Marvel Comics has revealed that a new three-part series, starting with Spider-Man: Unforgiven #1, will focus on Spider-Man, the X-Men, and the Avengers teaming up with Marvel's heroic vampire team the Forgiven to fight a dangerous new supernatural foe.
The Forgiven are a team of unlikely humans-turned-vampire heroes who have rejected the violent nature of the human-slaughtering vampire, instead modeling themselves after their inspiration Captain America and attempting to right the wrongs of other evil creatures. First introduced as a team in Fear Itself: Hulk vs. Dracula, the Forgiven are led by the old and powerful Raizo Kodo, a man with historic connections to the X-Men and Avengers.
The new Unforgiven event will take place over three one-shot comics, Spider-Man: Unforgiven #1, X-Men: Unforgiven #1, and Avengers: Unforgiven #1. According to Marvel's announcement, all three will all be written by Tim Seeley (Vampire: The Masquerade, Grayson) with illustrations by Sid Kotian (Gambit, Beneath an Alien Sky). Unforgiven will see "...a band of vampires will creep out of the darkest depths of the Marvel Universe to do the unthinkable: save the world!" Starting in 2021 with the three-issue event Curse of the Man-Thing, Marvel has been emphasizing the supernatural and horror underbelly of the Marvel Universe more and more, followed up by the Darkhold Saga starring the Scarlet Witch. Marvel has also announced that the Midnight Suns team is coming back for a new series, and Blade is getting an upcoming one-shot, Blade: Vampire Nation. Read below for the official synopsis of Spider-Man: Unforgiven #1 and the issue's stunning cover, illustrated by Kyle Hotz:
Who can resist the call of the blood? A group of vigilante vampires have decided to fight crime — while at the same time, wage a desperate war within themselves to reject their own bloodthirsty natures! The Forgiven’s new saga will kick off in SPIDER-MAN: UNFORGIVEN #1, where the team will confront a new foe with a desire to transform vampires into their most powerful and violent selves. The storyline will then continue with more high-stakes vampire drama in X-MEN: UNFORGIVEN #1 and AVENGERS: UNFORGIVEN #1. This epic struggle for the souls of the soulless will make readers rethink the place these creatures of the night have in the Marvel Universe!
Spider-Man: Unforgiven #1 writer Tim Seeley had this to say about the upcoming horror event:
"I love Marvel super heroes, no doubt, but I've got a special obsession with Marvel's horror heroes,” Seeley explained. “UNFORGIVEN gives that creepy, sexy, weird underbelly a chance to shine as a horrific conspiracy unites a crew of vampires with Spider-Man, the X-Men and Captain America, and shows us the stark differences (and surprisingly similarities) of those who are gifted with the ability to fight evil, and those who have to carry evil's curse. By the end of this epic event, we'll have toured a lot of dark corners of the Marvel Universe, and reminded readers that monsters are at its shrunken black heart!"
In some ways, Unforgiven sounds like a more action-packed version of DC Comic's Books of Magic series ending, which saw writer Neil Gaiman exploring the various corners of the DC Universe's supernatural world through the eyes of the young Tim Hunter. From Marvel's announcement it is clear that the Forgiven are still trying their best to be heroic, which has always been their goal. However, they are coming up against a supernatural enemy that is trying to strip their choice away, attempting to turn all vampires into violent blood-suckers, something the Forgiven are vehemently opposed to. It will be fascinating to see how the Forgiven's vampires will interact with the X-Men, who recently had to wage a small war against Dracula and his forces, and also have a long history with the Forgiven. Charles Xavier was saved by their leader Raizo decades ago and the team helped Jubilee adjust to life as a vampire after she was turned in X-Men: Curse of the Mutants.
With the upcoming Dark Web event seeing Spider-Man and the X-Men battling the Goblin Queen Madelyne Pryor and her hordes of Limbo demons, it is clear that none of Marvel's heroes, including the Avengers, are safe from the supernatural, evil corners of the Marvel Universe.
Spider-Man: Unforgiven #1 debuts in 2023.
Source: Marvel