Spaceknights Going to Infinity!

This are afoot in the Avengers by Jonathan Hickman. It was first teased in #15 when Captain Universe and Manifold travel to an unspecified destination ("somewhere in space") that has "knights" as its guardians. This is the place "where the end begins," according to Captain Universe, and we see a large spaceship approaching.

Avengers #15

In #16, we find out the place is Galador and we get a single panel of Spaceknights flying to meet the ship. (I grabbed the "Galador" caption from a previous panel and inserted it here.) Perhaps you recognize Pulsar, Ikon, Firefall, Terminator, and Starshine?

Avengers #16

Or perhaps you don't because while, with the exception of Ikon, they all invoke the memory of those first generation Spaceknights, the designs don't quite match. And Pulsar is no longer orange, but a yellow-green color. (I presume this was done so that he doesn't blend in with Firefall.)

So what's going on here? We, the readers, don't know. Nor are we supposed to, exactly. All I know is that it's been confirmed that the Spaceknights will have some part to play in Marvel's upcoming event, Infinity. And that's all the facts we have, so now begins the grousing. Marvel needs to pick a direction for the Spaceknights and stick to it!

Let's review. After many years of efforts by various creators to bring back Rom in some fashion, Chris Batista finally succeeded in doing something with the Spaceknights limited series in 2000. He had a new generation, including Rom's two sons, take up the mantles of their predecessors. (He also killed Rom, but given the legal problems surrounding him, we'll let it slide for the moment.) Unfortunately, sales of the series were abysmal so the new Spaceknights were stuck in comic book limbo until 2006, when Keith Giffen briefly used them in Annihlation, only to leave their fate up in the air. The following year, Abnett and Lanning used a previously unknown Spaceknight to kick off the events of Annihilation: Conquest, but do nothing else with them.

A few years later, in 2011, Annihilators introduced Ikon, essentially a a female version of Rom. However, where Rom was noble and kind, she is arrogant. We also check in with Brandy Clark, still the leader of Galador and still fretting over the loss of Rom back in 2000. But oddly, no mention of or appearance by her two sons (or the others from the LS). In the end, we're left with Galador in a unique position, its sun merged with the dark sun of Wraithworld, with both worlds orbiting the merged star. Certainly there's story potential there, but it hasn't been taken advantage of yet.

I admit, I wasn't thrilled at first with the new Spaceknights introduced in 2000, but I came to realize they had real potential. We had a new Javelin, son of the original. We had a new Firefall, who apparently somehow shared his existence with the original. And, of course, we had Liberator and Terminator, Rom's sons, and their mother Brandy Clark, our old friend. But since these Spaceknights weren't successful, there's no one at Marvel overseeing the concept. We're left with a bunch of writers who are fans of Rom all wanting to do their take on the Spaceknights and no editor in charge to keep their story coherent.

I really hope Hickman will be respectful of all that's come before, not just the original Rom series. The more fractured the Spaceknights' history becomes, the less likely they'll ever return to greatness. I'm hoping the Spaceknights don't just go to Infinity, but beyond! I'm hoping, but I'm definitely not counting on it.

Spaceknight art by Jeff Slemons

I hadn't heard of Jeff Slemons before, but he's apparently the one responsible for the Spaceknights piece you're seeing to the right. This piece of art, an ink illustration on 15" x 20" Strathmore 4-ply Plate Bristol, is currently up for auction on eBay. Don't consider this an endorsement of the seller, as I don't even know them, but it's at least worth looking at while the image is available.

UPDATE, 4:00 PM: I stand corrected. I have heard about Mr. Slemons before at David H.'s blog, but had forgotten. Still generally unfamiliar with him, though.

The Dire Wraiths Return!

First, a brief apology. I've somehow let three months slip by without posting to my blog. I had some ideas for posts, but not the time to do them. I'd love to say it won't happen again, but we have a family event coming in July that will probably derail the blog some more.

Moving on, it's time to eat my own words. The Dire Wraiths are, in fact, returning. Their return, however, has nothing to do with the Avengers, as one might have guessed from entries appearing in the Secret Invasion-related Marvel Handbooks. It's Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning (a.k.a. DnA) who are bringing them back in Annihilators, a four-issue limited series coming in March. And where there's Dire Wraiths, the Spaceknights are not far behind.

DnA spoke with Comic Book Resources about the series and the Dire Wraiths, in particular. Of the Wraiths, Abnett said, "they're immensely cool." I suggest you check the interview out. The artist on the series is Tan Eng Huat. I'm not familiar with his work, but he did a nice illustration of Rom for the Spacenight 2 auctions, which I also recommend you check out.

The most interesting thing about this to me is something Chris Batista told me back in 2000 when the Spaceknights limited series was coming out. DnA were apparently asked if they'd like to write a Spaceknights sequel (assuming, at the time, that sales would be good enough to warrant such). Batista told me, "they were very ecstatic about the possibility." So I'm most curious if DnA are working from any of Batista's notes from 10 years ago, but haven't been able to get an answer.

As you can guess from the name, Annihilators continues the cosmic saga that began with Annihilation and most recently wrapped up The Thanos Imperative . However, if you're out of touch with Marvel's cosmic heroes, you don't need to know a lot. First, the Inhumans and Ronan are now in charge of the Kree Empire. Gladiator, of the Imperial Guard, is now head of the Shi'Ar empire. And the Silver Surfer is once again the herald of Galactus.

If you're a fan of Rom and want to get caught up, I highly recommend you pick up, The Thanos Imperative: Devastation, a one-shot that just came out this week. And not just so you can read about the aftermath of that event.

(I wish Blogger had the ability to hide text for spoilers, but it doesn't. Therefore, if you don't want anything spoiled, you can stop here. If you need a really good reason for spending your four bucks on this, read on.)

*BEGIN SPOILER ALERT!!!*
The final page of the issue features a previously unseen Spaceknight named Ikon. She carries some kind of cosmic polearm. The Dire Wraiths are talked about, but do not yet appear.
*END SPOILER ALERT!!!*