Jonathan Hickman Trolls Fans Over Marvel Return

Jonathan Hickman is having a little fun with fans leading up to his return to Marvel Comics. Today’s Marvel Comics releases each include a full page ad that simply teases “Hickman” and “July 2019.” Hickman took to Twitter to “fix” the ad, turning it into something that reads “Hickman is.” The black background and white text make a clear troll of Tom King and Mitch Gerads’ Mister Miracle for DC Comics, which used multiple panels in the same style that only read “Darkseid is.” Hickman didn’t reveal any new details about his Marvel return project is. You can see his version of the ad below.

Marvel did today confirm that Hickman’s return project will be formally announced on Saturday, March 23rd at C2E2. The announcement will be made during the Marvel’s Next Big Thing Panel.

Marvel fans know Hickman for his work on Secret Warriors, SHIELD, Fantastic Four, Avengers, and Secret Wars. He hasn’t written anything for Marvel Comics since the Secret Wars event wrapped up in January 2016, but rumors suggest he’s been kept in the loop at the company.

Hickman’s also long been rumored to be a potential new writer for Marvel’s X-Men franchise. The first ad to tease his return included notes about “aggressive species,” “evolution,” and the choice between “adaptation or dominance.” Those are themes common in X-Men stories, though some believe Hickman may be taking over another property.

The Inhumans is one possibility, especially considering they’re completely absent from Marvel’s current line, but the Inhumans don’t evolve; they’re modified. So they’re not a perfect fit with the themes expressed in that first ad. Some also believe that the ad could be for a relaunch of the Eternals. Hickman has expressed some interest in the Eternals in the past, and the group is due for a big push since Marvel Studios has an Eternals movie in the works. The themes wouldn’t be totally out of place since the Eternals are an offshoot evolutionary path.

But the X-Men seem far more likely to be the subject of the ad. Uncanny X-Men relaunched in December, and the X-Men line is currently in the midst of the alternate reality Age of X-Man event. In the main Marvel Universe, Cyclops and Wolverine are working together for the first time in years to rebuild the X-Men from the few mutants who remain. This could all, in part, be clearing the board and setting the stage for Hickman’s run. The final issues the Age of X-Man miniseries will release in July, in time with whatever Hickman project Marvel is teasing here.

Nothing is certain yet, but at least Marvel fans know they won’t have much longer to wait before they get some answer. What do you think or hope Hickman’s new project will be? Let us know in the comments.

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