Six Marvel & DC Announcements We Want To See at NYCC

With the New York Comic Con less than a month away, fans are starting to become restless, eager to learn what kind of announcements will come from the event. With Marvel and DC setting the stage for major new developments in their respective universes, we only have clues about the direction the two universes could be heading into. But while we still have to wait a few more weeks for official announcements, we can look at the current slew of books, teases from creators, and solicitations for upcoming stories to piece together some educated guesses regarding the announcements we think (and hope) they formally announce at NYCC

Return of the JSA/Legion of Super-Heroes

Rebirth has seen the DC Universe re-embracing its history and legacy, bringing back characters and concepts that have been absent for far too long from the publisher's mainline universe. But despite being years into the current continuity, some corners of the DC Universe have only been hinted at. Jay Garrick made a brief appearance in Batman/Flash crossover The Button before disappearing in a flash of light, and a patient at Arkham Asylum has apparently been revealed to be a long-lost Saturn Girl in the pages of Doomsday Clock.

The fallout of Doomsday Clock and Superman finally meeting Doctor Manhattan will have a potentially massive effect on the rest of the DC Universe. It would be promising, then, to see DC use this opportunity to officially bring books like JSA and Legion of Super-Heroes back.

A New Series For Marvel's Time-Displaced X-Men

The time-displaced original X-Men have been a great addition to the X-corner of the Marvel Universe. The chance to see the original five X-Men bouncing off current continuity as they fight against a future that none of them are all that happy with has been great fun to experience. It's made for some compelling storytelling across multiple books and events, which is why we're not too happy to see it approaching the ending with Extermination.

But while Extermination seems to suggest that they’re heading back to their original time period once and for all, there are some clues indicating that the team will evolve in a different way. An announcement about a new team-book starring the characters could offer a lot of promise to the expanding X-books, especially if it had the freedom to explore an alternate reality and make it their own. Free of the limitations of being in the 616 Marvel Universe, they could continue to be a vital part of the Marvel multiverse.

Batman: White Knight Sequel

Batman: White Knight was a surprisingly deep Elseworld-esque look at what it would look like if Joker actually, really truly tried to go straight. Sean Gordon Murphy's miniseries boasted incredible art, an engaging and complicated look at Harley Quinn, and played like a stealth sequel to Batman: The Animated Series.

Murphy has been steadily fueling fan belief that he’s developing a follow-up to the miniseries by tweeting out some in-progress sketch work on a secret project he’s working on. Among other teases, the art appears to show Jack Napier – the identity of this newly redeemed Joker – pulling off his own version of the Batman cowl, which just opens up a whole new slew of questions that has us itching to find out more about this take on the DC Universe.

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The New Status Quo For Nightwing

Things are about to get rough for Dick Grayson. Some of his closest friends are currently at the superhero/villain mental health clinic Sanctuary when Heroes in Crisis kills a few heroes. Making this potentially worse are theories that theories suggest it’s Dick’s longtime ally Roy Harper, aka Arsenal, who will bite the bullet in that story. But for all of Roy's current problems, he isn’t the only former sidekick being aimed at.

Solicitations and the cover art for Nightwing #50 suggest Dick will suffer a major head injury, with rumors suggesting that the attack has a connection to Tom King’s overarching Batman run and will see Dick losing much of his memory to the attack. No matter how it plays out, that info, along with current writer Benjamin Percy announcing his departure for the series, means it's pretty obvious Dick has a rough year ahead of him. An announcement about his new status quo would clue fans into the direction his story is headed.

Tom King & Mitch Gerads' Noir Batman Story

Tom King and Mitch Gerads make for an incredibly good team, with their Eisner Award-winning Mister Miracle arguably being one of the highlights of 2018. So any tease of the pair of them collaborating on something new is going to be exciting, no matter the project. It's no surprise, then, that King’s tease of an old school gritty noir-inspired Batman story with the artist has Batfans excited.

King’s run on Batman has been stellar, with his take of the Dark Knight being an extended exploration the mentality and emotions of a man who throws himself off rooftops nightly to punch out murder clowns. Seeing King meld his Batman writing chops with his mystery story skills (look no further than his and Gerads' Sheriff of Babylon) could make for a great Batman mystery, and Gerads on art would elevate it to the next level.

Wolverine Meeting Old Man Logan

Since being introduced in his miniseries by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven, Old Man Logan has made for an interesting counterpoint to the mainstream 616 take on Wolverine. The regrets that fuel this older, reality-displaced version of the character have had a major effect on the modern interpretation of the X-Man, with the source storyline even inspiring the critical and commercial hit, Logan.

But since meeting him ten years ago, we’ve never gotten the confrontation that fans have been waiting for: Old Man Logan getting to meet the main Marvel Universe Logan. With the original Wolverine returning to life just as Old Man Logan prepares to wrap up for good, this is the perfect time for Marvel to give one of their premiere characters a real hard look at his possible fate, and send Old Man Logan out on a high note.

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2018's New York Comic Con runs from Oct. 4 through Oct. 7.