The Muppets Take the Marvel Universe This September

When DC announced a Batman/Superman/Weird Al team-up last week, I guess Marvel got jealous. They dug into their corporate IP filings to find a suitable equivalent, and came out with this: the Muppets are meeting all the Marvel superheroes this fall in an epic one-shot for the ages.

The Muppets Take The Marvel Universe will be an anthology book, containing many different stories by several pairs of writers and artists. The lead will be a tale from writer Chip Zdarsky (Captain America) and artist Pete Woods (Titans) about Rowlf getting kidnapped by Mojo to help launch his new streaming service. To rescue the dog, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Spider-Man, Black Panther, Wolverine, Emma Frost and many others have to enter his lair.

And that’s not nearly all of it. Here are just the stories they told us about:

• Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker welcome Bruce Banner and Hank Pym to Muppet Labs for a daring experiment with Gamma Rays and Pym Particles! What could go wrong? Find out in this explosive story from Kyle Starks and Mike Henderson.
• When Clea falls ill from a mystical virus and Doctor Strange doesn’t have the cure—help arrives from the unlikeliest of sources: the Swedish Chef, in this appetizing tale from Ashley Allen and Paco Medina.
• Pigs in Space meet raccoons in space! Cosmic chaos ensues when Captain Link Hogthrob, First Mate Piggy, and Dr. Julius Strangepork crash into Rocket Raccoon and Groot in an intergalactic romp by MacKenzie Cadenhead and David Baldeon.
• And more, including stories by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Adam F. Goldberg, E.J. Su and Áthila Fabbio.

“With the great power of two iconic properties comes great responsibility. I promise to not let down Kermit, Fozzie and Animal the way Spider-Man let down his Uncle Ben,” says Zdarsky. “It’s impossible to overstate how excited I was to write for Miss Piggy, whom I consider to be one of the greatest icons of the last hundred years, a character who speaks to every generation. I also got to write Deadpool. And Pete Woods is turning in the most stunning, detailed and joyous pages. Seeing his take on these characters interacting is a real delight.”

The covers alone are worth a look (Ghost Rider and Gonzo, folks, need I say more). The Muppets Take The Marvel Universe will be released September 23; preorders are open now.