With so many major battles and superhuman events taking place in New York within the world(s) of Marvel Comics, superheroes from other nations don't often get a chance to shine. However, that changed with War of the Realms -- written by Jason Aaron and illustrated by Russell Dauterman and Matthew Wilson -- which shot Chinese superheroes Aero and Sword Master to prominence through the recently created New Agents of Atlas, a makeshift team created to protect Asia from the forces of Muspelheim and the Queen of Cinders.
One of those heroes is set to star in their own series in Aero #1 by writers Zhou Liefen and Greg Pak and artists by Keng and Pop Mah, with the comic set to make its English debut next month. Stanley Lau, also known as Artgerm, recently unveiled his variant cover for Aero's English debut.
"Here is the full reveal of my Aero #1 cover," Artgem posted on Twitter. "So glad to be part of this. Hope you enjoy it! #aero #agentsofatlas #waroftherealms #marvelcomics" The illustration leans more on the side of realism than the original, which embraced the comic book nature of its characters and featured slightly more toon-like features.
Lei Ling, also known as the superhero Aero, was one of Marvel's first official Chinese superheroes. She was co-created by Marvel and NetEase by Zhou Liefen and Keng. She debuted in 2018 with Aero #1 which thus far has only been available in Chinese. According to Marvel Editor-in-chief C.B Cebulski, the intent was to create a superhero that was "heavily based on Chinese culture and mythology, but set in the modern world."
The English language Aero #1 will be released along with two other stories, one of which sees Aero team up with Marvel's first Filipina superhero, Wave.