Runaways Appreciation 2021

[Personamanx]

So anyone think that one of the characters in that Young Avengery teaser in "Timeless" was future Molly Hayes? Greg Land art makes it hard to say, but she looks the part.

Also, new year coming up in a few days. Anyone going to bother making a new appreciation thread? I'll do it, but we certainly won't have much to discuss in all likelyhood.

[Kingdom X]

So anyone think that one of the characters in that Young Avengery teaser in "Timeless" was future Molly Hayes? Greg Land art makes it hard to say, but she looks the part.

Also, new year coming up in a few days. Anyone going to bother making a new appreciation thread? I'll do it, but we certainly won't have much to discuss in all likelyhood.

In the Young Avengers thread they actually speculated that Karolina, Victor, and Gert might also be in that teaser. Like you said the art is vague.

Also I still cannot believe we were left hanging with all those cliffhangers! Hopefully Rowell has the Runaways be one of She-Hulk’s clients so we get a follow-up.

[Personamanx]

In the Young Avengers thread they actually speculated that Karolina, Victor, and Gert might also be in that teaser. Like you said the art is vague.

Also I still cannot believe we were left hanging with all those cliffhangers! Hopefully Rowell has the Runaways be one of She-Hulk’s clients so we get a follow-up.

Yeah, I noticed that afterwards. It might track. Now that I think of it, isn't the "Stolen Name" part of it over an image of the current Thunderbolts? Maybe the Runaways will become the Thunderbolts. Runderbolts.

The book really ended in a place that anyone else picking up the book will have a lot of housekeeping to do before being able to tell their own stories. Unless it's another decade long hiatus in which all the threads left hanging will just be handwaved so they can appear in guest roles.

[Kingdom X]

Yeah, I noticed that afterwards. It might track. Now that I think of it, isn't the "Stolen Name" part of it over an image of the current Thunderbolts? Maybe the Runaways will become the Thunderbolts. Runderbolts.

The book really ended in a place that anyone else picking up the book will have a lot of housekeeping to do before being able to tell their own stories. Unless it's another decade long hiatus in which all the threads left hanging will just be handwaved so they can appear in guest roles.

*sigh* this is not what I want for one of my favorite franchises. Can you imagine if the TV show had only come out a few years later on Disney+?

[Personamanx]

Honestly, if this teaser is anything close to what we think it is I think it just means that there are folk who just want to use the characters, but know that the book just doesn't move issues at the shops. I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing. Maybe it makes for some decent comics that people enjoy for a while. It's more likely that it won't, but that can be said for most comic books. I wouldn't expect them to be wearing costumes for very long. How hard would it be for the Runaways to takeover the Young Avengers name, and just drop the costumes gradually if sales stabilize?

Whatever it is, I don't think it's possible for it to be less interesting than the second half of Rowell's run.

[alanyoung909]

So anyone think that one of the characters in that Young Avengery teaser in "Timeless" was future Molly Hayes? Greg Land art makes it hard to say, but she looks the part.

In the Young Avengers thread they actually speculated that Karolina, Victor, and Gert might also be in that teaser. Like you said the art is vague.

I think that is Molly Hayes and the rest of the Runaways as well, but it might not necessarily be Molly from the future, it could just be present day Molly growing up.
So the five characters depicted here (from left to right) could be: Doc Justice (Alex Wilder), Gert Yorkes, Victor Mancha, Karolina Dean, Molly Hayes.
The missing members are: Chase Stein, Nico Minoru, Old Lace and Xavin.

Yeah, I noticed that afterwards. It might track. Now that I think of it, isn't the "Stolen Name" part of it over an image of the current Thunderbolts? Maybe the Runaways will become the Thunderbolts. Runderbolts.

Looking at that Thunderbolts image closely, it looks like Taskmaster is dressed up like Captain America.
I think post-Devil's Reign (when the Kingpin is defeated), his Thunderbolts will steal the Avengers name - Taskmaster as Captain America, Titanium Man as Iron Man, Batroc the Leaper as someone, ... - and in response the Runaways become the new Young Avengers to fight them.
The caption over the Runaways is specifically written as: A YOUNG GENERATION OF AVENGERS RISE..., which I think is a strong hint that they will call themselves Young Avengers.

[Drops Of Venus]

How hard would it be for the Runaways to takeover the Young Avengers name, and just drop the costumes gradually if sales stabilize?

But if sales stabilize because Marvel is selling the Runaways as a more traditional hero group, would making them go back to what they were before half-way through really be the best idea? Wouldn't that just make the people who got invested BECAUSE of the new approach lose interest? I feel like if they really want to rebrand the group, they either have to commit to it or just don't.

As for the name thing, I hope it's just a reference to the fact that future Gert led her own Avengers team. I feel like trying to relaunch Runaways under the Young Avengers name would just create unnecessary resentment from the YA fans who've been waiting for a proper comeback of the team for years now. Plus.... with MCU Young Avengers on the horizon, now would be an awful time to try and rebrand that title so radically, because you just know they would have to go back and make it what it used to be whenever they need to inevitably promote the MCU. It would be like setting the new team up to end before it even begins.

[Personamanx]

I honestly don't think costumes will make any measurable difference between whether a book titled "Young Avengers" sells well or not. It's only much more likely to sell well than an identical book titled "Runaways." Which would still be pretty low number.

The Runaways highest selling period was when they were traditional superheroes in everything but costume. If some editor thinks giving them a few capes/masks, and the Young Avengers name for a bit will sell some copies they'll do it. If they sincerely wanted to make Runaways as book sell, they would give the book a creative team with a strong history of making cape books perform well, and create an event around it to make it feel "important." Which feels more antithetical to the book than wearing costumes to be honest.

In any case, I'm expecting a 3 issue mini-series at best. It will probably sell better than the previous volume of Runaways, but that doesn't mean a lot.

[Frontier]

I'm read for a fresh take on the group. Maybe if they try to go for a more pure Superhero take (while still remaining true to the characters) without turning cynical like the Doc Justice arc...it could be a fun change of pace.

[Digifiend]

I think that is Molly Hayes and the rest of the Runaways as well, but it might not necessarily be Molly from the future, it could just be present day Molly growing up.
So the five characters depicted here (from left to right) could be: Doc Justice (Alex Wilder), Gert Yorkes, Victor Mancha, Karolina Dean, Molly Hayes.
The missing members are: Chase Stein, Nico Minoru, Old Lace and Xavin.



Looking at that Thunderbolts image closely, it looks like Taskmaster is dressed up like Captain America.
I think post-Devil's Reign (when the Kingpin is defeated), his Thunderbolts will steal the Avengers name - Taskmaster as Captain America, Titanium Man as Iron Man, Batroc the Leaper as someone, ... - and in response the Runaways become the new Young Avengers to fight them.
The caption over the Runaways is specifically written as: A YOUNG GENERATION OF AVENGERS RISE..., which I think is a strong hint that they will call themselves Young Avengers.

Honestly, Molly should've been aged up more when Rowell took over. No way has it only been two years in universe since volume 2. Not when Kamala's sister-in-law and Miles's mother have both had pregnancies which started after Secret Wars (and Jessica Drew had one during the post-event timeskip, which was eight months), and Reed specifically told Ben and Johnny that the FF had been gone for what was a year for them. It's been over a year just since Secret Wars 2015. Should be at least another two years between the Runaways formation and then. So it's nearer to four years.