The simmering flame first brought to bear in UNCANNY AVENGERS #1 over two years ago will at last burst into an out of control inferno on October 8 with the release of AVENGERS & X-MEN: AXIS #1!

The Red Skull has declared World War Hate, using the potent telepathic abilities he pilfered from the deceased Charles Xavier to establish a “Red Supremacy” in the former mutant haven of Genosha, capturing and tormenting the Children of the Atom. In order to defeat this madman, the two teams that battled one another during AVENGERS VS. X-MEN will have to put their differences aside and unite.

Every day between now and October 8, Marvel.com and our social channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and Google+ will release a new exclusive piece of AXIS content, from writer Rick Remender providing insight into the featured characters, first look art by Adam Kubert, and excerpts of dialogue from Remender’s scripts.

Watch the video below to get caught up on the story so far, and then see what the latest day has revealed about AVENGERS & X-MEN: AXIS!

Day 18

AVENGERS & X-MEN: AXIS could not come at a worse time for the hero we've known for years as Thor.

The once Worthy God of Thunder lost his hammers and his pride at the end of Original Sin. Now, sporting a tarnished attitude, the original Odinson must help his friends contend with the Red Skull and his plans.

"This story takes place soon after Original Sin in terms of continuity, and so Odinson is still the Thor we are using," clarifies Rick Remender. "He finds himself at a crossroads as well, after having lost the ability to wield the hammer, and thus has begun to undermine his own confidence and his faith in himself. And he falls pretty far during the course of AXIS. Ultimately, he will be forced to make a decision in regards to his half-brother Loki that will define both of them for some time."

Day 17

The battle within rages on as Captain America attacks The Vision in this exclusive panel from AVENGERS & X-MEN: AXIS by Adam Kubert!Day 16

The heroes of the Avengers and X-Men have no shortage of ghosts from their past that could come back to haunt them during AVENGERS & X-MEN: AXIS. This exclusive excerpt from Rick Remender's script gives some hint as to which particular spectres could be coming home to roost...Day 15

While haunted by the death of Charles Xavier at his hands, Cyclops has remaind resolute in battling for mutant rights in the pages of UNCANNY X-MEN. His stance has evolved, but his end goal to safeguard his people has not.

AVENGERS & X-MEN: AXIS brings about the nightmares come true for all mutants, and gives Scott Summers the opportunity to back up his bluster.

"Cyclops is proven to be right in his own eyes, in his assumption that the humans will stop at nothing to wipe the mutants off of the Earth and that there will constantly be human threats," says Rick Remender. "He finds himself in a situation where most of his fears and most of his predictions are shown to be true, but at the same time has little option but to join forces with the Avengers, and to try and turn the tide. But how that alliance pays out, or plays out, will obviously be a secret."

Day 14

Sunfire vs. The Wasp?! The Unity Squad comes to blows in AVENGERS & X-MEN: AXIS and this exclusive preview panel by Adam Kubert...
Day 13

The legacy of Charles Xavier has been a huge motivating factor for not only the X-Men, but now the Avengers Unity Squad as well. But how can they truly know if they've lived up to his dream?

This exclusive excerpt from Rick Remender's AVENGERS & X-MEN: AXIS script poses that question...
Day 12

Since the death of Charles Xavier, Rogue has experienced a downward spiral. Over the course of UNCANNY AVENGERS, despite becoming one of Earth's Mightiest Heroes and helping to save the planet, she has clashed with her teammates and lost the control over her powers she fought so long to gain.

Unfortunately for her, AVENGERS & X-MEN: AXIS will not let up on Rogue's trials...but it could also offer redemption.

"Rogue has been in a state of regression, as she has fallen to despair [in UNCANNY AVENGERS]," says Rick Remender. "The death of Charles robbed her of all of the progress she had made and all of the hope and left her confused and angry, and looking for someone to blame, someone to exact revenge upon. She's finally changing that arc at the beginning of this, but it's right as she has lost the ability to control her powers and is now stuck, yet again, with another person rambling around in her head.

"I think that in my mind, she was the one who was most dramatically affected by the loss of Charles, in that when he found her, she was the most damaged, maybe next to Wolverine, in the history of the X-Men, and it was his belief in her and his willingness to disband the X-Men if they didn't accept her, that was the foundation for her that she built upon, so having that foundation crumbled away and now being faced with the Red Skull...[she is] quite eager to undo the molestation of Xavier and put things right."

Day 11

AVENGERS & X-MEN: AXIS #1 exclusive panel by Adam Kubert, the chaos doesn't end outside the Quinjet...

Today's glimpse at Rick Remender's AVENGERS & X-MEN: AXIS script shows that somebody may have lost faith in one of mutantkind's foremost champions...but who?

Day 9

Over the course of LOKI: AGENT OF ASGARD to date, the Trickster has flirted with the concept of heroism; in AVENGERS & X-MEN: AXIS, events force him to embrace the good within him perhaps faster than he may have hoped.

"Loki is in a redemption arc already, and has found himself faced with the challenge of proving himself capable of being a hero, but of course the person who doubts him the most is himself," notes Rick Remender. "And deep down, in the recesses of his mind, there is his future self cackling at him, pulling him into despair, convincing him that there is no other road for him. And AXIS will allow him to answer that question once and for all for himself, as to what the true fiber and makeup of his character is and whether or not he is inferior to his half-brother Thor."

Day 8

Avengers Quinjets may be pretty durable, but as shown in a panel from AVENGERS & X-MEN: AXIS #1 by Adam Kubert, they can't stand up to everything...

Day 7

With the DEATH OF WOLVERINE currently playing out, Sabretooth stands poised to be at loose ends with the absence of his archnemesis.

AVENGERS & X-MEN: AXIS will provide a surprising new role for Victor Creed. However, will the bestial mutant rise to the occasion or be ground down by an unfamiliar challenge?

