Earlier this week, an era ended when Marvel surprisingly announced their “Fresh Start” initiative as their superstar writer, Brian Michael Bendis (Ultimate Spider-Man) finalizes plans to depart from the publisher. Today, Marvel’s May solicitations teased the final entries to his remaining series, including the landmark Iron Man #600. We were able to cobble together the solicits via CBR and analyze what kind of content readers can expect to see in these stories.

INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #600

BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS (W) • STEFANO CASELLI, ALEX MALEEV & MORE (A)

Tony Stark is back, but in what form? At least five huge surprises await new and old fans alike. Industry legend Brian Michael Bendis drops his final Marvel Comic to end an era, and he’s going out big! This super-sized anniversary extravaganza features artistic contributions from a bevy of Bendis’ collaborators from over the years, including Jim Cheung, David Marquez, Mike Deodato Jr., Mark Bagley, Leinil Francis Yu, Daniel Acuña and a few other surprises! All this and a huge new villain arises! And the futures of Tony, Riri Williams and Victor Von Doom are all revealed!

56 PGS./Rated T+ …$5.99

The usual slate of all-star Marvel artists is featured in this issue, as well as what seems to be Tony Stark triumphantly returning to his traditional Iron Man moniker. On top of the return of the titular hero, the solicit also teases a peek into the distant future of Tony Stark, Riri Williams, and Victor Von Doom. With Iron Man back into his traditional role, will Marvel be shifting the remaining heroes out of the spotlight? The teaser for “A Fresh Start” seems to suggest a back-to-basics approach at The House of Ideas, but only time will tell.

Next, up is the finale of the Miles Morales Spider-Man title with Legacy milestone numbering via issue #240 (trying to say that one three times fast!) Artist Oscar Bazaldua (Sinestro) is joining the Bendis for the over-sized 32-page finale also shipping in May. The story teases a look at the Ultimate Universe, which is interesting given recent revelations about that reality. This is also the final chapter (for now) that Bendis will spend with Spider-Man, who he has been writing since the year 2000. Recent issues and a certain fresh start image show Miles still front-and-center as a ‘Spider-Man’, though, so I’m betting the hero isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. The big question seems to be who will craft the next round of stories. We will also have to wait and see if Miles will continue to have a solo title going forward.

SPIDER-MAN #240

BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS (W) OSCAR BAZALDUA (A)

Cover by DAVID MARQUEZ

THE END OF AN ERA FOR MILES MORALES!

Marvel Comics proudly presents the final issue of Bendis’ epic (bio-electric) run! Over seven years and across two universes, Miles Morales has been an Ultimate, a Web-Warrior, an Avenger and a Champion. A New Yorker, a student, a son and a friend. And whenever the city needed him (and one time when all of the reality needed him), he was always SPIDER-MAN. Don’t miss the chance to see comics superstar Brian Michael Bendis bid farewell to one of his most beloved creations, and to glimpse what the future may hold for Miles Morales.

32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99

Keep your eyes peeled for our weekly column: The Marvel Rundown, dedicated to commentary and analysis of Marvel’s biggest books in their publishing slate.

3 COMMENTS

  1. January 2018 Sales Direct Market sales figures:

    INVINCIBLE IRON-MAN #597, #66 in the top 300 with 29,540 issues sold.
    SPIDER-MAN #236, #80 in the top 300 with 26,409 issues sold.

    Should we really be making quite this big a deal about this guy?

    Mike

  2. That is definitely a sweet Iron Man image. But besides that, I am often baffled at the hype Bendis gets (and I have definitely enjoyed some of the stuff he writes), especially since most of his recent stuff really aren’t that big of sellers. I do wish him the best of luck on Superman though (I’ll check it out).

  3. Looking forward to Bendis’ Superman now, after listening to the latest BendisTapes on Wordballoon. I’ll try it all

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