Marvel Comics announced Monday the resurrection of its ‘What If?‘ line of books, featuring never-before-seen takes on Spider-Man, Thor, the Punisher, Magik, Ghost Rider, and the X-Men.
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The six brand-new one-shots exploring alternate realities and limitless possibilities hit store shelves in October.
One reality sees Peter Parker assume the mantle of the Punisher, another sees Thor raised in Jotenheim among the Frost Giants, and another — scripted by legendary Amazing Spider-Man writer Gerry Conway, who penned ‘The Night Gwen Stacy Died’ — sees Peter Parker’s high-school rival Flash Thompson granted Spider-Man’s spectacular abilities, but without Peter’s Uncle Ben-inspired moral code.
WHAT IF? THE PUNISHER #1
Writer: Carl Potts
Art: Juanan Ramirez
Cover: Christopher Stevens
Release Date: October 10
When Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben is ruthlessly killed by a burglar that Peter let escape, he vows to never let the same fate befall another innocent bystander. From then on, he stands as a figure of cold retribution. Criminals beware – the guilty caught in this spider’s web will be punished. But will Parker stand triumphant…or shattered by this twist of fate?
The friendly neighborhood takes a different turn in this WHAT IF? adventure, positing a very different sense of responsibility for the man who will be known as the Punisher, as his battles against villains like the Green Goblin take a new path!
“WITH GREAT POWER COMES GREAT…PUNISHMENT?! PUNISHER and SPIDER-MAN are two very, very different characters, but could they be two sides of the same coin?” asks editor Mark Basso. “They’re fueled by different philosophies and use different methods, but how many kicks to the other side does it take to turn a Peter Parker into THE PUNISHER!? Everything you think you think you know (not a typo!) about your favorite heroes and anti-heroes will change after you read this book!”
WHAT IF? MAGIK #1
Writer: Leah Williams
Art: Filipe Andrade
Cover: Jeff Dekal
Release Date: October 31
Before she was Magik, Illyana was just a kid whom Limbo chewed up and spit out seven years older. So it’s no surprise that, at 15, she wants nothing to do with the X-Men…nothing to do with the New Mutants…and nothing to do with her own powers. It’s not even surprising that she runs away…but where—and who—she ends up? Well, that’s something you’ve never seen before.
“Illyana Rasputin deserves better,” explains book editor Annalise Bissa. “As much as we all love a character who’s been aged up, down, grown up under the thumb of demons, watched her parents die, died herself, come back, been evil, been good again, had more power changes than you can shake a stick at…any X-Fan might start to wonder who Magik would be in a world where her mutation isn’t ruled by these crazy ups and downs—where she has the chance to embrace her power early and grow from there, this is the book for you. If you like Magik, magic, or any other word for all things mystical and mysterious and maybe a little bit murderous, read WHAT IF? MAGIK #1.”
WHAT IF? GHOST RIDER #1
Writer: Sebastian Griner
Art: Caspar Wijngaard
Cover: Aleksi Briclot
Release Date: October 17
You’ve only heard whispers of this real-world/Marvel Universe crossover until now, when moral decline and budgetary shortfalls have combined to lower our lawyers’ resistance! Sebastian Girner and Caspar Wijngaard recklessly bring you the tale of the first and only true Nordic black metal band to visit the Marvel Universe through the insanity of likeness release waivers! What role does Ghost Rider Robbie Reyes play, and will your mind survive the brutality!?
“Before you read this comic, you’re going to need THREE things, friends. ONE: an extra pair of pants. TWO: some kind of eyeball apparatus designed to keep your eyeballs INSIDE your head. THREE: your mom on speed-dial,” says editor Kathleen Wisneski.
“We are serving you pants-off and eyeballs-out levels of horror and shock, and if ANYONE has a chance to call you back from the ledge of insanity that this comic will lift you to, then ABANDON you upon, it’s your momma. If she’s read it first, you can hold hands on your way DOWN INTO THE ABYSS!”
WHAT IF? THOR #1
Writer: Ethan Sacks
Art: Michele Bandini
Cover: Marco Checchetto
Release Date: October 24
When young Thor’s father falls to the King of Giants, his life is forever changed. He’s ripped from Asgard to be raised in a world of persistent winter, learning the brutal way of life in Jotenheim. But how does the runt of the giants, Loki, feel about his new stepbrother?
“The ten realms better bundle up, because there’s a cold front coming to the Marvel Universe,” says editor Dan Edington. “The Frost Giants helped the Gods of Asgard chill out—permanently—and have taken Thor to be raised as one of their own! Being out of his element, Thor has got to find a way to keep warm with a little help from his new brother, Loki. But can he learn to run with the giants, or will the bitter winds of Jotenheim leave Thor out in the cold? There’s only once place to find out, this October when Asgard is out, and ice is in!”
WHAT IF? X-MEN #1
Writer: Bryan Edward Hill
Art: Neil Edwards and Giannis Milonogiannis
Cover: Rahzzah
Release Date: October 3
From the publisher that gave you OLD MAN LOGAN and HOUSE OF M…witness the X-Men as you never imagined!
Welcome to the EXE/scape, a digital wonderland of business and pleasure accessible to anyone with the social (or monetary) capital for the bio-mods needed to log in… Or you can bypass all of that by being born carrying an .EXE/gene! But circumventing the login regulations is exactly what got the likes of Charles Xavier and his .EXE/men banned and driven underground in the first place… Free-roamers u/Domino and u/Cable have taken every dirty job there is on the ‘scape, but when a simple data scrubbing job turns bad, the life of bio-mod magnate Erik Lehnsherr hangs in the balance, and with it, their very society…
“The most life-changing comic since VENOM #1. Speculators take note,” teases editor Chris Robinson.
WHAT IF? SPIDER-MAN #1
Writer: Gerry Conway
Art: Diego Olortegui
Cover: Patch Zircher
Release Date: October 3
What if Peter Parker wasn’t the one bitten by the radioactive spider? What if the person who got bit was someone who didn’t live by the mantra of “with great power comes great responsibility”? What if that person was an egotistical bully who was only interested in taking care of himself?
What if… Flash Thompson became Spider-Man?