"Creed is drawn into this for reasons that are at first entirely selfish, but finds himself in a situation much like the situation that Logan was in years ago where the blood on his hands and the memories of what he has done are no longer sitting well," says Rick Remender. "And he is now faced with seeing the world in a different light and also seeing what he has done in a different light, and desperately wanting to erase the past but seeing that the only way he has to do that is to try and do something positive moving forward. Whether or not he succeeds, of course, will remain to be seen."

Day 6

The Red Skull will unleash "World War Hate" in AVENGERS & X-MEN: AXIS, and as Rick Remender's script shows, nobody will be immune...Day 5

He may not be "Worthy" anymore, but that doesn't stop the Odinson from preparing to join the fray in this AVENGERS & X-MEN: AXIS #1 panel by Adam Kubert...

Day 4

Most major events in the Marvel Universe in recent memory have proved taxing to The Scarlet Witch, and AXIS will prove no exception.

After suffering at the hands of manipulations and her own instability, Wanda Maximoff has finally seemed to gain some semblance of redemption and sanity in UNCANNY AVENGERS. The Red Skull will attempt to rip this away and utilize the powerful mutant for his own purposes.

"Wanda has a number of large revelations in AXIS, and she’s a character who, because of her power set and what she's capable of, has turned into a prize to be sought by numerous evil beings throughout her history," says Rick Remender. "As we saw in UNCANNY AVENGERS, the Red Skull wants to use Wanda and her reality warping abilities to accomplish something. And now that he has also transcended the physical form and become something different, he has the power to make that happen.

"Wanda will have had enough. And this is when she finally will have the opportunity to stand up and look at the people who have most recently manipulated her and taken advantage of her, and she will set out on a course to acquire sweet revenge. That list would probably include Doctor Doom and Magneto starting off on the top, so we will definitely have some big moments for Wanda in this, and a large revelation that will change her life quite a bit moving forward."

Day 3

In AVENGERS & X-MEN: AXIS, even close allies will find themselves butting heads when the tension rises, as can be seen by this piece of dialogue from Rick Remender's script...

Day 2

Iron Man, The Wasp and The Vision prepare for battle in this exclusive Adam Kubert preview art from AVENGERS & X-MEN: AXIS #1...

Day 1

Every time The Red Skull has risen up, Captain America has been there to stop him, but in AXIS, the playing field has changed.

Steve Rogers, the original Cap, has been aged due to recent events, and handed his shield and mantel off to Sam Wilson, the former Falcon. The latter will experience a harsh trial by fire, while the former attempts to adjust to a new role.

"Both [Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson] have a large role in this. Steve is more ‘eye in the sky’ and helping run operations, and Sam is on the ground and he’s the field leader," explains Rick Remender. "But Sam finds himself in a situation unlike anything that he’s ever been through before, and how he maneuvers through that will then lead him on a collision course with Steve Rogers—not just a physical one, but an ideological one. And we will see Sam and Steve at incredible odds."

AVENGERS & X-MEN: AXIS #1 begins “The Red Supremacy” on October 8! Keep checking Marvel.com and our social channels, plus visit the AXIS hub page daily for more!

The Avengers are back in the second season of "Marvel's Avengers Assemble" and we spoke with the show's Supervising Producer Dan Evans III! Find out what he has to say about what's different in Season 2, who we'll see this season, and what Marvel character he's embarrassed to admit liking. Read more below and make sure to tune in to the season premiere this Sunday at 8:30 a.m. ET on Disney XD!

Marvel.com: With “Marvel’s Avengers Assemble” going into its second season, are there going to be any changes in the structure of the show or the tone of the show compared to the first season?

Dan Evans: In season one, there was a lot of emphasis on the Cabal with Red Skull and M.O.D.O.K. and all those guys. This season we move on to new villains with a focus on the whole team. We consider season one to be Tony learning how to be a leader and season two is about how does the whole team work? We’ll be seeing big appearances by some major villains, and it’s possible some sort of Infinity jewelry might show up at some point. But also we have some other amazing guest-stars showing up.

Marvel.com: And how did the creative team approach this season?

Dan Evans: We started with a great writing team, Kevin Burke and Doc Wyatt, taking over this season while Man of Action continues as consultants.  That allowed us to open up the Avengers Universe while making sure we kept continuity from last season. It's been great having Steve Wacker come on to the show this season.  He has a great sense of character and really lets the writers swing for the fences in the storytelling.  

Marvel.com: I know you kind of talked around it, but Thanos is involved in the first episode and there might be an Infinity Stone.

Dan Evans: There might be.

Marvel.com: Where did that idea come from to start incorporating Thanos into the show?

Dan Evans: I think after the movie [Marvel’s “The Avengers”], everyone was kind of curious about doing some kind of Thanos story and Jeph [Loeb] pretty much said, “Go for it. See what you can do.” We really ran with it and incorporated the Infinity Stones in the first half of the season so you get no lacking of Thanos fighting by the end of the first thirteen. It’s exciting.

Marvel.com: It sounds very exciting. Very secretive, very mysterious.

Dan Evans: Basically, I think I can tell you this, the stones return to Earth in a little bit of an uncommon way, I don’t want to spoil it but they end up spread around the Earth so the stones have to be recovered first. And the Avengers set to it to get to them before Thanos does and ultimately, they have to run across several of their villains that are now amped up with the various powers of the stones along the way. Which have both very serious and some very comedic effects as they go along.

Marvel.com: You mentioned that the movie kind of played into what gave you guys some of the ideas for the show and where to take it. Are there other influences that you drew from that kind of influenced what’s going to be going on in this season, whether it’s movies, other animated incarnations of the Avengers or comic series?

Dan Evans: Well, I know this may surprise you, but there are a lot of nerds here. [laughs] A lot of the writing staff are comic fans so we all knew the INFINITY GAUNTLET story. We are also influenced for some of the other stories by the work that Bendis and Hickman are doing on THE AVENGERS currently. That definitely plays into later in the season. It’s possible you may see some Hickman references toward the end.

