Fortnite's big Marvel crossover has landed in the game's universe. Thor's arrival on the video game's island has come with its own tie-in comic for the event, where a bunch of heroes joined the fight against the pending threat of Galactus. However, those comics aren't just a fun tie-in, they've been confirmed as canon by Marvel.
Marvel's latest collaboration with Epic Games featured a comic by current Thor writer Donny Cates, with art from Jay Leisten and colors from Frank D'Armata. The comic took place in the current Thor arc (with Nic Klein's designs), which sees the God of Thunder become Galactus' new herald in an effort to stop the Black Winter. With Thor needing to find planets for Galactus to feed on, the comic has Thor drop on Fortnite island ahead of the Devourer of Planets' arrival in an effort to warn them. Thor brought some friends with him, including Storm, Rocket Raccoon, and Captain America. The Chapter 2, part 4 arc has been teased as the "Nexus War."
Thor's adventures into the video game universe are inherently silly, but it's great to see Marvel's enthusiasm in bringing the characters to the game. Marvel is so happy with the collaboration, that they revealed that the comics are actually canon in the Marvel Universe.
One of the most exciting things about the crossover is how naturally it keeps a foot both in Fortnite and the Marvel Universe,” Marvel Comics editor Mark Basso said. “We had a lot of great creative discussions between Marvel and Epic Games about where our storylines could cross over naturally, and seeing how prime a target the Fortnite Island would be for Galactus, who Donny Cates had already been exploring in his Thor series, set the whole thing into motion.
The amazing thing about the crossover is that it actually makes sense in the canon. Fortnite's island just being another planet in the expansive Marvel Universe is bizarre, but it's not insane to suggest. Although, that opens up a whole can of worms on whether the other skins in the game - John Wick, Batman, Harley Quinn, other Marvel heroes, are canon too. It's safe to assume the island and original canon are characters - otherwise, things get even more confusing.
Marvel also recently announced they'll be doing some Fortnite-Marvel hero crossover variant covers, which is a brilliant way to bring in young readers who might not be familiar with the comics. It also wouldn't be surprising if Marvel also opts to publish Fornite comics in the future - since the potential crossovers are endless. For now, let's just enjoy that Marvel's greatest heroes and villains and a banana named Peely are technically part of the same expanded universe.
Source: io9