How Former Teacher Jed MacKay Took Over Marvel - One Hero at a Time

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Did you guys know that teachers are cool? Readers of this merry little blog are very cool people as well, so I would assume you respect the teachers – but really, we are pretty cool people. I’m not saying this because I used to teach (though I will be so bold to say “hey, I’m cool too!”), but because my today’s “target” is a man who used to be a teacher as well, before his meteoric rise to the top of the Marvel pantheon of writers – Jed MacKay.

 

Why Jed MacKay Is Marvel’s Writer of the Moment

Jed MacKay isn’t a new name in the comics industry. He wrote his first story in the pages of X-Men: To Serve and Protect #4 back in 2011. A fun, disco-infused romp saw Dazzler join forces with the Daughters of the Dragon to fight M.O.D.O.K. It was humorous and action-packed, and he would return four years later with a short story for Hobie Brown (Spider-Punk) in Spider-Verse in 2015, as well as a larger contribution in 2018’s Spider-Geddon event.

In all these books, MacKay was given the freedom to explore less well-known or defined characters, different team dynamics, and infuse every page with his style of humor and tone. He demonstrated a great versatility that he just kept pushing in the years to come, along with a stunning ability to revitalize characters and breathe new life into them.

What keeps drawing readers back to his work is MacKay’s ability to mix action and humor with emotional character depth. The people he writes are three-dimensional, rounded individuals in most cases, and he’s not afraid to dive deep into what makes them tick and who they are. This, mixed with some stunning work on character dynamics (which positioned him to write team-up books), pushed MacKay to the forefront of Marvel.

But it was the books he did after Spider-Geddon that had MacKay mirror the rise in popularity of his characters – from someone on the sidelines, working on short stories and anthologies – to one of the most prominent writers of the 2020s, and the man behind two of Marvel’s premier teams.

 

The Beginnings of Jed MacKay’s Comic Book Career

For me, the first time that I noticed the name Jed MacKay was when reading Daredevil. 2018 is nearing its end, and Charles Soule and Phil Noto’s awesome run on Daredevil is ending with it. The tradition is to end a Daredevil run in the worst possible position for poor Matt, because half the fun is to see how the next writer will manage it. 

Their final story – The Death of Daredevil – in a reveal that is reminiscent of The Sixth Sense – sees Matt get hit by a truck (mirroring his origin), survive the procedure, topple Fisk and stop a mysterious new killer, only to pull the rug out from under the readers and take us back to the operating table, and Matt being greeted by his dead love Karen Page, before fading to black, his future uncertain. (It's much better than I make it sound, though!)

Now, if you have the Daredevil omnibus collection like me, and you move from this page to the first issue of Daredevil by Chip Zdarsky, seeing Matt almost shrugging it all off and mentioning the injuries in passing, you might either a) be confused or b) shrug it off with Matt. This is because between these two stellar runs, there was a five-issue short "Man Without Fear" written by MacKay, with a host of artists – Danilo S. Beyruth, Stefano Landini, Iban Coello and Paolo Villanelli on art and Andres Mossa on colors.

As a huge Daredevil fan, I will always curse the fates (and Marvel) for not including this story in any of the omnis, though I understand the decision. After Matt is told he might never walk again, we see his supporting characters (normal people, heroes and villains alike) respond to what Daredevil is to them in each issue. Finally, we see Matt’s stubbornness as he recovers through physiotherapy, while dealing with his personal demons and his past. It was a nice “first outing” for MacKay on something bigger and more established, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

How Jed MacKay Revitalized Black Cat

But it wasn’t until he got his hands on his ongoing solo title that MacKay’s true work could shine. Felicia Hardy, to some better known as Black Cat, has long been an established character in the pages of the Amazing Spider-Man and other comics. Sometimes Peter’s love interest, often friend, Black Cat was at the periphery of Marvel, teasing readers about there being more to her, and yet only getting a couple of spotlight issues or mini stories.

