''The Micronauts'' are

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

s featuring a group of characters based on the Mego

Micronauts Micronauts is a North American science fiction toyline manufactured and marketed by Mego Corporation, Mego from 1976 to 1980. The ''Micronauts'' toyline was based on and licensed from the ''Microman'' toyline created by Japanese-based toy compan ...

toy line. The first title was published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

in 1979, with both original characters and characters based on the toys. Marvel published two ''Micronauts'' series, mostly written by

Bill Mantlo William Timothy Mantlo (born November 9, 1951) is an American comic book writer, primarily at Marvel Comics. He is best known for his work on two licensed toy properties whose adventures occurred in the Marvel Universe: ''Micronauts'' and ''Ro ...

, until 1986, well after the toy line was cancelled in 1980. In the 2000s,

Image Comics Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-ow ...

and

Devil's Due Publishing Devil's Due Publishing (often abbreviated as DDP) is an independent comic book publisher in the United States. Based in Chicago, Illinois, DDP is best known for its wide selection of genres, including licensed and original creator-owned proper ...

each briefly published their own ''Micronauts'' series.

Byron Preiss Visual Publications Byron Preiss (April 11, 1953 – July 9, 2005)Byron Preiss
at the

IDW Publishing IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW), itself formed in 1999, and is regularly recog ...

published a new comic book series. A live-action film version of the Micronauts was in development by

Hasbro Studios Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of ...

and

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

in 2015.

Publication history

Marvel Comics

The Micronauts began life as comic book characters thanks to a fortuitous accident on Christmas 1977. Marvel Comics writer Bill Mantlo's son Adam opened a new present, a line of the

Mego Corporation The Mego Corporation was an American toy company that in its original iteration was first founded in 1954. Originally known as a purveyor of dime store toys, in 1971 the company shifted direction and became famous for producing licensed dolls ...

action figures. Seeing the toys, Mantlo was instantly struck by inspiration to write their adventures. Convincing then Editor-in-chief

Jim Shooter James Shooter (born September 27, 1951) is an American writer, editor and publisher for various comic books. He started professionally in the medium at the age of 14, and he is most notable for his successful and controversial run as Marvel Comic ...

to get the comics license for these toys, Mantlo was hired to script their series. The first series of the ''Micronauts'' ran from January 1979 to August 1984 and included 59 issues and two Annuals. The series was written by

and featured art by Michael Golden. Other artists on the series included

Howard Chaykin Howard Victor Chaykin (; born October 7, 1950) is an American comic book artist and writer. Chaykin's influences include his one-time employer and mentor, Gil Kane, and the mid-20th century illustrators Robert Fawcett and Al Parker. Early life ...

Steve Ditko Stephen John Ditko Page contains two reproductions from school yearbooks. A 1943 Garfield Junior High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen Ditko". A 1945 Johnstown High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen J. Ditko" under extracurricular act ...

Rich Buckler Rich may refer to: Common uses * Rich, an entity possessing wealth * Rich, an intense flavor, color, sound, texture, or feeling ** Rich (wine), a descriptor in wine tasting Places United States * Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated comm ...

Pat Broderick Pat Broderick (born November 26, 1953) is an American comics artist, known for his work on the ''Micronauts'' and ''Alpha Flight'' for Marvel Comics, and '' Legion of Super-Heroes'', ''Captain Atom'' and ''Green Lantern'' for DC Comics. Broderick ...

Val Mayerik Val Mayerik (born March 29, 1950) is an American comic book and commercial artist, best known as co-creator of the satiric character '' Howard the Duck'' for ''Marvel Comics''. Biography Early life and career Val Mayerik was born in Youngstow ...

Keith Giffen Keith Ian Giffen (born November 30, 1952) is an American comics artist and writer. He is known for his work for DC Comics on their '' Legion of Super-Heroes'' and ''Justice League'' titles as well as for being the co-creator of Lobo. Biography ...

Greg LaRocque Greg LaRocque (born February 24, 1954) is an American comics artist best known for his work on the ''Legion of Super-Heroes'' and ''The Flash''. Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, LaRocque worked as an assistant teacher at the Professional I ...

Gil Kane Gil Kane (; born Eli Katz ; April 6, 1926 – January 31, 2000) was a Latvian-born American comics artist whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s and virtually every major comics company and character. Kane co-created the modern-day versio ...

