It’s an Avengers World, and we’re just living in it. Literally!
That’s not just because the Avengers movie made a bajillion dollars (although it did). Or because the number of Avengers titles at Marvel Comics have been expanding (although they have).
It’s because in those comics, the Avengers have declared Earth an “Avengers World,” a term which has a specific meaning after recent events in a mega-story called “Infinity,” that had its own miniseries and affected the major Avengers titles. And to underscore that point, Avengers World the series launches with a first issue Jan. 8, with a second issue arriving later in the month.
Here’s the dillio: In Infinity, the Avengers showed their chops to the various galactic powers in a big-deal fight against a cosmic threat. In the process, they placed various planets under the team’s protection.
“We saw a number of Avengers Worlds during Infinity,” said long-time Avengers editor Tom Brevoort in an e-mail interview, “so it’s possible that we’ll revisit them at some point. However, the action in Avengers World will primarily center around Earth, though all across the globe.”
But as much as the concept arose organically, it will also serve as a release valve for the writer of franchise’s two main titles, Avengers and New Avengers. Jonathan Hickman, known for his intricate, big-concept stories, has been juggling a cast of more than 18 Avengers in those two titles, spread across the galaxy.
“The idea really originated with Infinity, and the toll that producing that series took on Jonathan,” Brevoort said. “He was already having to produce more scripts than he ever had before just to keep up with Avengers twice a month and New Avengers, so adding in Infinity atop that totally crushed him. Consequently, for a period of time after Infinity, we’re going to be slowing down our release schedule on Avengers to only one issue per month for awhile, until Jonathan can catch his breath.”
However, as the expression goes, the show must go on.
“In order for this to not derail our overall scheduling plans, and because the combination had worked out very effectively on Avengers #12-17,” Brevoort continued, “the idea came up of launching a second title, Avengers World, that Jonathan could oversee with Nick Spencer, and that would still allow us to release the same amount of Avengers as we had been. So the whole thing has been a new adaptation to the ongoing Avengers plan to take into account conditions on the ground – and the series has become much more heavily Nick’s as we’ve moved into it. He’s really the primary creator on this book from a writing standpoint.”
That’s a whole lot of editor-speak, but when you translate it, Avengers World will still be mostly a Hickman title. And it will give greater screen time to some newer Avengers that Hickman’s added to the team that haven’t had a chance to shine yet. Instead of Captain America, Thor and Iron Man on center stage, we’re likely to see a lot of Cannonball, Hyperion, Shang-Chi, Smasher, Starbrand and Sunspot.
“Avengers World will function as a sister title to Avengers,” Brevoort said, “using the same cast that’s in Jonathan’s main series, but focusing a little bit more heavily on the new faces that have come onto the team. It won’t be a clearing house for interactions among the assorted Avengers teams, though.”
Those are all characters that Hickman himself recently added to the team, who haven’t had room to shine yet. Apparently “Avengers World” will rectify that oversight.
And what will they be doing? It appears that in the initial storyline, Earth’s Mightiest will have to figure out what to do when our planet’s governments take exception to being under Avengers protection!
“The premise of the book is that it's the Avengers, doing big things, because it's an Avengers World now,” Brevoort said in a different interview on Marvel.com.
Speaking of big things, Avengers World is just part of a marketing push at the publisher called “All-New Marvel NOW!” Titles with that branding will not only include a code for a free digital copy of that same comic on the Marvel Comics app for iOS and Android devices, but will come with a code for the entire first collection of that series – for free!
If you’re an Avengers fan – and if you’re reading this article, that’s a good bet – then you might want to pick up Avengers #24.NOW, which will not only have the abovementioned codes, but play an important part in the franchise in the months to come. Other Avenging titles with the codes include Avengers #A.I.NOW (shipping Jan. 8), Guardians of the Galaxy 11.NOW (Jan. 29), Captain America #16.NOW (Feb. 5), Thor: God of Thunder #19.NOW (Feb. 14), Iron Man #23.NOW (Feb. 19) and Uncanny Avengers #18.NOW (March 26).
More information on All-New Marvel NOW! is available at www.marvel.com. Marvel is also tweeting about the campaign on Twitter with hashtag #MarvelNOW.
Contact Captain Comics at capncomics@aol.com.
Replies
So Avengers World is Justice League International except that they just declaring themselves "global protectors". That will work well. I'm sure Doctor Doom, Namor, Black Panther, the Soviets, the Chinese, the North Koreans, the Iranians and the rest will fall in line eventually!
Then come the intergalactic branches: The Avengers Corps!
Up next:
All-New Avengers
Fantastic Avengers
Obscure Avengers
Public Avengers
Friendly Neighborhood Avengers
Avengers of the Unknown
Monster Avengers
Avengers of Canada
The Walking Dead Avengers
You're joking, but All-New Avengers is in the pipeline, and yes, it will be the original five Avengers brought forward in time. That is such an amazingly awful idea, I'm sure they have a twist in mind. Brevoort jokes about it in his podcast on Marvel.com in a way that suggests that.
And apparently a big part of the first Avengers World storyline is that most folks do NOT go along with this idea, and I assume the USA is one of them. What country wants to cede sovereignty over their own self-protection to a group with no oversight?
All New Avengers sounds like what they've done with the X-men. At a guess I'd say that the nations of the world will fall in line or they'll be crushed.
Benevolently crushed of course.
You know what they say about good intentions ...
They make the heart grow fonder!
Captain Comics said:
I wonder how the X-men are going to feel about this? Can't imagine that Cyclops is going to be happy and people like Gyrich are going to claim this justifies all of their paranoia. Course I can also see Tony setting up California as his own kingdom and making the Playboy Mansion his private castle :) Man, guys like Doom must be really jealous to see the Avengers take over where he failed all those years.
A bird in the hand gathers no moss.
Travis Herrick (Modular Mod) said:
I was going to pass on this but I see that Stefano Casselli is on art duties. May have to pick it up now.....
Feels like the Avengers are trying to do what the LoSH did. If this 'concept' follows suit, there will be a variety of spin-off titles & crossovers, then there will be another meta-plot, with the usual side-stores then a tie-up & the spin-offs will be 'consolidated', then those will be cancelled too.
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