The New Avengers is a comic book published by Marvel Comics. The title has been used for three American comic book series. The first two were written by Brian Michael Bendis and depicted a version of Marvel's premiere superhero team, the Avengers. The third is written by Jonathan Hickman and depicts a group of characters called the Illuminati (formerly introduced in New Avengers Vol. 1 #7 [July 2005]).
Publication history
2005â€"2010
The New Avengers is a spin-off of the long-running Marvel Comics series The Avengers. The first issue, written by Brian Michael Bendis and penciled by David Finch, was dated January 2005 but appeared in November 2004. Finch penciled the first six issues and issues #11-13. Succeeding pencilers with multiple-issue runs include Steve McNiven, Leinil Francis Yu, Billy Tan, and Stuart Immonen. The roster at first comprises Luke Cage, Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man and "Spider-Woman" (Veranke). Later stretches included the mutant X-Man Wolverine, the unstable and godlike Sentry, and the deaf ninja Echo, in the guise of Ronin.
The team itself was not named the "New Avengers" within the series. A splinter group of Avengers that chose not to comply with federal superhuman registration, the team considers itself the authentic Avengers. A concurrent government-sanctioned team gathered in the sister series The Mighty Avengers. This series launched in early 2007 and was itself supplanted by a different government-sanctioned team in the series Dark Avengers, which was launched in late 2008. At this time the team welcomed Clint Barton (recently returned from the dead) as Ronin, as well as Doctor Strange and Iron Fist.
By the end of the first volume, the New Avengers team consisted of Luke Cage, Captain America (Bucky Barnes), Mockingbird, Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man, Spider-Woman (Drew), Wolverine, and team leader Ronin. Writer Brian Michael Bendis said in an interview that these characters are the authentic Avengers because Captain America said they were. This statement is repeated when the team, believing Captain America (Rogers) is alive, attempts to rescue him. Spider-Man claims that if they get Captain America back, they can call themselves Avengers again. Luke Cage contends that they are Avengers already. The series ended with The New Avengers #64 (April 2010), at the conclusion of the "Siege" storyline. A one-shot titled The New Avengers: Finale was also released.
Volume 2, 2010â€"2012
In March 2010, Marvel announced the series would be relaunched in June as part of the company's rebranding initiative, "Heroic Age" . In the first issue of the series, the new team consisted of Luke Cage, Victoria Hand, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, Mockingbird, Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man, The Thing and Wolverine. Wolverine and Spider-Man operated on the main Avengers team as well as the New Avengers, and Doctor Strange accepted an offer to join the team after their first mission while he searches for the new Sorcerer Supreme after the death of Doctor Voodoo. Daredevil joined the team in issue #16 after accepting an offer from Luke Cage and Jessica Jones. Jessica leaves the team for personal reasons and is later joined by Luke Cage, thus ending that iteration of the team.
Volume 3 (2013)
New Avengers was renumbered as a new volume in January 2013, written by Jonathan Hickman and originally drawn by Steve Epting. The new volume shifted its focus to the powerful group known as the Illuminati, which includes Black Bolt, Captain America, Doctor Strange, Iron Man, Mister Fantastic, and Namor, who reassembled to confront the threat of incursions. Black Panther and Reed Richards discovered that universal decay centered on Earth was causing universes to collide with one another, with Earth at the focal point. In issue #3, Black Panther, who had previously opposed the existence of the Illuminati, joined the group, and the Beast was brought in to fill the spot vacated by the death of Professor X. In the same issue, Captain America leaves. In issue #12, after having helped the Illuminati to defeat Thanos's army, Black Bolt's brother Maximus joined the team. Bruce Banner joined the team in Avengers Vol. 5 #28 after discovering the universal decay on his own.
Fictional team biography
Assembling the Avengers
Following a reign of destruction by an insane Scarlet Witch, the Avengers disband. Six months later, with the Fantastic Four and the X-Men unable to act, the supervillain Electro shuts down power at the Raft, a "maximum-maximum security" prison for super-powered criminals, allowing for a mass breakout. "Jessica Drew (Spider-Woman)", an agent for the international law-enforcement agency S.H.I.E.L.D., is at the Raft with attorney Matt Murdock (Daredevil) and "hero for hire" Luke Cage. They are joined by Captain America, Iron Man, and Spider-Man. They are also assisted by a mentally unbalanced Sentry, who is imprisoned at the Raft. The riot is quelled, although 42 inmates escape. Captain America declares fate has brought this group together, just as it had the original Avengers. Most of the heroes agree to join the team. Daredevil refuses the offer and Sentry is returned to his cell.