Marvel.com: So we’re going to see a character named Jonathan Hickman and he’s going to be all amped up with an Infinity Stone?

Dan Evans: That’s preposterous. Jonathan Hickman clearly made up Brian Bendis and that’s who the villain will be.

Marvel.com: I often forget that Hickman created Bendis.

Dan Evans: Oh, I’ll throw it out there…The Black Order will be showing up and they are quite the challenge for the Avengers. They act as lieutenants pretty much as they showed up in the Infinity storyline that was done in publishing. But in general we’re not slavish to the stories. We try and draw influence from them and then make sure that they’re right for the show so that the show stands alone and when you’re watching, even if you know all 500 issues of THE AVENGERS, you’re still going to be surprised a little bit by something that happens.

Marvel.com: So even though it’s influenced by any number of sources, it’s not a direct retelling of anything.

Dan Evans: Exactly. Obviously, our Falcon is different from the movie and the comic and that allows us to play different beats with him. And Tony on the Avengers. Our Hulk is still the Hulk, though.

Marvel.com: In the season premiere, just in the first few minutes of the episode, it looks kind of like Tony almost takes the sidelines and kind of sits out of the action and it’s more about him running the team from the sidelines. Is that going to be a running theme through the rest of the season where it’s more Tony orchestrating things and the rest of the Avengers kind of stepping into the front lines?

Dan Evans: Oh, no. Tony will take front and center in several battles and there’s one or two occasions where Tony will have to follow someone else’s lead under the circumstances that arise. As I said, he’s figured out how to lead the Avengers but now the Avengers have to figure out what the Avengers are. They’re basically this time bomb of clashing personalities [that need] to figure out how to work together and work under this slightly egotistical supergenius. That’s not as easy as it sounds, for some reason. But at the end of the day, they’re all heroes. They step up and can see the best plan and the best way to deal with these huge threats that always threaten the planet. I think the smallest threat is just to New York City and that’s when Loki shows up.

Marvel.com: You were mentioning how hard it would be for Tony to manage this team and this team working together. How do you approach making a show that’s focused on so many different characters and making sure all of their voices are unique but work well with one another? How difficult of a task is that?

Dan Evans: Well, for us, we always try to sit down and we write our stories as a group with the writers and the producers. We always look at, “Why is this an Avengers story?” Unfortunately, we’ve come up with some stories before where at the end of the day we realize, wait, that’s not so much an Avenger story as a Hulk story or even sometimes it’s a Spider-Man story and the story gets passed on but we go back and make sure that at the start and the finish, it’s always about the Avengers and about those characters. The conflicts there create some really fun and interesting stories. The new guy versus the aged veteran, the Asgardian who has all this ultimate power and then you have a guy who’s basically just really smart and made a suit that he can fly around in. What are the circumstances that would have Thor follow Iron Man? Just the fact that Thor claims to be this being of amazing magic, really, and Tony doesn’t believe in that. There’s conflict there and when you let those two run into each other, it gives you a nice place to tell some good stories about the Avengers.

Marvel.com: Do you personally have any specific episodes from this season that you’re really looking forward to airing?

Dan Evans: I really like a lot of the stuff we did with the Infinity Stones. Some of my favorite stuff is coming later, in the aftermath of the battle with Thanos, that we really get to play with some new characters and introduce some really powerful villains that really set the Avengers back on their heels and rebuild themselves into a bigger and better team and possibly grab a new member to make it happen.

Marvel.com: Hmmm, possibly.

Dan Evans: Possibly.

Marvel.com: If only there were someone we could get in touch with who could confirm.

Dan Evans: If someone could give you a small clue.

Marvel.com: We’ll track them down somehow.

Dan Evans: We decided to go ahead and bring Ant-Man into the fray and when he comes in it’s a beautiful kind of odd-couple with Hawkeye, who has some history with him. It makes for a new dynamic in the show and it allows us to be, much like the movie, to tell these super serious stories like Winter Soldier and the Avengers movie but at the same time still have the heart and the comedy of the characters interacting in this crazy circumstance.

Marvel.com: Lastly, there’s one scene in the premiere that refers to some of the super heroes when they were younger and having someone to play catch with. So, if you could have any of the Avengers or any of the Marvel superheroes as your best friend as a kid, who would you want to be your best friend?

Dan Evans: I feel like this is a trick question. I have to admit, because I’m a little old, I grew up reading the Layton/Perez AVENGERS so I’m a huge fan of Wonder Man. And I know this sounds kind of ridiculous but I love Wonder Man in that weird red safari jacket and I would hang out with him every day if I could. But of the new team, I think I would actually enjoy just hanging out with Hawkeye. That’s a fun guy and you always know he’s going to hit you right in the glove.

Marvel.com: I don’t think anyone’s going to mock you for hanging out with a man in a red safari jacket. If they do, they’ll have to answer to me, too.

Dan Evans: Fantastic.

Don't forget to tune in this Sunday at 8:30 a.m. ET on Disney XD to catch the season premiere of "Marvel's Avengers Assemble"! Keep your eyes on Marvel.com for all the latest on your favorite Marvel animated series.

Check out part one of this feature for the origins of SECRET WARS, how the creative team came together and more!

THE MERRY MARVEL MARCHING SOCIETY REACT

With so much going on from issue to issue, fans at the time couldn’t help but notice SECRET WARS as it happened. Even Tom Brevoort, a fan at the time, remembers hearing about the book for the first time.

“I would have heard about SECRET WARS in the comics press of the era—I seem to recall that initially it had a slightly different name,” the current Marvel Executive Editor says. “I don't know that I was especially intrigued, but with a story that large, you kind of couldn't help but stop and take notice.”

Fans might have paid attention to the story and shelled out their 75 cents each month, but these big changes did not always sit well.

“There was a certain degree of resentment by some fans who didn't like SECRET WARS as a story,” Marvel historian Peter Sanderson says. “But many of them nevertheless kept buying it because they wanted to learn how these supposedly major changes in Marvel continuity were going to happen.”

