SDCC 2023: Watch the 'Heroes, Hulks, and Super-Soldiers' Panel in Full
Captain America, Moon Knight and the Hulk are each blazing their own trails in new solo runs—plus find out who else is getting their own series!
The MARVEL: Heroes, Hulks, and Super-Soldiers panel at San Diego Comic-Con packed quite a punch as Marvel's Spider-Editor Nick Lowe led a talented lineup featuring Marvel’s superlative solo Super Hero series—with a big name revealed at the end!
There were no shortage of heavy hitters on stage as each creator shed light on their action-packed projects. Joining Marvel's Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski, J. Michael Straczynski talked about taking Captain America to the streets of Manhattan, while Moon Knight roams the roads of Egyptian lore in David Pepose’s MOON KNIGHT: CITY OF THE DEAD. Meanwhile the Hulk takes control of Bruce Banner as Phillip Kennedy Johnson continues his new Hulk run.
Watch the full panel now so you don't miss any of the next big stories unfolding in the Marvel Universe!
CAPTAIN AMERICA #1
"Joe, we are so glad to have you back at Marvel," Nick Lowe started off to cheers from the audience. Upon being asked what it was like to be back at Marvel, J. Michael Straczynski (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN) said, "It has been just terrific. It's always felt like home to me for a very long time. I had the opportunity, through Tom Brevoort, through Wil Moss, to begin doing short pieces for Marvel for the THANOS book, for the Thor anniversary issue. And then, when they said would you like to do Captain America, I was like, 'YES!' Because I've always been a huge fan of Cap. Whenever I could, I would sneak him into SPIDER-MAN."
Speaking more in depth about the time period he chose for Captain America's story, Straczynski continued, "There was a period between when his mom passed away, his parents passed away, and when he became Captain America—of about four years, give or take—when he was on his own as a 16, 17-year-old kid. And nobody had ever touched that story. I thought, you know, that's a pivotal time. You look at Peter Parker during that time, you look at any other character, that's a formative period. And he was on his own, being scrappy, and I wanted to figure out what made Steve Rogers the man that he became—the hero, later on. What's the inside of the character?"
CAPTAIN AMERICA #1
Written by J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Art and Cover by JESÚS SAIZ
On Sale 9/20
THE INCREDIBLE HULK #1
The hits kept coming as Phillip Kennedy Johnson (MARVEL ZOMBIES: RESURRECTION, EXTREME CARNAGE) debuted his new run of THE INCREDIBLE HULK.
"It's a huge honor to get to write for the Hulk," Johnson said. "I'm a massive horror fan, and to get to bring him back to his horror roots, in my view, is just a dream gig."
Speaking more to the horror element in his series, Johnson delved into the complex character development of Bruce Banner vs. the Hulk. "So instead of, 'You wouldn't like me when I'm angry,' we see Banner where when he gets close to finding a moment's peace, or making a friend, or having something beautiful, or working towards something that he wants—this thing comes out of him, he blacks out, he wakes up and everything's dead. This thing comes out and tears him down. And to me, that's something we can all relate to. Like, if only I could control this side of me, I could have the thing that I want. This part of ourselves that we're constantly trying to master. That's the thing underneath all these stories that we're telling."
INCREDIBLE HULK #1
Written by PHILLIP KENNEDY JOHNSON
Art and Cover by NIC KLEIN
On Sale 6/21
MOON KNIGHT: CITY OF THE DEAD #1
David Pepose (FANTASTIC FOUR, AVENGERS UNLIMITED) spoke about how he was brought on to write MOON KNIGHT: CITY OF THE DEAD.
"Tom Brevoort reached out to me, it was about a year ago, saying, 'Do you have any ideas for Moon Knight?' And I love writing Moon Knight, I got a chance to write him in MOON KNIGHT: BLACK, WHITE & BLOOD. So I was thinking, Jed McKay is doing such an incredible job on the flagship title, I said, 'How can we do something that fits in that wheelhouse, but kind of takes its very specific direction?' And the first question that I asked Tom was, 'Could we introduce Layla El-Faouly as the all-new Scarlet Scarab?"
Diving further into the appeal of writing for Moon Knight, Pepose continued, "The thing that I always really loved about Moon Knight is that he's a man who has blood on his hands. Just based on his past, he got his start as a mercenary, he died, he was given a second chance by the god Khonshu, and he's been spending every night trying to make up for it since.
A young runaway is attacked by a death cult and left for dead outside of the Midnight Mission, and while Moon Knight and his counterpart Hunter's Moon are able to save the kid, he's on life support, there's no brain activity. He died on the table for five minutes. But Marc says as long as there's still a spark of life left in him, he remains a traveler of the night. And that means that boy is still under his protection. So Marc detaches his soul and journeys to the City of the Dead to rescue this kid. And the thing about Marc is, he's a guy with a body count. He has sent plenty of people to the underworld over the years, and as you will see, they are all dying for a taste of payback."
MOON KNIGHT: CITY OF THE DEAD #1 (OF 5)
Written by DAVID PEPOSE
Art by MARCELO FERREIRA
Cover by ROD REIS
Variant Cover by DAVI GO
On Sale 7/19
PUNISHER #1
In a surprise announcement at the end of the panel, a new PUNISHER will make his vengeful debut in an all-new ongoing comic series!
The new comic series will be penned by award-winning writer David Pepose (SAVAGE AVENGERS, MOON KNIGHT: CITY OF THE DEAD) and drawn by superstar artist Dave Wachter (Planet of the Apes, X-Men Legends). Covers will be illustrated by artist and industry veteran Rod Reis.
In this action-packed new PUNISHER saga, Frank Castle has disappeared, but evil will always need to be punished. With all-new threats rising to claim innocent victims, criminals will need to beware of a dangerous vigilante hunting them from the shadows. Enter a new Punisher: retired S.H.I.E.L.D. black ops agent Joe Garrison. But what brings him back into action? What put Joe Garrison on his path of vengeance? And when the smoke clears, will he even make it out alive?
Pepose said, “I asked myself ‘How do we build a bigger table? And how do we invite as many readers as possible?’ For existing fans of the Punisher and for new fans, this is a story that’s not going to sacrifice any of the attitude, any of the action, and we are not letting the pedal off the metal.”
The Marvel Universe will meet the next generation of punishment this fall! Don’t miss the start of a new PUNISHER era on shelves at your local comic shop starting November 8.
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