Black Widow, Captain America, and Wolverine will team-up in Chris Claremont’s latest limited series for Marvel, Madripoor Knights – which will serve as a follow-up to a classic issue from the author’s incredible, series-defining tenure on Uncanny X-Men. While the earlier story featured all three characters, this five-issue adventure will bring them together as a full-on unit.
Chris Claremont spoke to AIPT for its X-Men Monday series about Wolverine: Madripoor Knights, his upcoming book with artist Edgar Salazar. The story will mix the best of what each of its three iconic protagonists bring to the Marvel Universe, binding them together with Claremont’s signature style, in an explosive, exciting tale.
The series will further explore the dynamics set-up by Claremont in Uncanny X-Men #268, a one-shot featuring Widow, Cap, and Logan; the issue was one of the stand-outs from the latter days of the writer’s first, longest run on Uncanny, making it absolutely perfect for a contemporary follow-up.
Chris Claremont Returns To A Thirty-Four Year Old Classic
This direct sequel will feature the trio facing off against the villainous Hand assassin organization, picking up where Uncanny X-Men #268 left off. Chris Claremont discussed the impetus behind the series in detail with AIPT, saying the “baseline premise” was a team-up between Black Widow, Captain America, and Wolverine, as the natural extension of the prior story. Claremont noted that Madripoor Knights delivers something Uncanny X-Men #268 only teased: “In the initial story, you have Natasha and Logan in the present, as well as Natasha as a child, Cap as a brand-new Captain America, and Logan in the past. So it was technically a team-up, but not quite.“
“This brings you to the next step,” Claremont explained. At the same time, it goes back to the core of the earlier issue. “I hope along the way the series asks and answers some questions people might have about what happened in the beginning,” the writer said of Madripoor Knights. Set to run for five issues, beyond the limited series’ connections to Uncanny X-Men #268, the forward trajectory of its narrative remains wide open to speculation in advance of the first issue’s release. While the series likely won’t connect directly into Marvel’s larger X-Men and Avengers ongoing narratives, Claremont’s portrayals of the characters are always influential.
Madripoor Knights Will Be A Career Retrospective For Claremont
Chris Claremont has been in the comic industry for over fifty years – as one of the most prolific authors in Marvel history, and one of the essential authors that has defined the X-Men franchise, with his work on various X-titles over decades, Claremont has established a vast catalog of memorable stories; returning to these can provide fertile ground for new creative endeavors, generating stories that are particularly memorable for their creator as well as their readers. Madripoor Knights, with its pairing of Wolverine, Captain America, and Black Widow, is set to a thrilling title for Marvel fans new and old.
Wolverine: Madripoor Knights #1 will be available February 7, 2024 from Marvel Comics.
