J. Michael Straczynski to scribe unlikely Marvel team-up one-shots in 2025

In a surprising turn of recent events, Marvel Comics has announced that legendary writer J. Michael Straczynski is returning in 2025 to scribe a series of unlikely team-up one-shot stories. Beginning with Doctor Doom and Rocket Raccoon in what’s a very unlikely pairing, each of these new issues by Staczynski will feature unique stories kicking off its launch on January 22nd.

“I like to go where the fun is, and the idea of putting together Marvel characters who had either never been paired before, or only minimally, seemed like it would be a ton of fun, and it was even more of a blast than I anticipated,” Straczynski explained in a Marvel press release. “For the first time we could see the original Nick Fury in China along with the Flying Tigers taking on a newly awakened Fin Fang Foom…go to the edge of time and space with Rocket Raccoon and Doctor Doom…see the Ghost Rider slugging it out with none other than Galactus…Aunt May caught in the midst of a supernatural battle alongside Agatha Harkness…the more unlikely the pairing, the more eccentric the combo, the more fun it was to see it come to life. I’ve been sitting on news of this series for over a year and I’m so excited to know it will finally be hitting newsstands starting in January.”

The series is being created in the spirit of best-selling comics like Jonathan Hickman and Sanford Greene’s Doom and Chip Zdarsky and Daniel Acuña’s Avengers: Twilight. Joining artistic talent for these runs will feature an incredible line-up of Will Robson, Bernard Chang, Elena Casagrande, Germán Peralta, Juan Ferreyra, and Phil Noto.

Full list of the titles and pairings:

DOCTOR DOOM & ROCKET RACCOON
CAPTAIN AMERICA & VOLSTAGG
NICK FURY VS. FIN FANG FOOM
HULK & DOCTOR STRANGE (plus a backup story starring AUNT MAY & AGATHA HARKNESS!)
GHOST RIDER VS. GALACTUS
SPIDER-MAN VS. DOCTOR OCTOPUS

Check out these covers and read the official press release down below.

Prolific writer J. Michael Straczynski has graced nearly every corner of the Marvel Universe with his masterful storytelling skills, including acclaimed runs on Amazing Spider-Man, Thor, Fantastic Four, and more. Starting this January, follow Straczynski to wherever his imagination takes him next as he pens a new line of standalone one-shots that costar two Marvel icons of his choosing—either in unexpected team-ups or action-packed showdowns!

In the spirit of recent best-selling comics like Jonathan Hickman and Sanford Greene’s Doom and Chip Zdarsky and Daniel Acuña’s Avengers: Twilight, Straczynski’s new one-shots invite all fans—new and longtime readers alike—to enjoy timeless and rousing stories featuring some of today’s most beloved and talked about Marvel characters. Joining Straczynski will be a lineup of incredible artistic talent: Will Robson, Bernard Chang, Elena Casagrande, Germán Peralta, Juan Ferreyra, and Phil Noto.

Straczynski and Robson kick things off in DOCTOR DOOM & ROCKET RACCOON where Doom does the one thing he never wants to do: ask for a favor! What awaits Rocket in Latveria? Mischief, miscommunication and an emotional journey across space and time in the Mighty Marvel Way! Following that, Volstagg recruits the Sentinel of Liberty in Straczynski and Chang’s CAPTAIN AMERICA & VOLSTAGG. When a war breaks out in the Nine Realms, Volstagg of the Warriors Three turns to the only man skilled enough to end it: Steve Rogers, Captain America!

See all the featured characters on a special promo piece by Leinil Francis Yu, which will also be available as a variant cover by DOCTOR DOOM & ROCKET RACCOON #1, along with the covers for the first three one-shots.