Luke McDonnell Luke McDonnell (born July 19, 1959) is an American artist whose early career was spent specialising in comic books. Career Comic books Luke McDonnell began his career as a comics artist in 1980 and illustrated a wide variety of comics including ...

Mike Vosburg Mike Vosburg (born July 23, 1947) is an American comic book artist primarily known for his work on the ''Tales from the Crypt'' TV series. Biography Mike Vosburg's comics career began in the 1960s, when as a 15-year-old teenager he started ''Mas ...

Butch Guice Jackson "Butch" Guice (born June 27, 1961) is an American comics artist who has worked in the comics industry since the 1980s. Biography Guice was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee.. Retrieved March 21, 2008. Growing up in the 1960s, Guice was fond o ...

, and

Kelley Jones Kelley Jones (born July 23, 1962) is an American comics artist best known for his work on ''Batman'' with writer Doug Moench and on '' The Sandman'' with writer Neil Gaiman. Early life Kelley Jones was born in Sacramento, California and grew up ...

. ''Micronauts'', along with '' Moon Knight'' and '' Ka-Zar the Savage'', became one of Marvel's first ongoing series to be distributed exclusively to comic book stores beginning with issue #38 (Feb. 1982). In the United Kingdom, ''The Micronauts'' was first included as a supporting strip in

Marvel UK Marvel UK was an imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint US-produced stories for the British weekly comic market. Marvel UK later produced original material by British creators such as Alan Moore, John Wagner, Dave Gibbons, Steve Di ...

's '' Star Wars Weekly'' comic in January 1979 for several months and then in the first nine issues of ''Star Heroes Pocketbook'', alongside ''

Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series), original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel se ...

'', before joining the new ''Future Tense'' reprint anthology. Unlike the U.S. version, these strips were printed in black and white. The ''Micronauts Special Edition'' five-issue

limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered *Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...

(December 1983-April 1984) reprinted issues #1–12 and a back-up feature from #25. The ''X-Men and the Micronauts'' four-issue limited series (January 1984–April 1984) was co-written by Mantlo and Chris Claremont and drawn by Butch Guice. The second volume of ''Micronauts'', subtitled ''The New Voyages'', was published from October 1984 to May 1986 and ran 20 issues. The series was written by Peter B. Gillis and featured early-career artwork by Kelley Jones. After this series the Marvel-owned license lapsed. From the late 1990s the characters Marionette, Arcturus Rann and Bug (all Marvel properties) have appeared in various Marvel titles (without referencing the ''Micronauts'' label). Bug has appeared in a solo one-shot and together with cosmic hero

Star-Lord Star-Lord (Peter Jason Quill) is a fictional character and superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character, created by Steve Englehart and Steve Gan, first appeared in '' Marvel Preview'' #4 (January 197 ...

, as part of a new incarnation of the

Guardians of the Galaxy The Guardians of the Galaxy is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It may more specifically refer to: Comic book teams * Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team), the original 31st-century team fr ...

Image Comics

In June 2002, a new series by

was published for eleven issues before its cancellation in September 2003. The same year saw a four-issue limited series featuring Baron Karza's origin and his relationship with the Time Traveler entity.

Devil's Due Publishing

In March 2004, a new series was launched by

, mixing new characters with those based on the toy line. The series ran for three issues and featured art by former ''Micronauts'' artist

. More issues were solicited, but never appeared on shelves despite some cover art being released.

IDW Publishing

In 2015,

acquired publishing rights from Hasbro to produce new comic books for the Micronauts and

Rom the Spaceknight Rom the Space Knight is a superhero, originally a toy and then a magazine lead. Rom was created by Scott Dankman, Richard C. Levy, and Bryan L. McCoy for Parker Brothers and is now a Hasbro asset. After the toy was licensed to Marvel Comics, Rom ...

, both formerly popularized by Marvel as licensed properties. IDW released the first issue of their new Micronauts series in April 2016, with scripts by

Cullen Bunn Cullen Bunn is an American comics writer, novelist, and short story writer, best known for his work on comic books such as ''Uncanny X-Men'', '' X-Men: Blue'', ''Magneto'' and various ''Deadpool'' miniseries for Marvel Comics, and his creator-owne ...

and art by David Baldeon.