Even surrounded with the series by controversy, that “gotta see what happens next” mentality turned it into a huge success.

“SECRET WARS was immediately a tremendous hit,” Sanderson says. “This was not only because of the story itself, but because Marvel publicized the idea that what happened in SECRET WARS would make major changes in the lives of various Marvel heroes. The most notable of these was that Spider-Man started wearing a new black costume. For all that readers knew at the time, this could be a permanent change. Of course it wasn’t, and the black costume later turned out to be the alien symbiote that is part of Venom, but that’s another story!"

TOY STORY

In addition to being revelatory in the comic book realm, SECRET WARS brought Marvel super heroes and villains to a new generation of toy-buying kids in the 80’s during a golden age of the industry.

The toy line hit stores in 1984 and 1985. The first series consisted of Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Doctor Doom, Doctor Octopus, Magneto. and Kang the Conqueror, while the second featured Daredevil, Falcon, Black Costume Spider-Man, Baron Zemo. and Hobgoblin. Figures of Iceman, Electro and Constrictor also hit outside of the U.S. and remain sought after collectibles these days. 

As SECRET WARS editor Tom DeFalco mentioned, each figure came with a lenticular shield that revealed a “secret” mission. A variety of vehicles also appeared including a Doom Cycle, Doom Copter, Doom Roller, and Star Dart Glider as well as the Freedom Fighter and Tower of Doom playsets.

For his part, artist Mike Zeck went into SECRET WARS without knowing about the plans to make toys, but wound up putting his stamp on the packaging.

“I was totally unaware of the connection with Mattel until much later in the series,” he says. “I wasn’t given any design concepts or anything like that. Prior to starting the series, I was asked by editorial to design some elements that would be used by other artists who were about to draw scenes of the characters returning from the Secret Wars in their own respective titles. Like Spider-Man’s new costume for instance.

“Sometime later, not sure exactly what point, I was asked to create some art which would be used on toy backs of Secret Wars action figures. That’s the first time I became aware of the toy tie-in.”

The line marked the second major push from Marvel Comics into the word of action figures after MEGO developed the World’s Greatest Heroes line in the early 1970’s. Marvel super hero costumes were part of the Captain Action line before that, but Secret Wars represented the company’s first solo appearance in the toy space. It set the precedent that would be followed by Toy Biz, Hasbro, Diamond Select Toys, and more to this day.

TO INFINITY AND BEYOND(ER)

Far from done with the denizens of the Marvel Universe, The Beyonder returned in 1985’s SECRET WARS II. This time around, the nine-issue limited series was accompanied by crossover tie-ins in most ongoing titles at the time.

“The success of SECRET WARS made its sequel, SECRET WARS II—also written by Shooter—inevitable,” Sanderson contends. “In the case of SECRET WARS II, Shooter increased the ties between the limited series and the regular titles, so that the Beyonder crossed over into many regular Marvel series while SECRET WARS II was still running.”

The new series also gave The Beyonder more of a physical presence, one that has been seen in previously untold stories like the SECRET WARS II-set DEADPOOL TEAM-UP #1 from 1998 or NEW AVENGERS: ILLUMINATI #3. The Beyonder's “make super people fight each other” shtick even got swiped by The Stranger in the pages of Dwayne McDuffie and Scott Kollins’ 2006 limited series BEYOND!

The 90’s animated series “Spider-Man” gave The Beyonder his first animated appearance. The adaptation featured a variety of different characters than the comics and a new look for the main villain.

EVENT HORIZON

The success of SECRET WARS changed the game across the comic book market and left the industry altered in its wake.

“SECRET WARS changed the entire comic book industry,” DeFalco says. “It was the first event-driven, company-wide crossover in comic book history and started a trend that still exists today. I know a lot of readers say they hate these big events—just like they ‘hated’ the black costume—but sales put the lie to these words.”

In fact, according to Breevort, the title continues to sell even to this day:

“It’s a seminal story, the first of the big company-wide event series in comics, and so it both sold phenomenally well and has remained in print virtually without interruption. It’s likely one of the five best-selling Marvel collections of all time. And readers who were the right age for it have very strong memories of it.”

Sanderson notes that more people were paying attention than just those inside the House of Ideas and the concept sparked elsewhere in the industry.

“Soon after SECRET WARS, DC Comics published Crisis on Infinite Earths, its own universe-wide event maxi-series that involved virtually all its characters, and brought about major changes in its continuity, including killing off some major heroes,” he says. “Together SECRET WARS and Crisis set the pattern for the big crossover events to come at Marvel and DC, and even other comics companies have published series in which large numbers of their characters from different books have an epic adventure together.”

One of the most major and longstanding results of SECRET WARS’ success remains the proliferation and success of event comic book storytelling.

“The biggest long term changes to come out of SECRET WARS were to establish that universe-wide crossovers could be commercial blockbusters, and that the fans—especially those who bought comics in the new direct sales market of specialty shops—would eagerly buy issues of comics in which major changes happened to the lead characters, which they viewed as collector’s items,” Sanderson summarizes. “After Jim Shooter’s SECRET WARS and SECRET WARS II, Jim Starlin’s many crossover series involving all the major heroes, starting with INFINITY GAUNTLET, continued along these lines.

“Today, in the 2000’s, the crossover series, whether it involves a particular family of books like the X-Men, or the entire Marvel line, is a familiar event, and sometimes it seems that as soon as one ends, the next one starts! AGE OF APOCALYPSE, CIVIL WAR, HOUSE OF M, ORIGINAL SIN, WORLD WAR HULK, and the rest are all the descendants of SECRET WARS.”

For more on the 75^th anniversary of Marvel, visit marvel.com/75

Electro has emerged in "Spider-Man Unlimited"! Now you can play against him and his dimensional counterparts!

The new Boss Event kicks off today, along with the release of Electro-Proof Spider-Man, and it all leads up to Issue 3!

Get the game today and visit our official hub page!

