Marvel will turn its heroes and villains upside down in AXIS. Avengers and X-Men will unite against the threat of the Red Skull. In a preview for Act Two: Inversion, classic villains fight for redemption and some heroes appear to have gone to the dark side.
Characters playing the role of hero, villain and every shade in between make for compelling stories that make us cheer, swoon and declare, “Nooooooo!”
Inspired by Rick Remender’s “recalibration of the moral compass” of our favorite icons in the upcoming event here are mighty Marvel heroes who went from villain to hero.
Writer Rick Remender, Executive Editor Tom Brevoort and Editor Daniel Ketchum faced the fans in a Marvel Liveblog over the death of two fan-favorite Avengers and an X-Man and what’s next for the team.
SPOILER WARNING!
If you have not read Uncanny Avengers #14 you may not want to keep reading.
The time-twisting, multiple super villain packed epic reached what might be the biggest WTF moment of the year! Let’s just make a new acronym: WTFRR?
Rick Remender again shows why he’s one of the most ambitious, relentless and crazy comic book writers out there in Uncanny Avengers #14 which just hit shelves and is blowing minds.
Artist Steve McNiven joins Remender for this pivotal chapter of Ragnarok Now and captures every brutal fight, cosmic effect and most importantly, the emotional moments, especially Wolverine in a brutal confrontation with his resurrected son Daken.
Let’s recap:
An Avengers Unity Squad was formed to heal the bad blood between Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and mutants after Avengers vs X-Men.
Brett Dalton as Agent Grant Ward in MARVEL’S AGENTS OF SHIELD courtesy Marvel
Watching the latest Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I started thinking of Brett Dalton as a famous Avenger.
In the latest episode an Asgardian artifact makes Agent Grant Ward relive a long buried painful memory and unleashed surges of raw power and adrenaline fueled punches.
When you look at the roster on the cover of this week’s Uncanny Avengers #5 you might think that’s an odd bunch – that’s kinda the point. This is the Avengers Unity Division. In the aftermath of Avengers vs. X-Men and murder of Professor Xavier, Captain America and Wolverine forged a new team made of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and the Children of the Atom. The team could barely unite when the reborn Red Skull emerged with the power of Professor X’s stolen mutant brain.
The first arc centered on rebirths. This issue begins with a birth (two to be exact.) Rick Remender weaves threads of his Uncanny X-Force epic and twisting it with the schemes of a classic Avengers villain. Marvel revealed this super group will face Apocalypse and Kang in the next arc. This is how it begins.
Next week is huge for old school Avengers fans! Wonder Man and Wasp join Uncanny Avengers. Sunfire (sporting his old school X-Men uniform) also joins the super team made of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes Continue reading Uncanny Avengers by Olivier Coipel!
Rick Remender launched Uncanny Avengers and said goodbye to Uncanny X-Force and Secret Avengers. Uncanny Avengers was the first book in the Marvel Now relaunch featuring a team of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and Children of the Atom. How will the events of his previous series affect those characters who are now part of the Uncanny Avengers?
“For my part, Uncanny Avengers is almost the inverse of Uncanny X-Force, but it’s a continuation in a lot of ways. You’ll be fine as a new reader to read Uncanny Avengers, because I’ll make sure and set everything up, but I’ll be frank — if you’ve read X-Force, Uncanny Avengers is going to be a much richer read for you, because when you see characters popping up from “The Dark Angel Saga” — while I’ll explain them to new readers — I can’t give the same level of depth and context as if you had read the book. One of those things is obviously dealing with Wolverine’s part in the “Dark Angel Saga,” and what happened with Warren and Evan, but also dealing with the ramifications emotionally of Wolverine’s state of mind after what happened with Daken. That’s not something I plan on leaving in the past. To me, that’s the new defining moment for what’s going to haunt Wolverine, and haunt his decisions. That’s definitely something that I’ll continue to be building on,” Remember told Comics Newsarama.
Uncanny Avengers #5 courtesy Marvel
Havok, Thor, Captain America, Scarlet Witch and Rogue will be joined by Sunfire, Wasp and Wonder Man in issue 5. The writer reveals why these old-school favorites made the cut.
“I knew I wanted Sunfire. With Deadpool, I had the opportunity to write insanity on a team; and with Fantomex, I got to write that suave, sort of aloof, sarcastic dick. But with Sunfire I get to write an unmitigated, unapologetic, asshole. But a hero. A guy who’s going to put his life on the line — but a guy who’s been through hell. I really think Sunfire should have been one of the original cast members of X-Force, given all he’s been through. He’s been mind-twisted, he’s been a Horseman, he’s been a Marauder… he’s just been a mess. And it was all because he never joined the X-Men. He was always on the fringes. He was never a joiner. And he still wouldn’t be, but for the Avengers, there is a prestige to that, and that prestige to have a representative from Japan take a spot on this worldwide force for good. He’s a character who likes his honor, and his ego is definitely something that’s always in play.”
Remender has confirmed that Kang and Apocalypse will be the villains of the second arc: Ragnarok Now.
For the entire interview here’s the Comics Newsarama link. Thanks to the always insightful Albert Ching.
End Times are in sight as Brian Michael Bendis leaves the Avengers family for the Children of the Atom. The End begins with the return of an Avengers turned enemy.
Avengers #31 is the penultimate issue of the end of the Bendis era. Comics Newsarama shared this preview art featuring the return of Simon Williams. Wonder Man formed The Revengers, attacked the team, trashed the mansion and tower.
Does Simon’s return mean a new attack or an effort to heal old wounds?
In an earlier interview Bendis told Marvel.com this final storyline meant a change in the status quo.
“Well, many years have gone by. This status quo has been around for eight years. It’s quite a lengthy amount of time for any status quo in any comic of any company. So it’s certainly a good time for me to wrap up certain story-lines, to make my final statement on some of these characters. Some characters will be moving on to a new chapter in their life, and other characters will be deciding what it means to be an Avenger. Not all the characters will survive this last story.
I’m losing some babies. I’m losing some characters that mean the world to me. So when you add up all the elements that I just described, that is the status quo change. A lot is going to happen in the next four issues. Some great celebratory things, some tragic things, all setting the stage for my friend Jonathan Hickman, who has his own status quo to try to achieve. I’m going to do the best I can to make that happen,” he told Marvel.com .
