about life, golf, sobriety and his upcoming Marvel Studios movie. As a tenured member of the franchise now, Holland gets to see those scripts as they’re making their way through production. He told the interviewer that one draft made its way to him this fall and the details got his blood pumping. In his house, the Spider-Man actor went over what the writers had put together and it caused a celebration for Holland and Zendaya. Clearly, Marvel Studios has something big planned for the character after that massive ending in Spider-Man: No Way Home. (It will be interesting to see if MJ gets to come back considering the hero wiped everyone’s memories last time out.) But, this is a positive development for everyone involved. 

“It needs work, but the writers are doing a great job,” Holland shared. “I read it three weeks ago and it really lit a fire in me. Zendaya and I sat down, read it together and we at times were bouncing around the living room.”

For Marvel Studios, they’ve been clear about wanting Spider-Man 4 to make a splash. But, they also want to make sure the story is completely ironed out before they start cameras rolling. (All a part of the recent retooling mandates for the company.) That script has to be all the way there before they yell action. Holland has been very involved and Marvel Studios is working with Sony to figure out a storyline that suits both companies equally well. There are murmurs that Spider-Man 4 will actually take some theming from Venom: The Last Dance, which drops in a few weeks. Knull, a symbiote deity is the big bad of that film, judging by the trailers. This MCU sequel could finally give the Venom and Spider-Man confrontation that some fans have been craving. 

In the past, Marvel Studios has steered clear of the Sony universe shenanigans when they could. But, maybe the popularity of Venom is swaying some of that thinking. There’s also been numerous rumblings that maybe Sony wants Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire to reappear after the thunderous applause for Spider-Man: No Way Home. None of that is confirmed, but the fans have been debating a hypothetical power struggle on social media for months. For now, they’re moving forward on the script for Spider-Man 4 and making some encouraging progress. 

Fans should take the latest update from Holland in good spirits. The rumors of Spider-Man 4 beginning production midway through next year line up with this new update. That script should be in a workable spot by the time we get to the end of the holiday season. The MCU star is busy launching Bero and his golf brand right now. So, don’t expect any imminent announcements just yet. However, these sorts of soundbites are usually timed-up to major news breaking. Venom: The Last Dance could bring some of the updates that people are craving right now. If Knull ends up being a big factor in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe going forward, that could give you some more insight on what to expect the next time you see Tom Holland swing into the MCU.

What do you think the story for Spider-Man 4 will be? Check out all the conversation at @ComicBook!

The post Tom Holland Says Spider-Man 4 Script “Lit a Fire” in Him appeared first on ComicBook.com.

A preview of Marvel’s new Iron Man series pits the Armored Avenger against a pair of Hulk bros. Pulitzer prize-winner Spencer Ackerman and artist Julius Ohta are taking the reins of the new volume of Iron Man, which finds Tony Stark back in control of his company Stark Unlimited. However, after the anti-mutant Feilong used Stark Unlimited to create mutant-hunting Stark Sentinels, Iron Man has a lot of work ahead of him to clean up the mess. The opening arc of Iron Man begins with “The Stark-Roxxon War,” and the story is coming out the gates hot with Hulk Bros looking to stomp out union workers.

ComicBook has the exclusive preview of Iron Man #1 by Spencer Ackerman and Julius Ohta. It takes readers to a Stark Unlimited plant in upstate New York, where two guards have locked the workers outside the gate. When the workers threaten to gather in the parking lot, the guards transform into Hulk-sized mutates to threaten them. Iron Man eventually shows up to put a stop to the Hulk Bros before a union worker gives Tony Stark a tour of the facility.

The union wants a say in the type of weapons they’re making for Stark Unlimited, and Tony agrees their input should be considered. Before he flies off as Iron Man, Tony accepts the terms and promises to let his actions speak for themselves.

Ackerman and Ohta are also debuting the new “Improvised Iron Man,” and we asked the Pulitzer Prize winner what that means.

“It so happens that right before this interview, I was rereading Hickman & Epting’s New Avengers #5. There’s a panel showing Iron Man down on the ground, gauntlet repulsor sparking from malfunction, and preparing to defend himself from the terrifying scythe of Terrax the Tamer from an alternate universe. He’s wearing a great armor, one that looks sturdy and futuristic, part of the visual lineage established by Adi Granov in Extremis that has been deservedly hegemonic for something like 20 years,” Ackerman told ComicBook.

“I wanted to break from that tradition. If Terrax brought that scythe down on the Improvised Iron Man, our hero wouldn’t be in New Avengers #6. Julius Ohta’s masterful armor design also addresses your last question. The Improvised Iron Man showcases vulnerability and desperation. This is something a very smart person makes when all else has failed and what comes next can’t. He’s not in a cave, but he is building it out of scraps. It’s ‘Improvised’ in the sense of ‘Improvised Explosive Device.’ And it’s going to include a key visual and tactical element that we rarely, if ever, see with Iron Man armor. That’s debuting in Issue #2.”

Ackerman concluded with a tease of what’s to come: “And because he’s Iron Man, he’s going to iterate on the Improvised armor. A lot. And as circumstances are going to very rapidly require.”

The previous Iron Man volume saw Tony Stark working together with the X-Men to stop the anti-mutant organization Orchis. Part of their plan involved Tony marrying Emma Frost, who used a secret identity to stay under the radar. With Orchis defeated, Iron Man relocated to California and is a founding member of a new West Coast Avengers team with War Machine. Their new mission statement is to help reformed villains make new lives for themselves, and one of their first recruits is a seemingly reformed Ultron. Spider-Woman and Firestar are also part of the West Coast Avengers.

Iron Man #1 goes on sale Wednesday, October 23rd.

The post Iron Man Battles Union-Busting Hulk Bros in New Marvel Series (Exclusive) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Deadpool & Wolverine was a treasure trove of Marvel Easter eggs that were rapid-fired at the screen – but did you know one of those Easter eggs cost the film $100,000? That’s right: a new Interview about Deadpool 3’s production reveals that the tan-and-brown suit that Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine wore onscreen for all of a few seconds actually cost $100K to make! Marvel fans have been waiting to see that costume on Jackman since he first started playing Wolverine in X-Men (2000), so we get the desire to deliver, but even the most hardcore fan would probably question the cost/benefit ratio of that decision…

“There was a whole bunch of [Wolverine variants]. One of the storyboard artists, he was a huge comic book fan and he gave us a list of 10 of them… There were so many,” Deadpool & Wolverine editor Dean Zimmerman told Comic Book Movie. “That brown and tan [suit], we spent about $100,000 building that. They’re expensive… We had to get a little economical with what we could come up with and do… They were all thought out, but they were also done with a budget in mind and also time – once we resumed shooting, our deadline on this movie was so tight.” 

