March of 2022 had some crazy and important comic book moments. These are the ones that will affect the future of comics.
March has given comic book fans a lot of news to remember. Marvel announced the 2022 Hellfire Gala will happen in late June. Magneto will be leaving the Quiet Council during Immortal X-Men. And the X Lives of Wolverine and X Deaths of Wolverine stories concluded with death and a change in the characters.
Those weren’t the only notable moments though. Here are some of the most important things to happen in comic books during the month of March.
Moon Knight gets captured on purpose
Comic book: Devil’s Reign: Moon Knight No. 1
In the first issue of Devil’s Reign, Moon Knight was attacked by Wilson Fisk’s Thunderbolts. It wasn’t shocking that he stayed and fought. He’s not the running type. Even when the odds are against him he’ll fight until he can’t anymore. The shocking part was that he got caught on purpose.
A mother went to Moon Knight’s Midnight Mission because her daughter’s father, Man Mountain Marko threatened her and her daughter. Moon Knight allowed himself to get caught so he could confront Marko. Instead of just listening to Moon Knight, however, Marko said he’d do whatever he wanted to his daughter and her mother. In response, Moon Knight shoves his thumbs in both of Marko’s eyes making certain that Marko will never see his daughter again.
Why is this important?
Simply put, these are the lengths that Moon Knight will go to for his flock. He takes his job as protector seriously. There was no guarantee that he would make it out of prison with his life. It didn’t matter. He needs his people to know he has their backs. They’ll know that now and word will spread.
M.O.D.O.K. joins Orchis
Comic book: X-Men No. 9
M.O.D.O.K. isn’t an X-Men villain. Normally, he falls under the radar of Captain America, Iron Man, or S.H.I.E.L.D. Over the last couple of decades, though, villains have become less exclusive. In X-Men No. 8, M.O.D.O.K. jumped on the mutants’ radar.
M.O.D.O.K. was conducting another one of his immoral experiments on innocent people. He thought he had the response time for his normal adversaries figured out but he didn’t account for the X-Men. Marvel’s Mightiest Mutants intercepted the A.I.M. leader and defeated him. He didn’t stay locked up long, however, as Orchis recruited M.O.D.O.K. to help them defeat and abolish all mutants.
Why is this important?
M.O.D.O.K. may be goofy looking, but he’s a genius. The fact that he is now working with Orchis is bad news for the mutants. Orchis knows that the mutants won’t give up on trying to take them down.
Why they need M.O.D.O.K. of all people remains to be seen but it does say one thing to this writer. They could be looking to stop the Krakoan Resurrection Protocols. They don’t know how the mutants are doing it. All they know is that they’re coming back from the dead. M.O.D.O.K. could be the key to stopping it.
Superman is being framed
Comic book: Superman: Son of Kal-El No. 9
Clark Kent’s son Jonathan Kent has been Superman while his father is in space. In Infinite Frontier No. 0, it was suggested that Jon needed to be watched by the Quintessence. Thankfully, Wonder Woman convinced them that he could be every bit the hero his father is.
Since being Metropolis’ protector, Jon has been under scrutiny from more than cosmic beings. Among those watching is Lex Luthor. Lex (or someone impersonating him in Lex Corp) was killing superheroes. When he had his operatives killed, Gamorra released a video that looked like Superman killed one of them.
Why is this important?
Jon Kent is getting the kind of treatment that’s normally reserved for the likes of Batman and Spider-Man. Not Superman or his son. Luckily for him, Jon has more than enough people to have his back. Among them is his mother Lois Lane. She’s going to go back to what she does best. Lois took Dick Grayson’s offer to be the face of the new reporting source The Truth.
Lois Lane has always been more than Superman’s wife. She’s the best reporter in all of comic books. Whoever has it out for her son is in trouble. She’s going to find out who it is and bring them to light. Even it’s Lex Luthor. No one can stop her.
Galactus the Destroyer
Comic book: Fantastic Four No. 41
During the first run of Thor by writer Donny Cates, the God of Thunder did the impossible: He killed the world eater, Galactus. After slaying him, The Odinson put Galactus’ helmet on the rainbow bridge. Anyone venturing into Asgard now knew the danger of entering: Don’t act up because their king can kill world eaters.
In Fantastic Four No. 41, all of the Heralds of Galactus were drawn to help him. That’s including Thor. When The Odinson arrived, the Destroyer Armor was unraveling and it attached itself to Galactus. Now, Galactus was alive and covered in the unbreakable Destroyer Armor.
Why is this important?
Comic book fans knew that Galactus wasn’t going to stay dead forever. He’s a necessary part of the universe. Whenever he’s gone, killed, or healing (see Ultimates by Al Ewing for that), he always goes back to his old ways.
Galactus’ return likely means that he’ll be a major factor in this Fantastic Four series Reckoning War. It’s an event that’s going across the universe and he’s one of the biggest dogs in the universe – and he now has an unbreakable armor protecting him. What he does next will shift the momentum of the battle. What direction that is remains to be seen.
Punisher gets his wife back
Comic book: Punisher No. 1 (of 8)
On a nice day in the park, Frank Castle became The Punisher. This began his decades-long war on crime. Any criminal under his radar ended up dead. He’d never work for an evil organization. However, that changed in the first issue of Jason Aaron’s run of Punisher when the Hand gave him an offer he couldn’t refuse, offering to use their ability to bring the dead back to life and resurrecting his wife Maria.