The team's first mission is to capture the remaining super-powered criminals who escaped during the riot. The unexpected emergence of an unrelated team of youthful heroes, the Young Avengers, is also a matter of concern. There is also a growing sense of unease with S.H.I.E.L.D. after the disappearance of its leader, Nick Fury. The New Avengers travel to the Savage Land to capture the reptilian mutant Sauron, encountering resistance from the Savage Land Mutates (led by Brainchild) and a rogue squadron of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents led by Yelena Belova. During this conflict, Canadian mutant Wolverine joins the team (while maintaining concurrent membership in the X-Men). The group also recruits the Sentry, a powerful hero who erased all memory of his career from the world after he was manipulated by the mutant Mastermind and The General.
House of M & The Collective
With Xavier unable to repair the fractured psyche of the Scarlet Witch, the New Avengers and Cyclops' team of X-Men consider the alternatives. Fearful that the heroes are preparing to kill his sister, former Avenger Quicksilver convinces her to use her reality-altering powers to transform the planet and its history. Instantaneously, Magneto rules the planet under the banner of the "House of M", with mutants in the majority and non-powered humans as an oppressed minority. Reality is eventually restored, but the Scarlet Witch removes the superhuman abilities from over 99% of the mutants on Earth. These lost powers manifest as the Collective, the assembled energy of the depowered mutants. This energy is controlled by the intelligence known as Xorn (who once posed as Magneto) and uses the energy-wielder Michael Pointer as a host. The Avengers manage to separate the two after the Collective/Xorn attempts to re-power Magneto.
Civil War
After the reckless actions of the New Warriors result in the deaths of over 600 civilians in Stamford, Connecticut, Congress passes the Superhuman Registration Act, which requires all superhumans to register with the federal government. Many superheroes comply with this law, but others oppose the law on the grounds that it violates civil liberties. This ideological split leads to a Civil War within the New Avengers and the superhuman community at large, with Iron Man leading those who comply with the law, and Captain America leading those who oppose it. By the time that open hostilities between the two factions come to a close, Spider-Man's closely guarded secret identity is exposed to the world, and Bill Foster (one of Henry Pym's successors as Giant-Man) is killed. Shortly thereafter, Captain America is seemingly assassinated.
Avengers Underground
In the aftermath of the superhero civil war, the New Avengers become an unofficial group of unregistered heroes. The team moves to Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum in Greenwich Village, recruiting the resurrected Clint Barton (now using the name and costume of Ronin). They eventually relocate to an empty apartment building owned by Danny Rand's (Iron Fist) Rand Corporation, but leased in the name of Samuel Sterns (the Leader, an adversary of the Hulk).
Secret Invasion
Following this, the New Avengers play a major role in repelling the "Secret Invasion" of Earth by the Skrulls, a shapeshifting alien race which has sought to conquer the planet for years. In one confrontation, the team rescues several heroes who had been kidnapped and replaced by Skrull impostors at various unspecified times in the past. This includes the presumed-dead Mockingbird, wife of Clint Barton (Ronin), with whom she reunites. Additionally, it is revealed that Spider-Woman was replaced by the Skrull queen Veranke, prior to the prison break at The Raft that led to the formation of the New Avengers. Thus, Jessica Drew had never been a member of the team.
Dark Reign
Upon the Skrulls' defeat, S.H.I.E.L.D. is dismantled and replaced by H.A.M.M.E.R., a new intelligence agency. Norman Osborn (who has been Spider-Man's archenemy as the Green Goblin) is placed in control of H.A.M.M.E.R. and the Thunderbolts, while assembling a team of Avenger imposters composed of supervillains. Meanwhile, the revamped New Avengers roster consists of Captain America (Bucky Barnes), Luke Cage, Ronin, Mockingbird, Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man, the real Spider-Woman and Wolverine. Captain America offers these "new Avengers" his home as a base of operations. Iron Fist announces he must leave the group to attend to personal business, but will remain on call. The team elects Ronin as leader (with Ms. Marvel as second-in-command), and persuades Spider-Man to once again reveal his secret identity to his fellow members.