Furthermore, in the years prior to 2018, she had gone off the deep end under Dan Slott starting with Superior Spider-Man, becoming a full-on villain and a crime boss, much to the chagrin of fans. Nick Spencer’s Spider-Man started repairing the friendship between Peter and Felicia in 2018, but it was Jed MacKay’s Black Cat solo run in 2019 that put the spotlight solely on Felicia.

This was what the character needed. Free of Spider-Man’s shadow, Black Cat was able to shine in her own story, and MacKay meticulously built her world around her. Felicia gained her own supporting characters in the shape of her crew, her own love interests and further expanding her lore. Black Cat by Jed MacKay sees Felicia go on a number of heists, interacting with Marvel characters whose names don’t rhyme with Slider-Pan, and is a lot of fun through and through.

Furthermore, this has become a staple on how to write the modern Black Cat (something some writers of Spider-Man should have checked out in recent years). Best of all? It is completely new reader friendly – even if you know of Felicia from the cartoons or the games, you will be able to pick up this run and go with it. It is also a one and done book – no sequels, no prequels, no roads to or aftermaths or any other things. It’s a perfect book for anyone, and a great character showcase – and it launched MacKay’s more serious work in the Marvel universe – completely deserved, if you ask me.

 

Moon Knight by Jed MacKay: Action, Mystery, and Character Depth

If MacKay’s work on Black Cat somehow passed you by without you noticing, then his stellar (pun intended) run on Moon Knight could not have possibly made you indifferent. Marc Spector suffered the same fate as Felicia – in Jason Aaron’s Avengers event The Age of Khonshu, Moon Knight goes against the World’s Mightiest Heroes and almost wins. The story was highly divisive since the antihero has never really taken a turn for villainy. You do not really need to read it if you’re not a completionist, but the ramifications will ring throughout the following years and books.

It is in the remnants of the Age of Khonshu that Jed MacKay picks up the threads of Marc Spector’s life and decides to run with it. Khonshu, the Moon God, is imprisoned in Asgard, so where does that leave his Fist? Well, after getting rejected by his god, Moon Knight decides to open up The Midnight Mission smack down in Manhattan, claiming a part of the territory for himself and proclaiming everyone living there is under his protection.

Similarly to his run on Black Cat, MacKay firmly establishes the new status quo and characters around his protagonist. From a teenage vegan vampire to a soldier with a dark past, MacKay mixes obscure heroes and villains with mysteries, action and horror to create such a satisfactory blend. Moon Knight by Jed MacKay omni is another one and done book that you can pick up and have a blast without any prior context, because he will serve everything on a silver platter to you. (Or you can pick up the series of trade paperbacks – starting with The Midnight Mission and moving onwards!)

I personally enjoyed the fact that MacKay is not afraid to dive deep into the psyche of his characters – and with a character like Moon Knight who suffers from DID, this can be a dangerous road to tread. Nevertheless, Jed examines his new status quo, trying to answer the question of what is a man – or a priest – when his god has abandoned him. Marc Spector switches costumes and personas frequently and with ease, but in the opening issues it seems that the one thing he is not at ease with is Marc himself. It’s an intriguing run that peels the layers off the character to bring something new and exciting.

Furthermore, MacKay brought back a semi-forgotten character Tigra to the forefront. A member of the West Coast Avengers and a brief fling of Moon Knight, Tigra has a long history at Marvel, but hasn’t been utilized much in the recent years. Under Jed MacKay, she shines, and it’s a joy seeing her rise in popularity with new readers.

The final thing that makes this run a smash hit for me is the art by Alessandro Cappuccio and Rachelle Rosenberg. Moon Knight literally shines off the page due to the colors – the flat whites are outlined with a soft blue, giving it this mystic sheen like nothing I’ve seen before.

The team followed up the story with Vengeance of the Moon Knight, while MacKay went on to also write Blood Hunt and Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu, which is the current ongoing title. This time, Domenico Carbone and Devmalya Pramanik are on art with Rosenberg still on colors. The book has retained its artistic charm and the storytelling is, of course, stellar as well!