Fictional team history

Marvel Comics version

The Micronauts originate in the

Microverse The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several noteworthy concepts besides its fictional characters, such as unique places and artifacts. There follows a list of those features. Places Certain places fe ...

, a microscopic universe full of strange planets like the human-inhabited Homeworld which is made up of diverse spherical habitats that are linked together in the fashion of a molecular chain. The original team comes together in response to the threat posed by Baron Karza, former bearded and balding academic turned murderous immortal black-armored dictator, who gained control of Homeworld through the creation of the Body Banks, where life-extending brain transplants are performed on the rich and inhuman genetic alterations on the poor. Commander Arcturus Rann returned from a thousand-year deep space voyage in suspended animation with Biotron, his robot co-pilot on the ''HMS'' (Homeworld Micro Ship) ''Endeavor'', to discover Karza has slain the royal family, descendants of Rann's parents Dallan and Sepsis who are now worshiped as virtual gods. What follows is an epic war across the Microverse pitting Rann and his allies against Karza. In addition to Biotron, Rann's team of "Micronauts" includes Princess Mari of Homeworld, who, with her brother Prince Argon, are the only survivors of the slaughtered royal family of Homeworld. Known to the team as Marionette, she falls in love with Rann and leads the team on occasion. The alien gladiators Acroyear and Bug also join Rann's cause, and although completely different - one a noble armor-clad warrior prince and the other a wisecracking insectoid thief - the two become best friends and staunch allies of all Micronauts. The last member of the original team is Microtron, Mari's robot tutor. Although small, Microtron is a very resourceful

R2-D2 R2-D2 () or Artoo-Detoo is a fictional robot character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. He has appeared in ten of the eleven theatrical ''Star Wars'' films to date. At various points throughout the course of the films, R2, ...

-style character and very supportive of all team members. Warping through the Spacewall, an energy barrier between the Microverse and our much larger universe, and becoming trapped for a time on Earth where they enlarge to the size of

action figures An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are usually market ...

, the team encounter the to-them giant-sized Florida teenager Steve Coffin, his ex-astronaut father Ray (who is briefly transformed into the first

Captain Universe Captain Universe is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is the guardian and protector of Eternity. Rather than a character with a single identity, Captain Universe is a persona that h ...

), the

Man-Thing The Man-Thing (Dr. Theodore "Ted" Sallis) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writers Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and Gerry Conway and artist Gray Morrow, the character first appeared in ''S ...

and the evil cyborg scientist Professor Prometheus before returning to the Microverse. After a series of battles against Karza (who, among his many other powers, can turn into a

centaur A centaur ( ; grc, κένταυρος, kéntauros; ), or occasionally hippocentaur, is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse. Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as being ...

and fire his fists like rockets) and his genetically-engineered army of vicious and obedient Dog Soldiers, the Micronauts triumph and Karza is apparently killed. Rann is able to claim victory due to the possession of the Enigma Force - a semi-sentient power source that bonded with him during his period of suspended animation and appeared in the form of floating, glowing green entities known as the Time Travelers - which enables him to perform incredible feats. The team then encounters the superhero team the

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...

, who have traveled to a different region of the Microverse to battle the villain

Psycho-Man Psycho-Man is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Psycho-Man first appeared in '' Fantastic Four Annual'' #5 (Nov. 1967) and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Fictional cha ...

. Bug's love, Jasmine, is killed during the climax of the battle. It is shortly after this encounter that the Micronauts again become trapped on Earth, at a greatly reduced size. After encounters with the villains

Plantman Plantman is the name of two fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history The Samuel Smithers version of Plantman first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #113 and was created by Stan Lee, J ...

and

Molecule Man The Molecule Man (Owen Reece) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' #20 in November 1963 and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. He is often portrayed as a supervi ...

