Michael Straczynski could tell! Returned to the pantheon of great Marvel heroes, the Asgardian God of Thunder is reunited with the mortal form of Dr. Don Blake. Together, they must recon with the legacy of the mythic Norse kingdom and the awakening of its immortal heroes--but in a world that may not want them back! J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5 creator, Changeling screenwriter) hits a grand slam with his reappraisal of the Thor mythos, a creative success on so many levels the glowing praise from fans and critics alike is becoming routine. COLLECTING: Fantastic Four #536-537, Thor #1-12 and #600-603, Thor Giant-Size Finale.

    Can Wolverine get her to the border alive? Or will his greatest failure doom an entire nation? In Better To Give, a heavily armed suicide cult - clad in elf outfits - has taken hostage a mid-Manhattan department store on Christmas Eve and is threatening to blow the place sky high. Among the shoppers: Logan, who's just itching to sink his (Santa) claws into someone after enduring the Yuletide rush. Should be easy for a damn-near invulnerable force of nature to save the day, right? Think again. All is not as it seems, as a spoiled billionaire's daughter is about to find out, and the true meaning of Christmas will be spelt out... in blood. In The House of Blood and Sorrow, Wolverine lies at the edge of death in a rural Nebraska cornfield after crashing to Earth in the wake of a clash with a giant robot at the edge of the atmosphere, lapsing in and out of a coma as his body desperately tries to heal. And that's when things really get bad. The men who sent the robot to destroy Wolverine have come to finish the job. The townsfolk who witnessed the crash have gathered up a mob to hunt down and destroy the alien that's landed. And Wolverine's fate just might rest in the hands of the strange little girl who first found him in that dark cornfield. A strange little girl with an affinity for taking care of odd creatures - and whose family holds a deep, dark secret hidden from the light of day. And in "The Healing," Logan lies gutted in a Northwest forest, surrounded by wolves and clinging onto hope and sanity as his body goes about the complicated work of repairing itself. It's not as easy as you might think.Collecting: Wolverine 41, 49; Giant-Size Wolverine 1; X-Men Unlimited 12

    But with competing agendas, will they work together? Will they be at odds? Hard to say... but the title doesn't say "Super Friends," gang Plus: Mr. Fantastic and Dr. Strange, Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk, and more Collects Marvel Team-Up #1-6.

    Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo deliver some of the most daring and humorous adventures the Fantastic Four have ever seen! Giant bugs! Living equations! Johnny Storm, CEO! Exploding unstable molecules! The secret behind the Yancy Street Gang! And Doctor Doom's plans are truly unthinkable! Victor will push the FF beyond their limits - and when his actions lead to the death of one of their own, they'll storm the gates of Heaven to save their beloved teammate! Plus: Spider-Man and the Human Torch take on Hydro-Man! But with the Fantastic Four's reputation in tatters, is associating with a misunderstood wall-crawler really wise? And when Manhattan finds itself surrounded by a fleet of miles-high alien spacecraft, it's time for the Fantastic Four to do what they do best!COLLECTING: FANTASTIC FOUR (1998) 60-70, 500-524, 500 DIRECTOR'S CUT

    So when an interdimensional organization reveals that his destiny is to save the world, is it the chance for redemption Deadpool has longed for - or is it too good to be true? Either way, with reluctant allies like Siryn, Monty, Weasel and the elderly prisoner Blind Al, and formidable foes like Taskmaster, Typhoid Mary and T-Ray - who carries a soul-shattering secret that could destroy Deadpool - the odds are stacked against the merc with a mouth! Joe Kelly's hilarious, brutal, twisted and definitive take on Deadpool is collected in one oversized hardcover! COLLECTING: Deadpool (1997) 1-33, -1, 0; Daredevil/Deadpool Annual '97; Deadpool/Death Annual '98; Baby's First Deadpool Book ; Amazing Spider-Man (1963) 47, 611; material from Deadpool 900

    As Civil War wages on, the X-Men aren't about to be left out! Wolverine hunts Nitro but comes to blows with the Sentry, SHIELD and Namor the Sub-Mariner! X-Factor takes a surprising stand against registration! Deadpool signs on with the government! Collecting: Wolverine #42-48, X-Factor #8-9, Cable & Deadpool #30-32, Civil War: X-Men #1-4, Blade #5, Civil War Files, Civil War: Battle Damage Report

