What We Learned from MARVEL’s MAY 2015 Solicitations

Secret Wars leaves everything on the table for Marvel, promising major changes in nearly every title across the board. Fortunately, we've done the hard work of digging through Marvel's May solicits to find clues, tidbits, and points of interest. So, without further ado, here are ten things we learned from Marvel's May solicits!

Between his ongoing solo title, movie tie-ins, and even a prose novel, the pint-sized Avenger is appearing in more than half-a-dozen releases with his name on the cover in May.

First up is young adult writer Prudence Shen, making her comics debut as one of the writers of Secret Wars Journal.

Additionally, Secret Wars #2 sees a variant cover - and the first Marvel work - by Dynamite artist Yasmine Putri, as well as the Marvel debut of artist Alec Morgan on the All-New Captain America Special.

But it's not just X-titles that may be coming to a close, as Hulk's solicit certainly reads like a big ending, though it may just be the end of the arc, not the title. Furthermore, All-New Captain America only has a "Special" in May, with no regular issue being solicited.

Newsarama asked Marvel for comment, with the company's Joe Taraborrelli answering back only with "When everything ends…there is only Secret Wars."

Slott took to Twitter saying it was a mistake on Marvel's part, and that he and Gage are co-writing #18 - as well as #16 and #17. While not the first time mistakes in solicits are made, given Slott was previously listed as the sole writer of #16 and #17 and Marvel is retro-actively bringing in Gage to help Slott with the issues could this point to changes being afoot in Marvel's main Spidey title?

With Secret Wars shaking things up across Marvel's line, and issue #18 promising to bring to a head all the threads Slott has been laying since Peter's return, it’s something to keep an eye on at least.

The solicit promises the birth of the Superior Iron Woman, and the cover shows Pepper decked out in an armor similar to her Rescue suit - an armor that, it's worth noting, appears on the cover of the recently solicited A-Force.

With so much turmoil in the world of the Fantastic Four, it's hard to imagine Johnny would come through whatever happens in the "End is Fourever" arc unscathed and happy-go-lucky, but maybe it's as simple as that after all.

But it looks like the mystery will be solved in May, with the solicit for Thor #8 saying her true identity will finally be revealed.

Even though a new toyline has yet to be announced, Marvel is cashing in on the nostalgia of the title of their upcoming universe ending series, by showcasing a number of "Action Figure variants," featuring the stars of the books in question illustrated on blister packs from the original Secret Wars toyline.

And so, it's no surprise that Uncanny Avengers #5 - which features a clash between the High Evolutionary, and the still unknown Low Evolutionary - promises to shed some light on their true nature, with the solicit promising to reveal "the truth that will shatter the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver."