Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Jack of Hearts, marvel, reckoning war, she-hulk, Timeless

Reckoning War Teasers for Marvel Comics This Week? (Spoilers)

And there shall come a Reckoning! Marvel ended the year with the publication of Timeless #1, which teased a number of Marvel futures to come. Two of which were the moon getting blown up for the Reckoning War…

And the return of Jack of Hearts. But could there be a connection?

The Reckoning War has been solicited as part of The Fantastic Four going forward, with one-shot spinoffs. But what about Jack of Hearts?

The character first appeared in The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #22 in 1976, and was created by Bill Mantlo and Keith Giffen. He starred in his own four-issue mini-series and has been a regular character in Iron Man and Avengers.

Jack Hart is the son of scientist Philip Hart and a Contraxian alien. As a young man Jack was doused in Zero Fluid and gained super powers but was not in total control of his powers. In an attempt to control his powers, Jack of Hearts built a containment suit that resembled the Jack of Hearts playing card. The lack of control became a recurring theme with Jack of Hearts, including his stint in the Avengers where he had to spend 14 hours a day in a containment room to prevent self-destruction. When his powers became uncontrollable he chose to leave Earth, exploding in space without harming any innocent bystanders. The return of Jack of Hearts and the explosion that killed Scott Lang was the launching point of the 2004-05 Avengers Disassembled story by Brian Bendis and David Finch, revived by Wanda as a zombie, he then blew himself up, killing Scott Lang and destroying half of the Avengers Mansion. Those opening events saw a She-Hulk whose powers were overcooked by Wanda, rip the Vision apart.

Well, that link may be triggered early in this week's She-Hulk #1 by Rainbow Rowell and Roge Antonia. Which tells us "the last page of this first issue is going to send Jen down a road she's never traveled and that will shake up her life and possibly the whole Marvel Universe." And Bleeding Cool has managed to find an early peek,

The return of Jack Of Hearts was seen in the solicitations for She-Hulk #3, but it looks like he will be turning up a little early.

SHE-HULK #1
MARVEL COMICS
NOV210844
(W) Rainbow Rowell (A) Roge Antonia (CA) Jen Bartel
The best character ever is back in her own series and about to glam up the whole Marvel Universe! Jennifer Walters, A.K.A. the Sensational She-Hulk, is no longer savage and needs to put her life back together. She's got a career to rebuild, friends to reconnect with (and maybe represent in a court of law) and enemies to… well, she may not want to connect with them, but they are DEFINITELY going to connect with her. And the last page of this first issue is going to send Jen down a road she's never traveled and that will shake up her life and possibly the whole Marvel Universe. RATED T+In Shops: Jan 19, 2022 SRP: $3.99

SHE-HULK #2
MARVEL COMICS
DEC210987
(W) Rainbow Rowell (A) Roge Antonia (CA) Jen Bartel
• One of the most dangerous things in the Marvel U lands in Jen Walters' lap, and she's got to figure out what the heck to do with it.
•  And that's all while putting her life and career back together. Rated T+In Shops: Feb 23, 2022 SRP: $3.99

SHE-HULK #3
MARVEL COMICS
JAN220960
(W) Rainbow Rowell (A) Roge Antonia (CA) Jen Bartel
• Jack of Hearts is back, and it's up to She-Hulk to help him figure out why.
•  But Jack may be the key to figuring out something that has been chasing her since 1989.
•  In the meantime – A SMASHING RETURN! GUEST STARS! AND THE FUNNIEST, SEXIEST BOOK ON THE STANDS! RATED T+In Shops: Mar 30, 2022 SRP: $3.99

But what has been chasing her since 1989? That would be the John Byrne series that revitalised the character as a fourth-wall-breaking lawyer. What else from She-Hulk's past come into play? As Bleeding Cool may have mentioned before, twenty-or-so-years ago, Dan Slott used to drop something into a number of his comic books at Marvel about something he would call The Reckoning War. A storyline that would upend the future of the Marvel Universe, centred on She-Hulk but involving The Watcher, the Fantastic Four, Gauntlet, Iron Man, Southpaw and many more.