    When the Upstarts overthrow the Hellfire Club in a bloody coup, the X-Men are caught in the middle! But their battle is interrupted when hundreds of escaped convicts arrive from the future - pursued by the mutant policeman called Bishop! Raised since childhood on the legends of the X-Men, how will this hard-edged fish out of water react to meeting his idols face-to-face? And what deadly portent of doom does Bishop carry with him? Plus: Colossus' long-lost brother Mikhail returns, but he's gone completely mad - and that's a "gift" he plans on sharing with the Morlocks! Storm and Forge's romance is changed forever! And Professor X's childhood secrets are revealed when the X-Men invade the Alamogordo research facility and battle Hazard! COLLECTING: UNCANNY X-MEN 281-293, X-MEN (1991) 12-13, MATERIAL FROM X-MEN (1991) 10-11

    government, backed by powerful international forces and led by the man known only as Bastion, is about to launch a massive strike against the X-Men. The strike has one goal: the extermination of the entire mutant race. This is the X-Men's darkest hour.COLLECTING: GENERATION X 26-31, X-FORCE 67-70, X-MEN 65-70, UNCANNY X-MEN 346, WOLVERINE 115-118, CABLE 45-47, X-MAN 30

    The Leviathan organization is awakening, their tendrils wrapped deep inside the US government. And when a shadow war breaks out between Leviathan and the ruthless Hydra, it's up to Fury and his Secret Warriors to put the pieces together and take them both out. Jonathan Hickman (with Brian Michael Bendis)'s shadow-ops masterpiece is collected in one oversized volume!Collecting: Mighty Avengers 13, 18; Secret Warriors 1-28; Dark Reign: The List Secret Warriors; Siege: Secret Warriors; material from Dark Reign: New Nation

    CARNAGE 1-4

    After learning that the legacy of the Iron Fist holds more secrets than he ever dreamed, Danny is invited to fight in a tournament against the Immortal Weapons. At stake is the life of his friend, the legacy of his father and mentor...and the future of K'un-Lun! COLLECTING: Immortal Iron Fist 1-16, Annual 1; Immortal Iron Fist: Orson Randall and the Green Mist of Death 1; Immortal Iron Fist: The Origin of Danny Rand 1; Civil War: Choosing Sides 1

    The X-Men have just averted the Age of Apocalypse, but the threat of Onslaught is right around the corner - a villain so powerful he put the unstoppable Juggernaut into a coma! But before the X-Men can learn more about this shadowy foe, they must face Gene Nati on, led by the vicious Marrow, and help Magneto's Acolytes batt le Apocalypse's son Holocaust, who escaped the AoA into the Marvel Universe! Plus, how will the world react when the Legacy virus is made public? Can Rogue handle learning Gambit's greatest secret? And did Sabretooth's brain damage truly change his personality, or is he a time bomb waiti ng to go off ? All this, and the Xavier Institute enrolls a new student! COLLECTING: X-MEN PRIME; UNCANNY X-MEN (1963) 322-326; X-MEN (1991) 42-45, ANNUAL '95; X-MEN UNLIMITED (1993) 8

    The Nova Corps are destroyed, leaving only Richard Rider. Who will rise to guard the galaxy from the threat of Ultron? When the Kree homeworld is invaded by the techno-organic Phalanx, Star-Lord must lead a ragtag team into battle behind enemy lines with a lineup that includes Mantis, Bug, Groot and Rocket Raccoon! Meanwhile, the new Quasar seeks a mysterious savior - and Nova and Gamora are taken over by the Phalanx! Who is the haunted loner called Wraith? Can the New Mutants' Warlock free Nova? And what are Ultron and the Phalanx really after?Collecting: Nova 1-12, Annual; Annihilation: Conquest Prologue, 1-6; Annihilation: Conquest: Star-Lord 1-4; Annihilation: Conquest: Quasar 1-4; Annihilation: Conquest: Wraith 1-4; Annihilation Saga

    Ninjas and dragons will be the least of their worries Featuring art by legendary X-Men artist Paul Smith and written by Age of Apocalypse scribe Akira Yoshida Collects X-Men: Kitty Pryde - Shadow & Flame #1-5.

    In the epic crossover Second Coming, Cyclops' faith pays off when Cable returns to the present with Hope, the girl he believes to be the mutant messiah. But will she be the savior or destroyer of mutantkind? We may never know, as she is the target of an initiative for mutant eradication unlike anything the X-Men have ever experienced. Many will be wounded. Several will die. Is Hope worth it?Collecting: Second Coming: Prepare, 1-2; Uncanny X-Men 523-525; New Mutants 12-14; X-Men Legacy 235-237; X-Force 26-28