, the team battle

Mentallo Mentallo (Marvin Flumm) is a fictional supervillain, a mutant appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. After having been fired for cause after attempting a covert S.H.I.E.L.D. takeover, he has since operated as both a freela ...

and the Fixer, who have allied themselves with the organization HYDRA. Joined by one of Acroyear's people - Dagon - the team discovers that the villains and HYDRA are secretly under the control of Baron Karza, who is able to resurrect himself by placing his mind in Prince Argon's body. Argon was also converted to a cyborg centaur by the Body Banks, which combined him with his horse Oberon. Although the organization

S.H.I.E.L.D. S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage, special law enforcement, and counter-terrorism agency appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in ''Strange Tales'' #135 (August 1965), it often deals ...

and several representatives of the races of the Microverse help the Micronauts finally defeat Karza, the battle is costly. Biotron is destroyed by Dagon, who is revealed to be an agent of Karza; the Queen of Kaliklak, Bug's home planet, dies in battle; Rann is rendered comatose and Acroyear's traitorous

albino Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albino. Varied use and interpretation of the term ...

brother Prince Shaitan dies summoning the Worldmind - the parallel power to the Enigma Force that sustains their own home planet of Spartak. In desperation, Acroyear bonds with the Worldmind to defeat Karza, but in doing so destroys his world. While trying to awaken Rann, the remnants of the team have an encounter with the demon

Nightmare A nightmare, also known as a bad dream, Retrieved 11 July 2016. is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong emotional response from the mind, typically fear but also despair, anxiety or great sadness. The dream may contain situations of d ...

and accidentally discover that the Microverse is unraveling. A warning left in Rann's mind reveals that three keys will restore balance to the Microverse. The team embarks on a new quest across three new regions of the Microverse: Oceania, Polaria, and the Dead Zone. The Micronauts are eventually successful, and also acquire several teammates, including the bestial Devil and his companion Fireflyte and the robot Nanotron. A new problem arises when Prince Argon, turning tyrant after donning the sacred white armor of the legendary Force Commander, begins displaying paranoia regarding the Micronauts, and eventually sends a special alien Death Squad to kill them. The Micronauts defeat the unit, and then encounter the mutant Nightcrawler and battle a new foe called Huntarr. Huntarr had been genetically engineered into a virtually indestructible living weapon by Argon to destroy the Micronauts, but Marionette makes him see that Argon is simply using him. A war against Argon and his forces follows, with several beings from various locations in the Microverse - including Argon's ex-fiancee, the beautiful lowborn rebel leader Slug, and Prince Pharoid of Aegypta and his faithful lieutenant Margrave - joining the team in a bid to stop Argon. After several more encounters with beings such as the tyrant

Doctor Doom Doctor Victor Von Doom is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and first appeared in ''The Fantastic Four'' #5 in July 1962. The monarch of the fi ...

the heroine the

Wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...

, and the villain

Arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

, Microtron and Nanotron sacrifice themselves to reanimate Biotron's consciousness in the Micronauts' new vessel, the Bioship. Argon is finally revealed to be controlled by the spirit of Baron Karza, who returns once more. Karza kills Argon and deals the Micronauts a crushing defeat by killing Devil, Pharoid, Slug and Margrave. After regrouping and a series of skirmishes, the remaining Micronauts confront and defeat Karza once and for all.

''The Micronauts: The New Voyages''

Weary of war, the surviving Micronauts leave behind the known Microverse (which they discover looking back resembles a galaxy shaped like a DNA Helix) and embark on a journey of exploration. They eventually discover the true nature of the Microverse and, in a final act that restores their ruined world, sacrifice themselves in order to repopulate the planets.

Team members

* Acroyear - energy sword-wielding stoic and super-strong former ruler of the armor-clad Acroyears of the harsh and rocky planet Spartak. * Biotron - tall & stalwart first of the part machine, part organic roboids who accompanied Arcturus Rann on his 1,000 year mission. The loyal and dependable co-pilot of the ''H.M.S. Endeavor'' was destroyed and later resurrected in giant form as a sentient starcraft known as the Bioship. * Bug - a wisecracking master thief who is an antenna-headed green Insectivorid from the planet Kaliklak. Armed with his rocket-lance and as agile a wall-crawler as

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...

, Bug tends to "''tik''" when he talks and loves to eat snail-loaf. * Cilicia - mother of Acroyear's child and his former betrothed who turned against him when he was forced to destroy Spartak in order to keep it out of enemy hands. * Devil - highly intelligent and witty Beast-like member of a magenta red-furred race of savage cat-eared and dog-legged simioids from the jungles of Tropica on Homeworld. * Fireflyte - tiny singing sprite who is part of a glowing, butterfly-winged

fairy A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, ...

