7 Big Questions About The All-New All-Different Marvel Lineup

Can some of these characters carry solo titles?

You can always tell when either of the Big Two comic book publishers do a full line relaunch or semi-reboot, because we suddenly are awash in solo series for heroes we traditionally encounter in team settings. All-New All-Different Marvel is no different, because it’s giving us Scarlet Witch, Vision, Drax, Karnak and All-New Wolverine. If you add in characters like Silk and Spider-Gwen, who have had their own books but never for any length of time, and then throw in still relatively untested types like Star-Lord and Scott Lang or semi-newbies like the Sam Wilson Cap and Jane Foster Thor, you’re talking about a quarter of the line.

What might help mitigate against any kind of big failure is that the nature of ongoing series have changed. It’s actually not proper to even use that term at this point, because these are all limited series in the grand scheme of things. As cool as it might be, no one expects there’s going to be a double-sized Drax #50. That’s just not how comics work right now, with Marvel and DC looking to give us new #1 issues often to signal big changes in the creative team or shifts in direction.

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That means it’s a much easier for Marvel to see what works and what doesn’t. No one buying Vision? No big deal, because the first arc is probably going to be six issues, and it can simply wrap up at that point. If Scarlet Witch is a big seller, it can go 12 issues and be ready for a new #1 after whatever event the company is already meeting about for next summer. It might not be the way longtime fans would prefer things, but it’s hard to argue the efficiency of the system.

None of that really answers whether some of these heroes are ready for the spotlight, but at least there’s less pressure on them.

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