Doctor Doom is going to be keeping very busy over the next several years. Fresh off the news that Robert Downey, Jr. has been cast as the MCU’s Doom for Avengers: Doomsday, Marvel Comics is making Doom the linchpin of a new crossover event called The Rise of Emperor Doom.
That was the big news from Marvel’s “Next Big Thing” panel at NYCC today. The Rise of Emperor Doom is a five-issue limited series kicking off in February 2025. The series is written by Ryan North (Fantastic Four) with art by RB Silva (Powers of X) and cover art by Ben Harvey.
Check out early artwork from The Rise of Emperor Doom #1, along with the other titles revealed at the Next Big Thing panel, in the slideshow gallery below:
The Rise of Emperor Doom is set six months after Doom becomes the Marvel Universe’s new Sorcerer Supreme. Doom emerges from hiding to declare himself emperor of the world, and for some reason, the various world leaders seem happy to bend to his will. That leaves only the Avengers to stand against Emperor Doom, but what happens when even their fellow heroes start to question whether the world is better off under Doom’s rule?
The Rise of Emperor Doom will usher in a new status quo for the wider Marvel line called “One World Under Doom,” as books like North’s Fantastic Four explore the ramifications of Doom declaring himself Emperor. This marks the first time since 2015’s Secret Wars that Doom has been the central antagonist of a major Marvel crossover.
Also at the panel, Marvel revealed the newest addition to the growing Ultimate Universe imprint, and it’s a big one. Ultimate Wolverine will finally introduce the Logan of this twisted alternate universe, one who serves The Maker’s Council as the Winter Soldier.
Wolverine will first make his debut in the Ultimate Universe: One Year In one-shot before spinning out into his own monthly series written by Chris Condon (That Texas Blood) and illustrated by Alessandro Cappuccio (Moon Knight). That series will debut in January 2025.
Marvel will launch Power Man: Timeless in February 2025. This five-issue spinoff from last year’s Timeless one-shot sees the hyper-powerful Luke Cage from the future travel to the present to deal with a new threat. The series is written by Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing and drawn by Bernard Chang.
Finally, Marvel is bringing back the Astonishing branding, this time as a series of digital comics on the Marvel Unlimited platform. The line kicks off with Scott Aukerman and Salva Espin’s Astonishing Spider-Man (with the first issue available today), followed by Astonishing X-Men in December and Astonishing Avengers in January.
Fore more NYCC news, check out the exclusive Marvel collectibles Funko and Mondo are selling at the show, and get a sneak peek at DSTLRY’s ambitious 2025 lineup.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