 

Jed MacKay’s Doctor Strange: Death, Mystery, and Magic

After Black Cat and Moon Knight, it was time for another character to find their place in the spotlight. But it wasn’t Stephen Strange who will be the main focus of the first part of Jed MacKay’s Doctor Strange run. (The omnibus is out this week – I am SO excited for this one!)

Quite the opposite, as a matter of fact. MacKay started his run with a five-issue mini called Death of Doctor Strange – a whodunit murder mystery in which Strange is killed by an unknown assailant and the only person who can reveal the mystery of his murder… is Strange himself.

The mini was followed by Strange – following Strange’s estranged wife Clea as she takes on the mantle of the Sorcerer Supreme of two dimensions – her own Dark Dimension as well as ours. MacKay did his magic yet again, bringing the character to the forefront and giving her new life and meaning – his track record at modernizing female characters thus far has truly been impeccable.

Finally, the series was followed by Doctor Strange, in which Stephen, now back from death (oh no, spoiler), reconnects with his wife and best friend, tries to figure out his place in the world and what the new chapter in his life will mean. It’s a thrilling and fun story through and through – and is yet another great one and done book you can pick up and enjoy!

 

Why Jed MacKay Is the Go-To Writer for Marvel Teams

Finally, all of this work over such a short period of time has launched MacKay into the Marvel forefront. In 2023, he was given the reins of the Avengers title, picking up from Jason Aaron, building up a team from scratch and establishes a new status quo, before pushing them head first into new adventures.

In the traditional MacKay style, he opens the issue deeply introspective, reexamining why each of the characters do what they do – save the world and join the Avengers. MacKay himself is joined by a killer’s row of talented artists working on the book – though the one thing I would note which kills the momentum for me is the (over)abundance of events. Avengers are the premier team so they need to be a part of these, but… there’s just too many. Nevertheless, The Impossible City at least is worth picking up – MacKay used his magic to make me fall in love with a city?!

And since one mega-popular team wasn’t enough for this man, he took on another. In the aftermath of Krakoa, three X-Men titles sprung up – MacKay was assigned the writing duties on the (adjectiveless) X-Men. This makes sense – MacKay shines when faced with compelling team dynamics, and even in single titles like Black Cat and Moon Knight, he was able to infuse the books with compelling casts of characters that bring out the best (and worst) in each other. And X-Men are nothing without fun friction between team members!

He picks up with Cyclops' team in Merle, Alaska, as they travel the world and try to rescue new Mutants mysteriously popping up. The art is mostly tackled by Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer and Marte Gracia, and the book looks stunning. It’s vivid, evocative and expressive – a great book for those who are more into the action-packed side of Mutantdom. Nevertheless, MacKay takes time for the introspective moments (as always), reexamining how the characters feel now that the Krakoan rug has been pulled from them – Cyclops is especially interesting as he struggles with the PTSD of what Orchis did to him during the Fall of Krakoa. It is truly a new homecoming for the X-Men, which is the name of the X-Men Volume 1 trade paperback.

 

From Marvel to Magic: Jed MacKay’s Comic Career Beyond the Mainstream

I would also be remiss to mention MacKay’s independent work as well – mainly his work over at BOOM! Studios. With the artists Ig Guara and Arianna Consonni, MacKay’s Magic is set in the world of Magic: The Gathering TCG and follows a group of Planeswalkers on a quest to discover the identity of a mysterious assailant targeting their own. With the universe in the balance, it’s a thrilling ride that begins with Magic Book 1.

With works like this, MacKay has demonstrated that he is a flexible and versatile writer. Whether it is a team book or a less known property that he can bring a new shine to, the man sure knows how to weave magic threads with his pen.

What makes him interesting to follow in the future is his trajectory. In less then a decade, he went from rising talent to one of the most important voices behind Marvel Comics. Where will he head next? What direction will he take? It’s up to anyone’s guess, but it will be an interesting journey!