Secret Wars will kick off a new Runaways series, as Molly Hayes and parallel universe superheroes run away to Battleworld.
Marvel Comics massive Secret Wars event is bringing us all kinds of fascinating new comics, from the all-female Avengers to a police precinct of Thors. Now Marvel’s latest announcement should quicken the hearts of comics fans – a resurrection of the hit series Runaways. But where the original book pitted teenage heroes against supervillain parents, the new Runaways presents a Battleworld twist using alternate reality versions of familiar characters.
Following the events of Secret Wars, Marvel’s parallel Earths have merged into a single planet called “Battleworld”. On Battleworld’s capital, a new academy is formed to groom the best and brightest students to assist this new world. At least that’s the advertised goal – in truth, the academy is run by an evil supervillain taking the student body in a much darker direction. When a group of students discover the lie, they react by escaping the school into into Battleworld’s very unique dangers.
The Battleworld Runaways line-up is new, but not without familiar faces. Molly Hayes will be joined by Jubilee, Bucky Barnes, Cloak, Dagger, Amadeus Cho, and Skaar Son of Hulk, among others. Runaways will be written by Lumberjanes‘ Noelle Stevenson with art from Uncanny Avengers‘ Sanford Greene.
“Noelle and Sanford have come up with a fun cast of alternate reality versions of some fan-favorite characters (including original Runaway Molly Hayes!), plus a few new characters who we’re really excited about,” Runaways editor Wil Moss said. “It’s a different take on Runaways, for sure, but that same fresh, adventurous, character-driven spirit of the original series remains the same!”
The original Runaways book was developed in 2003 by Brian K Vaughn (best known for Y: The Last Man and Saga) and quickly became a fan-favorite for its surprisingly well-rounded teenage characters. The series was such a hit that it was considered for a Marvel film adaptation, although those plans have yet to bear fruit. In the meantime, a renewed Runaways comic set in Battleworld should prove a solid read, especially with a beloved character like Molly returning.
