Marvel Comics' Strikeforce has been canceled.
According to Newsarama, August's Strikeforce #9 will serve as the series' last issue, with the planned issue #10 -- an Empyre tie-in -- no longer moving forward. This is only the latest tie-in to the ongoing event series to be axed, following Empyre: Ghost Rider, Empyre: The Invasion of Wakanda, Empyre: Spider-Man, Empyre: Squadron Supreme, Empyre: Stormranger, Empyre: Thor and The Union.
Not to be confused with the mobile game Marvel Strike Force, Strikeforce launched in September of last year amid the aftermath of Marvel Comics' War of the Realms event. Originally a monthly series, Strikeforce went on hiatus following the release of issue #7 this past March as a result of the comics industry shutdown stemming from the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Strikeforce #8 finally arrived yesterday, July 15.
The upcoming ninth and final issue of the series teases "a death match of no-holds-barred sports entertainment -- at the center of King Deadpool's Monster Island" as the eponymous team "finds themselves divided between their mission to contain the dangerous Vridai and the sweet, sweet taste of competitive victory." Meanwhile, the canceled Strikeforce #10 would have involved them taking on alien invaders, with particularly high stakes for the character of Wiccan.
Written by Tini Howard and illustrated by German Peralta, Strikeforce #9 goes on sale Aug. 5 from Marvel Comics.