the Kree and the Skrull converge on Earth. However, by the spring, the emerging COVID pandemic had slowed the comic book industry to a crawl due to lockdowns and shipping delays. Soon, the House of Idea's carefully-laid plans were undone. Though Marvel recovered, the impact on planned releases shook both the Marvel Universe and overall comic book industry to the core.
Empyre bore the brunt of the pandemic shake-up more than any other Marvel debut. All and all, twenty-one different tie-ins and mini-series were removed from the checklist, cutting down the scope of the epic intergalactic crossover. Some, like The Union, were simply rescheduled, with the recently-released UK superhero book now tying into the ongoing King of Black saga (both events deal with alien menaces, after all). Others books, such as an Empyre: Spider-Man story by SNL actor Taran Killam, haven't been so lucky, with their releases apparently in limbo following the conclusion of Empyre. Whether they will be included in future collections of Empyre, rescheduled into future events like King of Black or simply canceled remains to be seen.
However, the pandemic's impact was felt far beyond Empyre. For some books, in fact, the pandemic might have actually helped their release. Marvel's young, hero-centric Outlawed event ended up lasting several more issues, perhaps bolstered by the inherent parallels between only resulted in more Black Widow comics. Fortunately, the former Russian-spy-turned-Avenger has long been a fan-favorite, and the new series has been well-received.
Despite some silver linings, the pandemic's impact was felt elsewhere throughout Marvel Comics. A controversial relaunch of New Warriors was never released, despite being tailor-made for the new Outlawed crossover. A Silk solo series, focused on the popular Spider-Man character, has been delayed. The Dark Ages, an apocalyptic series from DCeased writer Tom Taylor, remains unscheduled as of now, despite being spotlighted heavily in Marvel's Free Comic Book Day offerings.
It's certainly worth pondering what the Marvel Comics universe would have looked like without the impact of a pandemic. Empyre would have run for its full allotment, but would the one-two punch of alien invasions have taken away fan enjoyment for the current King of Black series? Would the New Warriors relaunch have benefited from the Outlawed crossover? It's impossible to know the full extent of just how the pandemic has shaped Marvel Comics in 2020.
Hopefully, 2021 will be a more stable year for Marvel Comics going forward. Both Marvel and the comic book industry as a whole have adjusted to the new realities of the pandemic, with many comic book stores adopting curbside pick-up and other safety measures. Still, despite the timely arrival of a vaccine, there remains plenty of uncertainty for the coming year, as its all-too-possible mutant COVID strains could force more lock-downs. Whatever the case, here's hoping 2021 ultimately brings some semblance of normalcy to back to Marvel Comics.
