Following a series of sexual assault allegations against writer Neil Gaiman, Marvel has seemingly shelved plans to publish the next volume of Miracleman, teased as 'The Dark Age.' The move follows Dark Horse canceling the creator's Anansi Boys comic adaptation and its collected edition.

According to Marvel's Senior Vice President Tom Brevoort, via his Substack Man With a Hat, the company has ceased production on Neil Gaiman's Miracleman: The Dark Age, at least for the time being. During a Q&A section, one Ray Cornwall asked about the status of Miracleman: The Dark Age - if writer Gaiman's script has been delivered, and if series artist Mark Buckingham had begun work. Brevoort wirtes:

At the moment, Ray, nothing is going on with THE DARK AGE. If something changes in that regard, I’m sure you'll hear about it.

Although Brevoort does not outright say that Miracleman: The Dark Age has been canceled, it has clearly been postponed indefinitely. This is a major move for Marvel, which has been publicizing Miracleman in recent years, seemingly with the intent of bringing the classic hero into its mainstream continuity.

Following Vulture's in-depth report on allegations from eight different women, Gaiman has denied all allegations of abuse, stating "I have never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone" in a blog post titled 'Breaking the Silence.'

Another Neil Gaiman Project Ceases Production

"Nothing is Going On" With Miracleman

Miracleman was originally Marvelman - a superhero created by Mick Anglo. The character was rebooted in 1982 by Alan Moore, revealing his original adventures to have been a twisted attempt at brainwashing. Moore's stories turned the character in a hard sci-fi direction, with Miracleman discovering his former sidekick has become a vicious mass killer and eventually becoming the unifying force between the universe's spacefaring species. Moore's tenure ends with a coalition of superheroes and aliens taking over the world as a pantheon of gods, ending crime and poverty.

Neil Gaiman and Mark Buckingham took over the series with a plan for three distinct arcs, depicting the collapse of Miracleman's utopia - The Golden Age, The Silver Age, and The Dark Age. While The Silver Age entered print, the series ended prematurely due to ownership rights disputes regarding the character and the collapse of publisher Eclipse. The title existed in limbo until 2009, when it was discovered creator Mick Anglo had maintained ownership of the character, licensing the hero to Marvel.

This led to Marvel reprinting various Miracleman titles for the first time, and also completing publication of The Silver Age. The publisher had previously confirmed The Dark Age would follow, and there have been various hints about plans to merge the property with its mainstream reality, most notably in 2021's Timeless #1 where the hero's logo is shown. Marvel has been suspiciously slow in realizing these hints, leading to speculation that the accusations surrounding Gaiman have changed the publisher's plans.

What Does This Mean for Miracleman Long-Term?

Marvel Had Seemingly Big Plans for the Hero

Miracleman as both a title and a character is heavily associated with Neil Gaiman by comic fans, and The Dark Age has been represented as his personal vision for decades now. It's therefore unlikely that Marvel will assign a new creative team to the project. While many fans initially believed that the current volumes of Avengers would be used to introduce Miracleman into Marvel continuity - as the heroes try to break into a locked period of time known as the similarly alliterative 'Missing Moment' - the amount of time since Marvel last acknowledged the hero suggests that if that was the original plan, it's likely changed.

For now, it's clear that Marvel has placed Miracleman: The Dark Age on hiatus, with no active plans to publish the story. However, Gaiman's association with the Miracleman property is so strong that this may also be the death knell for all Marvel's plans for the character.

Source: Tom Brevoort, Man With a Hat; Neil Gaiman, Breaking the Silence