Marvel announced "Generations" series teaming old and new versions of their characters

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Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Sat, 03/25/2017 - 06:00

From ABC News:

Last month, Marvel set the internet ablaze after sharing a tweet with just four simple words.

"GENERATIONS – coming Summer 2017," was posted on Feb. 16, along with a picture that led to far more questions than answers.

An Alex Ross art piece had the likes of Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson both sporting Captain America garb, Peter Parker and Miles Morales wearing Spider-Man gear, and Logan and X-23 in the classic Wolverine yellow and blue -- wait, what?! Wolverine died in 2014!

There were 10 pairings in all, the rest just as shocking, given the current status of the fractured Marvel Universe. Fans have already mourned Logan and now the same can be said for Bruce Banner, whose 55-year-run came to a close when he died last year in "Civil War II." So what's going on?

ABC News got on the horn with Marvel Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso to answer the questions running through fans' minds right now.

Marvel 'Generations'

"Generations" launches in July and runs through September. The full list of pairings includes:

    -Iron Man (Tony Stark and Riri Williams) – written by Brian Michael Bendis
    -Spider-Man (Peter Parker and Miles Morales) – Brian Michael Bendis
    -Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers and Kamala Khan) – G. Willow Wilson
    -Thor (Odinson and Jane Foster) – Jason Aaron
    -Hawkeye (Clint Barton and Kate Bishop) – Kelly Thompson
    -Hulk (Bruce Banner and Amadeus Cho) – Greg Pak
    -Jean Grey (young and older) – Dennis Hopeless
    -Wolverine (Logan and X23) – Tom Taylor
    -Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell and Carol Danvers) – Margie Stohl
    -Captain America (Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson) – Nick Spencer

Is this self-contained? Is this an alternate timeline?

In one word: No.

"These stories do happen, they really count. They really matter. This isn't some alternate reality story or some time-travel story," Alonso explained.

Source: ABC NEWS

Commentary: First of all, I absolutely love that Alex Ross art used to tease this. It is gorgeous!

I also love the idea here. A lot of comics "fans" have been critical about Marvel's attempts to create legacies for their characters. I actually love many of the new heroes, and I think these books are going to be a great way to showcase the new characters while still showing respect to what came before. I am definitely curious how you can tell new stories with Mar-Vell, Logan, Banner, etc without time travel or alternate realities. Granted, Marvel editiorial staff often lies (which they should, to be honest), but I am, tenatatively taking them at their word here, perhaps foolishly.

I also love that these books will be written by the series writers for the most part. To me that ensures this won't just be a throwaway gimmick, but integrated carefully into the characters' stories. I am definitely hyped for this!