Indiana Jones Returns to Marvel Comics
Announced at San Diego Comic-Con, the miniseries Indiana Jones and the Sword of Pandemonium will be released on December 9th and is set immediately after the first film: it's the first Marvel comic dedicated to the archaeologist since the 1980s.
Two days ago, during the Lucasfilm Publishing panel at San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel announced that it will bring Indiana Jones back to comics after more than forty years. The five-issue miniseries, titled Indiana Jones and the Sword of Pandemonium, will be released in the United States on December 9, 2026: it's the first comic dedicated to the archaeologist published by Marvel since the 1980s, when the publisher held the license between 1983 and 1986, and the first comic about the character since the early 2000s.
It was presented by Marvel's outgoing editor-in-chief, C.B. Cebulski, in the same session reserved for new Star Wars titles. The series is written by Jason Aaron and drawn by Aaron Kuder, who previously worked together on Avengers Forever; Aaron also signed the relaunch of Star Wars comics for Marvel in 2015, the other major Lucasfilm property, and stated that he wants to recapture the same enthusiasm with Indy as he did with that debut.
The story is set immediately after Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), the first film in the saga, and inaugurates what the publisher presents as a new season of stories set in the era of the original films. According to the synopsis released by Marvel, Indy's historical enemies are seeking a new source of power that has fallen into the hands of Marion Ravenwood, the protagonist's former adventure companion. At the center of the plot is the Sword of Pandemonium, described as a weapon of biblical origin whose supernatural nature challenges the archaeologist's skepticism. The covers are by Bryan Hitch, Alex Ross, and Kuder himself.
The operation brings the character back to Marvel after a long stint at Dark Horse, which published his adventures for years until Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012. The announcement follows by a few weeks that of Indiana Jones: The Further Adventures, two hardcover volumes due out on September 9 that collect the Marvel stories from the 1980s, including the comic adaptations of the first two films.
On screen, however, the saga is currently on hold: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) concluded Harrison Ford's forty-two years in the role, and reboot or television series projects that have circulated in recent years have not materialized. The actual duration of the project beyond the five issues and how much the new stories tie into the film continuity remain to be clarified. For now, Marvel has only confirmed the first arc, arriving in December.