-like race which is linked to both the Enigma Force and the life cycle of Devil's species. * Huntarr - formerly the rebellious slum youth Iann-23 who was mutated in the Body Banks and brainwashed into attacking the Micronauts. After being freed from Prince Argon's mental control, however, he joined the team so he could get revenge for being turned into a faceless, metal-booted monstrosity with the bio-based ability to grow weapons or whatever else required out of his hideous and highly malleable

amber Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In Ma ...

-hued body. * Marionette - princess Mari, beautiful acrobatic rebel fighter who is the daughter of the slain rulers of Homeworld and sister of hero turned villain Prince Argon. * Microtron - Marionette's loyal little personal roboid whose clever computer brain and extendable pincer arms always come in handy. * Nanotron - small golden, one-eyed female roboid who served as Microtron's loving assistant. *Pharoid: Prince of Aegyptia (also known as Sand Zone) and keeper of the "star scepter". Loyal to the Micronauts' cause, he joins the fight to free all of the zones of the Homeworld. * Arcturus Rann - heroic explorer and rotor-winged Space Glider who returned from a 1,000 year mission only to find his world taken over by his former teacher, Karza, who had become a

Darth Vader Darth Vader is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the prequel trilogy. ''Star Wars'' creator George ...

-style despot while he was away. * Scion - metallic-skinned descendant of the mysterious Makers and Savior of the Microverse. Originally found as an egg which radiated enough energy to power a spaceship, he hatched into a grotesque big-brained

scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...

-like creature before first evolving into a handsome, winged humanoid and then into a powerful Prime Being whose every molecule would be reborn as an individual living being. * Solitaire - a highly manipulative Prime Being with both metamorphic and healing powers, she first took the form of a green-skinned Insectivorid version of the lovely blond Marionette in order to seduce Bug so that he would help her get on the team. Solitaire then turned herself into a sexy, scantily-clad version of Commander Rann's dark-haired mother Sepsis.

The Microns

Years later Arcturus, Marionette and Bug (all Marvel properties) reappear as a team called the Microns. They aid the mutant

Cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...

when the scientist

abducts the shape-changing

Copycat Copycat refers to a person who copies some aspect of some thing or somebody else. Copycat may also refer to: Intellectual property rights * Copyright infringement, use of another’s ideas or words without permission * Patent infringement, a v ...

. They battle Microverse inhabitant Baron Zebek of Aegyptus alongside the visiting super-team

Alpha Flight Alpha Flight is a fictional team of Canadian superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The characters premiered in ''The Uncanny X-Men'' #120 (April 1979), and were created to serve as part of the X-Men member Wo ...

and later assist Rick Jones and Captain Marvel during their adventures in the Microverse. In another largely untold tale, they also reteam with the X-Men against Baron Karza, who had recently been reborn, and his ally

Thanos Thanos is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by writer-artist Jim Starlin, and first appeared in '' The Invincible Iron Man'' #55 ( cover date February 1973). An Eternal– Deviant w ...

who seek to merge several of the sub-atomic universes. Arcturus Rann and Princess Mari became involved in the Psyklop invasion of K'ai,

Jarella Jarella is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Along with Betty Ross Banner and Caiera, she was one of the Hulk's great loves. The character was introduced in ''The Incredible Hulk'' vol. 2 #140 ...

's homeworld.

Other versions

* In 1997, Marvel accepted a proposed reboot of ''Micronauts'' as a new series written by Shon C. Bury, penciled by

Cary Nord Cary Nord is a Canadian comics artist. He has worked on series such as ''Daredevil (Marvel Comics series), Daredevil'', ''X-Men'', and ''Conan (Dark Horse Comics), Conan The Barbarian''. Throughout his career Nord has worked on books including ''S ...

and inked by Dan Green, using new character designs based on the original characters. Scripts were written for five issues and three issues were penciled, though Marvel was not granted the Micronauts license by the copyright holder, Abrams/Gentile Entertainment, forcing the series to be canceled. * The Micronauts play a role in Marvel's ''

Earth X ''Earth X'' is a 1999 comic book limited series published by American company Marvel Comics. ''Earth X'' was written by Jim Krueger with art by John Paul Leon. Based on Alex Ross' notes, the series features a dystopian version of the Marvel Uni ...

'' series.

