Runaways was created in 2003 by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona with stunning cover art drawn by Jo Chen. The book was canceled after a mere eighteen issues, but even that couldn’t keep the young heroes down. Seriously, Marvel resurrected the comic due to high trade sales in 2005 and most of the characters are still alive and well in the Marvel Universe. They can currently be seen in the most recent comics, written by Rainbow Rowell and drawn by Kris Anka. The original story follows a group of teens who team up to face off against their parents who are literal supervillains.
It’s worth noting that, while Hulu’s Runaways has captured the essence of the comics, the series has kept little beyond this premise. In fact, the show and the comics have diverged so completely that any arcs showrunners Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage choose will likely be very loose adaptations. There are still plenty of awesome Runaways stories to tell and hopefully, and the series will have plenty of years to over which to unfold them. Much like the first two seasons, the show’s 3rd outing should mostly draw from Vaughan and Alphona’s incredible run.
Lost and Found
If Runaways adapts one story from the comics for its 3rd season, let’s all hope that it’s this one. Written by Vaughan and drawn by Takeshi Miyazawa, “Lost and Found” features Cloak and Dagger, who currently have their own series on Freeform. Although the shows are on different networks, both the showrunners and the stars have expressed interest in a crossover. Aside from that, the season finale of Cloak and Dagger’s sophomore outing left plenty of room for the two to head to Los Angeles.
In this story—which was the first comic appearance for Cloak and Dagger in quite some time—Tandy and Tyrone confront the Runaways because they’d heard that the kids had kidnapped Molly. They wind up on the same side, but sadly, the Pride later wipes their memories of the entire encounter.
The Good Die Young
Because the show has diverged so much from the source material, “The Good Die Young” would be rendered quite differently. However, with the kids ramping up to fight the Gibborum in season 3, it would seem that the show could draw at least some inspiration from this arc.
This story featured the shocking revelation that Alex was a traitor and the Runaways season 2 finale made it clear that one of the kids is host to an alien, unbeknownst to the rest of them. The final battle sees the end of the Pride and even features a Captain America cameo, which obviously couldn’t happen in the show.
True Believers
This story kicked off the second volume of Vaughan and Alphona’s unforgettable run. After defeating the Pride, the team takes the fight to the streets superhero style. Their lives are thrown further into chaos when a future version of Gert shows up. She promptly dies, but not before warning them that they need to kill Victor Mancha before he becomes the supervillain, Victorious.
The show explored Molly’s brief turn as a vigilante, but didn’t go too far beyond it. Plus, with time travel having been already introduced into the series by Chase’s dad, this story arc becomes a distinct possibility. However, it’s unlikely that Ultron would be involved, though he is in the comics, since Runaways has little connection to the larger MCU. Victor has been a vital member of the team for quite some time, so season 3 seems like a good time to get him in the game. Plus, an appearance from former teen superhero support group, Excelsior, also introduced in this arc – would be an amazing addition as well.
Star-Crossed
Some version of this story may already be in the works because the series did choose to introduce Xavin towards the end of season 2. Of course, the character is not a Skrull, but was otherwise pretty similar to their comic counterpart. In the comics, Xavin first appeared as male, only shifting into a female form after discovering that Karolina was attracted to women. The union between the two was meant to unite their races, who had been at war for quite some time.
Certain events of “Star-Crossed” have already been set in motion on Runaways, but the story will play out differently in the show due to the romance between Karolina and Nico; the latter is straight in the comics. This will definitely make Karolina’s decision of whether or not to be with Xavin a far more complex issue.
East Coast/West Coast
“East Coast/West Coast” is another arc that incorporates Cloak and Dagger. After the former’s memories were restored, he convinced the Runaways to accompany him to New York to help clear his name. Dagger had been attacked and he was the lead suspect. Thanks to the lack of connection between the Marvel Cinematic Universe television shows and the movies, this arc could never play out the way that it does in the comics. That being said, it would be amazing to see Nico knock out Spider-Man and Molly punch Wolverine through a wall. Sadly, we almost certainly never will.
Parental Guidance
“Parental Guidance” couldn’t really happen in the Hulu series until the Runaways successfully defeat their parents. The story features a teenage version of Geoffrey Wilder who appears long after the adult version of him, not to mention his son, Alex, were already dead. He forms a new iteration of the Pride, bringing the fight to the Runaways and even taking control of Victor. This arc was both action-packed and full of twists and turns. However, it also included one of the most soul-crushing moments in Runaways history: the death of Gertrude Yorkes. Losing the fan favorite character was devastating, not only for Chase, but for readers as well.
Dead Means Dead
This arc sees Chase struggling with the death of Gert and doing everything he can to bring her back. He had the help of Old Lace, whose telepathic link Gert had transferred to Chase before she died. Chase wasn’t the only one wracked with grief. An elderly shopkeeper who can’t let go of his deceased wife finds himself in possession of a magic talisman, which goes about as well as it seems like it would. He transforms into a giant monster. Chase tries to sacrifice Lotus to the Gibborium in exchange for Gert’s return. Lotus was a part of Geoffrey Wilder’s “New Pride,” but she wasn’t in on exactly what that meant—it’s a long story. In the end, Chase couldn’t go through with it.
Live Fast
The final arc from Vaughan and Alphona definitely left readers wanting more. Chase attempted to sacrifice himself in order to resurrect Gert, only to have the Gibborim refuse his offer. They try to consume Nico instead; apparently, Chase wasn’t innocent enough. However, Victor and Molly enter for the win, and the Runways finally defeat their long-time foes. Of course, the end of the story, which sees the Hostel breached not by only Iron Man, but an entire squad of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents as well, would not make the cut. Vaughan wrapped up the story perfectly and his work on the book, as well as Alphona’s, remains unparalleled.
Dead End Kids
With art by Michael Ryan, “Dead End Kids” was written by Runaways superfan Joss Whedon. The auteur had previously sent a letter to Marvel begging them not to cancel the series with issue eighteen. When Vaughan stepped down, Whedon took his place for a single arc.
This story sees the team cross paths with both the Punisher and Kingpin. Both actors are no longer appearing in their respective Netflix shows, so who’s to say they couldn’t cameo on the Hulu series? It’s a long shot, but fans would be overjoyed to see either character return. The Runaways also travel to 1907 NYC and wind up bringing home a souvenir; new team member Klara Prast.
Civil War: Young Avengers/Runaways
Although the ship has certainly sailed on the Civil War aspect of this story, a team-up between the Young Avengers and the Runaways would be a dream come true for fans. Of course, these teen heroes are too important to merely be side characters in Runaways. This would only really work if the Young Avengers got a TV series of their own.
Kevin Feige has stated that seeds have been planted for the team to enter the MCU, though whether their debut will be on the big or small screen is unknown. A Runaways/Young Avengers story obviously isn’t happening, but it would be really cool if it could.