Where to Spot Deadpool & Wolverine’s $100K Costume

Early on in the film, Wade Wilson/Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) goes on a search across the Marvel Multiverse for the Wolverine variant that can help him save the Fox-Marvel movie reality of Earth-10005 from being pruned by the Time Variance Authority. The versions of Wolverine that Deadpool visits made for a hilarious montage of Marvel Comics Easter egg references, with one special stunt casting cameo (Henry Cavill’s as Wolverine).

One moment that Marvel fans got a kick out of was the Easter egg ode to Wolverine’s first comic book appearance battling the Hulk, in a three-part story arc that unfolded in The Incredible Hulk #180-182 (1974). As crazy as it may seem now, Wolverine was introduced into the Marvel Universe as a Canadian anti-hero deployed by the government to neutralize the Hulk, who was tracking one of his most fearsome foes, Wendingo, through the Canadian wilderness. Wolverine ambushed Hulk and Wendigo in the woods but was unable to take down Hulk. And was ultimately recalled by the government.

Deadpool & Wolverine mixes that original Wolverine debut moment with Todd Macfarlane’s iconic cover art for The Incredible Hulk #340 (1988), which depicted Wolverine (in the brown-and-tan suit) popping his Adamantium claw, with Hulk (in his gray, “Joe Fixit” form) reflected in them. Obviously, Deadpool & Wolverine is combining these iconic moments from the Wolverine/Hulk rivalry; that makes it even more wild that the team spent $100K to make the brown-and-tan suit happen since they could’ve used a variation on the same classic yellow-and-blue suit Jackman ended up wearing for most of the film, and it would’ve been a spot-on Easter egg nod to Wolverine’s first appearance.

Reynolds, Jackman, and director Shawn Levy went the extra length just give fans something special. It’s now an infamous Marvel movie anecdote that Jackman came so close to getting a brown-and-tan suit at the end of James Mangold’s The Wolverine (2013. When a deleted scene of the brown-and-tan suit (in a suitcase) leaked, it re-ignited the desire to see a comic-accurate Wolverine onscreen – a desire fans have had to wait another whole decade to see onscreen. Deadpool & Wolverine paid the cost to deliver that – and a whole lot of other iconic Wolverine looks – in one big barrage.

Since Deadpool & Wolverine earned $1.33 billion at the box office, it seems that the investment paid off. The films is now streaming on digital platforms.

The post Wolverine’s Iconic Brown-And-Tan Costume Was Wildly Expensive To Make For Deadpool 3 appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Ultimate Wolverine is coming up and the new version of Logan has an unexpected origin. For those who have been keeping up with the Ultimate Universe line of Marvel Comics know this corner of the multiverse delights in remixing elements of classic characters. At New York Comic-Con, Marvel revealed that Ultimate Wolverine is turning Logan into The Winter Soldier. The new Ultimate Universe book hits shelves in January of 2025.  Chris Condon is writing the title for Marvel Comics with art from Alessandro Cappuccio. Variant covers are being made by Gleb Melnikov and Steve Skroce. It seems like The Maker is calling in the big guns to help stymie The Ultimates as they continue to find classic heroes to aid their cause. It’s getting more interesting by the month over in the Ultimate Universe corner of Marvel.

Here’s what the publisher has to say about the upcoming title: “From rising star Chris Condon (That Texas Blood) and MOON KNIGHT powerhouse artist Alessandro Cappuccio comes the story of the ULTIMATE WOLVERINE! In order to maintain control of their corner of the Maker’s world, three members of his council – Magik, Colossus and Omega Red – deploy their most lethal asset: The Winter Soldier!  But WHO is the weapon behind the mask?”

A while ago, when Jonathan Hickman returned to the playground he helped make one of the most-talked about books in the comics sphere, the creator had to explain why Marvel was trying to revive the Ultimate line. A couple of the concepts from the old version of this universe persisted through his Secret Wars event with Marvel. (Miles Morales, The Maker and some other small additions made it off of the “life raft” to the main 616 continuity.) A ton of it was cast off to the sidelines though. Why bring it back in the 2020s, so long after people who grew up with The Ultimates might have moved on? Well, in his words, it was time for the comics to do the same thing the Ultimate Universe did for the early aughts for the current era.

“What made the Ultimate Universe originally really interesting was that it was a reflection of the world outside your window, in the moment that you were living in. What does it look like in the world we’re living in now?” Hickman said to Marvel. “It’s kind of shocking how much the world has changed in that period of time. The idea of what it would be like to see the genesis of Super Heroes in a brand new world is a really fascinating exercise.”

Hitch would chime-in, “You don’t ever have to have read any of the Ultimate Universe to enjoy this. There’s some great comics in there, but this doesn’t need you to be familiar with that stuff. You just need to get in on page one and enjoy this because the story takes you where you need to go.”

Does this new title sound awesome to you? Who do you think the new Ultimate Wolverine is? Check out all the conversation at @ComicBook!

The post Marvel’s Ultimate Wolverine Series Is Turning Logan Into the Winter Soldier appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Doctor Doom is headling a Marvel event in 2025 that sees the current Sorcerer Supreme become Emperor Doom. For those who haven’t been keeping track at home, Doctor Strange is no longer the Sorcerer Supreme of the Marvel Universe. Doctor Doom stole the mantle from Strange during Blood Hunt, and while we know “One World Under Doom” is upon us, we now have an idea of what that looks like. The Rise of Emperor Doom is an upcoming five-issue limited series where Doom takes control over all broadcast systems on the planet, causing Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to respond.

The Rise of Emperor Doom is written by Ryan North (Fantastic Four) with art by R.B. Silva (Rise of the Powers of X). Doctor Doom has kept a low profile since becoming Sorcerer Supreme, but all that changes in February 2025 when Doom declares himself Emperor of the World. Surprisingly, Earth’s leaders seem to be going along with this change in leadership. Our heroes send a strike team into Latveria to investigate, and while some are wary of Doom, others seem to be coming around to his way of thinking.