Heroic Age
With the Registration Act having been revoked in the aftermath of the Siege of Asgard led by Osborn (who is incarcerated for his actions), Steve Rogers (the original Captain America, returned from his alleged death) reassembles the Avengers. Steve convinces a reluctant Luke Cage to be part of the new lineup after Tony Stark sells the reconstructed Avengers Mansion to Cage for a dollar, and Steve gives Cage carte blanche to maintain the New Avengers team, leading it as he sees fit. Given the freedom to recruit almost anyone he wants for the New Avengers team (except Iron Man or Thor), Cage selects Clint Barton (who has re-assumed the Hawkeye identity), Iron Fist, Jewel (Cage's wife Jessica Jones), Ms. Marvel, Mockingbird, Spider-Man, the Thing (who maintains concurrent membership in the Fantastic Four) and Wolverine. Rogers also sends him Victoria Hand on the grounds that she can provide the team with a unique insight from which Rogers feels they will benefit. Although Hawkeye leaves the team when a crisis comes up with the main Avengers team (claiming that he only joined them to spend time with his wife), the team later enlists a now-weakened Doctor Strange after he assists them in tackling a dimensional crisis. Squirrel Girl and Wong are hired as a super-powered babysitter for Cage's and Jewel's baby and mansion housekeeper respectively, although they do not serve directly on the main lineup of the New Avengers. Spider-Man appears to want to leave the team prior to the Fear Itself event due to his distrust of Victoria Hand and his new responsibilities in the Future Foundation, but subsequent conversations with Wolverine and Luke Cage convince him to remain an active member. After Fear Itself, the team lineup shifts, initially with the addition of Daredevil to the team and later with Jessica Jones leaving the team out of fear for her baby Danielle's safety.
Post AvX
Luke Cage leaves the team after the events of Avengers vs. X-Men to ensure the security of his wife and baby.
The remaining New Avengers band together with Doctor Strange when the Ghost of Daniel Drumm returns. He possesses each of the New Avengers and kills various evil sorcerers. Convinced that Daniel set his brother (Brother Voodoo) up to fail in his new role, Doctor Strange defeats him by using dark magic (recognizing that Drumm had only killed dark magic specialists while trying to frame Strange). As a result, Doctor Strange subsequently regains his position of Sorcerer Supreme.
Marvel NOW!
Under the Marvel NOW! label, a third volume of New Avengers was launched, written by Jonathan Hickman. With Hickman in charge of the entire Avengers line, New Avengers carried a parallel storyline to the main Avengers series. Rather than featuring a traditional team of Avengers, the book focused on the Illuminati. Black Panther joins Black Bolt, Captain America, Doctor Strange, Iron Man, Mister Fantastic, and Namor when faced with a universal threat. Beast joins the team as a replacement for the deceased Professor X.
Black Panther (comics) discovers a second Earth hanging above Wakanda and witnesses the Black Swan destroy the alternate Earth. Black Panther captures and imprisons the Black Swan and reforms the Illuminati. Using the Black Swan's information, Reed Richards discovers the threat of Incursions, a multiversal chain reaction causing universes to collide with one another, with Earth of every universe at the focal point, resulting in the destruction of both universes unless one Earth is destroyed, allowing the other to pass through. As the Illuminati considers darker and darker avenues to save the universe, Captain America's steadfast morals are put at odds with the other members of the Illuminati. Captain America is voted out of the group with a spell of forgetfullness cast by Dr. Strange.
Faced with the possibility of having to destroy a world, the scientists of the Illuminati set about building a number of weapons, including a number of antimatter injection bombs similar to the one used by the Black Swan, a Dyson Sphere designed to weaponize the sun, a Builder Worldkiller ship kept in Jupiter's orbit, and a rogue planet kept slightly out-of-phase with Earth. The Illuminati survived a number of incursions using these and other methods; at one near Liberty Island, Galactus ate the alternate Earth, and they used an antimatter bomb to destroy a dead Earth over Latveria. During the Infinity event, alternate-universe Builders destroyed an Earth for the Illuminati. The event ended with the defeat of Thanos's forces and the capture of Thanos and his generals Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive, all three of whom were imprisoned in amber by Thanos's son Thane. They joined the Black Swan and Terrax the Enlightened as Illuminati prisoners.
