Kang the Complicated: Marvel reveals second Timeless special while 2021's remains unresolved

For the second year in a row, Marvel is giving Kang the Conqueror a glimpse into the future of the Marvel Universe, with the announcement of a second Timeless special to be released in the last week of 2022.

Once again written by Jed McKay, the second issue of Timeless — which is, confusingly, also Timeless #1, but this time it’s the officially first issue of something called Timeless (2022) — will see the time traveler appear in a story that offers glimpses at what’s upcoming in future Marvel comic releases. As with the first Timeless #1, the new issue will feature art from a number of creators, with Salvador Larroca, Greg Land, and Patrick 'Patch” Zircher contributing.

"Kang is back on another adventure – but could this be his last one?” MacKay says in a statement from the publisher. “Once again, we step into the Conqueror's thigh-high boots to go stamping through the future. But this time Kang is in an unfamiliar position: fleeing. Timeless 2022 is bigger and better than ever before. More previews of what the Marvel Universe has in store, more action, and a story that sets up the dominoes for a huge story coming in the future that I'm really excited to see play out!"

It’s worth noting that the new issue, with a new line-up of teases of what’s to come, arrives at a time (no pun intended) when not all of the events teased in the first Timeless #1 have been resolved just yet. Beyond the issue’s surprise ending — a character wondering why the image of the Miracleman symbol is in his head; as yet, Miracleman has yet to appear in the Marvel Universe proper — certain images have yet to find any explanation: a new team of Avengers, a showdown between Shuri as the Black Panther and a woman wearing Spider-Man’s costume, and Ben Reilly’s Spider-Man relocating to Hollywood. (In fact, that latter one has been specifically contradicted by events in the'Spider-Man Beyond' storyline.)

It’ll be interesting to see if any of these missing events are addressed in the new Timeless #1, or whether they’ll just be chalked up to changes in publishing plans across the past 12 months. That’s assuming, of course, that we’re not going to get any surprise reveals between now and December…

Timeless (2022) #1 will be released December 28.

As unveiled just this morning, it’s not just Timeless that’s looking forward to a new tomorrow for a superhero universe; DC’s Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 is teasing the “Dawn of the DCU” in 2023.