The Rise of Emperor Doom #1 (of 5)
New event limited series, on sale February 2025
Written by RYAN NORTH
Art by R.B. SILVA
Cover by BEN HARVEY
ONE WORLD UNDER DOOM!
Six months ago, Doctor Victor Von Doom became Sorcerer Supreme – then disappeared behind Latveria’s closed borders. For most, there’s enough going on in the world that Doom’s absence is not a priority, and some time without him feels like a blessing. Only a few recognize it for what it truly was… the calm before the storm. It is a storm that has now arrived. The world has woken up to a new reality: Doctor Doom, Earth’s Sorcerer Supreme, has magically taken over every broadcast medium on the planet and declared himself Emperor of the World – the ruler of a new United Latveria! And shockingly, impossibly, all of Earth’s leaders seem to be going along with this. Luckily, whether it’s mind control or Doombots, whatever’s affecting them hasn’t affected Earth’s heroes – and so they quickly form a strike team to stop Doom’s machinations. But will they succeed? And what happens when some begin to welcome their new Emperor with open arms, clamoring for One World Under Doom? Marvel’s biggest and most shocking event ever begins right here, with THE RISE OF EMPEROR DOOM #1.

Blood Hunt was a Marvel event featuring a vampire uprising led by Blade, who was possessed by the first vampire, Varnae. Doctor Strange was one of the first casualties of Blood Hunt, with Blade turning Strange into a vampire at the end of the first issue. Strange (in astral form) and Clea traveled to Latveria to ask Doom for assistance in stopping the vampires. Doom obliged by helping to unblock the sun from the Dark Dimension, but he required the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme to complete the spell. Doom gave Strange his word that he’d relinquish the Sorcerer Supreme mantle once he was done, but then went back on his word.

Marvel’s emphasis on Doctor Doom is possibly tied to his upcoming debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Russo Bros. were announced as the directors of Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars at San Diego Comic Con, with Robert Downey Jr. returning to the MCU as Doctor Doom. How all of that will work since audiences only know Downey as Iron Man remains to be seen, but the multiverse will most likely explain the switcheroo.

How excited are you for The Rise of Emperor Doom next year? Make sure to let us know your thoughts on social media @ComicBook!

The post Doctor Doom Is Officially Taking Over the Marvel Universe in 2025 appeared first on ComicBook.com.

It’s been close to a year since Marvel’s Blade was announced at The Game Awards 2023, and details about the Xbox exclusive have been pretty much nonexistent in the months since. The only thing we know for certain about the game right now is that it’s being developed by Arkane Lyon, the studio responsible for Deathloop. However, a juicy new detail might have been revealed about the game thanks to sources for Double-Barrel Gaming. According to the YouTube channel, the developers are considering a morality system similar to the one seen in PlayStation’s Infamous series.

In the Infamous games, protagonists Cole MacGrath and Delsin Rowe were superheroes controlled by the player. The games allowed players to make decisions that had an impact on their standing with the public, and choosing the Good or Evil option would determine how bystanders would react towards them. More importantly, it also had an impact on the abilities learned by Cole and Delsin. In theory, if Arkham Lyon is trying to replicate that concept, it would mean that Blade might unlock darker ways of killing his enemies if players choose the darker path, or ways of sparing them, if the situation calls for it.

It’s important to note that this is all just a rumor at this time, and we don’t know if this feature will actually end up implemented in the game. However, it could be an interesting way to separate Marvel’s Blade from other superhero games on the market. While Blade has fought alongside some of the biggest heroes of the Marvel Universe, the character’s methods have always been darker when compared to Spider-Man or Iron Man; in that regard, it would make a lot of sense. However, implementing a morality system in a game where vampires are the central antagonist might be tough to pull off. After all, how do you spare a creature that has to feed off humans in order to survive?

Unfortunately, we have no idea when more information will be revealed about Marvel’s Blade. The lack of news about the game over the last year suggests we might not see it until late 2025 at the earliest, if not later. Hopefully Xbox and Arkane Lyon will have something exciting to show us sometime in the near future!

Do you think a morality system would make sense in Marvel’s Blade? Did you enjoy that feature in the Infamous games? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

The post Marvel’s Blade Rumor Claims the Game Will Borrow a Feature from Infamous appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The Russo Bros. are bringing some of their Marvel friends along for the first trailer for The Electric State. Joe and Anthony Russo are bringing their experience from Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame over to Netflix for their latest collaboration. Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown headlines The Electric State, where she’s joined by Marvel alums Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy), Ke Huy Quan (Loki), and Anthony Mackie (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), along with future Marvel villain Giancarlo Esposito (Captain America: Brave New World). The film is based on the graphic novel by Simon Stålenhag.

The Electric State takes place in a futuristic 1990s where man and machine have lived together in harmony, but that tranquil existence appears to be at an end. The robots have been exiled after a failed uprising. Millie Bobby Brown’s character is visited by a friendly robot that may lead her to the brother she thought was dead. As they venture across the country they’ll encounter new allies and dangerous threats.

Anthony and Joe Russo direct The Electric State, which boasts an impressive cast list. Brown and Pratt are joined by Academy Award winner Ke Huy Quan, Jason Alexander, Giancarlo Esposito, Academy Award nominee Stanley Tucci, and Woody Norman. Mackie, Woody Harrelson, Brian Cox, Jenny Slate, and Alan Tudyk lend their talents as the voices of the robots. 

The official trailer for The Electric State gives viewers a look at the sentient robots that resemble cartoons and mascots. Some are the size of toddlers while others are giants that tower over society. One thing the robots all have in common are their oversized heads that sport smiley faces. They really do look harmless, but they also demonstrate they can resort to violence if necessary.

Millie Bobby Brown plays Michelle, an orphaned teenager who is visited by a robot named Cosmo. Michelle believes her deceased brother is controlling Cosmo, which sets her on her quest across the American southwest. This is where she meets Chris Pratt’s Keats, who is a smuggler, and his wisecracking sidekick Herman, voiced by Anthony Mackie.

It remains to be seen if the Russo. Bros. can replicate their Marvel success with The Electric State. The duo is also behind the Netflix film The Gray Man, starring Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, and Ana de Armas, as well as the action-packed Extraction films starring Chris Hemsworth. The Russo Bros. also developed the Citadel franchise at Amazon Prime Video.

Marvel fans are most excited about Joe and Anthony Russo returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. San Diego Comic Con delivered the news that the Russos were helming both films, and that Robert Downey Jr. would also join them for an unexpected reunion. Instead of playing Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr. is portraying the legendary Marvel villain Doctor Doom.