With Wolveirine kicking the bucket in the pages of DEATH OF WOLVERINE, all eyes are soon to be on his equally ferocious teenage clone X-23 – at least that's what she thinks.

The clawed Ms. Kinney will be one of many Marvel scrappers rushing to fill the void left when Logan journeys into the great beyond. You can follow this posthumous struggle when DEATH OF WOLVERINE: THE LOGAN LEGACY hits stores in October.

Before then, learn all about Wolverine and X-23's intense history with these five issues, presented here in chronological order!

1. UNCANNY X-MEN #451

Laura's first encounter with the X-Men involved a lot more slashing than handshakes. The mutant team stumbled upon X-23 during her shift as a waitress in a mutant-themed nightclub, which explained why she had on one of Wolverine's lesser-known costumes. The two traded blows for a while, and X-23 even got the upper hand by slicing at Wolvie's face. Logan eventually talked her down, though, and thus began their tumultuous relationship.

2. X-FACTOR #26

X eventually made her way to the Xavier Institute, and she joined the teens in the New X-Men just as their school year took a turn for the tragic. X-23 stepped up her game, tough, when Wolverine drafted her into his makeshift team of hunters and fighters. Their mission: track down and take out the mutant soldier called Cable.

3. X-FORCE #1

When Wolverine's makeshift team became an official outfit called X-Force, X-23 stayed on the roster. This marked the first time that both mutants had served on a team together – and the dangers they went up against proved to be every bit as relentless and vicious as the heroes.

4. X-23 #1

The two interacted in a totally different way in the first arc of X-23's debut ongoing series. This time around, a demonic vision of Wolverine haunted Laura's dreams and urged her to join him in Hell. More dreams and memories follow, as malevolent forces put X-23's mind through the wringer and forced her to leave the X-Men's island home.

5. X-23 #11

With X-23 traumatized following exposure to a scent that triggered her berserker rage, Gambit asked Wolverine to pay the struggling teenager a surprise visit. The two reconnected in Paris, but a mysterious interloper put a halt to the healing process by exposing Laura to an upgraded trigger scent.

X-23 takes the lead in DEATH OF WOLVERINE: THE LOGAN LEGACY #2! 

In 1964, Marvel premiered one of its enduring and exciting super heroes, Daredevil. Whether in his secret identity as blind lawyer Matt Murdock or using his enhanced radar senses, DD stood out from the crowd as an unrelenting crusader for justice.

To celebrate 75 years of Marvel, 50 years of the Man Without Fear and the upcoming debut of “Marvel’s Daredevil” on Netflix in 2015, we look back on the hero of Hell’s Kitchen’s remarkable history!

Nightmare: it’s the only possible word to describe the year 1986 for Daredevil, and even that doesn’t do it justice. Pursued relentlessly by one of his greatest adversaries, the Man Without Fear lost everything in the very worst period of his life and career.

After villain-turned-hero Gladiator struggled with falling back into a life of crime in DAREDEVIL #226, Matt Murdock himself began a descent into darkness when in DAREDEVIL #227, his former girlfriend Karen Page, now a drug addict in Hollywood, sold his secret identity for a shot of heroin. The information made its way to the Kingpin in New York City, and he instigated an all-out campaign of ruination on his hated foe.

Saved from a prison sentence on the Kingpin’s trumped up charges, Matt found himself disbarred instead in DAREDEVIL #228 and unable to practice law. In retaliation, the Kingpin firebombed our hero’s apartment building, sending him out into the streets. Now homeless, depressed, and paranoid, Matt forced his way into his enemy’s office in DAREDEVIL #229, only to be beaten within an inch of his life by the gigantic crimelord. Later, an angel appeared in the form of his long-lost mother, now a nun, and she began to nurse her son back to health.

Tenacious reporter Ben Urich caught a glimpse of the Kingpin’s conspiracy against Murdock in DAREDEVIL #230, and when his snitch died at the hands of a hired killer, Urich dug in his heels on the story and promised it’d see the light of day. Karen Page arrived in New York in DAREDEVIL #231 under the thumb of an obsessed fan, but Foggy Nelson helped to free her from the man’s dark influence. A recovering Matt asked Spider-Man to refrain from going after the Kingpin himself in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #277, but the web-slinger failed to confirm that the crimelord knew his own secret identity.

The Kingpin unleashed a Daredevil imposter on the streets in DAREDEVIL #232, but Matt caught up to and defeated him. Together, he and Karen fought back her demons and inched toward getting her sober and drug-free. Finally, Matt donned his Daredevil costume after a long interval to clash with the Kingpin’s bait to draw him out: Nuke the super-soldier.

When the Avengers appeared to take Nuke into custody in DAREDEVIL #233, Captain America began to investigate his counterpart, only to lose him to the Kingpin’s anger at failing to defeat his nemesis. In fact, Urich’s revelations succeeded in ruining the crimelord’s public standing as an honest businessman forever, while Matt and Karen set up a new home of sorts in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood.

DD wrapped up his arduous year by meeting Madcap in DAREDEVIL #234, going head-to-head with Mr. Hyde in DAREDEVIL #235, joining with the Black Widow to uncover another super-soldier in DAREDEVIL #236, and foil the latest schemes of Klaw in DAREDEVIL #237.

Read more DAREDEVIL (1964) on Marvel Unlimited

Tweet your questions, comments and thoughts about Women of Marvel to @AdriCowan, @Omg_Dj_Judy, @MiniB622, @J9Schaefer or @Marvel with the hashtag #WomenOfMarvel!

And join in on the Women of Marvel podcast's book club! Each episode, the hosts will chat about a current female-led book and answer the Qs you send via Twitter (with the hashtag #WOMReads) and email – and ask you to join in on the talk with them. 25 first come, first served digital codes for each comic will be given away per episode, so make sure to listen to find out how to get yours and join in on the discussion!

