We told you last week that Marvel and Fox were in talks to make a trade of sorts. Fox would get an extension on their Daredevil rights and Marvel would recoup certain specific character rights from the Fantastic Four universe, including Silver Surfer and Galactus. This seemed like a no brainer for both sides and was potentially step one for cross studio cooperation.

Of course when something seems to good to be true it often is. Word is now out that the talks have fallen through and Fox will lose the Daredevil rights and retain their full Fantastic Four catalog. This development is the very definition of a good news, bad news situation.

On one hand, any time Marvel Studios gets a chance to pull in the rights to one of its characters and their universe it is a good thing. It is unlikely that Matt Murdock will be fighting alongside The Avengers any time soon, but Marvel Studios is ever-expanding, and it is likely we will see a faithful Daredevil adaptation in some form or another eventually. Plus keeping Silver Surfer and Galactus with the Fantastic Four allows for the chance that a proper FF reboot can use two of their more important in-universe characters.

By now everyone realizes that the cinematic rights to certain characters and franchise within the Marvel Pantheon are not actually held by Marvel Studios. They are spread out among several other major studios, most notably Sony and Fox, with those studios holding lucrative deals that allow them to keep the franchises so long as they are using them.

This means that as Marvel Studios blows everyone’s collective minds with their spectacular feature films, several key characters are off-limits to them. Up to this point that was not really a big deal because Marvel had plenty of their own marquee heroes and villains to play with. However, now Marvel is looking to expand into the cosmic corner of their universe with ‘Phase 2’ and the two most popular and known cosmic characters are currently held by Fox.

Under normal circumstances this would simply mean Marvel would have to find replacements for Galactus and Silver Surfer as they move forward with their cosmic phase, but timing might just be on their side. Fox is under a tight deadline to get their Daredevil reboot off the ground, and they just recently lost their director. Instead of simply scrabbling, Variety is reporting that Fox has proposed a trade with Marvel Studios to extend the Daredevil rights, a deal that would bring Galactus and Silver Surfer back home to Marvel.

One of our favorite comic book writers, Matt Fraction, has a new series coming out from Marvel and we are, of course, excited to bring you a preview of it today. The new comic, called Defenders, takes the superhero genre and bends it in a brand new and very fun way.

But don’t take our word for it, here’s the official scoop from Marvel:

When the impossible is everywhere and the very fabric of reality is threatened by insanity, the world needs more than super heroes…they need Defenders! Enter Defenders #1, from the top-selling creative team of Matt Fraction (Fear Itself, Invincible Iron Man, Mighty Thor) and Terry Dodson (Uncanny X-Men), as Doctor Strange assembles a new team of heroes to face a new kind of threat that will leave readers shocked.

Doctor Strange, Iron Fist, Namor, Red She-Hulk, Silver Surfer and more of your favorite Marvel Heroes will band together exploring corners of the Marvel Universe you never knew existed for missions so deadly they have to be kept secret. Once a Defender, always a Defender – no matter the cost or sacrifice.

Fraction is joined by artist Terry Dodson and to help get you as excited as we are, check out poreview pages for the comic after the break. Look for Defenders #1 in comic shops on December 7.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Asgard around here as we start to see more and more from our friends at Marvel featuring the God of Thunder, Thor. Earlier today we brought you more on the upcoming game featuring the character. Now, with the big screen Thor slated to drop soon, Marvel hasn’t forgotten the character’s comic book roots and is set to devote more pages to him with an all-new comic book series.

Written by the Eisner Award-winning Matt Fraction with art by superstar Olivier Coipel, this new Thor will usher in “a bold new era for the kingdom of Asgard. But when the Silver Surfer suddenly appears to herald the arrival of Galactus in the Odinson’s realm, can the combined might of Thor and his brethren push back the devourer of worlds?” I don’t know but I bet it will be one heck of a fight.

To get you prepared for this struggle, we’ve got some preview pages for the comic to share today. Looking at them you really get a sense that this story is going to be pretty epic.

Check out the preview pages after the jump. The Mighty Thor hits store shelves on April 27th.

Even though Valentine’s Day has already come and gone this week that doesn’t mean you still can’t get your favorite person some cool new comics as another way to show the love. Speaking of new comics, as usual, this week sees the release of a bunch of new ones from our friends at Marvel.

Let’s take a look at what they have for us. Among the new ones coming out, we’re most interested in SHIELD #6, Avengers Academy #9, Silver Surfer #1, Uncanny X-Force #5 and Wolverine #6.

As with most weeks, new comics arrive on Wednesday, so hit your nearest comics book store early for best selection.

Don’t know where your nearest comic store is? Use this handy guide to find one.

Comics On-Sale:
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #654.1
ASTONISHING X-MEN: XENOGENESIS #5
AVENGERS ACADEMY #9
CAPTAIN AMERICA: MAN OUT OF TIME #4
CARNAGE #1 2ND PRINTING VARIANT
CARNAGE #2 2ND PRINTING VARIANT
DAREDEVIL: REBORN #2
DEADPOOL MAX #5