Part of the reason that Frank Castle became The Punisher is to avenge the death of his wife and kids. Seeing his wife alive may have been more than enough to make him sign up with the Hand, but they’re smart enough to sweeten the pot. They gave Castle something else. The Hand kidnapped people Punisher would normally hunt and kill as an offering so that they could be murdered by Castle later.
Why is this important?
The idea of The Punisher having an army of skilled killers and learning how to use a sword is cool. Too bad this won’t last. At some point, the leaders of The Hand are going to ask him to do something he won’t. At that point, they’ll threaten to kill Maria not knowing that Frank will stand his ground. It wouldn’t be shocking if Maria agreed with his decision.
Blockbuster ups the ante
Comic book: Nightwing No. 90
Dick Grayson came into a billion dollars after Alfred Pennyworth died (Nightwing No. 78). This led him to ponder what to do with this money. Instead of creating a Nightwing Cave and Nightwing-mobile, Dick did something noble: He decided to give back to Bludhaven by helping the homeless. A supervillain named Blockbuster had an issue with that, so much so that he’s willing to go further than most.
In the recent issue of Nightwing, Blockbuster hired la Agente Funebre – an assassin that’s supposed to be a myth. She blew up the building Dick Grayson lived in. It didn’t matter that innocent people lived there. Thankfully, they were all saved.
But that wasn’t the last thing Blockbuster tried. He later had Barbara Gordon kidnapped to get to Dick.
Why is this important?
If Blockbuster is hiring people to kidnap and possibly kill innocent people, who knows what he’ll do next. He could be willing to destroy the entire city. He seems like the type of guy who thinks, “If I can’t have Bludhaven, no one can.” What he does after Flash and Nightwing beat his newest mercenaries (featuring KG Beast and his crew) could be his most drastic move yet. He could attack the homeless population just to hit the point home.
Quiet Council changes and Mr. Sinister
Comic book: Immortal X-Men No. 1
The Quiet Council lost Magneto as a member. This left a spot open and someone would have to take their place. Mutants like Monet St. Croix, Angel, Hank MCCoy, and more applied for the position. Council member Exodus had someone different in mind: Hope Summer.
After some debate, Hope was voted in, much to the chagrin of Mr. Sinister who thought he knew the future. How did he assume to know the future? He has clones of Moira MacTaggert and uses them to see what happened in the past and maybe the future.
Why is this important?
Mr. Sinister is already dangerous. He knows more about genetics than any other mutant. He’s also big on experimenting on mutants. With knowledge of the past and future, he makes himself someone that could destroy Krakoa. Of course, that’s not what he wants. No one knows what he has planned. Not even Sinister himself.
Sinister thinks that Hope Summers joining the Quiet Council will help him out. As it was mentioned above, that could be incorrect. Regardless of him being right or wrong, Hope joining the council is a big deal. She’s the youngest person on the council and has a different opinion than everyone there. Hope also has the faith of the younger mutants. Seeing her react differently to everyone else will be the best part of her joining.
Nightwing: King of the Vampires
Comic book: DC vs. Vampires No. 6 (of 12)
When DC vs. Vampires started, Bruce Wayne made every Bat-family member take tests to prove they weren’t vampires. Among those tests were holding a cross and drinking coffee or tea made with holy water. It seemed like a foolproof plan. Of course, with comic books, nothing is foolproof. Dick Grayson is a vampire. Not just a vampire, as it turns out that he’s their lord.
Dick used Starfire’s blood to protect him from the effects of the sun, holy water, and crosses. He then went on to kill Batman and Tim Drake. He tried to turn Jason Todd, but Jason had Green Arrow kill him before he could become a vampire.
Why is this important?
Nightwing is one of the smartest and smoothest people in comics. The fact that he is now uncaring and much stronger makes him almost unbeatable in a fight. That’s scary enough. Nightwing being Lord of the Vampires means every other vamp is under his control. Among them are Wonder Woman and Superman.
In a short amount of time, Nightwing has taken over the world. He and his team have toppled the world’s governments and blacked out the skies. There are six more issues left of DC vs. Vampires. As much as we’d expect a happy ending, it’s not guaranteed. This could become an Earth that’s run by evil.
Storm knows about T’Challa
Comic book: Black Panther No. 4
At the end of Black Panther No. 3, we saw that T’Challa has a mutant living on Arakko to spy on the planet and Storm. He used Gentle to report if there’s any threats to Wakanda. It’s not shocking since T’Challa doesn’t trust anyone.
When T’Challa leaves Arakko, Storm tells Gentle she’s aware he met with him. She then orders Gentle to tell her everything he talked to T’Challa about.
Nightwing knows where Bruce is
Comic book: Future State: Gotham No. 11
Batman has been missing since an explosion he caused in Future State Dark Detective No. 4. At first, it looked like the Caped Crusader was dead. Later, it seemed like he was working with Jason Todd secret. Turns out that was actually Hush (see Future State Gotham No. 7 for more on that). However, after taking a drug called Brane, Nightwing says he now knows where both Damian and Bruce Wayne are.
Thor kills the God of Hammers
Comic book: Thor No. 23
Thor finally got a chance to kill the God of Hammers. It took the death of Odin to gain the Odin Force and finally kill her by destroying Mjolnir.
After that, he woke up four months later, very angry. But Angela knew what he required, and with the help of her Angels, she rebuilt Mjolnir. However, like Mjolnir in the past was possessed by the God of Hammers, a new god is now within it: Odin.
What do you think, readers? Are there other comic book moments that should have made this list? Let us know in the comments below.