The New Avengers (comics)

The New Avengers^[1] is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team has been featured in two American comic book series. Written by Brian Michael Bendis, both series have depicted a group of superheroes that form a new version of Marvel's premiere super hero team, the Avengers.

Publication history

2005–2010

The New Avengers is a spin-off of the long-running Marvel Comics superhero-team series The Avengers. The first issue, written by Brian Michael Bendis and penciled by David Finch, and dated January 2005, 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 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, as opposed to the government-sanctioned team gathered in the sister series Mighty Avengers, launched in early 2007, which itself was supplanted by a different government-sanctioned team in the series Dark Avengers, launched in late 2008.

By the end of the first volume, the New Avengers team consisted of Luke Cage, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Captain America (Bucky Barnes), Ms. Marvel, Mockingbird, Spider-Woman, and team leader Ronin (the once-deceased Hawkeye, restored to life). Writer Brian Michael Bendis said in an interview that these characters are the authentic Avengers because Captain America said they were;^[2] this statement is repeated when the team, believing the presumed-dead Captain America 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.^[3] The series ended with The New Avengers #64 (April 2010), at the conclusion of the Siege storyline, with a New Avengers: Finale one-shot also being released.^[4]

Volume 2, 2010–present

In March 2010, Marvel announced the series would be relaunched in June 2010 as part of the company's rebranding initiative, "Heroic Age" . As of the first issue of the relaunched series, the new team consists of Luke Cage, Ms. Marvel, The Thing, Wolverine, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, Spider-Man, and Mockingbird.^[5][6] Wolverine and Spider-Man will be operating on the main Avengers team as well as the New Avengers,^[6] and Doctor Strange accepts an offer to join the team after their first mission while he searches for the new Sorceror Supreme after the death of Doctor Voodoo.^[7]

It has been announced that Daredevil will be joining the team in Issue 16.^[8]

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),^[9] 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, Spider-Man, and Iron Man, and assisted by a mentally unbalanced Sentry, who was also 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. All but Daredevil accept the offer to reform the Avengers as a result.

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, as is the 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 recruit the Sentry, a powerful hero who erased all memory of his career from the world after he was manipulated by the mutant Mastermind and his enemy the General.

Illuminati Approval

Unbeknownst to anyone, Tony Stark (Iron Man) seeks approval for the formation of the new team from the "Illuminati", a clandestine group of leaders in Earth's superhuman community formed shortly after the Kree-Skrull War. The group is composed of X-Men founder Professor Charles Xavier, sorcerer supreme Doctor Stephen Strange, Prince Namor of Atlantis, Reed Richards (Mister Fantastic) of the Fantastic Four, Inhumans monarch Black Bolt, and Stark himself.

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, controlled by the intelligence known as Xorn- who once posed as Magneto- and using energy-wielder Michael Pointer as a host, before 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 results 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 Goliath) 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) in the process before relocating 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).^[10][11][12]

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 (Hawkeye and later 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), Spider-Man, Ronin, Mockingbird, Luke Cage, Ms. Marvel,^[13] Wolverine and the real Spider-Woman. 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.^[14]

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 Spider-Man, Clint Barton (who has re-assumed the Hawkeye identity), Mockingbird, Wolverine, Jewel (Cage's wife Jessica Jones), Ms. Marvel, Iron Fist and the Thing (who maintains concurrent membership in the Fantastic Four). 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.^[6] 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-,^[15] the team later enlists a now-weakened Doctor Strange after he assists them in tackling a dimensional crisis following Hawkeye's departure. Squirrel Girl and Wong are hired as 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.^[7] 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,^[16] but subsequent conversations with Wolverine and Luke Cage, coupled with future solicitations of the series showing Spider-Man still present on upcoming covers,^[17] suggest that he is still an active member. After Fear Itself, the team lineup will be shifting, initially with the addition of Daredevil to the team.

Team roster

As of New Avengers (vol. 2) #16, the team consists of:

• Luke Cage
• Spider-Man (Peter Parker)
• Wolverine (James "Logan" Howlett)
• Iron Fist (Danny Rand-K'ai)
• Mockingbird (Bobbi Morse)
• Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers)
• Power Woman (Jessica Jones)
• The Thing (Ben Grimm)
• Doctor Strange (Stephen Strange)
• Daredevil (Matt Murdock)

Supervised by

• Captain America (Steve Rogers)
• Victoria Hand (liaison to Captain America)

Collected editions

The New Avengers has been collected in the following 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:

New Avengers Vol.2 (2010)

In other media

Video games

• In Marvel: Ultimate Alliance the New Avengers are considered a team bonus if the player has any combination of Captain America, Iron Man, Luke Cage, Wolverine, Spider-Man, and/or Spider-Woman 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 Man, Wolverine, Iron Fist, Ms Marvel, and/or Spider-Man.

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