Visit the Women of Marvel Podcasts' Tumblr page, where they'll post extra info and more: 
http://thewomenofmarvelcomics.tumblr.com

In the final leg of a three-part journey through her Marvel career to date—enjoy parts one and two if you have not already—All-New Young Guns artist Sara Pichelli cooks up the right recipe for solid entertainment. She also imparts the key to pulling off a recent great Peter Quill scene in the pages of GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY!

Marvel.com: What was it like to draw a father son reunion scene like this?

Sara Pichelli: It looks like I have become a “hug-artist” lately! [Laughs]

All jokes aside, this is the kind of stuff I like drawing, scenes about feelings and intimate interactions between characters is my thing, so I enjoyed drawing this page.

The hard part was avoiding any “romantic” dynamics between Scott and Corsair. It would have been weird, if you know what I mean, especially in panel four, where an incredulous Scott almost touches his dad’s face. So the solution was to keep the two dudes not so close, totally preventing a “pre-kiss” moment!

Marvel.com: This scene features a Skrull bounty hunter posing as Gamora--in drawing this scene did you try to plant clues that this was not Gamora?

Sara Pichelli: What I did was try to maintain the real Gamora’s demeanor until panel three where she clearly starts flirting with Peter—you can see it from the way she’s tucking her hair behind her ear—flooring the readers.

The readers can’t be sure if she’s being serious or not, but you can feel something is going on there, in some way her seducing body language was my—and [writer] Brian [Bendis’]—way to play with the readers, and put them in the same position as Peter, who in panel four is clearly embarrassed and surprised.

Sara Pichelli: In this page the roles are reversed. It’s Peter's turn to play with Gamora/Skrull, now that he knew for sure she was an imposter, because the real Gamora would never hit on him! But this isn’t clear to the readers yet; we will need to observe Peter's expressions to get to know more about that mystery.

In panel three Peter looks through the glass like he’s looking through the fake appearance of the Gamora/Skrull. And finally you can tell from Peter’s expression in panel five that she definitely isn't “his” Gamora. The range of Peter’s facial expressions goes from embarrassed/surprised from the previous page) to self-confident/badass, that slowly leads the readers to the final revelation.

Marvel.com: When tackling a scene of violence like this, what is the key to making the action not come across as too graphic?

Sara Pichelli: I’m not sure but I remember that Marvel censored a little bit around the neck area—panel five—with an onomatopoeia, but I swear I did my best to not draw that scene too graphic! But sometimes it’s hard for me to hold it back. In this case I focused on powerful poses and nice faces so the readers wouldn’t feel the need to crave more blood.

Marvel.com: Do you think it important on a page where you have just had a beheading, to counter-balance that kind of drama with the almost comedic discovery of Star-Lord?

Sara Pichelli: I think it’s the right recipe for good entertainment: never go full drama or comedy or action, sometimes you need to mix drama with comedy in the sequences.

In this case the comedic discovery of Peter Quill helps to slow down the narrative rhythm; let the readers take a breath and get ready for the dramatic scene in the last page of the issue.

Keep checking Marvel.com for more on the All-New Young Guns!

IRON FIST: THE LIVING WEAPON artist-writer Kaare Andrews likens his mid-way position through a humongous 12-issue story arc as “drinking ocean water and trying not to get bit by sharks,” which means he doesn’t usually take the time to rest on his laurels.

“[I’m] keeping my rhythm and focusing on the task at hand,” he insists. “I don’t view art making as a destination. I believe it’s the journey itself that is the point of art. So in that sense, what’s been satisfying [working on the book] is that it’s been hard, what’s satisfying is that I’ve been making my deadlines, what’s satisfying is that I don’t think there is another creator out there writing/penciling/inking/coloring a monthly book at the Big Two.

“On the other hand, the problem with satisfaction is that it is defined as ‘not wanting more’ and that is the death of an artist. When you have nothing more to say, when you stop swimming—you sink, you’re dead. And I’m anything but satisfied. I am still eager to grab my hands tighter around this medium of comics and wrestle it to the ground, spill blood and breathe fire. And I’ve only just begun.”

And what he’s begun looks like one of the most ambitious Iron Fist stories yet, one that’s striking a chord not only with readers, but following a predestined end set down by Andrews himself in the beginning.

“Having that ending as a target has been both inspiring and scary,” he says. “I know I am making some big choices to finish with. And big choices can cause big reactions. So I am both preparing my battle cry and bracing myself for impact!

“But art is an organic process, not a set of technical diagrams. So you have to allow yourself to be affected by your characters, by the process. I think it’s a big mistake to turn your back on inspiration. There is an acting trick that sums it all up quite nicely: when you are performing, you want to be in the moment. You don’t turn off your feelings, your life situation, the way you feel that morning. You don’t pretend. You use it all. If you’re pissed off, let it through your performance. If you’re happy or scared or restless, use it. Don’t deny anything. If you want to create something that is authentic, use your authentic self at this very moment and in this very space. Create with the passion of the moment. That is the key to it all.”

The first six issues of IRON FIST: THE LIVING WEAPON brought a bit of pain to Danny Rand’s world. Okay, no; a lot of pain. Andrews says that’s okay, because “fundamentally, Danny is a survivor.”

“This is a kid who watched his father murdered in front of him and his mother eaten by wolves,” he explains. “He was a little rich boy of privilege who never had to fight for anything in his life. And he is taken into a brutal land that values combat above all else. He fuelled himself with rage and revenge to do the impossible, to rise up to become the city’s champion. But at the end of that journey he found a hollow result. That revenge was an empty pursuit. My plan from the start was to take him back to that same place of losing and force him find another reason to fight.

“A hint can be found in the very nuanced titles of the arcs. The first arc is ‘Rage.’ The second is ‘Redemption.’ I believe that a man is defined by more than his breaking point. Every man breaks. A man is truly defined by what he does afterwards. And this same idea of death and resurrection has been a staple of myth and story for all time.”

