The premise of current Marvel event series "Original Sin" -- the Watcher's death leading to the revelation of multiple long-kept secrets -- provides the publisher an opportunity to revisit multiple points in the Marvel Universe's past. Marvel.com disclosed Monday that August's "Guardians of the Galaxy" #18, from regular series writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Ed McGuinness, will explore something long-time cosmic fans have been curious about for a while: How Star-Lord and Thanos escaped death in the Cancerverse at the end of 2010 series "The Thanos Imperative," and the fate of former Nova Richard Rider -- also stuck with Star-Lord and Thanos in the Cancerverse, and not seen since that storyline.

"'Original Sin' has been planned for years, so I was very aware that this would be the perfect place to unveil this storyline," Bendis told Marvel.com. "I know waiting for this was frustrating for some longtime readers, but every story comes at its own time."

"I have known exactly what we were doing with this from the moment I agreed to do the book, but I thought it would be best to slow burn the reveal and get any potential new readers -- which I am so happy that we have so many -- involved in this story, which they may not have read during the previous 'Guardians of the Galaxy' run," Bendis continued. "Now, not only does this reveal answer a question for diehard readers, it also tells something about the characters to the newer readers."

Bendis told the site that readers will "one-hundred percent" find out Richard Rider's ultimate fate, and that "Original Sin" will also reveal secrets from other "Guardians" members. "Guardians of the Galaxy" #18 will be the first time Bendis and McGuinness, two Marvel mainstays, have worked together on interior pages.

"I'm so excited to work with him," Bendis said to Marvel.com. "This is a very larger-than-life story with a very larger-than-life cast of characters, so Ed is the perfect candidate."

"Guardians of the Galaxy" #18 is scheduled for release in August.