Marvel.com has released some very exciting news regarding an upcoming Marvel Comics series celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Avengers and the X-Men. And I bet you won’t see it coming.
According to Marvel, Mickey & Friends will celebrate this anniversary via a new Disney What If? Variant cover series. Yes, that’s right, Mickey Mouse and his adorable friends will channel their inner Marvel characters for these fantastic variant covers.
They won’t be released until next year, but Marvel Comics has released a sneak peek at the first three of these covers. You can head to Marvel.com to get a look at the adorably perfect covers. (I want one already!)
Marvel Comics releases first look at Disney What If? variant covers
These joint Disney-Marvel covers are being done to celebrate Disney’s 100th anniversary on the one hand and the 60th anniversary of the Avengers and the X-Men on the other. The Disney What If? variant covers will come out monthly. You’ll be able to purchase them in black and white, which I love!
There will be a total of 12 covers that will have Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Goofy, and others. The Disney characters will reenact epic moments from X-Men and Avengers history.
Things will kick off in the Silver Age with nods to the Avengers and the X-Men’s first appearances in 1963’s Avengers #1 and X-Men #1. On those covers, Mickey Mouse’s nemesis Peg Leg Pete will be representing Loki and Magento (I love this!).
After this, Mickey and his friends will assemble for Avengers #16, where Captain America led a new team that included the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver.
It’s going to be an amazing Variant Cover series for the new year, and I cannot wait to see what else is in store! While we don’t know anything past the first three covers, we do have the release dates for when these three will be available for purchase:
- January 3, 2024: Amazing Spider-Man #41 Disney What If? Variant Cover
- February 14, 2024: Amazing Spider-Man #43 Disney What If? Variant Cover
- March 6, 2024: Amazing Spider-Man #45 Disney What If? Variant Cover
The first two variant covers are by Lorenzo Pastrovicchio and the third is by Vitale Mangiatordi.
Is Disney breaking up Mickey and Minnie Mouse?
Here’s a curious wrinkle to this story: two of the variant covers feature iconic couples of Marvel Comics: Ant-Man and the Wasp on one and Cyclops and Jean Grey, aka Marvel Girl, on the other. Mickey plays Ant-Man and Cyclops. But Minnie does not play the Wasp or Jean Grey. Rather, those go to Daisy Duck.
Meanwhile, Minnie is playing Iron Man and Angel. Why aren’t Mickey and Minnie cast in the role of boyfriend and girlfriend on these covers? What is Disney trying to say? Is Daisy Duck Mickey’s new love interest? After nearly 100 years of romance, are Mickey and Minnie breaking up?
Probably not, but fans are wondering about these important questions, according to Dextero. If a future cover casts Mickey and Daisy as Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, we’ll know something is up.
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