The post The Electric State Trailer: Russo Bros. Netflix Movie Stacked With Marvel Stars appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The rating for Venom: The Last Dance may have fans, as well as star Tom Hardy, disappointed. The third film in Sony Pictures’ Venom franchise is the swan song for Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock / Venom, the character that evolved from one of Spider-Man’s greatest enemies to a full-fledged hero in the Marvel Universe. There was a time when a movie starring Venom would have seemed silly, but Hardy and the team at Sony Pictures have done a commendable job of turning Venom into a property that fans are excited to watch. With Venom: The Last Dance being the end of the road for the Lethal Protector, there was hope that it would move past the PG-13 rating of its predecessors to warrant an R-rating. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case.

Venom: The Last Dance‘s official MPA rating has been revealed, and instead of being rated R, Venom 3 will be rated PG-13 “for intense sequences of violence and action, bloody images, and strong language.” There was a big movement by Venom fandom and Tom Hardy for Venom: The Last Dance to get that R-rating. The advantage of being rated R is that it allows for more violence and bloodshed on film, along with having a more mature tone. Sony Pictures probably weighed the pros and cons of this decision, and ultimately landed on being conservative with Venom: The Last Dance‘s rating.

It remains to be seen how Venom fans will react to the news. More than likely it won’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Fans who were already going to see Venom: The Last Dance in theaters probably aren’t changing their minds based on a rating, especially if they saw Venom and Venom: Let There Be Carnage, which were also PG-13.

One of the big talking points coming out of the final trailer for Venom: The Last Dance was the appearance of Knull. The villain is a recent addition to the Venom mythos, but he’s played a big role in the comics and was the center of a crossover event, King in Black. Knull is the creator of the symbiotes and made his comics debut in 2018’s Venom #4. Knull has connections to the very beginnings of the Marvel Universe, and has crossed paths with figures such as the Celestials, Silver Surfer, Ego the Living Planet, and Thor. 

Eddie Brock and Venom ultimately defeated Knull in King in Black, with Eddie taking on the King in Black mantle. One of the lead ups to King in Black was Absolute Carnage, which saw Venom team up with the Avengers to battle a much deadlier Carnage.

While the actor playing Knull hasn’t been confirmed, the cast list for Venom: The Last Dance includes Rhys Ifans, who looks a lot like the Knull we quickly saw in the Venom 3 trailer. Ifans is no stranger to taking on comic book roles, having also portrayed Dr. Curt Connors / The Lizard in Sony’s The Amazing Spider-Man.

The post Venom: The Last Dance Official Rating Will Disappoint Fans and Tom Hardy appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The LEGO X-Men X-Mansion set has been a pretty poorly kept secret with leaks turning up everywhere in recent days, but today all has been revealed. The LEGO Marvel X-Men: The X-Mansion (76294) set just got official with 3,093 pieces, 10 minfigures, a buildable Sentinel, and a price tag of $329.99. What’s more LEGO Insiders will be treated to the LEGO Marvel Cerebro (5009015) set as a gift with their purchase while they last, which probably won’t be long. Here’s everything you need to know.

Naturally, the LEGO X-Mansion set will be packed with details like a Cerebro element, switchable Danger Room items, an exploding cupola, a motorcycle for Wolverine, as well tons of graphical nods to the X-Men franchise. As noted, it will also include a buildable Sentinel and 10 minifigures, 5 of which are all-new for this set. These figures include Professor X in his wheelchair, a new variation of Jean Grey, Gambit, Iceman and Bishop. There’s also Magneto, Storm, Wolverine, Cyclops, and Rogue. You can take a closer look at some of the fun features of LEGO’s newest Marvel set in the image gallery below.

Now for the really important part. The LEGO Marvel X-Men: The X-Mansion Buildable Set will be available first to LEGO Insiders starting on October 31st / November 1st at 9pm PT / 12am ET online here at LEGO. You can sign up for a free LEGO Insiders account right here. It will be available to the general public at the same time and in the same place on November 4th. However, we expect that the LEGO Marvel Cerebro gift set could sell out before the general release, so you’ll want to grab your copy as soon as possible. Note that the gift will only be available to LEGO Insiders.

The LEGO Marvel Cerebro set (5009015) includes a minifigure of Professor Xavier in his wheelchair, a custom-printed “Cerebro” element and a blue transparent component on the console displaying Jubilee.

You can find all of the upcoming LEGO releases for November 2024 here in the “Coming Soon” section.  After the launch, they will shift here in the “Available Now” section. Some of the new releases will be available here on Amazon, but in most cases you’ll want to stick with LEGO to take advantage of their special offers.  You can check out all of the latest and greatest LEGO releases and deals right here.

The post LEGO Marvel X-Men X-Mansion Set Arrives In November appeared first on ComicBook.com.

We’re officially entering the third act of Agatha All Along, the latest Disney+ series to be set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A sequel to the events of 2021’s WandaVision series, the show has not only carried on the unique journey of Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn), but folded in plenty of mysterious new elements. Much like WandaVision, Agatha All Along has also been at the center of a number of fan theories, particularly those concerning what connections it might have to the larger Marvel Universe. This has included plenty of suggestions about a potential antagonist waiting in the wings, whether that be the infamous devil Mephisto, Agatha’s estranged evil son Nicholas Scratch, or someone else entirely. However, with six out of Agatha All Along‘s nine episodes out into the world — does the story we’ve seen thus far need a “big bad” in order to be effective?

Admittedly, there would be plenty of narrative potential in fully folding Mephisto or Nicholas Scratch into the culmination of Agatha All Along — both characters have been referenced by name at least once in the series thus far, and bring their own complicated baggage when interacting with other Marvel characters. There are also ways that either villain could make their way onto the show’s final episodes, whether being tied to Agatha herself, whoever appears to be magically manipulating Lilia Caldru (Patti Lupone), or the whereabouts of the seemingly-departed Tommy Maximoff. Plus, the story of a benevolent evil man trying (and eventually failing) to suppress the powers of a group of women would certainly resonate with a number of viewers.

But at the same time, the story that Agatha All Along has been telling seems dense enough without pivoting to either of these men. The series’ Witches’ Road has allowed for Agatha and the members of her coven to tackle their biggest failures — not through a direct conflict or a supervillain to repeatedly punch, but through well-orchestrated trials of the self. In the process, we’ve discovered many of the insecurities surrounding the characters, whether they be Alice Wu-Gulliver (Ali Ahn) dealing with the legacy of her mom, or Agatha reckoning with the countless deaths she caused over the years. While Mephisto or Nicholas Scratch could very well be the domineering force behind these trials, it might be more interesting to lean into the “man vs. nature” and “man vs. self” kinds of conflicts that the series has already presented for its characters. It would prevent Agatha All Along from defaulting to another “gotcha” twist ending and dense flashback to confirm its big bad, after the reveal of Billy Maximoff / Wiccan (Joe Locke) was already handled so well in Episodes 5 and 6.

