Last week, Marvel Television revealed the full cast for the Runaways television pilot.
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Runaways is a big deal for Marvel Television because it is the first series to find a home on Hulu’s streaming service.
But why Runaways? Who are the Runaways? Why are they getting a television should? How do they fit into the rest of the Marvel universe? Why should anyone care?
ComicBook.com is here to explain. The Runaways may be a relatively young group of characters, both in terms of their in-universe age and in terms of how long they have existed as a Marvel Comics property, but there’s still plenty to dig into.
However, be warned that the information in the following slideshow could end up being spoilers for the Runaways TV show.
Original Runaways Series
The Runaways were created by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona. The team was originally part of Marvel’s Tsunami imprint, which focused on series that were inspired by manga and shared that aesthetic, but survived well after the imprint went defunct.
The original Runaways rosters consisted of Alex Wilder, a normal human with a brilliant tactical mind, Nico Minoru, the daughter of dark wizards who takes possession of a powerful mystical artifact called the Staff of One, Gertrude Stein, daughter of time travelers who forms a psychic bond with a dinosaur named Old Lace, Chase Stein, son of evil scientists, Karolina Dean, daughter of aliens who discovers she inherited their light-based powers, and Molly Hayes, a precocious mutant with super strength.
The first Runaways series kicked off when the children discovered that their parents were part of a secret cabal of super villains called The Pride, which operates on the west coast so as to avoid the attention of the East Coast superheroes. After making this discovery, the children decide to run away from home.
While on the run, the team of teenagers sets up in a hideout called the Hostel and one-by-one obtain the powers they were to inherit from their parents, including a vehicle called the Leapfrog. They also obtain a book called The Abstract that reveals the history of the Pride, and that the villains are actually serving an ancient race called the Gibborim that will raze the Earth.
The Runaways resolve to stop the Pride and the Gibborim, but as they make their attack they are betrayed by Alex, who reveals he was working secretly towards the Pride’s ends all along. The team recovers and manages to stop the coming of the Gibborim, but Alex and the Pride die in the process.
Captain America finds the Runaways and attempts to turn them over social services for placement in new homes. It doesn’t stick, and the first Runaways series ends with them running away from home once again.
Second Runaways Series
In the second Runaways series, the remaining team members set up in an old Pride hideout beneath the Le Brea tar pits. Their mission was now to deal with the influx of villains, including Flag-Smasher and the Wrecking Crew, into to Los Angeles who were trying to fill the power vacuum left by the death of the pride.
Along the way, the team added two new members. The first was Victor Mancha, whom a future version of Gert had come back in time to warn them about. That version of Gert grew up to lead the Avengers but was betrayed by Victorious, Victor Mancha’s future superhero persona. Victor’s father was a supervillain and, at first, it seemed like Victor was the son of Doctor Doom. It was eventually revealed that Victor was actually the “son” of Ultron. Victor, who idolized superheroes, joined the Runaways in hopes of changing his fate.
The second addition was Xavin, a Super-Skrull in changing. It turned out that Karolina’s people, the Majesdanians, were at war with the Skrull, but that a marriage between herself in Xavin could bring peace. Karolina balked at the offer, revealing that she was gay. Xavin revealed that his shapeshifting abilities made him gender-fluid. Xavin took a female form and Karolina agreed to leave with him. They were both gone for some time, but eventually returned to rejoin the Runaways together.
Eventually, the Runaways came into conflict with a new Pride. This new criminal group was formed by Alex Wilder’s father, who had traveled to the future from his own past. The team was able to stop the Pride, but not before Wilder killed Gert.
Later Runs
Vaughan and Alphona left Runaways close to the end of the second series. They were replaced by Joss Whedon and Michael Ryan. Their story took the Runaways back in time to 1907 New York City. There, they recruited a new member, Klara Prast, who could control plants. They also met Nico’s grandmother, the Witchbreaker.
Following that story, writer Terry Moore and artist Humberto Ramos launched a third Runaways series. Their story involved the team taking on a shock jock who was using his radio show to created an army of zombies.
Kathryn Immonen and Sara Pichelli took over the series after Moore and Ramos left. Unfortunately, the series was canceled before they could finish their story, which begins with Old Lace being killed and Chase being hit by a bus.
Other Appearances And Marvel Connections
The Runaways haven’t had an ongoing series in years, but they’ve made appearances in other titles both as individuals and as a group.
When they still had their own title, the X-Men attempted to recruit Molly Hayes on multiple occasions, but Molly always refused.
They also teamed up with another teen hero team, the Young Avengers, during two major Marvel events: Civil War and Secret Invasion.
The Runaways’ first appearance after their series was canceled was in Daken: Dark Wolverine. The issues revealed that Chase had made a full recovery. Daken, Wolverine’s wayward son, was looking for an old associate of the Pride, and so ran across the Runaways. He manipulated the team into helping him accomplish his goals.
When Chase began sensing that Old Lace was still alive, the team made a trip to the Avengers Academy, where Reptil helped the team reunite with Old Lace.
Chase and Nico were later kidnapped by the villain Arcade and forced to battle other teen heroes to the death on the island of Murderworld. Chase and Nico survived, and later infiltrated Baron Zemo’s Masters of Evil to try to rescue another one of their friends from the island. The Masters resurrected Alex Wilder.
Since then, Nico has joined A-Force, Victor was addicted to vibranium and died during the events of The Vision series, and Alex Wilder has founded a new version of the Pride in New York City.
