Marvel's 'Fear Itself' event gets Red Skull teaser


I'm afraid to admit it, but I have no idea what Marvel Comics' new seven-issue crossover event "Fear Itself" has to do with. The Daily News reported back in December the series has something to do with the "villainous God of Fear" terrorizing our spandex-clad heroes and stoking panic.

Supposedly this was meant to suggest the comics company was ripping from the headlines to reflect our current unsteady culture of fear exacerbated by pundits and such.

But the slew of teaser images asking "Do You Fear...?" and "Who are the Worthy?" don't give much away - aside from suggesting Captain America and Thor (or at least variations of Thor's hammer) will figure heavily into the titles. Not coincidentally, those two characters have movies coming out this summer.

Whatever the plotline is, it looks pretty epic and supernatural, especially considering this striking teaser image above from the series prequel, Fear Itself: Book of the Skull #1. For a little context, that's the Red Skull swallowing up Cap and Namor. And the tagline that follows tells readers:
Fear Itself ... will crack the very foundation of the Marvel Universe! How is a wicked alliance forged by the Red Skull at the heart of this conquest from beyond time and space? And could a secret mission led by Captain America and Namor have tipped the hand of fate in fear’s favor? Sin, the Skull’s daughter, knows the truth and, this March, she gambles with all the world’s souls
Sin! Lost Souls! Cracked Foundations! Sounds either really spooky or just like another day in comics.