If anything, the existing elements at play within Agatha All Along could provide a satisfying final villain for the show to end on. The Salem’s Seven, a shadowy group who were reestablished as the children of witches that Agatha killed during the Salem Witch Trials, have only been sporadically established in the show thus far. There’s also the loose cannon of Rio Vidal (Aubrey Plaza), whose true identity has prompted lots of theories in and of itself. And finally, there’s also the chance that Agatha All Along could live up to its title and have the true villain be… Agatha all along, helping establish the character as a less-heroic part of the MCU’s future.

Ultimately, the Mephisto and Nicholas Scratch theories are an interesting testament to the fact that, by and large, the female-fronted Disney+ shows set within the MCU have been surrounded by these massive theories about the arrival of male characters. WandaVision, of course, kicked down the door with the countless questions about Mephisto himself, the mysterious aerospace engineer, or a last-minute cameo appearance from Stephen Strange / Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). 2022’s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law directly poked fun at fans who wanted to see Bruce Banner / Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Matt Murdock / Daredevil (Charlie Cox), while still being subjected to speculation about larger roles for Emil Blonsky / Abomination (Tim Roth), Samuel Sterns / The Leader (Tim Blake Nelson), and beyond. To a degree, it is unsurprising that the conversation around Agatha All Along has often been more about the men who could appear in it, and less about the cast of characters who are already in it. It might take a bit of magic for that kind of discourse to go away — but in the meantime, Agatha All Along might not need to play directly into it.

The post Does Agatha All Along Even Need a Big Bad? appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Being a quasi-sequel series to WandaVision, Marvel’s Agatha All Along was bound to pick up most of that show’s loose plot threads at one point or another, at least when it came to Agatha or Westview. We’ve learned a lot about Agatha in the first five episodes of the show. In Episode 6, which was released on Wednesday night, fans got to see another one of those loose ends tied up, thanks to the return of one of the most controversial characters in MCU history: Ralph Bohner.

You remember Ralph. don’t you? A cliffhanger in an episode of WandaVision seemingly revealed the return of Wanda’s brother, Pietro, only this version wasn’t played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson. The character who appeared was played by none other than Evan Peters, who had portrayed Quicksilver in the Fox Marvel universe. This appearance indicated that the Fox X-Men characters were already starting to seep into the MCU and that the universes were potentially colliding, but the other shoe eventually dropped and Pietro was revealed to be nothing more than a creation by Agatha.

A lot of Marvel fans were furious about the reveal, mainly because of the Peters stunt-casting. In hindsight, it feels like a brilliant decision by Marvel to set up a big multiversal story only to pull the rug and remind everyone that WandaVision was never about that. But there are plenty of Marvel fans who disagree and still hate Ralph Bohner for it.

Well, if you’re a Ralph hater, we’re sorry to inform you that Bohner is officially back. Wednesday’s new episode of Agatha All Along focused entirely on Joe Locke’s “Teen,” who was revealed at the end of last week to be none other than Billy Maximoff. Episode 6 showed what led Billy to Agatha and the Witches Road (which we get into here). He needed a little help uncovering some of the truth about Westview, so he found someone online who claimed to have lived there during the Anomaly.

That person turned out to be none other than Ralph Bohner, who has become a total mess since we last saw him in WandaVision. He tells Billy that he ran away from WestView when he had the chance, so he remembers things that the rest of the townspeople don’t. That said, no one believes anything he says about his time in Westview because who would believe a man rambling about an entire town being locked inside their own bodies and forced to participate in sitcoms brought to life?

Ralph also reveals that Agatha essentially stole his life after he left. She took over his house, kept all of his things, and commandeered most of his existence, leaving him with nothing. Remember when she was wearing the Bohner family reunion shirt earlier in the season? He’s been trying to put his life back together, piece by piece, but it seems like he hasn’t had much luck doing so.

Letting Ralph be a guy on the brink of an absolute breakdown at all times allowed for Evan Peters to really bring out his comedic talents. This frustrated, fully realized version of Ralph Bohner was hysterical every second he was on screen, hopefully proving to a lot of fans out there that he always had the potential to be a fantastic MCU contributor.

The post Agatha All Along Hilariously Brings Back One of the MCU’s Most Controversial Characters appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Agatha All Along is ramping things up in some major ways, fleshing out the magical corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the process. In addition to continuing the story of Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn), the show has folded in Billy Maximoff / Wiccan (Joe Locke), whose identity was revealed with great fanfare in the final moments of Episode 5. The majority of the series’ sixth episode consists of a flashback to the origin of Billy’s current status quo — and it was actually surprisingly accurate to the pages of Marvel Comics. Major spoilers for Episode 6 of Agatha All Along below! Only look if you want to know!

Initially, Locke’s version of Billy is introduced as Billy Kaplan, a Jewish teenager having his bar mitzvah in the town of Eastview. While at the party, Billy has his palm read by Lilia Calderu (Patti Lupone), who warns him that his life is about to be split in two, and appears to place a mysterious sigil on him. The party is then cut short by news of the Westview anomaly, which sends Billy and his parents driving home in a hurry — so much so that they crash into a nearby tree. Billy dies in the car accident, just as the souls of Billy and Tommy Maximoff appear to be erased by the destruction of the Westview hex.

In reality, the soul of Billy Maximoff is reborn into Billy Kaplan’s body, and he awakens and gets acclimated to his new-old life. Three years later, Billy begins to personally investigate the circumstances that led to his rebirth, researching aspects of the Westview anomaly on various web forums. Through this research, and a clandestine meeting with Ralph Bohner (Evan Peters), Billy eventually begins to discover his true identity — and the role that Agatha Harkness could have in helping him reach his goal to find Tommy.

While this story arc might seem slightly convoluted on paper, it is actually surprisingly reminiscent of how Billy Kaplan is introduced in the pages of Marvel Comics — albeit, without the WandaVision tropes like the hex. In the comics, Billy and Tommy Maximoff were originally introduced as Wanda and Vision’s children in the 1980s, only to have their lives ended prematurely by the dark lord Mephisto. The villain wiped both Billy and Tommy from existence and absorbed their energy into himself, later gaslighting Wanda to believe that the children were really figments of her imagination all along.

