Superhero Bits: Thor Love And Thunder Concept Art, A Ms. Marvel Finale Preview & More

(Superhero Bits is a collection of stories, updates, and videos about anything and everything inspired by the comics of Marvel, DC, and more. For comic book movies, TV shows, merchandise, events, and whatever catches our eye, this is the place to find anything that falls through the cracks.)

In this edition of Superhero Bits:

• Marvel previews the "Ms. Marvel" finale.

• New "Thor: Love and Thunder" concept art surfaces.

• Sylvester Stallone's superhero movie "Samaritan" gets a poster.

• Phase 4 of the MCU has already been very long.

• All that and more!

Let them fight! Marvel Comics has announced that "Moon Knight Annual" #1 is set to arrive on October 26, just in time for Halloween. What's more, the book is going to pit none other than Werewolf by Knight against Moon Knight in a battle suited for the season. Perhaps not coincidentally, Marvel's Werewolf by Night Halloween special for Disney+ is currently in production. As for the book itself? Here's the logline:

In the Darkhold, there is a prophecy of how a god might die. Jack Russell, more familiar with that cursed tome than most, would like very much to kill a god and save his people, the people bound in servitude to the moon. But to fulfill that prophecy requires the blood of the Fist of Khonshu, and Moon Knight doesn't bleed easily.

Jed MacKay is writing the issue, with Federico Sabbatini handling art. You can get a glimpse at Rod Reis' cover art above.

The folks at McFarlane Toys have opened up pre-orders for their upcoming Static Shock figure, which is based on the New 52 era of the hero from the pages of DC Comics. The 7-inch figure can be seen above and retails for $19.99. It is expected to ship in September and comes with the Static Saucer, two electric blasts, and a base for posing purposes. Those interested in getting their hands on one can pre-order the figure by clicking here.

The "Ms. Marvel" season 1 finale is nearly upon us, Marvel fans! The show's sixth and final episode is set to debut tomorrow and, for those who have been keeping up with the adventures of Iman Vellani's Kamala Khan, the above video provides a brief recap of the fifth episode to refresh your memory in short order before the finale. Now, whether or not this serves as a series finale or a season finale remains to be seen but we do know for sure that the character is far from done as she is also going to appear in "The Marvels" alongside Brie Larson's Captain Marvel next year. For now, check out the recap above and tune into the finale on Disney+ tomorrow.

Jaimie Alexander made her return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in "Thor: Love and Thunder" but that won't be the end of it, assuming the actress gets her way. As we can see in the above Instagram post, Alexander is putting feelers out there for a Lady Sif TV series, which very much seems like something that could happen in the age of Disney+ and whatnot. What's more, she indicates that she would be interested in seeing Beta Ray Bill alongside her in the show. Beta Ray Bill has yet to appear in the MCU but many fans have wanted to see it happen for a long time, and this wouldn't be a bad way to go about it. Your move, Kevin Feige.

"Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" contains some pretty wild cameos including, perhaps most importantly, the return of Patrick Stewart as Professor X from an alternate reality as part of the Illuminati. But was Magento ever considered? Why wasn't he in the movie? Well, in a recent chat with Empire, producer Richie Palmer addressed that very topic, saying the following:

"I don't know if [a Magneto cameo] was ever seriously talked about. Again, that [Michael] Waldron's got a head full of crazy ideas, so, I'm not going to say those things never came up in conversation, but I think once you start getting into Magneto and explaining mutants, you know, I think that the Illuminati appearances in this movie are pretty self-explanatory. I think you get them and you know... I think it's all right there for you. To go any further with it, and to try to explain that stuff, might've detracted from the experience. However, who's to say in this universe, that's a different Wanda than our Wanda with a different backstory, there is a Professor Xavier there, there are Mutants, there are Inhumans. So, you got to believe she definitely has her own version of that story going on."

Whether or not Waldron ever considered Magneto is another thing entirely but indeed, bringing that character into the fold would have opened up another big bag of worms. And "Multiverse of Madness," as is, had an awful lot to contend with.

Sylvester Stallone is about to headline a superhero film next month in the form of "Samaritan," which comes from director Julius Avery ("Overlord") and is not connected to Marvel or DC. That, in itself, may be refreshing for some viewers. Well, now Sly has shared a first-look poster for the film, which is dropping on Prime Video on August 26. Originally, this was going to be a theatrical release but MGM decided to sell it to Amazon instead. Now why, precisely, did they do that? I suppose we'll find out when it's time for release but in any event, this is a little taste of what's to come. We'll surely be getting a trailer very soon as well, so stay tuned.

Phase 4 of the MCU kicked off last year with "WandaVision" on Disney+, marking a big turn of events as episodic shows were now going to be part of the universe. Well, the folks at IGN have done the math and long before Phase 4 has wrapped up, it has already racked up just shy of 50 hours of content between the movies and shows. For comparison, Phase 3, which was 11 movies in all, was just shy of 25 hours all told. So yeah, we are getting a lot of Marvel stuff right now. Is it going to be too much? Are audiences going to get burned out? That is really more for the individual to decide but more doesn't always equal better. We'll see how things play out in the coming months/years though.

It's nearly time to say goodbye to season one of "Ms. Marvel" with the finale tomorrow and for those who are feeling a little impatient, the folks at Rotten Tomatoes have a little taste of what's to come for us. The above clip features Iman Vellani's Kamal Khan having a rather important conversation with her family. Not to spoil it but the reveal is pretty charming and is a perfect demonstration of what this show has been doing so well. "Mrs. Marvel" episode six arrives tomorrow on Disney+ and we'll have plenty of coverage after the episode drops, so be on the lookout.

Lastly, Marvel Studios Director of Visual Development Andy Park has shared a couple of new pieces of concept art that he had cooked up for "Thor: Love and Thunder." Above, we get a look at Chris Hemsworth's new costume from the movie. This was an earlier design of the very colorful new look for Thor but it does very much resemble what ended up in director Taika Waititi's film. Below, we have a new look at Natalie Portman's Mighty Thor in the form of a concept sketch that was done several years back. Again, this doesn't look to be too far removed from what ended up on screen in the movie we got.

Concept/Costume design I did of MIGHTY THOR about 3 years ago for @TaikaWaititi during preproduction on THOR: LOVE & THUNDER! So much fun to imagine #NataliePortman as a buff 6’ GOD! I loved her in the film!#thor #mightythor #ThorLoveAndThunder pic.twitter.com/Vk44wSRe33

— Andy Park (@andyparkart) July 12, 2022