Having established his reputation as an emerging talent with his work on Last of the Independents, Matt Fraction launched the critically acclaimed Immortal Iron Fist with co-writer Ed Brubaker and artist David Aja. He subsequently collaborated with artist Salvador Larrocca on Invincible Iron Man, premiering the same month as the blockbuster film. Also a talented filmmaker and graphic designer, Fraction became one of Marvel's most popular writers. His credits include Uncanny X-Men, Thor and its successor The Mighty Thor, the blockbuster Fear Itself, and the relaunched Defenders. Fraction teamed with David Aja for the Eisner Award-winning Hawkeye. Beyond Marvel, his acclaimed creator-owned work includes Sex Criminals, Casanova, ODY-C and November. Working for the Marvel UK imprint led Spanish artist Salvador Larroca to a regular gig on Ghost Rider. He graduated to Fantastic Four, alongside one of his favorite writers, Chris Claremont.

From 2000 to 2006, Larroca depicted Marvel's mutants across Uncanny X-Men, X-Men and X-Treme X-Men. Following a stint on Amazing Spider-Man, Larroca brought his maturing style to a lengthy run on Invincible Iron Man and the X-Men: No More Humans original graphic novel. Upon the return of Star Wars to Marvel, Larroca turned to the dark side with Darth Vader before taking on the flagship Star Wars title.