Eventually, this is revealed to not be the case at all — in actuality, Billy and Tommy were believed to have been reborn in the bodies of two ordinary teenagers, Billy Kaplan and Thomas Shepherd. In Billy’s case, in the pages of Young Avengers, he is an ordinary Jewish teenager who accidentally activates his powers while fighting school bullies. There have been debates in the years since over whether or not that reincarnation was real, much less what happened to the actual Billy Kaplan and Thomas Shepherd when the soul transfers happened. But the majority of Marvel characters recognize these versions of Billy and Tommy to be Wanda’s children — and now, it appears the MCU is doing the same.

New episodes of Agatha All Along debut Wednesdays at 9/8c on Disney+. If you haven’t signed up for Disney+ yet, you can try it out here.

Note: If you purchase one of the awesome, independently chosen products featured here, we may earn a small commission from the retailer. Thank you for your support.

The post Agatha All Along: Billy’s Comic-Accurate Backstory, Revealed appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Agatha All Along’s latest episode revealed how Billy Maximoff survived the Hex in WandaVision. Last week, fans were shocked to learn Joe Locke’s Teen was actually the Scarlet Witch’s son. With that knowledge in-hand, Agatha All Along took us on a trip down memory lane this week. Spoilers beyond this point from this week’s episode, “Familiar By Thy Side”! Read on only if you really want to know!

The episode opens with a flashback but it’s not to “Teen” as we know him. Instead, we’re taken to the bar mitzvah celebration of William Kaplan. Amid the party, which has a magic theme, he visits a palm reader who turns out to be Lilia Calderu. Lilia sees that William’s life will split into Billy’s. Before sending him back out to his party with reassurances about the future, she slips a rune in his pocket on which she has placed the sigil. However, the party soon stops as the “anomaly” around Westview is changing. The next we see his family driving near Westview as Wanda’s Hex was breaking down. The distraction causes an accident that kills William Kaplan but at that moment, Billy’s soul is teleporting from that little boy inside of Wanda and Vision’s house and becomes bonded to the older teenager. William Kaplan survives, but now he’s Billy Maximoff… in William’s body. That’s how he’s been able to survive in this world without a “container” for the wayward soul. It’s a certifiably wild development, and one fans are going to discuss into the ground in the ensuing days. This is amongst so many more mysteries that are still on the board for the show.

For a refresher, Wanda Maximoff created the Hex after losing Vision in Avengers: Infinity War. The two were supposed to live in Westview, New Jersey and begin their lives together. However, after the synthezoid was out of commission, she used her chaos magic to warp reality to a sitcom where Vision and her boys were alive and well. Agatha Harkness realized what Wanda was doing and conspired to take her powers for her own gain. Wanda, Vision, Billy and Tommy ended up being able to stop her. But, in the end, holding all those people hostage wasn’t very heroic of Scarlet Witch. She freed all of them and they still hold resentment for that experience, as we saw earlier in Agatha All Along. (If we really go back to Westview at the end of the series, how will they react to another supernatural showdown within the city limits?) It feels like the trouble is just getting brewing.

Billy and Agatha have a stern confrontation at the tail end of Agatha All Along’s fifth episode. It’s clear that both sides have been hiding a bit of information from each other. The more mature witch knew that her young familiar was actually the son of the Scarlet Witch this entire time. Meanwhile, Billy has been playing coy about his identity and power level for a while as well. That cute little spellbook was basically misdirection. Fans had been wondering about his identity for weeks now. Every Darkhold mention and Nicolas Scratch Easter egg created just a sliver of doubt among the viewers. But, now there is no doubt. Billy Maximoff lured these women onto The Witches Road. He said it was for power, but clearly there’s more to gain here as he’s got some scary abilities just like his mother.

Agatha All Along Hid Wiccan In Plain Sight

For weeks now, Agatha All Along has been playing in viewers’ faces. Billy was the most logical reveal for Joe Locke’s Teen. But, last week confirmed it. It’s a delicate dance with a show featuring a major mystery to balance that surprise with fan expectations. Some people are interested because a Marvel Comics favorite is here. Others, argue that the reveal should have been out in the open from the word go. Director Jac Schaeffer is understanding of all of these elements. She told Entertainment Weekly, Billy’s identity was not something they were trying super hard to misdirect from. Instead, how Agatha Harkness reacts to that information is far more interesting. Also, what does this boy want from her and The Witches’ Road in general? All things to ponder as we continue towards the finale.

Schaeffer argued about the sigil weeks ago, “This is what I would say: That’s not the first place I’d look. It’s not entirely irrelevant: But there are other places to look.”

“I don’t like hiding things from the audience, just to then be, like, ‘Boo!’ There’s no artistry to that,” Schaeffer mused. “So when we talked about obscuring who he is, the first question is, why? What is the utility of that? The answer is, it’s about the effect that his mystery has on Agatha. What does that do to her? How does it motivate her? How does it hit her emotionally?” 

What do you think about this change from Billy’s comics origin? Is it something else? Catch all of our pop culture discussion at @ComicBook on social media!

The post Agatha All Along: How Did Billy Survive the WandaVision Hex? appeared first on ComicBook.com.

A new publishing line from Marvel Comics will revisit some of the publisher’s most popular stories. With New York Comic Con kicking off this week, Marvel is unveiling the Marvel Premier Collection, a new publishing line featuring the company’s most celebrated and prestigious storylines from an all-star list of creators. Marvel Premier Collection doesn’t officially start until 2025, but we know that the heroes that will make up the first wave include Daredevil, Black Panther, Captain America, and the Fantastic Four. Coincidentally, three of these have Marvel Studios projects lined up for 2025 as well: the Daredevil: Born Again streaming series on Disney+, and feature films Captain America: Brave New World and The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

Marvel Premier Collection is the perfect jumping-on point for readers looking to submerge themselves in the Marvel Universe. What makes the Marvel Premier Collection unique is its been curated into a format that’s not only sleek, but also high-quality and easily readable in order for them to be accessible for all readers. Whether you’re an old or new fan, or have only digested Marvel content from comics, films, TV, games, or other outlets, there should be something for you to enjoy in the Marvel Premier Collection.

