Marvel Now: Putting together the pieces of what we know

 

For the last few weeks Marvel has been rolling out teaser images for Fall’s Marvel Now event/promotion/whatchamadoodle.  Today’s reveal included the above puzzle which I’m sure the internet is busily assembling right this minute. Previous piece included a bunch of images by Mike Deodate with a “shattered” motif, and it all seems to point to Mosaic, a new Inhuman  character who will evidently be a lynchpin to the entire affair.

Promos include Mosaic, the new Wasp, Solo, Steve Rogers Captain America, Ms. Marvel, Captain Marvel, Foolkiller, Odinson, Miles Morales, Ms. America, Doctor Doom, Black Panther, Prowler, Ms. Marvel, Riri Williams (the new War Machine sort of), and Slapstick. Many of the characters feature new costumes and guises.

The jigsaw puzzle promo features glimpses of Elektra, Cable, Spider-Man (Miles Morales), Hulk (Amadeus Cho), Hawkeye (Kate Bishop), Captain America (Steve Rogers), Jessica Jones, Ms. America and Riri, according to CBR, which has a better eye for this than your present narrator.

All will be revealed in a Marvel Now Previews to be released in comics shops at midnight on July 13th, in conjunction with the release of Civil War II #3:

To celebrate the dual release of the MARVEL NOW! PREVIEWS MAGAZINE and the blockbuster CIVIL WAR II#3 – Marvel is pleased to announce a midnight release for these two can’t miss books! Participating retailers may open Tuesday night and may also sell all other 7/13 Marvel titles at the midnight release.

Who will fall? That’s the question on everyone’s lips, as one of the biggest heroes in the Marvel Universe meets their end. Who is it and how will divide fansfor years to come. It all happens in CIVIL WAR II #3 – and you can be one of the first to find out! How can the heroes of the Marvel Universe survive after the unthinkable happens? As the war escalates to new heights, the table is set for Marvel NOW!

Plus – fans in attendance will have a chance to get their hands on the CIVIL WAR II #3 MIDNIGHT VARIANT. Debuting at the midnight release and polybagged to conceal the identity of the fallen hero, this variant cover features artwork by none other than Marvel CCO Joe Quesada!

Then, after the shocking events of Civil War II #3, its new ongoing series, new status quos and new characters! Packed cover-to-cover with huge reveals, new titles, creator interviews and more – pick up the free MARVEL NOW! PREVIEWS MAGAZINE! Exclusive to comic shops, this is your very first look at the hottest upcoming titles of the fall! Following the cataclysmic fallout of Civil War II, get a snapshot of into the Marvel Universe of tomorrow!

As for Mosaic, he was explained in this “get to meet you” interview with writer Geoffrey Thorne and artist Khary Randolph, who will draw his ongoing title. Mosaic is a black professional basketball player named Morris Sackett, whose latent Inhuman powers cause him to become a bodiless entity who can only exist by taking over the bodies of others (many have compared him to a Quantum Leaper.)

 How would you describe Morris’s powers?

Thorne: The baseline is Morris can take over a person’s body and essentially become them. He has access to every memory, every talent, and most important, every nuance of speech and behavior his host might have. There are no barriers when Morris takes a host. He is you. Not even a telepath could detect his presence unless he wanted them to. He cannot be detected or blocked by any conventional surveillance or defensive equipment, not even Stark-level tech. He is the perfect spy. He doesn’t exist on the “astral plane.” Morris physically takes over your body — sort of like a parasite or a virus made of energy. There are some other powers, one in particular, that I’m holding back, and limitations and drawbacks, which he and we will learn.

And Mosaic’s powers seem to be what has inspired a lot of this Marvel Now imagery:

Khary, what will Morris look like when he’s not in someone else’s body?
Randolph: After a lot of consideration, my solution was for him to look like a being of pure, unstable energy. He’s no longer a man in the physical sense, so my idea was to imagine the husk of what was once a man, barely containing this essence that is pouring out of him from all sides. He’s teeming with energy, hence all of the cracks and fissures. As for the energy itself, I wanted it to still feel like a Marvel character, so we’ve created these rectangular squares that radiate off of him at all times. Geoffrey has lovingly referred to them as “Kirby squares.”

So there you have the basics: a prominent new character who continues Marvel’s attempts to present more heroes who aren’t white  men, along with a black creative team; sounds good but I’m sure Marvel will mess it up somehow.

As for Marvel Now the whachamadoodle itself, nothing but very vague outlines thus far of what it entails, but there is clearly an emphasis on the “Marvel of the ‘Teens” characters, even if it is just another reboot/relaunch/new round of #1s. And relaunches of a bunch of new #1s are generally a matter of diminishing returns in today’s comics market.

All that said, this is a pretty sophisticated campaign for Marvel, with an overriding imagery and focus. A lot more complicated than when they just sent out logos. Moving on, comics 2016.