The members of the Illuminati became increasingly cut off from the outside community as a result of their actions. Namor's kingdom was destroyed by Proxima Midnight during Thanos's invasion, and Black Panther was cast out of Wakanda for his alliance with Namor, with whom his sister Shuri was at war. Black Bolt and his brother Maximus faked the Inhuman king's death following the destruction of the Terrigen Bomb to allow the Inhumans to rebuild separately from the Illuminati's machinations. Doctor Strange, feeling increasingly cut off from his scientist-dominated colleagues, decided to empower himself to perhaps be able to solve the incursions, and so used the Blood Bible to travel to the Sinner's Market, where he sold his soul in exchange for godlike power. Upon discovering multiversal decay on his own after meeting an alternate version of himself, Bruce Banner confronted Tony Stark about what he'd been doing, and Stark brought him in as a member of the Illuminati.
Faced with a number of multiversal groups also trying to survive the incursion crisis - the faceless sorcerers the Black Priests, the adaptoid robots the Mapmakers, and the mysterious Ivory Kings - the Illuminati built a device to allow them to view other Earths' pasts so they could see how incursions there were handled. They learned about Mapmakers and Black Priests, but also discovered that the Black Swan had teamed up with alternate Illuminati groups in the past, and had even killed alternate versions of Iron Man and Reed Richards when they were no longer useful. Just before the team could confront Black Swan about her deception, another incursion occurred, this time pitting the Illuminati against the Great Society, a team of heroes which, like the Illuminati, had thus far fought off incursions to save its world.
Team roster
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Collected editions
The New Avengers has been collected in the several trade paperbacks. They were released as hardcover editions previously.
New Avengers Vol.1 (2005)
The New Avengers has also been collected in the following hardcovers:
'The New Avengers has also been collected in the following Marvel Omnibus:
New Avengers Vol. 2 (2010)
New Avengers Vol. 3 (2013)
In other media
Television
- The New Avengers are featured in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes episode "The New Avengers." In the show's continuity, the New Avengers were assembled by Tony Stark as part of a fail-safe program in his computer systems to ensure the world would still have heroes in the event that the Avengers were ever killed. The team consisted of Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Spider-Man, Thing, War Machine, and Wolverine. They were bought together by Iron Man's computers to oppose Kang the Conqueror's attempt at world conquest after he trapped the original Avengers in a temporal void. While the others were being a diversion to Kang, Spider-Man manages to deactivate Kang's time machine. Once the Avengers were freed from the temporal void, they helped the New Avengers to repel Kang, who is sent to an unknown time.
- The members of the team later appear in the series finale "Avengers Assemble", where they join the main Avengers team and many other allies to repel Galactus' attack. Spider-Man, War Machine and Iron Fist join Captain America and Quake in battling Terrax, Wolverine, Thing, Human Torch, Wasp and Hawkeye take on Stardust, and Luke Cage teams up with Thor, Black Widow, Falcon, and Vision against Air-Walker.
Video games
- In Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, the New Avengers are considered a team bonus if the player has any combination of Luke Cage, Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Spider-Woman and/or Wolverine on a team.
- In Spider-Man: Web of Shadows, Wolverine fights Spider-Man because of Spider-Man's black suit. To prove that he is still himself, Spider-Man is asked a series of questions by Wolverine including "who turned down the offer to join the New Avengers" (the answer being Daredevil).
- In Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, the New Avengers are considered a team bonus if the player has any combination of Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Iron Man, Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man and/or Wolverine.
Prose Novel
- The Breakout storyline seen in New Avengers Issues #1 to #6 was adapted into a prose novel in January 2013 as part of the Marvel Prose Novel series and was written and adapted by comic writer Alisa Kwitney. It is significantly altered to feature Hawkeye and Black Widow as the main featured characters due to their appearance and relationship seen in the Avengers movie, replacing Sentry and Wolverine with them for the story. Barton is depicted as an agent of SHIELD as in the movies, whilst Natasha is shown as a rogue agent who ties are unclear. As One More Day had transpired in the comics with the removal of the Peter Parker-Mary Jane marriage the reasons for Spider-Man's initial involvement is also altered. Jessica Drew and Luke Cage are retained as significant characters and are introduced to a new audience as a result. Jessica's ties to HYDRA are also included. The characters refer to the breakup of the original Avengers but the reasons why are never explained.
References
External links
- The New Avengers at the Grand Comics Database
- The New Avengers at the Comic Book DB
- The New Avengers at Marveldatabase.com