As in Iron Fist tales of the past, the mystical, other-dimensional city of K’un-Lun looms prominently over Danny’s shoulder. Having caused it its own share of grief in recent issues, Andrews feels that the location represents more than just a physical place, but stops short of labeling it as an ideal.

“K’un-Lun may been have the fire that forged a Living Weapon, but it had its own contradictions and complications. To me it represents the grief and the rage of a destroyed ideal, of the family unit. This is where Danny served penance for his father’s sins. It’s where he drove himself to defeat a dragon so that he could return to Earth and kill his parents’ murderer. I don’t actually believe Danny rejected paradise when he left K’un-Lun. Remember that at the end of his trials, after becoming Iron Fist, K’un-Lun offered him a place amongst the immortals. But this was patriarchal kingdom built on repression and indoctrination. It too was a false choice. As false a choice as revenge.

“I think you’ll see that K’un Lun really fell victim to its own construct. K’un-Lun created the very monsters that destroyed it. And maybe its destruction is a way to purge K’un-Lun of its own sins. For itself to be redefined and reborn? We’ll have to find out.”

After taking a short respite in October, IRON FIST: THE LIVING WEAPON returns in November with the kick-off of the aforementioned “Redemption” arc and a look back at the “mechanical heart” of K’un-Lun.

“When we last see Danny in issue #6, he is lost in a cave in the Himalayas, broken and beaten but has vowed to heal and fight. When we see Danny again in #7 he is going through that process, with the help of a crazed midget monk and his childhood friend, now Thunderer of K’un-Lun. But he has to more than just heal physically; he has emotional damage that he needs to finally address. For too long Danny Rand has been pushing down the horrific childhood trauma, and if he ever hopes to find the strength to defeat The One, he’s going to have to address that past as well. For it is all connected.

“[As for the mechanical heart,] one of the interesting aspects of Iron Fist’s history is that K’un-Lun had banned technology, but Iron Fist’s final test was squaring off against a mechanical man. This contradiction is wonderful and full of potential. You look for this kind of thing when you are writing. These little beacons that say, ‘What about me? Aren't I curious?’ I'm not retconning anything but rather building bridges in between all of these incongruous aspects of his history.”

Andrews has also built a bridge between his writing and art on the title, having grown comfortable with the style he employs on and by using what he refers to as “the unique vocabulary of comics.”

“IRON FIST: THE LIVING WEAPON was never intended as a poor man’s version of a feature film,” he says. “The visual language in this book is very specific to comics. Sure, you could port over some of the plot and characters, but the panel to panel, the use of sound effects, aged paper, and page design is a thing only a comic reader will ever experience. I’m all for the pop culture penetration of super heroes but this is a story you have to read on the page to enjoy thoroughly. 

“I love that idea. And I love comics. We are the fuel of popular culture right now. The magic that every major entertainment medium is stealing from. And one of the few places of actual and true creativity, uniqueness, originality and invention. It isn’t an accident that all these major pop culture conventions still use the term ‘Comic Con.’ We’re not always rewarded for it; and never on the same level as the folks we seem to be inspiring. But that’s what keeps us pure. Scrappy. And it is my intention to make use of all of that opportunity in the next arc of Iron Fist.

“If you think the first arc was a little crazy—you ain’t seen nothing yet.”

IRON FIST: THE LIVING WEAPON returns with issue #7 on November 5!

UPDATED on 9/19/14 with two new costumes

No page has been left unturned when it comes to playable characters in the upcoming "Spider-Man Unlimited" mobile game. With content spanning 50 years of comic lore, there’s a high chance your favorite Spidey can be summoned and upgraded!

A variety of Spider-Men will be available at launch with consistent new releases of Spider-Men characters in tandem with Spider-Verse! Additionally, you can fuse and level up your Spider-Men to unlock unique abilities.

Recently, a handful of characters have been revealed! Be sure to stay tuned to the game’s official Facebook page for more reveals and other game information. Plus, this article will also be updated weekly with a recap.

Confirmed:

• Spider-Man Noir, first appearance: SPIDER-MAN NOIR #1
• Mangaverse Spider-Man, first appearance: MARVEL MANGAVERSE: SPIDER-MAN #1
• Secret War Spider-Man, first appearance: SECRET WAR #1
• The Bombastic Bag-Man, first appearance: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #258
• House of M Spider-Man, first appearance: SPIDER-MAN: HOUSE OF M #1
• Last Stand Spider-Man, first appearance: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #500
• Spider-Man, first appearance: AMAZING FANTASY #15
• Spider-Armor, first appearance: WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #100
• Spider-Man (Ben Reilly), first appearance: SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN #0
• Bulletproof Spider-Armor, first appearance: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #654
• Battle-Damaged Spider-Man
• Scarlet Spider (Ben Reilly), first appearance: WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #117
• Cosmic Spider-Man, first appearance: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #158
• Scarlet Spider, first appearance: SCARLET SPIDER (2011) #1
• Iron Spider, first appearace: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #529
• Ends of the Earth Spider-Man, first appearance: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #682
• Future Foundation Spider-Man, first appearance: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #658
• Electro-Proof Spider-Man, first appearance: "Spider-Man Unlimited"

Who will you summon as part of your Spidey army?!

As luck would have it, Doctor Strange unknowingly encountered both his greatest enemy and possibly his greatest love while on the very same inter-dimensional mission.

Both the dread Dormammu and the sorceress Clea resided in the treacherous depths of the Dark Dimension. Both possess a mastery of magic and strong – albeit opposing – attitudes towards Stephen Strange, but only Dormammu has a head that constantly burns with mystical fire.

Dormammu and Clea made their first appearance 50 years ago this month in STRANGE TALES #126. The story begins just as Strange returns home, exhausted from a battle with Baron Mordo. Strange doesn't even have time to remove his cape before he gets transported to the realm of his master – the Ancient One. Once there, Strange finds the powerful sorcerer besieged by a minion of Dormammu. The Ancient One tells Strange that the warlord must be trying to break out of the Dark Dimension. Even though no known force has been able to take on Dormammu one-on-one, Doctor Strange knows what he has to do and travels to the Dark Dimension.