In She-Hulk #3 back in 2005, we discovered, from the Time Variance Authority, that actions already taken by She-Hulk would lead to The Reckoning War. That this was a bad thing. That this was all She-Hulk's fault, and emanated from something she had done in the first year that Dan Slott wrote her.

The Reckoning War would devastate not only the Earth but the whole cosmos. Marvel sources told me that Slott had tried to get this event to finally occur in one book or other for some time, but hadn't heard about it from him for a few years.

At some point, maybe when he was writing Amazing Spider-Man, he put The Reckoning War on the back-burner, with just a couple of references in the last ten years.

With a repeated phrase, "there shall be a reckoning" or "there will be a reckoning". Which is now on its way in the Fantastic Four, which also mentions She-Hulk and Jack Of Hearts as playing a role. But if their lives are so entwined in the Reckoning War, should we keep an eye out in She-Hulk as well? Starting this Wednesday? As some kind of early tease?

FANTASTIC FOUR RECKONING WAR ALPHA #1
MARVEL COMICS
AUG218316
(W) Dan Slott (A) Carlos Pacheco
FIFTEEN YEARS IN THE MAKING – AND IT ALL KICKS OFF HERE! In a time before the Kree, Skrull or Shi'ar Empires. Before the emergence of Galactus. Before the birth of Asgard. There was the First War. The greatest war to ever rage across the Multiverse. Today, it is reignited. This is the Day of Reckoning. And all that stands between all of reality and revenge from the dawn of time are the heroes of Earth, the Fantastic Four and the mind of Mister Fantastic. Starring the FF, She-Hulk, Jack of Hearts, the Unseen, the Silver Surfer and everyone in the whole damn Marvel Universe.
Rated T+In Shops: Feb 02, 2022

RECKONING WAR: TRIAL OF THE WATCHER #1
DAN SLOTT (W) • JAVIER RODRÍGUEZ (A/C) • VARIANT COVER BY PHIL NOTO
In all of the Multiverse, there is only one "What If" world that Uatu has avoided watching – one "What If" that he never wished to see. And now it will be revealed – The story that could damn him for all time… and a revelation that could change everything in this universe. Guest starring the Fantastic Four, Galactus and the Silver Surfer.
ONE-SHOT / RATED T+In Shops: Mar 16, 2022
SRP: $4.99

FANTASTIC FOUR #40
MARVEL COMICS
NOV210866
(W) Dan Slott (A) Rachael Stott (CA) Carlos Pacheco
THE RECKONING WAR! The opening shot of the Reckoning War has left the Earth in complete and utter chaos. And it turns out that we are not alone. The entire universe is on fire. The enemy has had eons to prepare for this attack – Reed Richards has had two hours to mount a defense. Johnny Storm has gone full supernova. Sue Storm has become completely invisible – even the Watchers can't see her. And Colonel Ben Grimm, for the first time in a long time, is ready to go to war! RATED T+In Shops: Feb 16, 2022 SRP: $3.99

FANTASTIC FOUR #41
(W) Dan Slott (A) Rachael Stott
The Human Torch is a planet's only hope for surviving Annihilus. The Invisible Woman is missing. Mister Fantastic, the Thing, She-Hulk and Jack of Hearts face a foe who is predestined to slay one of them. The most destructive force in history and the time before time is reawakening. And if the Multiverse is to survive, today is the day all of the Watchers must break their most sacred oath. Guest-starring the Silver Surfer, Thor and Doctor Doom. 32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

FANTASTIC FOUR #42
MARVEL COMICS
JAN220931
(W) Dan Slott (A) Rachael Stott (CA) CAFU
"BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER" One of the most pivotal planets in the Marvel Universe faces imminent destruction. Jennifer Walters, the Sensational SHE-HULK, finally learns her part in this chaos.And in the middle of all of this carnage, two lifelong friends will have a battle to the death – prepare yourself for THE THING versus MISTER FANTASTIC! RATED T+In Shops: Mar 30, 2022 SRP: $3.99

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