“We’ve all heard the age-old questions: ‘Where do I start? What is that one run you just cannot miss? What should I read before or after the next big movie or television show to have the best experience?’ The Marvel Premier Collection program is our answer to each of those questions,” said Dan Buckley, President of Marvel Comics and Franchise. “Comics are at the heart of everything we do at Marvel, so this collection will be our go-to publishing line for any and all fans looking for a way into—or further into—the Marvel Universe. These titles will not be the only place to start of course, but they will be one of the best.”

Marvel Premier Collection begins in February 2025 with the simultaneous release of Daredevil: Born Again and Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet. The Washington Post lauded Daredevil: Born Again as “one of the greatest Daredevil stories ever told,” and is the inspiration behind the Disney+ series of the same name. The collection will also feature an exclusive new foreword by Frank Miller and an afterword by Daredevil actor Charlie Cox. Daredevil: Born Again is written by Frank Miller and drawn by David Mazzucchelli, and goes on sale February 4, 2025.

Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet collects National Book Award winner and New York Times bestselling author Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Black Panther run in one single paperback for the first time. It offers a profound look at the World of Wakanda and Afrofuturism, and Marvel plans on announcing more details about the title at a later date. Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet is written by Ta-Nehisi Coates and drawn by Brian Stelfreeze and Chris Sprouse. It’s on-sale date is February 4, 2025.

As for the last two titles, we have Captain America: Winter Soldier, collecting writer Ed Brubaker and artist Steve Epting’s fan-favorite run on the Sentinel of Liberty. It brought Cap’s sidekick, Bucky Barnes, back from the dead and turned him into the deadly Winter Soldier. The story also served as inspiration for 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The title goes on sale April 1, 2025.

Fantastic Four: Solve Everything collects an all-new, streamlined version of Jonathan Hickman’s Fantastic Four run, with Hickman personally curating it himself. Fantastic Four: Solve Everything is written by Jonathan Hickman and drawn by Dale Eaglesham, Neil Edwards, and Steve Epting, and goes on sale June 17, 2025.

The post Marvel Announces New Publishing Line Featuring Classic Stories and All-Star Creators appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The Witches’ Road grants those who travel it and survive its trials with whatever it is they desire most at the end of their journey. On Agatha All Along, the mysterious Teen gets Agatha Harkness to assemble a coven to unlock the Road, with each witch seeking something important from the journey. Teen’s reason for wanting to walk the road isn’t made clear at the outset, but last week’s episode, “Darkest Hour/Wake They Power” cast the entire journey into a whole new light. “Teen” was revealed to really be Billy Maximoff and now, given his family’s history with Agatha, everything we thought we knew is now up in the air.  But we also have a bitter question: What does Billy really want from The Witches’ Road?

According to Joe Locke, who plays Billy, the former “Teen” is definitely not looking for power. He has power, he demonstrated it last week with that big reveal of his identity and he’s been lying to everyone this whole time — especially Agatha.

“We definitely know that he went on the road looking for power, which is a lie,” Locke told ComicBook. “He’s got power. So, what was he looking for? Why does he want to go on the road? Why has he been lying to Agatha this whole time?”

If power isn’t the goal, Billy clearly is looking for something else and a few ideas come to mind: revenge against Agatha for what she did to Wanda in WandaVision, to bring his mother back, or to find his brother, Tommy. Let’s break those possibilities down

Billy Wants Revenge

One of the things that could be Billy’s motivation for walking The Witches’ Road is revenge — or more specifically to see Agatha pay. Agatha is, in a very real sense, the architect of much of Billy’s suffering. Her actions in WandaVision not only pushed Wanda to fully come into her power, but one of the consequences of all of that was the taking down of the hex, seemingly destroying Billy, Tommy, and Wanda’s version of Vision. While we still don’t know how exactly Billy survived that, the situation still caused Billy to lose everything in some fashion. His mother is gone. HIs father doesn’t exist. We have no idea where his brother is, if he survived. For Billy, getting Agatha on the Road could very well be a way to let the Road test the powerless witch and make her endure suffering as part of the journey, forcing her to experience a fraction of what he has lived with. It doesn’t necessarily grant Billy anything tangible at the end of the Road, like the power he claimed he was seeking, but watching Agatha suffer — and potentially not even survive — might be heart’s desire enough.

The Road Will Bring Wanda Back

While seeing Agatha suffer certainly feels like a real goal, Billy’s heart’s desire might be something less aggressive and much more deeply emotional. Billy might just simply want his mother back — so much so that he may have made an arrangement with someone else to get it done. One of the things that is interesting about Billy is that we meet him somewhat in conjunction with Rio. Agatha is still deep under Wanda’s spell in that first episode, imagining that her life is essentially a police procedural, but the two strangers that enter the picture and bring her out of it are Rio and Billy. That can’t be a coincidence. It is possible that Billy made an agreement with Rio — or perhaps even someone else (cough, Mephisto, cough). Getting Agatha out from under the spell would still leave the witch vulnerable as she has no powers and getting her on the Road could allow Rio and whoever else is coming for Agatha to have a better shot at taking her down. For Billy, walking the Road may be less about what the Road can give him and more what whoever he’s serving can — and if various theories about Rio’s identity pan out, that could be bringing back Wanda and others he loves.

Billy Is Just Trying to Get Tommy Back

It’s the idea of getting back a lost loved one that also presents a third possibility: maybe Billy wants the Rod to bring Tommy back. For Billy, getting to the road might not be some grand scheme. He may have simply needed a witch with experience on The Witches’ Road — in this case, the infamous Agatha Harkness — to get him there and after that it’s just a matter of surviving to the end so that the Road can grant him his twin brother back. The twin bond is a powerful thing and it would make sense that Billy would do almost anything to get his brother back. With this in mind, Billy may never have intended on revealing himself or his powers. He may have just wanted to walk the Road, get his brother, and then move on with his life finally no longer missing his other half, as it were. This would explain why he’s largely kept things low key up until the third trial as well as why Alice’s death impacted him so much. Her death pushed him a little too far, causing him to reveal himself and lash out because, from his perspective, Alice was the witch most like him and the one that he got the closest to on the journey to that point. Her death — also because of Agatha, much like the loss of his own family — simply pushed him too far.

Heading into Episode 6, there are a lot of unknowns. We don’t know what happened after Billy chucked all the witches (except Rio) off the Road and into the mud. We don’t know how Billy survived the hex or even how he was outside of it (as was teased in the midseason trailer). We also don’t know exactly what he wants — but with just four episodes remaining, and with Billy’s identity revealed, the path to finding out seems to have presented itself and hopefully we’ll start getting answers as to if Billy wants revenge, his mother, or just to bring back his twin.

