New Marvel NOW! Teaser Released

Marvel Comics has released a new teaser for Marvel NOW!, launching in Fall 2016. Marvel first teased the relaunch banner's return last week, with a white teaser featuring a slightly touched up version of the Marvel NOW! logo. The new teaser comes on a black background and shows that the "NOW!" portion of the logo has been shattered. Additionally, Marvel sent the teaser to press with the intriguing message, "You Thought You Knew the Whole Story…"

At first glance, most assumed that 2016's Marvel NOW! would be another relaunch like the 2011 Marvel NOW!, introducing new creative teams on new and continuing series, and the press release sent out by Marvel to accompany the original teaser supported that theory. However, this teaser suggests there's more to it than that, and that Marvel has a more significant reason for revisiting the Marvel NOW! brand than a simple case of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

The implication of the teaser line that accompanied the image is that there was more going on during the Marvel NOW! era than readers were aware of when the titles were first being published, and there are a few different ways that Marvel could revisit the era to tell the full story. It's possible that they plan on publishing a series of stories that will address events that transpired during the eight-month gap between Secret Wars and the launch of All-New Marvel, thereby revealing the entire story of how the Marvel NOW! era came to a close. So far secondhand hints that have come out in the All-New Marvel titles since launch have had to suffice, but the eighth month gap inlcuded a war between mutants and Inhumans that claimed the life of Cyclops, which seems like something Marvel would want to expound on at some point.

Another possibility is that time travel is involved. One of the running themes of Marvel NOW! was that the timeline had been damaged by frequent time travel, which factored significantly into the Age of Ultron event and the launch of All-New X-Men, and is something that the All-New Marvel era Ultimates are still investigating. Perhaps it's time to pull that thread one more time.

Marvel NOW! launches in Fall 2016. The new titles will be revealed in the free Marvel NOW! Previews Magazine, releasing July 13.