Dormammu laughs at Strange's arrival and starts throwing every minion he has at the good Doctor. As Strange survives every one of Dormammu's trials, he catches the attention of a mysterious figure.

Stephen Strange continues to use his spells to cut a swath through his flaming foe's forces, dealing each one of them a sound defeat. Dormammu does not deal with their failure well.

Clea hurriedly introduces herself to Strange and urges him to not fight the dread Dormammu in one-on-one combat. Doctor Strange, knowing that the Earth will be Dormammu's for the taking if he does nothing, forges ahead. When the hero finally makes his way to the villain's lair, Dormammu acquiesces to Strange's request for battle.

The two mystics engaged in the first of many battles in STRANGE TALES #127.  Clea and Dormammu have since become essential parts of Doctor Strange's mythos, with the former spending time on Earth as both Strange's lover and a super hero in her own right, and the latter vexing everyone from the Avengers to Spider-Man.

You can read Clea's most recent acts of heroism in the pages of FEARLESS DEFENDERS!

This October, it all comes crashing down.

Today, Marvel is proud to present your first look inside AVENGERS & X-MEN: AXIS #3, the next blockbuster chapter in the premier comics event of the fall. Creators Rick Remender and Leinil Yu present the apocalyptic conclusion to Act I: The Red Supremacy as teams splinter, hearts are broken, and the fragile alliance of A and X shatters once more!

Though they now stand united against a common foe, its not enough to stem the darkness. Coupled with the powers of Charles Xavier, the Red Skull’s terror knows no bounds. Battered and broken, the few surviving heroes must put their faith in unlikely allies, and give rise to the most vile syndicate known to man. Can the Red Skull be defeated? And at what cost? Would you destroy the Red Skull if it meant losing the very last piece of Charles Xavier?

As one of the last remaining heroes, the Scarlet Witch is forced to join forces with Dr. Doom – the man who twisted and abused her power to cause M-Day. If she can’t, she’ll have to watch those she loves most die. And a twist of fate will return one of the Marvel Universe’s greatest villains from beyond.

The world as we know it is gone. The Inversion is here. Don’t miss AVENGERS & X-MEN: AXIS #3 on sale in October!

Join the conversation on Twitter with hashtag #MarvelAXIS!

AVENGERS & X-MEN: AXIS #3 (AUG140731)
Written by RICK REMENDER
Art by LEINIL YU
Cover by JIM CHEUNG
Inversion Variant by HUMBERTO RAMOS (AUG140733)
Young Guns Variant by NICK BRADSHAW (AUG140732)
FOC – 09/29/14, On-Sale – 10/22/14

Over the course of “Marvel: Avengers Alliance,” players have seen waste laid to New York, London, Wakanda, and more, but a whole new world opens up in the latest Spec Op with the Savage Land serving as a fresh battleground.

Producer Justin Woods spoke to us about the latest mission and environment, as well as the addition of Ka-Zar, new villains and more.

Marvel.com: So what is the theme of this Spec Op?

Justin Woods: This is a really exciting Spec Op for us because it’s [not] often that we launch a new geographical area in the game with new maps and new combat arenas. We’re going to the Savage Land in this Spec Op. We’re going to meet up with Ka-Zar and figure out what’s going on down there. The High Evolutionary is causing some ruckus and we gotta figure out the Avengers can help out there. All-new maps, all-new villains. New characters to fight against; we have A.I.M. and Hydra—well now we have Dinosaurs.

Marvel.com: Ka-Zar is the reward hero, but the Lockbox hero is Kang the Conqueror. How does he tie into the Savage Land story? That’s kind of a neat fit.

Justin Woods: I will say that in typical Kang fashion, he sees something in the future that’s going to pan out and it’s extremely important that he comes and intervenes. He decides that it’s in his best interests to ally himself with S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers Alliance at least for a temporary time to prevent this future from happening.

Marvel.com: Does this Spec Op tie-in with any of the ongoing stories of the game?

Justin Woods: It’s more of a standalone story. The High Evolutionary is experimenting on dinosaurs and the local populace, so those are characters that you will fight against and see in battles in the Spec Ops. While he’s down there, he’s drawn all these other science-type characters down there. So you’ve got the Lizard down there. You’ve got Sauron, who lives down there. You actually got new villains [like] Stegron down there. Just a pretty big hodge podge and everybody’s down there doing science on dinosaurs and trying to get a piece of the action.

Marvel.com: Let’s talk about Ka-Zar for a sec. What’s cool about him and what he can do in “Avengers Alliance”?

Justin Woods: He’s a jungle man. That’s pretty awesome. I feel that he’s unique in the Marvel Universe. He doesn’t really feel like a super hero yet he still totally does and he’s got a different vibe to him altogether. What’s cool about him in “Avengers Alliance” is that he’s extremely unique in that he’s actually two characters in one. He has Zabu with him at all times and most of his attacks involve both him and Zabu doing something. You don’t have to summon him. He’s always there and they’re next to each other and they do coordinated attacks together for all of his moves.

Marvel.com: High Evolutionary is a pretty big-time villain to be debuting. His power level is right up there with Apocalypse and some of the other guys you’ve used. How are you playing him?

Justin Woods: He’s going to be a group boss, which is what we’ve kind of typically done with these kinds of villains. You’re going to see Doc Ock and Lizard and those kinds of guys in [the Spec Op itself].

Marvel.com: Anything else you want to talk about as far as this Spec Op?

Justin Woods: I would say that the thing about this Spec Op that’s really fun and exciting that people have to look forward to is that it [has] got so much content in it. So much new stuff. All the dinosaurs you get to fight. The two new bosses. A Lockbox hero. All the new maps. It’s really exciting and it’s really content rich so people will have a lot to look forward to. And it will be worth the wait.

Join “Marvel: Avengers Alliance” and play the Savage Lands Spec Op today!