7 Comics Storylines That Were Totally Abandoned

Comics are littered with storylines that captivate readers, with some even in contention for the greatest comics ever told. These tales can come in the form of short stories, one-shots, and expansive stories that take up multiple issues. Fans always remember the great stories, but what about the storylines that begin but never come to a satisfying conclusion? There are a lot of factors affecting a comic book storyline being abandoned, from creative issues behind the scenes or a publisher deciding to end a title prematurely. These storylines end up being forgotten about by the general public, but not by the most loyal of fans.

We’re tracking down the seven storylines in comics that wound up being abandoned. Some of the entries will be familiar to superhero fans, while others took place in creator-owned comics. What they all share is a collection of fandom that would love nothing more than to see these stories get a proper ending.

7) Meet Alpha, Spider-Man’s New Sidekick

Before Spider-Boy, there was Alpha, a young teenager named Andy Maguire, who just happened to be named after live-action Spider-Man actors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. Alpha debuted in 2012 for Spider-Man’s 50th anniversary, and gained his powers after an accident during one of Peter Parker’s experiments at Horizon Labs. Instead of gaining the strength, agility, and stamina of a spider, Alpha was seemingly as powerful as Superman.

This power went to Alpha’s head, as he quickly became a hated figure in the eyes of Spider-Man fans. Marvel had big plans for Alpha when you look at how he was promoted and pushed in marketing materials. The publisher wound up dialing back Alpha’s powerset while also giving him a limited series that ended up going nowhere. Alpha eventually faded back into obscurity, never to be heard from again.

6) Batwoman’s Marriage to Maggie Sawyer

Batwoman was one of the early success stories of DC’s New 52, with the creative team of J.H. Williams III and Haden Blackman helping to redefine Kate Kane and firmly establish her as a member of the Bat-Family. Much of the praise came from their storytelling and the types of stories being told within Batwoman, like her relationship with her girlfriend, Maggie Sawyer. In fact, their partnership was leading to the two characters getting engaged and married, but DC put a stop to it before it could happen. This left Williams III and Blackman frustrated, leading to their decision to step away from Batwoman.

Williams III and Blackman stated that the changes to their planned story arcs in Batwoman came at the last minute, causing them to have to alter over years of planning and plotting. That romantic relationship in Batwoman was one of its key storylines, but wound up on the cutting room floor.

5) Whatever Happened to Morning Glories?

The early 2010s saw the release of Morning Glories from writer Nick Spencer and artist Joe Eisma. The comic starred kids who attended Morning Glory Academy. Our lead of six teenagers were brilliant but troubled, and Morning Glory Academy also dabbled in nefarious affairs that included murder, torture, and the supernatural. The series ran for 50 issues split up into two seasons, but Season 3 has yet to be released.

Morning Glories was a success with critics and readers alike, though Season 3 was never released, with the creators saying the title is on an extended hiatus.

4) Someone Is Pretending to Be a Mutant in the X-Men

There was once a time when Wolverine was very much dead. Never one to turn down a reason for an event comic, Marvel milked The Death of Wolverine into several spinoff titles and miniseries, one of which was Hunt for Wolverine: Adamantium Agenda. The comic followed Wolverine’s teammates on the New Avengers — Iron Man, Spider-Man, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage — as they kept their promise to Wolverine that if anything bad should ever happen to him, they’d make sure his body wasn’t used for evil purposes.

Of course, if stolen DNA is involved, then Mister Sinister is never too far behind. There’s also a database that contains the DNA of all mutants, but our heroes discover that the DNA shows that an unknown member of the X-Men isn’t a mutant, and that they have a sleeper agent in their ranks. This was an exciting development at the time, but the storyline was dropped as the X-Men comics continued to move towards Wolverine’s revival.

3) Miles Morales Was Supposed to Become a Spy

Brian Michael Bendis, one of the co-creators of Miles Morales, ended his run on the web-slinger and at Marvel Comics by setting Miles Morales up to get a codename and a new status quo as a super spy. Miles was wrestling with growing up and deciding what kind of hero he wanted to be. Miles’ father had a past that included being an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D, and it looked like Miles was going to follow in his footsteps.

Cable from the X-Men even tried to recruit Miles, and stated that he had “seen the future of international espionage,” and Miles was at the center of it. You’d think there would have been a payoff to all of this, but alas, there was not. It’s a shame, because after Bendis departed Marvel, the publisher relaunched a new Miles Morales Spider-Man series and forgot all of that espionage setup happened.

2) Duke Thomas and Gotham Girl Live Happily Ever After

When Tom King started his run on Batman, he introduced two new superheroes to Gotham City — Gotham and Gotham Girl. The siblings got their powers through experimental treatments. The side effects of this treatment meant that the more they used their powers, the quicker their life spans would decline. Gotham eventually died after fighting Batman and the Justice League, with Gotham Girl falling under the same evil influence of Bane and Psycho Pirate.

An interesting development from Gotham Girl’s time with Batman is the relationship she built with Duke Thomas/Signal. King even teases that Duke and Gotham Girl end up together in the future, but it’s a future that readers never got to see happen. You would think there would be a story arc where we jump into the future to see what happens to these young heroes, but it’s something we miss out on.

1) R.I.P. to the X-Men’s Krakoa Era

Last but certainly not least is the Krakoan era of the X-Men comics. Jonathan Hickman revolutionized the X-Men franchise when he kicked off a bold new era of storytelling, transplanting the X-Men and the majority of Marvel’s mutants to the soverign island nation of Krakoa. Hickman stated that he had a long outline of stories planned out, with House of X and Powers of X setting up several plots that could be picked up at any point, such as the previous lives Moira MacTaggert lived through using her mutant powers of reincarnation. There were also threats from Earth and space, like the anti-mutant organization Orchis and the alien Phalanx.

Marvel abruptly ended Jonathan Hickman’s run on X-Men with the four-part Inferno series. Several creative teams picked up the story threads that Hickman set up, bringing them to a close in the Fall of X after the Hellfire Gala. So you can say that the Krakoa era got a proper send-off, but it wasn’t the finale that Hickman envisioned.