In the final part of Dan’s odyssey through the history of The Avengers we arrive in the present with a quick look at recent adaptions and of course, the big release of The Avengers Assemble next month.
This decade started with Siege, a storyline that threw Norman Osborn out of power and put the Avengers back in their rightful place; Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. It was dubbed by Marvel as the “Heroic Age” and saw the creation of no less than four Avengers titles in 2010. New Avengers continued to showcase Luke Cage’s team, whilst three new titles boasted something for everyone.
If you wanted big bombastic action then Avengers is your thing. Uniting the three big names Captain America, Iron Man and Thor this book continues the tradition of big threats and roster changes (recently Storm of the X-Men has joined the team). Secret Avengers deals with a covert group of Avengers as they deal with threats before they happen.
Then there’s Avengers Academy, which continues on from Avengers: The Initiative’s remit of teaching the next generation of Avengers. Although there has been one big event (Fear Itself) the Avengers continue on and this summer Marvel boasts the biggest event they’ve had in a while as The X-Men come to blows with The Avengers in AvX.
But possibly the bigger milestone for the Avengers in this decade is their transition onto both the big and small screen. Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes (2010) is a popular new animated show, which has benefitted from Disney’s purchase of Marvel. It’s a mixture of all eras of the show and it returns for a seconds season on April 1st. Check it out if you’re a fan or superhero fun.
Avengers excitement will hit fever pitch as The Avengers (or Avengers Assemble if your in the UK) hits our screens late April (UK get it first). Bringing together Captain America, Iron Man and Thor together on the big screen is an ambitious project for Marvel and we here on TQS are looking forward to it. Expect a review and more features soon. In the meantime catch on up on the complete history of The Avengers feature.
Dan Cole