Marvel's annual Cup O' Joe Panel at San Diego Comic Con was as packed and popular as ever, as ringleader Joe Quesada dropped the latest scoop on all things Marvel. Joined by an esteemed number of industry panelists, including Axel Alonso, Tom Brevoort, C.B. Cebulski, Charles Soule, Greg Pak, Cullen Bunn, and Kieron Gillen, the panel shed some light on upcoming projects and then turned it over to the fans.

Cup O' Joe is always the place to be for new announcements, and we got one in the form of a Star Wars / Darth Vader crossover titled Star Wars: Vader Down. Seeking to bind the events of the two separate books together, this six-part series will see Star Wars writer Jason Aaron team with the Vader creative team of Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca. Mike Deodata will share art duties. The story will revolve around a do-or-die mission by the Rebels to take down a stranded and but not-so-vulnerable Vader. Described as a natural progression in regards to where the series has come so far, Gillen promised the kind of story any Star Wars fan can get behind, in addition to Wookie on Wookie action. Here's hoping we also get a protocol droid fight in the mix.

The crossover will kick off with an oversized Vader Down #1, and will continue in the pages of its respective series. It debuts in November.



From there the panel switched gears to discuss the next run of Marvel titles set to release this fall. Soule started it off by taking some time to hype the recently released Lando #1. Of the gambler Soule said "He's such a great character, he's so much fun to work with. You can almost hear Billy Dee Williams say some of these great lines, and hopefully we conveyed that in the book."

The run of new titles came fast and furious after that, with Brevoort discussing the first appearance of Mockingbird in S.H.I.E.L.D. #8. This lead to a discussion of the following issue, with a special 50th anniversary issue planned for #9. This 50th anniversary celebration is notable in that it will feature never before published pages drawn by Jack Kirby and inked by Jim Steranko. It will be out in August.

Mark Waid's All New, All Different Avengers was discussed, even though the writer himself was not in attendance. Debuting this fall and featuring the art of Mahmu Asrar and Adam Kubert, the book will focus on a smaller, more focused Avengers team. As Brevoort put it, "It's almost as much how the characters interact as it is the crazy adventures they go on."

Greg Pak then discussed his return to the Hulk with The Totally Awesome Hulk #1. Working with artist Frank Cho, Pak promises a Hulk who enjoys being the Hulk. The characters identity was obscured in the promotional image (save for a familiar wing-tipped Asgardian silhouette) but Pak assures that we'll know who we're dealing with by the first issue. "The mystery is, 'Where is Banner? What happened to Banner?'"

We were then treated to some Guardians of the Galaxy reveals, though actual news was scarce. Brian Michael Bendis and Valerio Schiti will return with a new #1, one in which Rocket is now team leader. Star-Lord and Drax will also be getting the new solo treatment. Sam Humphries and Javier Garron will introduce a new Star Lord to their series, and Cullen Bunn will be teaming up with CM Punk to co-write Drax. After joking that he was hired to stand up physically to Punk, Bunn detailed Drax's plan to kill Thanos. He also said that Drax will encounter characters no one would expect in a Drax book. The final Guardians news came in the form of Groot #2, wherein we're set to learn why Rocket is the only one who can physically understand Groot.

The panel then turned to questions, the with many focusing on a post Secret Wars Marvel, diversity in both the universe and the creative teams, and all things Star Wars. Pretty much everyone reiterated that the events in Secret Wars, whether big or small, will reflect in the changes resulting post. Some Ultimate Marvel fans expressed concern regarding the characters they grew up with being phased out, and Brevoort assured it wasn't a decision made lightly. "If we only wanted one or two guys, we wouldn't have had to blow up everything to get there."

On diversity, Brevoort and Alonso talked on the increased effort to flesh out a more real world representation of powered characters. Brevoort stressed the time given to the development of these lineups following a question regarding Latino characters, and promised that while the new initiative is on its way, "It's only the beginning, and we mean that genuinely."

More Secret Wars talk brought up a fun anecdote regarding writer Jonathan Hickman's initial pitch, namely in that it was initially tough to fully grasp where the writer wanted to go. Brevoort: "By the time we figured it out it was too late, those universes were doomed." Another question asked how much sway parent company Disney holds in these universe altering events, to which Quesada responded "Disney doesn't really want us to blow things up, they want us to make more of it." This sentiment was echoed in a request for various omnibus releases, to which there were no confirmations but a quick "We like money."

Star Wars talk centered around the difficulty in writing stories around an existing property with a beginning and end. Gillen didn't see it as difficult at all. "That's not a problem, that's a major advantage. Any time you make a decision that doesn't feel right, we can self correct. We have a very strong magnetic north." Alonso also mentioned that everything they do is done in accordance with meetings they've had with Lucasfilm. Finally, a fan asked when we might see a Jedi Knight appear in the pages of Guardians of the Galaxy, to which Brevoort elcitited a quick "No comment." "But we kind of like money, right?" Quesada quipped back.

Quesada closed the questions by discussing his philosophy as Editor in Chief. Above all he stressed accessibility, and he delighted in living in an age where Howard the Duck comics are a popular reality.

The panel concluded with an unedited look at the hallway fight scene from Netflix's Daredevil. We were told that the scene was filmed in full six times sans cuts, the take we saw ending with Matt Murdock carrying out a full sized adult in lieu of a frightened child.

Stay tuned to IGN for more SDCC comic news and updates.