Collected editions

The first five-issue story arc of the Image series have been collected into a trade paperback: * ''Micronauts Vol. 1: Revolution'' (112 pages, Image Publishing, June 2003, )

In other media

Action figures

From 2005, AGE gave permission for SOTA (State of the Art) Toys to produce redesigned Micronauts action figures as ''Micronauts Evolution'', with concept art by Randy Queen. SOTA president

Jerry Macaluso Gerald "Jerry" Macaluso (born July 12, 1967) is an American toy designer, sculptor, film producer, and entrepreneur. Early career Jerry Macaluso was born in Hartford, Connecticut and is the eldest of four siblings. At the age of 17, Macaluso e ...

expressed interest in a new comic based on the figures.

Animated television series

In 1998, AGE, Annex Entertainment, Gribouille and Kaleidoscope Media Group planned to produce a Micronauts animated series starting with a five-part miniseries to air on the

Sci Fi Channel Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...

in Fall of 1998, followed by a syndicated 26 episode Micronauts animated series for 1999, with action figures and a Marvel tie-in comic announced. The project appears to be shelved or canceled.

Boulder Media Boulder Media Limited is an Irish animation studio founded by filmmaker Robert Cullen in 2000. It is currently a subsidiary of Australian media company Princess Pictures. History Cullen founded Boulder Media in 2000. On 13 July 2016, it b ...

(a subsidiary of

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of ...

) planned to develop a new ''Micronauts'' animated series, but the project was delayed indefinitely as Hasbro sold Boulder Media to Australian media company Princess Pictures in 2022.

Films

Marvel Cinematic Universe

The Micronauts' homeworld the

makes a featured appearance in the film, ''

Ant-Man Ant-Man is the name of several superheroes appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby, Ant-Man's first appearance was in ''Tales to Astonish'' #27 (January 1962) but first appeared in costum ...

'' (2015). The dimension appears in a scene in which Scott Lang / Ant-Man goes subatomic in order to defeat the villain Darren Cross / Yellowjacket. Lang manipulates his suit to sabotage Darren's suit, and accidentally begins to continuously shrink into what

Hank Pym Dr. Henry Jonathan "Hank" Pym () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by penciller Jack Kirby, editor-plotter Stan Lee and writer Larry Lieber, the character first appeared in ''Tales to ...

calls the "

Quantum Realm Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, qua ...

". While within the microverse, Lang sees glimpses of Pym's long-lost, presumed to be dead wife Janet van Dyne / Wasp (who had previously gone subatomic to destroy a Soviet nuclear missile). Previously believed to simply be one of Pym's theories, Lang's entrance into the Microverse is a key plot point and hints at the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's ventures into alternate dimensions and realities being largely explored in ''

Doctor Strange Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as Sorce ...

'' (2016). Lang's escape from the dimension gives Pym hope that he may one day see his wife again. The realm appeared again in ''

Ant-Man and the Wasp ''Ant-Man and the Wasp'' is a 2018 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the characters Scott Lang / Ant-Man and Hope Pym / Wasp. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is th ...

'' (2018) where Hank Pym finds his wife again and is successful in his mission. In '' Avengers: Endgame'', Lang along with the team use the realm to travel back in time to get all 6 Infinity stones to reverse the effect from Thanos' snap.

Feature-film developments

* After Hasbro acquired the rights to the Micronauts toyline, Paramount Pictures in conjunction with

J. J. Abrams Jeffrey Jacob Abrams (born June 27, 1966) is an American filmmaker and composer. He is best known for his works in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. Abrams wrote and produced such films as '' Regarding Henry'' (1991), '' F ...

was in negotiations to develop a movie version of the franchise in 2009. The planned project made little progress, though in November 2015, Paramount said that it was still planning a ''Micronauts'' film adaptation. Later in December, both Hasbro and Paramount were planning a cinematic universe combining Micronauts with ''

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'', '' Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light'', ''

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'' and ''

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''. Several writers, such as

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, Lindsey Beer,

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, Jonathan Goldstein,

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joined to the writers' room in April 2016. In 2019,

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was attached to write and direct the film. By November 2020, Paramount removed the film from its release schedule.

Novels

The 2002 Image Comics relaunch was followed the same year by ''Micronauts: The Time Traveler Trilogy'', a collection of three paperback novels published by