This week Marvel alerted retailers to the fact that something is going to take place in Astonishing X-Men #51 for which the nation’s largest comic book publisher has "secured mainstream coverage both on-air and in print for something that has never been seen in the pages of a Marvel comic before… This will be an event that will have worldwide mass-media attention driving customers to your stores. Because of the nature of the event and the promised mass media break, we cannot say who will be tying the knot, but we promise that it will send shockwaves through the nation."
A month ago Marvel began its campaign for the marital event in Astonishing X-Men #51 with a "Save the Date' teaser poster sent to comic industry publications. But of course the mainstream press hype will come much closer to the actual publication. Speculation on what sort of nuptials will be included in Astonishing X-Men #51 has largely focused on a same sex union between Northstar and his friend Kyle (see "Who's Getting Hitched in 'Astonishing X-Men' #51"). If this is indeed what is going to take place in Astonishing X-Men #51, this would certainly be a first for Marvel, though Archie Comics of course managed to depict the first gay marriage in mainstream comics (see "Gay Marriage in 'Life With Archie'").
