Media Release: A couple weeks back, Marvel teased two upcoming event storylines that will follow in the wake of Original Sin. The first is AXIS, an Avengers/X-Men crossover that sees heroes from both teams unite to battle Red Onslaught and his team of uber-villains. The second is “Time Runs Out,” a storyline that sees both Avengers and New Avengers jump forward eight months as the threat of a World Incursion looms.
Last week Marvel revealed more details about AXIS and the characters involved. Now they’re shedding new light on Time Runs Out. This event will begin in September in the pages of The Avengers #35 and New Avengers #24. As both series jump ahead in time, they’ll reflect the various changes destined to unfold across the Marvel Universe in those eight months. Marvel is teasing big things for May 2015, when the rest of the Marvel U. catches up to these two books and the climax of Jonathan Hickman’s Avengers saga begins.
Based on the covers to The Avengers #35 and New Avengers #24, we can guess at what some of those changes involve. The former features a lineup that includes Havok (or possibly Iron Man), a younger version of Thor carrying his ax Jarnbjorn rather than Mjolnir, a new Captain America, Hulk, and a frail, cane-wielding man who may be Dr. Donald Blake or a de-powered Steve Rogers.
Meanwhile, New Avengers #24 suggests that Thanos and his general, Proxima Midnight, will soon be escaping the cube they were imprisoned in at the end of Infinity last year. Several other figures can be seen behind them, including Terrax, Namor, Black Swan, and a figure who looks a lot like Loki. Marvel is teasing the emergence of a new Cabal during this storyline, but is this that group?
“In addition to setting the table for the astonishing climax of Jonathan Hickman’s run, we’ll also be providing a glimpse into the immediate future of our characters and what changes await them over the course of the next eight months of publishing,” Executive Editor Tom Brevoort told Marvel.com. “This isn’t some maybe-future; this is the real deal, what’s awaiting the Marvel Universe in the coming year.”
We expect Marvel will have more to say about both AXIS and Time Runs Out, as well as how both events tie together, in the coming weeks. Look for both The Avengers #35 (illustrated by Cheung) and New Avengers #24 (illustrated by Mike Deodato) to ship in September 2014.