On Saturday at New York Comic-Con, Marvel was scheduled to do a splashy launch event announcing the crossover between the Avengers and Northrop Grumman, a notorious arms dealer whose stealth bombers and drones have been front and center in the US campaigns of assassination in many theaters of war, declared and undeclared, in which literally uncounted civilians have been collateral damage.

After widespread fan outrage on Twitter and in person at the Javitts Center, Marvel announced that the deal was dead and the comic would never be published.



Marvel issued a statement by email on Saturday. "The activation with Northrop Grumman at New York Comic Con was meant to focus on aerospace technology and exploration in a positive way," it said. "However, as the spirit of that intent has not come across, we will not be proceeding with this partnership, including this weekend's event programming. "Marvel and Northrop Grumman continue to be committed to elevating, and introducing, STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] to a broad audience." Northrop Grumman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.



Marvel drops Northrop Grumman tie-in after Comic Con fan rebellion

[Joanna Walters/The Guardian]