Writer Al Ewing and artist Javier Rodriguez will follow up last year’s Defenders: There Are No Rules with a new five-issue limited series, Defenders: Beyond, with a new lineup of Marvel characters.
The story begins with a posthumous warning from Doctor Strange, summoning a new team consisting of Blue Marvel, America Chavez, Taaia (the mother of Galactus), Tigra, and Loki (a variant of the better-known character) to defend the earth against a new menace. Marvel hinted at the source of that menace earlier this week when they sent out teaser images featuring the Beyonder.
“It’s great to be co-storytelling with Javier again on another Defenders book – he’s more than an artist, he’s the other half of the equation,” Ewing said in a statement accompanying the announcement. “There’s no Defenders without him. And of course, we had to go even bigger – so in this book, we’re going on a magical journey into the Mystery itself, mapping the Marvel Godhead and bringing back knowledge that ties into what has gone before, some seismic things to come… and if we’re lucky, maybe a little off-the-page magic to feed your hungry head. We’ve got an eclectic new crew of Defenders chosen for the task by the final spell of Stephen Strange – I’m saying what’s probably a final goodbye to a lot of stuff from the past ten years with this one, and for at least one character, this will be the last adventure. Hope you survive the psychedelic experience, pilgrim!”
The first issue of Defenders: Beyond will be released on June 15 with a wraparound cover by Rodriguez.
Click Gallery for cover and teaser images!
Source: ICv2
