Marvel’s Imperial Event Will Change Its Hierarchy of Cosmic Power

Every year, Marvel tends to have a couple of event miniseries that shake things up for every comics character, or just certain characters within their own corner of the universe. While the heroes are currently dealing with Doctor Doom’s takeover of Earth, some stuff’s about to go down up in the stars, too—and House of X and Ultimate Spider-Man writer Jonathan Hickman is at the helm of this endeavor.

In June, Hickman teams with Federico Vizenti and Iban Coello on Imperial, which centers on the assassination of several galactic leaders, setting off a chain reaction of coups, wars, and changing empires across the universe. Key players of this “sweeping cosmic epic” include Black Panther, several Hulks (including Skaar!), the Guardians of the Galaxy, and Nova, with “groundbreaking developments” (and spiffy new designs) promised for all of them and the cosmic side of the Marvel universe. And in true Hickman fashion, it’ll also pave the way for an “entire new landscape” of Marvel comics set in space, which have sort of fell by the wayside in favor of more earthbound stories.

Talking to Marvel, Hickman said he’s treating Imperial as the cosmic equivalent to what he did with Ultimate Invasion, just more as an actual story rather than a “world building exercise.” As a self-professed fan of Marvel’s galactic cast, he’s “very excited” to establish a new status quo for future creatives to play around with. “The art team is killing it, and we’re all just very excited for what’s happening in this special corner of the Marvel Universe.”

Imperial’s four-part saga begins on June 4.

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