Marvel Comics will mark the 50th anniversaries of Bullseye, Star-Lord/Peter Jason Quill, Nova/Richard Rider, and Jack of Hearts/Jack Hart in Marvel Gold ’76, a special by current Daredevil writer Stephanie Phillips, and artist Madibek Musabekov (Star Wars: Shadow of Maul). Due out this fall, the comic will see Daredevil’s nemesis become an assassin for none other than Thanos, who sends him on a mission that leads to him clashing with Star-Lord, Nova, and Jack “in a brutal, zero-room-for-error fight against the inevitable.”
Marvel Gold ’76 cover by Leinil Francis Yu
Phillips says, “It was such an exciting opportunity to write a story that celebrates these characters and their legacies, which have helped shape not just comics, but pop culture as a whole. I can’t wait for readers to dig into this action-packed story and see the incredible artwork from Madibek Musabekov!”
For the record, Bullseye first appeared in Marv Wolfman and Bob Brown‘s Daredevil #131; Nova debuted in the first issue of his own series, by Wolfman and John Buscema; Jack of Hearts was created by Bill Mantlo and Keith Giffen for Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #22; and Star-Lord was introduced in Steve Englehart and Steve Gan‘s Marvel Preview #4. Thanos arrived earlier, in 1973’s Invincible Iron Man #55 (by Jim Starlin and Mike Friedrich).
Editor Mark Paniccia comments, “You might find this one of the strangest assemblies in comics but pitting Bullseye against three characters who could punt him into the sun is one of the coolest hooks ever. Marvel Gold is about assembling the best talent to celebrate these characters with big swings, great stories, and a fresh spotlight that reminds readers why they’ve endured for decades.”
His comments suggest similar team-ups for characters sharing major anniversaries in future. In the meantime, Marvel has kicked off a new run of What If…? series to celebrate 50 years of the series, and will release golden anniversary one-shots for Rocket Raccoon and Spider-Woman/Jessica Drew respectively on July 29, and September 2. Bullseye will also appear as an antagonist in Chris Claremont and Robert Gill‘s Gambit: Wanted series, starting July 22.
Marvel Gold ’76 will be released on September 9, with a main cover by Leinil Francis Yu, and variants by Alex Maleev, Hicham Habchi, John Romita Jr., and Kendrick “Kunkka” Lim. You can check out most of those below, along with an uncolored, three-page interior preview.
Cover by Hicham Habchi
Cover by Kendrick Lim
Cover by John Romita Jr.
