The Heroes for Hire have been present in the Marvel Universe in a couple different iterations; they usually involve heroes that are associated with the “Iron Fist and Luke Cage” family of heroes, and operate of the oh-so-altruistic premise that what vigilantes do isn’t cheap, and that the demand for help is greater than the supply. I mean, when you can’t get a hold of the Fantastic Four, what’s to stop you from spending a couple bucks and hiring a guy with bulletproof skin?
Along with the 1990s’ version (which served to fill the power vacuum after Heroes Reborn) and the 2006 iteration (which served to profit off of Civil War), Marvel Comics has decided to bring yet another franchise of Heroes for Hire on board. This time, as luck would have it, the characters involved are looking to profit off of the aftermath of the Shadowland crossover, which leads me to believe that Marvel can’t seem to find a good place for this team unless it’s in the “rebuilding” phase after an event.
What bothers me about this relaunch is the roster that’s involved: interviews have revealed that Punisher, Moon Knight, Shroud, Elektra, Paladin, Silver Sable, Ghost Rider, Iron Fist, Falcon, Misty Knight, and possibly others will be present in the book. While this seems like a veritable “who’s who” in street-level Marvel characters, it makes me wonder: how will so many heroes from so many solo books work together in a team? This isn’t like the Avengers, where a lot of the roster has experience with one another; characters like the Punisher, Moon Knight, and Ghost Rider work alone, for good reason.
However, indications are coming in that this may be a “Brave and the Bold”-type setup, where a core team will rotate through members as needed, bringing in magical characters when facing magical threats, etc. This will serve to give characters exposure without the need to commit to a mini-series or ongoing, while having the same writing team allows for easier scheduling and more consistent interaction.
As a huge fan of Iron Fist, I’m happy to see him get his own book again. Hopefully he will be more of a central figure to the team, bringing in heroes as needed. If the creative team of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning can keep the spirit of Immortal Iron Fist‘s team dynamic with the Seven Deadly Weapons, it will definitely be a winner. However, if they think they’re going to shoehorn a de-FrankenCastle’d Punisher, Ghost Rider, and Moon Knight all into one team, it would be one volatile powder keg just waiting for the right match.
Matt Demers
contact@comicattack.net
Ghost Rider, Punisher, and Moon Knight can take a back seat if you ask me but I see where Marvel is trying to use their “star power” to help with the sales of the book. Which is probably why Misty and Falcon weren’t used in the promo shots though were named as part of the initial line up.
Though I’d much rather see Iron Fist back in his OWN title hopefully we can get a bit of resolve between him and Misty in this series along with some great street level action. I’ll give it a shot for about 4 to 5 issues to see what I think. But it’s Abnett and Lanning and they have been doing serious damage on the cosmic side of Marvel which is giving the fans great stories.
I wonder what this news means for Marvel’s cosmic line. New talent coming in or will it be put on pause for a bit?
I absolutely love the line up. The more possibilities for a dysfunctional, off the wall superhero team, the better.
Paladin was kind of a selfish prick, if I remember correctly. I enjoyed the short-lived Heroes for Hire series that came out a few years ago, and was sad to see it dropped. Glad for Misty’s presence, at least.
A rotation of characters sounds like a good idea. Also, if Abnett & Lanning are writing, I’m in.