Marvel continues to push the “Empyre” event along the rails, racing toward its conclusion at the beginning of September. In addition to the next two main chapters of the event, there are a total of three X-Men, two Avengers and two Captain America mini series books; two Lords of Empyre minis; and three tie-in books to ongoing titles (one for Fantastic Four and two for Captain Marvel).
Events: Now that Empyre is fully underway, the standout characters come into focus. The Fantastic Four and core Avengers remain relevant to the storyline, but Emperor Hulkling looks to continue a strong starring performance. Captain Marvel, in her new role as an Accuser, should build off of a strong July. She brings some of her closest friends, Spider-Woman, War Machine and Hazmat, along with her. Magik and Archangel are at the forefront of the X-Men tie-in, while Scarlet Witch, Black Knight and Doctor Voodoo lead the Avengers tie-in.
Team-Ups and Guest appearances: Black Cat is on the run from Iron Man in her latest book after creating and stealing her own Iron Cat suit last issue. In his own title, Deadpool pays the X-Men‘s new nation a visit and then later runs into Kid Cable, the younger version of his best friend, in the mutant’s latest book. The Fantastic Four title continues to recruit former members, this time bringing in Ghost Rider and Hulk.
Also-Ran’s: The star antagonists of Empyre, Quoi and Swordsman (neither featured in the tier charts), get their own one-off books and should continue playing a pivotal role in the altercation, especially now that their Celestial Madonna Mantis has returned. Moon Knight continues his crusade into the Age of Khonshu collecting all the valuable Avengers artifacts. Aero is the first member of the Agents of Atlas to return to the release schedule, and she gets a visit from Iron Man himself.
Gambles: Prematurely-ending issues of ongoing titles such as Doctor Strange, Iron Man 2020 and Strikeforce may prove valuable as they wrap up their story arcs. The Giant-Size X-Men series continues, this time with the mysterious Fantomex (not listed in the tier charts). Also not listed in the tier charts, Maestro, who begins a mini series of his own. Supporting Spider characters, such as Silk, Spider-Girl and Miles Morales, are in a dream-like state in Amazing Spider-Man, with no telling how they will effect the story.
Please see the attached Power Summary file for further power clarifications and follow along with our #FantasyComicLeague tweets on Twitter for official power scoring and discussions. Appearance estimates, based on comic solicitations and cover artwork provided by the Marvel Database wiki, are meant as a guideline and not an indication of a specific draft order.
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