New York Comic Con just witnessed a historic crossover between two cultural powerhouses: hip-hop and Marvel. Through his company Mass Appeal, hip-hop icon Nas has partnered with Marvel to launch Legend Has It…, a limited-edition comic book reimagining some of the greatest figures in rap as superheroes, Billboard reports.
The Legend Has It… comic series pays tribute to Nas & DJ Premier, Ghostface Killah, Mobb Deep, Raekwon, Big L, De La Soul, and Slick Rick. Written by Brandon Thomas (Black Lightning) and illustrated by Sanford Greene (Doom, Bitter Root), the comic weaves music, myth, and legacy into a single universe that celebrates the legends who built hip-hop.
“Working with Marvel on this comic is a celebration of Hip Hop and its legacy,” Nas said. “There’s a story we tell through our music, and watching that energy come to life in these pages is a tribute to the culture that shaped us and continues to inspire generations.”
Nas, who attended the New York Comic Con launch this past weekend alongside Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Slick Rick, DJ Premier, and De La Soul, said the moment was surreal.
“Being on the cover of a Marvel book with my guys and being from Queens makes me feel like Spider-Man,” he said.
For Nas, this collaboration isn’t just about nostalgia; it’s about legacy. Since his debut in 1991 and the release of his groundbreaking album Illmatic, Nas has made a career out of storytelling that amplifies both his peers and the pioneers before him. He’s now taking that same mission beyond music.
“In hip-hop music, you got different age groups, different cities, countries that have their own section of hip-hop all over the world,” Nas told Rolling Stone. “It’s finally become a global thing. And when I was a kid, ‘Is hip-hop global?’ was the question. Some of the grown-ups didn’t understand it or believe it would last. Not only did it last, it became a worldwide thing. So to play any part in it today, this year, 2025, is a dream come true.”
That dream extends beyond the pages of Legend Has It…. Mass Appeal is also rolling out a full album series under the same name, with releases from Slick Rick, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Mobb Deep, De La Soul, and a posthumous Big L record arriving on Halloween. A joint DJ Premier and Nas project is also on the way.
“You would think that was a sound that you no longer hear again, but that sound lives in all hip-hop music,” Nas said.
When asked how the collaboration with Marvel began, Nas explained it was born from lifelong fandom. “That’s another thing I think we just manifested being fans of Marvel, [which] has been a part of my life since I don’t even know when,” he said. “It kind of speaks to the writer in me who would read these things and it would spark my imagination and I would draw my own comic books and color and create the stories. I had a name, I can’t remember the name of my company. I was probably nine years old, 10 years old.”
He even shared that his favorite Marvel heroes growing up included Wolverine, Iron Man (“that’s Ghostface right there all day long”), Spider-Man, Magneto, and The Hulk. Those larger-than-life figures mirrored the kind of characters he saw in hip-hop, the ones who turned struggle into superpower.
“Artists, in a sense, are superheroes because they help people get through tough times,” Nas said. “They lift people up. It’s the music in the gym when people are becoming superheroes. I had a song called ‘Superhero Status,’ and it’s just [about] everybody has a superhero in them. They have to tap into it, reach that level of positivity.”
The project also celebrates those no longer here to see their impact, including Mobb Deep’s Prodigy and Big L. “Prodigy’s one of the best. It’s unfortunate that he’s not here because he was a presence in hip hop that was heavy. He still is,” Nas said. “Big L was always ahead of his time. It’s a reminder that when it comes to lyricists, Big L’s the standard. A lot of people are safe out there and rap because Big L’s not no longer around.”
Nas says the Legend Has It… series captures the spirit of the New York sound that shaped a generation. “It’s 1995 all over again. Sometimes I feel like 2025 has that feeling. It’s not going backwards, [it’s] going forward though. It’s that feeling of urgency, that vibration, the celebration of life and these songs and these albums, what they meant 30 years ago. It’s still thriving right now.”
He hopes the series will not only celebrate the culture but also inspire a new wave of creativity. “This series is to encourage [and] inspire hip hop and remind us all [of] the pureness of hip hop. I hope that we all can do this together,” Nas said.
The first issue of Legend Has It… debuted to a sold-out crowd at New York Comic Con and is now available at shop.massappeal.com. With the success of the launch, Nas is already thinking about the future, maybe new regions, maybe new stories. But for now, the mission is clear: to show the world that hip-hop’s greatest legends have always been superheroes.
Cover photo: Nas’ Mass Appeal & Marvel Unite for Epic Comic Book Series Honoring Hip-Hop Legends/Photo credit: Jonathan Mannion/Mass Appeal