WARNING: MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD for Avengers: Armageddon #4 and the future of the Marvel Universe!
Marvel's solicitations promised that Avengers: Armageddon #4 would feature a "key moment in Marvel history" that changes the Marvel Universe forever. Thanks to a leaked classified variant cover, the cat is officially out of the bag.
According to a scoop first reported by Rich Johnston at Bleeding Cool, artist Michael Cho's classified variant cover for Avengers: Armageddon #4 confirms that David Colton is Marvelman / Miracleman.
Colton was introduced by Chip Zdarsky and Valerio Schiti as a post-9/11 Captain America who served overseas before Steve Rogers was thawed from the ice. Recently, Colton reemerged with god-tier abilities after receiving an Origin Box brought over from the New Ultimate Universe by Miles Morales. As Johnston notes, that specific box was crafted by The Maker to create an Ultimate version of Marvelman.
Colton's surge in power has already put him on a collision course with Earth's Mightiest Heroes. After defying United Nations orders regarding General Ross and the Red Hulk, Colton clashed directly with the Avengers when they attempted to contain him. The fallout from this revelation directly sets up October's Avengers: Armageddon #5, humanity turning against superheroes, and the November launch of Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto's brand-new Avengers #1.
For readers unfamiliar with the character, this is a massive development. Originally created in 1954 by Mick Anglo as Marvelman, the hero was famously deconstructed by Alan Moore in the 1980s in a seminal run that reshaped mature superhero storytelling well before Watchmen. The property later fell into decades of complex legal battles between Eclipse Comics, Todd McFarlane, and Neil Gaiman before Marvel acquired the rights in 2009.
While Marvel has spent years remastering and reprinting those classic runs, the character has always remained cordoned off in his own standalone bubble. Directly folding that godlike power into Earth-616 continuity through Colton is a monumental shift.
Credit: First reported by Bleeding Cool