Wilson Fisk's son Richard Fisk, AKA the Rose, is back. But instead of trying to fill the vacuum of power in the New York City underworld in the pages of Daredevil or Amazing Spider-Man, he'll appear in June's Strange #3 to menace Clea Strange, Earth's new Sorcerer Supreme.
On the surface, that looks like a meeting of the worlds of street-level with supernatural, until you consider how Richard Fisk is alive.
Dead for several years (killed by his own mom... ouch) with at least three others assuming the identity of the Rose after his demise, last year Richard was supernaturally resurrected by his father the Kingpin using the Tablet of Life and Destiny and the Tablet of Death and Entropy.
That's the long-version of he's back from the dead by magic. We'll see if that plays into the story.
Richard, who has vacillated over the years between serving as an underboss in his father's criminal enterprises and scheming to undermine and sometimes kill him as something of an anti-hero, went full villain upon his return and made some appearances during the recent Devil's Reign storyline.
There may be a storyline coming up in which Richard and his half-brother Butch fight over filling the vacuum left by their father's surprise (and secret) retirement (with Wilson tipping the scales in Butch's favor), but this story doesn't seem to be it.
In Strange #3, Clea seems to cross paths with Richard when, as Marvel puts it, the Rose is preying on the misery and suffering of New York's citizens.
"Clea Strange is all too familiar with the demons and monsters that stalk humans. But what happens when it's the humans who are hunting the monsters?" reads Marvel's description of the story.
Here's a look at four unlettered pages from the issue, penciled by Marcelo Ferreira, inked by Roberto Poggi and Don Ho, and colored by Java Tartaglia.
The pages also feature a look at Clea's new fiery form as she fights some of Rose's henchmen, stemming from her Dark Dimension heritage and familial connection with Dormammu.
Strange #3 is written by Jed MacKay and goes on sale June 1.
Jumping a month ahead, Stephen Strange seems to be coming back ... but with a zombie twist.
