In an article posted to the official Marvel website on Monday, October 4th, 2021, it was revealed that Steve Orlando will be taking over writing duties on Marauders as the ongoing series returns to your local comic shop in January 2022 with Marauders Annual #1, which will feature interior art by Crees Lee and a cover by Russell Dauterman (with no word on additional members of the creative team just yet).
Make Mine Mutant Emancipation
The story will follow the Marauders as they renew their mission of rescuing mutants, with team leader Kate Pryde setting her sights on an important mutant liberation assignment: freeing Daken from his imprisonment by Brimstone Love, a character from the 2099 timeline who is now making his debut on Earth-616!
Brimstone Love first appeared in X-Men 2099 #3 (1993) by John Francis Moore, Ron Lim, Adam Kubert, Chris Ivy, Jim Sanders III, Cam Smith, Gary Martin, Tom Smith, Jon Babcock, and Ken Lopez. He’s responsible for forming the “Theatre of Pain,” which according to the press release from Marvel has set up shop in the backyard of Xavier’s old School for Gifted Youngsters in the panels of Marauders Annual #1.
Fortunately, Pryde will have all the help she needs to overcome the Theatre of Pain, thanks to the fact that she’ll be battling alongside Psylocke, Aurora, Tempo, and intriguingly, newly introduced mutant Somnus.
And just wait until you see the FULL roster, folks… https://t.co/T1UmDXw7kQ
— The Steve Orlando (@thesteveorlando) October 4, 2021
Somnus was first introduced in a story included in Marvel’s Voices: Pride #1, “Man of His Dreams,” written by Orlando and with art by Claudia Aguirre, with a character design by Luciano Vecchio. You can read this story on Marvel Unlimited now, which may give some hints about what’s to come in Marauders Annual #1 (given that Daken appears).
Orlando has discussed how Somnus has a backstory that is in part inspired by his own family history, making the character an especially interesting addition to the Marauders roster.
Marauders Annual #1
Will you be picking up a copy of Marauders Annual #1 when it arrives at your local comic shop on January 12th? What additional established Marvel characters do you hope to see in subsequent issues of the ongoing series? Did you get a chance to pick up Marvel’s Voices: Pride and meet Somnus back in June 2021?
We want to hear what you’re thinking! Give us out shout-out, either here in the comment section or over on social media @comicsbeat.
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