Marvel’s premier super-team might need some crowdfunding soon.
Spoilers follow for Marvel’s Free Comic Book Day one-shot.
Secret Wars — the big event that’s going to change the Marvel Universe — doesn’t start until this coming Wednesday. But this year’s Free Comic Book Day saw the release of a comic that offers a few hints about things that are going to be different.
The giveaway marks the debut of the All-New, All-Different Avengers, featuring a line-up that was announced weeks ago. The team’s adventure — written by Mark Waid and drawn by Mahmud Asrar — only takes up a few pages but it’s got enough bread crumbs to tease a few big shifts from the current status quo.
The Guy Who’s Captain America Has Beef With the Guy Who Used to Be Captain America
Sam Wilson and Steve Rogers have been brothers-in-arms for ages. And when the former took over from the latter in the role of Marvel’s foremost patriotic superhero, it was with the WWII veteran’s blessing. But, the panel above any good feeling between the two seems to be a thing of the past. At least Steve’s still alive?
Tony Stark Isn’t Funding the Team
We don’t see the Avengers convening in a fancy headquarters or emerging from a Quinjet when the action starts. The reason probably ties in with Miles Morales’ chatter in the excerpt above, which indicates that the riches of multimillionaire Tony Stark aren’t available to this Avengers team. Is the genius who invented Marvel’s most famous suit of power armour even alive? I don’t think Miles would be so flip if Stark was dead but, then again, he didn’t know this universe’s version. See hint #3 below for more Armoured Avenger speculation.
We Don’t Know Who’s In the Iron Man Suit, But That Person’s a Founding Avenger
While there’s still a Captain America and a Thor on the team, they’re inheritors to heroic identities originated by others. The person inside the Iron Man appears to have the same thing going on, but also seems to the link to the legacy of previous Avengers team. From a plot construction standpoint, it’s definitely a clever move to have someone embodying Earth’s Mightiest History on a team full of teenage proteges. The identity of the man (or woman) in the red-and-gold armour will likely be one of the bigger mysteries of the post-Secret Wars Marvel Universe. Based on the speech patterns seen in this story, I’m going to guess it’s Rick Jones. He’s been a sidekick and a junior partner himself, making a good choice to help mentor more inexperienced team members.
A few other elements stood out in the All-New, All-Different Avengers story, like Vision’s nerfed power levels. If you picked this comic up and noticed other clues, mention them in the comments below.
Contact the author at evan@kotaku.com.
Comments
5 responses to “New Avengers Team Teases Big Changes In The Marvel Universe’s Future”
Isn’t Rick Jones still A-bomb in the Hulk comics or did they scrape that idea?
He and Betty were both depowered.
OK. Had missed that.
Not surprised about Rick being de-powered (that’s like he’s superpower in all honesty) but like R’shulkie.
Miss Marvel and Nova on the avengers? I’m sold.
The new kid Nova’s actually been an Avenger for a while now, pre-Secret Wars.
Also I don’t think it’s Rick Jones, because Iron Man says when “we” chose the name Avengers, so it has to be one of the founders, and given it’s not Cap, Thor, Pym, Hulk, or Wasp (given IM’s snarky comment about Wasp in the issue), I’m guessing it’s still Stark, but the “rebooted” Stark that we’re going to see at the end of the current Superior Iron Man story arc.