Agatha All Along is now streaming on Disney+. New episodes drop Wednesdays at 9pm ET.

The post Agatha All Along: What Does Billy Really Want From The Witches’ Road? appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Agatha All Along star Joe Locke brought some darkness to The Witches’ Road last week and the series’ director took some time to talk about it. Jac Schaeffer has been leading folks on this journey with Agatha Harkness since the WandaVision days. She told The Wrap that the close confines of this coven has made every one of these witches a little bit on edge. Last week, everything finally boiled over after Agatha took out Alice Wu-Gulliver in a moment of chaos. That led to Teen tossing the remaining coven members into the muck of the road. As icing on the dastardly cake, Joe Locke’s character has been revealed as Billy Maximoff, and will spark a ton of emotions from some of the coven as well. (Provided they ever make it out of that mud to finish out these trials.) Schaeffer has noticed that her witches have taken on a bit of an edge from the moment they all stepped onto the road. It seemed like things were going okay after Alice’s trial in Episode 4. That quickly left the building after that magical confrontation. All of this is on purpose though, and we’re going to have to keep watching to learn more.

“It’s more about a coven itself, and the idea of blessings and burdens alike, and that witches in a coven are ride or die, but also, given certain circumstances, will also stab each other in the back,” Schaeffer argues. “That was, from the beginning, something we were interested in, because witches are coded as villains, right? Like treacherous, self serving, villainous, evil, violent, duplicitous, right? That’s the thing.”

“So it was important to us we weren’t doing ‘It’s a girls weekend! And it’s all about bonding and loving each other!’ We very much wanted the bonding,” The director recalled. “I mean, that campfire idea, I wish I could remember which of my brilliant writers came up with the campfire idea, but it was very early, and I was like, ‘100% However we do it, we’re getting these witches around a campfire.’ And I’m an enormous fan of Jaws, so I’m like, ‘We’re doing a scar comparison. We need that vibe.’”

So we’ve established that Billy Maximoff is a big meanie now. But what does that mean for the rest of the trials on The Witches’ Road? Last time we checked, the rest of the coven was still down there in the mud and with no real plan to escape. An exclusive clip that Marvel released with ComicBook earlier today hints that there might be a way out. But, nothing is certain right now. We also had the chance to sit down with Joe Locke and ask about where his relationship with his friends stands after all that drama in Episode 5. The Agatha All Along star is keeping details close to the vest. However, he did have something fun to say about Billy’s motivations moving forward.

“You’ll have to find out this week!” Locke teased me. “We definitely know that he went on the road looking for power, which is a lie. He’s got power. So, what was he looking for? Why does he want to go on the road? Why has he been lying to Agatha this whole time?”

Clearly, the Agatha All Along team is still hiding some pretty massive Secrets behind all of these teases. From our count, there are still the mystery of Rio Vidal’s actual identity, what’s going on with Mephisto, Agatha’s powers being restored, maybe a Scarlet Witch resurrection, and for good measure, the future of the magical side of the MCU, all still on the docket. It’s a little bit wild to expect Agatha All Along to pull the curtain back on all of these mysteries. But, you can probably bet that 3 to 4 of them will get their conclusion in this Disney+ series.

Do you think Billy Maximoff is the secret villain of this show? Catch all of our pop culture discussion at @ComicBook on social media!

The post Agatha All Along Director Addresses Joe Locke’s Dark Side appeared first on ComicBook.com.

If you haven’t been following Marvel Comics recently, you might not realize that Miles Morales is struggling with his own bizarre circumstances thanks to a recent crossover. In the company-wide event, Blood Hunt, Blade was transformed into a villain thanks Varnae possessing his body and he happened to have quite a negative effect on the Spider-Man of Brooklyn. As Miles struggles with his current status as a creature of the night, Morales still has more than enough time to pay homage to the anime scene in some unexpected ways. In the latest issue of Miles Morales: Spider-Man, readers get the opportunity to see what the friendly neighborhood Spidey might look like as a Joestar.

As mentioned in the opening paragraph, Miles was changed into a vampire by a possessed Blade and shockingly, he was not returned to normal once the vampiric scourge ended in Blood Hunt. The supernatural Spider-Man needs some major help in resisting his blood-drinking tendencies and luckily, the King of Wakanda is more than willing to lend a helping hand. Miles now has a new costume made of Vibranium that also regulates his “bio-electricity,” and might just be the trick for getting rid of his fanged side. Unfortunately, Spidey is going to have to immediately test out his suit thanks to a classic villain hitting the scene.

Miles Morales Is Approaching

Throughout some of Miles’ recent adventures, he has been joined on the streets of New York City by new hero Starling. Tiana Toomes has a winged look that helps her in her superhero career but her grandfather is far from a hero. Adrian Toomes, aka the Vulture, is gunning for Tiana’s friend Miles. Arriving on the scene in the closing moments of Miles Morales: Spider-Man #25, the vampiric wall-crawler pulls off a move that would fit right into JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.

The meme in question took place during JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders in which Jotaro Kujo approached Dio Brando in the major battle to cap off the season. “Oh ho, are you approaching me?” remains a major scene in Hirohiko Araki’s anime franchise and it might just be the most recognized moment in the anime to date. While there has never been a crossover featuring the Joestars and Miles Morales, it’s clear that the latter is more than willing to pay homage to the anime series.

A Spider-Man Anime?

Surprisingly enough, we have yet to receive an anime series that focuses on either Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man as neither Peter nor Miles have hit this medium with their own story. Perhaps the manga series that will have the best chance of being brought to the screen is Spider-Man: Fake Red, a short story that sees Peter Parker struggling with the symbiote as a new, powerless crime fighter tries to fill his shoes. There have also been several manga series focusing on the wallcrawler, though Fake Red is the most recent and perhaps the most popular.

Marvel, as of late, has been partnering with Shonen Jump to bring some of its biggest heroes to the manga medium. Of the stories that have been created thus far, perhaps none have seen more popularity than Deadpool: Samurai. Not only does Wade Wilson remain a popular character for the comic book company but the series also saw the Merc With A Mouth teaming up with My Hero Academia’s All Might. Should any Marvel manga receive a small-screen adaptation, it would most likely be Deadpool: Samurai.

Want to stay up to date on how the anime world crosses into the comic book scene? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook.com for the latest updates on the Joestars and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.

The post Marvel’s Miles Morales Just Recreated an Iconic JoJo Meme appeared first on ComicBook.com.