George R.R. Martin's Wild Cards is coming to Marvel Comics this summer. Comic book fans may know that this long-running series of novels and anthologies featuring superheroes and villains have actually been a Marvel comic before. The return of the series to comics and its potential development for a streaming series by Peacock makes it a great time to explore this epic.
Wild Cards could be the next big superhero universe in live-action, and it's not surprising given George R.R. Martin's long fan status for comics and Marvel in particular. Letters a young Martin wrote to the company were published in early issues of classic Marvel titles, and now his own superhero creations are coming to Marvel in a limited series that could lead to a lot more in the future.
Started As An RPG
Wild Cards has had a long, interesting evolution. According to Martin himself, the series originally grew out of a role-playing game called Superworld that Martin played with his friends, many of whom happened to be writers. Martin and his friends developed many characters and an intricate backstory.
Rather than simply set aside the world he and his friends had created when the game was finished, Martin considered writing a novel based around the character of Turtle, his particular creation, but he didn't want to stop there.
George R.R. Martin Is The Editor
Unlike the Game of Thrones novels, George R.R. Martin is really only the editor of the Wild Cards series. Though he has written some stories, it's primarily a shared universe made up of many anthologies and novels written by others.
A number of outstanding writers have participated in the Wild Cards universe, including Roger Zelazny and Melinda J. Snodgrass, who wrote some of the best Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes early in its run in syndication.
Not The First Comic Book Adaptation
Comic book fans may know that the Wild Cards series from Marvel Comics isn't the first time this shared universe has appeared in comics. Wild Cards originally ran as a mini-series from the Epic Comics imprint of Marvel back in the late 80s.
Written by Snodgrass along with other writers, the original mini-series presents much of the backstory, including the heroic efforts of Jetboy to save New York City from Dr. Tod in 1946 and the origin of superpowers in the world.
The Wild Card Virus
Like in some of the best superhero comic books from Marvel or DC Comics, the source of superpowers in the city came from space. Specifically, they result from the so-called Wild Card virus, which aliens called the Takis developed as a biological weapon.
The weapon was actually intended for use against their enemies, but since humans were genetically similar to the enemies of the Takis people, the weapon was field-tested on Earth. This led to profound consequences for the entire world.
The Aces
Those affected by the Wild Cards virus generally break down into three categories. The first are those who died from exposure. The second are Aces, people who develop powers but maintain a human appearance that makes it impossible to tell they're affected.
The Aces in general are the superheroes of the world, with some exceptions. Many of them would rank among the most powerful characters in the entire Marvel Multiverse, like the Great and Powerful Turtle.
Jokers
Other people are mutated and deformed in some way by the virus. Many are villains, like Bloat, though they're not necessarily evil any more than Aces are good just because of their physical condition. They can take on many different forms, including animalistic ones.
Comic book fans know The Thing from Fantastic Four is in many ways a Joker, a person with great power but left looking to some like a monster. The Epic Comics series from the 80s features many Jokers who have unusual qualities and live in a part of New York City called Jokertown.
Alternate Timeline
Like Watchmen, one of the best graphic novels comic newcomers should read, Wild Cards is set in an alternate timeline that diverges from history at a certain point. The point of divergence in this universe is September 15th, 1946.
This is the day the Wild Cards virus is released on Earth, leading to cascading events that would subtly alter the flow of history in the years that followed. For example, the twin towers of the World Trade Center were never built in this reality, as it's the location of the Jetboy memorial.
Challenging Continuity
Though the Wild Cards series of books now numbers over two dozen dating back to the 80s, and per The Hollywood Reporter, Martin and the other writers involved intended it to have a sense of history that comic books don't with retcons, reboots, and serial 'crises' that reset the status quo.
That leads to a very different feel from modern comics, where most characters are in a perpetual state of stasis. If they do change or die, things eventually reset to the norm and then the cycle begins again. In this universe, characters who die remain dead.
Martin Turned Down Neil Gaiman
The Wild Cards universe of books and comics has included some great writers since it began in the late 1980s, but Neil Gaiman was turned down by George R.R. Martin when according to CBR, he pitched him an idea for the series about a character who lives in dreams.
That character would eventually evolve into Morpheus, the central figure in some of the best Sandman comic books ever. It was Martin's loss but comic book fans gain, as Sandman would become a hugely successful and highly influential comic in the 90s.
Peacock Streaming Series
Wild Cards has had a long, winding road to the screen. The series has been optioned several times over the years to be made into a movie by Syfy Films or television series. Hulu had the rights at one point, and now Peacock does.
The series has been in development since 2021, but the return of the series to Marvel Comics indicates that things may finally be happening. Martin will co-produce the series with U, as will two of the series co-editors, Melinda Snodgrass and Vince Gerardis.
