Update: This article has been updated to reflect the new Monsters Unleashed Announcement!
Marvel is at again, when it comes to teasing their next big publishing initiative before they finish their current one (Civil War II) or their next one (X-men Vs. Inhumans), this time it is a teaser for what the disney based company is calling simply: MU. Tied to this project and vague teaser are writer: Cullen Bunn, and artist’s Greg Land and Steve McNiven. By this point many of you know How I feel about Marvel’s big events, reboots, restarts, relaunches, and all new all something all different nows, the gimmick is getting old, and fast. However rumors and speculation surrounding this latest initiative have even the greatest Marvel Comics cynic interested.
Considering that Bunn and Land have been heavily involved in the neglected X-men corner of the Marvel Universe, it leads you to believe that this book would in someway focus on the X-men, perhaps MU stands for Marvel Universe or maybe even Mutant Universe, but those seem too obvious. You also have to factor in that McNiven’s last two big series were Uncanny Inhumans and the Death of Wolverine both with writer Charles Soule. So there is a good chance that this book focuses on either one of those. An optimistic line of thinking points towards the return of the original Wolverine, who has been gone since 2014, while that may not be very long in the real world we know that’s an eternity in comics.
If the return of the original Wolverine is optimistic, then the pipe dream line of thinking has original Marvel Zombies like myself hoping that in some way this MU will signal the return of the Richard’s family, and the reuniting of the original Fantastic Four. While there is nothing in this teaser
that points toward this, one can dream.
Since we are speculating here, let’s go for the most grandiose of theories, and this one is all mine. What if the MU does simply stand for the Marvel Universe as stated earlier, and it is a separate Marvel publishing line in the vain of heroes reborn or the ultimate Marvel universe that focuses on classic Marvel storytelling using classic incarnations of the characters. The only concrete evidence that Marvel is even considering such a line is the recently anounced Avengers 1.1 by Mark Waid, as part of Marvel NOW! that book will focus on the retelling of classic Avengers tales with modern art. While many love the progressiveness of the current Marvel line, there is still a need and want for the likes of a Tony Stark Iron Man and the original Odinson, as well as a return to prominence for the Marvel’s Mutant and first families.
**Update: Marvel has officially revealed that their new MU event, which kicks off in January, is Monsters Unlimited! No word on which monsters will be featured in the new event but the announcement does tease which artists and writers will be involved. Check out the official image reveal below:
