Marvel has been teasing something big related to Spider-Man this week, posting images made of web counting down from the number 4. There have been many guesses and a great deal of speculation as to what this all may lead to, but now we know. J.J. Abrams, director of movies such as Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Trek, is making his Marvel Comics debut, alongside his son Henry Abrams, for a brand new, five-issue Spider-Man comic.
The announcement was made via a video posted to Marvel's social media accounts. It recaps the web-covered countdown cards before cutting to J.J. Abrams and Henry Abrams gathered together to reveal the big news. The younger Abrams looks particularly excited and nervous about it. Here's what J.J. Abrams had to say.
"We have written a Spider-Man comic... We're really excited, and there's a crazy new villain named Cadaverous that we can't wait for you to meet. In September. Marvel. I've been talking to [Marvel] for a long time about this. So I'm very excited to be doing it, and especially to be doing it with this gentleman."
A cover for issue #1 was revealed, which features Spidey and Mary Jane swinging into action, with Cadaverous looming in the background. Beyond that, not much has been revealed, which isn't surprising, given that J.J. Abrams is known for keeping his projects secretive. But we are going to be introduced to a brand new villain, which is exciting. Abrams also promises we'll see Peter Parker "in a way you haven't seen him before." Speaking further, Abrams revealed editor Nick Lowe had been wanting to do a book with him, and that's where the idea came from.
"Nick had been pressing me to do a book with him. A year or so ago, I started talking about it with Henry and it sort of happened organically. And that has been the joy of this. Even though I've been talking to Nick for a long time, weirdly, this feels like it just sort of evolved from the conversations of Henry and I, having ideas that got us excited and Nick being open to the collaboration."
Sara Pichelli will provide interior art for the series, with cover art coming from Olivier Coipel. In the lead up to this announcement, fans began speculating wildly. When the initial "4" image was revealed, many thought that Marvel Comics was going to turn Sam Raimi's unmade Spider-Man 4 into a comic book series. When the "3" was revealed the next day, hopes for that were quickly extinguished.
How J.J. Abrams managed to find time to do this while also finishing Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, in addition to his huge slate of projects as a producer, is perhaps the most surprising thing of all. Spider-Man #1 is available for pre-order now and will hit shelves in September. Be sure to check out the cover below, as well as the announcement video from the Marvel Entertainment Twitter account.
