The Avengers franchise is what made Marvel Studios the completely dominant force in comic based entertainment. The way they streamlined Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and other characters into an expansive universe that also includes television shows like Daredevil and Agents Of SHIELD is something that has never been achieved before in motion picture entertainment. The Avengers continuity, even without including the individual characters is supremely daunting. So, I’ve put together a chronology of some of the best Avengers related books that are currently or were recently available in collected editions (the recently available are still around for pretty cheap on various online outlets and in bookstores) into eleven! TV seasons. Ten seasons of Avengers took us up to the end of Marvel 616 continuity, and a little beyond. The new Marvel Universe, though it's certainly had as many missteps as the previous universes, has a number of really fun series, and they come together to form a whole season of Marvelly goodness. Check out a new team for a more fun generation. Not your racist-ass uncle's stale-ass Avengers. Art by Humberto Ramos Avengers Season 11: Champions (Showrunners: Mark Waid, G Willow Wilson, and Ryan North) Episode 1: Ms Marvel No Normal, Ms Marvel Generation Why, Ms Marvel Crushed
written by G Willow Wilson, art by Adrian Alphona, Jacob Wyatt, and Takeshi Miyazawa Kamala Khan is just your average superhero superfan until the Terrigen mists fall to Earth and she becomes a superhero. Initially patterning her costume and appearance after Carol Danvers, she eventually becomes her own hero, interacting with the old school heroes of te Marvel Universe. New Normal. 1 episode Episode 2: Nova Rookie Season, Nova Corpse written by Sean Ryan, art by Cory Smith and John Timms That upstart Nova kid who showed up in season 8 has finally been reunited with his father. Surely his life is going to get easier as his dad was a Nova Corps member, too, and will surely help him understand how to balance his superhero identity with his regular one. Rookie Season. 1 episode Episode 3: Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Squirrel Power, Squirrel You Know It's True written by Ryan North, art by Erica Henderson Doreen Green came from the mostly unnoticed Great Lakes Avengers but she eventually became a low-key assistant to The Avengers. She didn't fight much. She mainly did some babysitting and housesitting, and now she's going away to college to live a normal life of talking to squirrels and trying to keep out of trouble. But trouble keeps finding her, and she keeps kicking its tail. Squirrel You Know It's True. 1 episode Episode 4: Totally Awesome Hulk Cho Time written by Greg Pak, art by Frank Cho The kid genius from World War Hulk is now The Hulk! Where's Banner? Don't worry about it. Amadeus Cho is a very smart Hulk who goes around the world in a flying food truck, fighting kaiju and being very much a teenager. Totally Awesome Hulk. 1 episode Episode 5: Mighty Thor Thunder In Her Veins written by Jason Aaron, art by Russel Dauterman Jane Foster became Thor just before Secret Wars. She has different and seemingly cooler talents with Mjolnir than the Odinson did. But every time she becomes Thor, the chemotherapy she's been taking to battle her cancer is undone. Is she willing to destroy her life to save the world? Thunder In Her Veins. 1 episode Serial 1: All New All Different Avengers Magnificent Seven, Ms Marvel Super Famous written by Mark Waid, art by Adam Kubert and Mahmud Asrar Nova, Ms Marvel, the new Thor, Spider-Man (Miles Morales from The Utimate Universe), Captain America (Sam Wilson), and Iron Man (boring old Tony Stark) are the new face of The Avengers. A team that will undoubtedly stay together forever and ever. All New All Different. 2 episodes. Episode 8: The Ultimates Start With The Impossible written by Al Ewing, art by Kenneth Rocafort Carol Danvers runs The Avengers' cosmic arm, deciding to use new tactics to solve the recurring problems of the Marvel Universe. Outside The Box. 1 episode Episode 9: Avengers Standoff, All New All Different Avengers Family Business written by Nick Spencer, Al Ewing, Gerry Duggan, and Mark Waid, art by Jesus Saiz, Mark Bagley, Ryan Stegman, and Mike Norton Old and new Avengers alike team up when Maria Hill from SHIELD reveals an entire city of imprisoned supervillains. Much of this is a setup for Captain America storylines we won't be following, but it's also an interesting teamup and lays the groundwork for the next serial. Pleasant Hill. 1 episode Episode 10: Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Squirrel You Really Got Me Now, I Kissed A Squirrel And I Liked It written by Ryan North, art by Erica Henderson Marvel Universe's most fantastic squirrel-powered hero uses computer science and wackiness to take down some of the biggest villains in the Marvel Universe. I Kissed A Squirrel And I Liked It. 1 episode. Episode 11: Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur BFF, Cosmic Cooties written by Amy Reeder, art by Brandon Montclare With Reed Richards being MIA since Secret Wars, the smartest person in The Marvel Universe is....a fourth grader named Lunella Lafyette. Worried about becoming an Inhuman due to the Terrigen Mists that transformed Kamala Khan into Ms Marvel, Lunella creates an invention that beckons The Devil Dinosaur into her time. Awesomeness ensues. Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur. 1 episode Serial 2: Civil War II, Ms Marvel Civil War II, Ultimates Omniversal, All New All Different Avengers Civil War II written by Brian Michael Bendis, G Willow Wilson, Mark Waid, Faith Erin Hicks, and Al Ewing, art by David Marquez, Takeshi Miyazawa, Veronica Fish, and Christian Ward Carol Danvers has found an Inhuman who can predict possible futures and she's using him to try and stop problems before the occur. Unsurprisingly, this creates different problems and turns hero against hero. Again. Predictive Texts. 3 episodes Episode 15: Totally Awesome Hulk Civil War II written by Greg Pak, art by Alan Davis Is the biggest moment in Civil War II Amadeus Cho's fault? Plus, where was Banner during the period between Secret Wars and Civil War II? Fault Lines. 1 episode Episode 16: Vision Little Worse Than A Man, Vision Little Better Than A Beast written by Tom King, art by Gabriel Hernandez Walta and Michael Walsh In his quest to be more human, Vision creates a family. Because he didn't learn the lesson of House Of M. Stupid android. This time, he fails to help create a false reality that ruins his friends' lives, and, instead, might have ruined his own and those of his new family. Suburban Glamour. 1 episode Serial 3: Champions Change The World, Nova Resurrection, Totally Awesome Hulk Big Apple Showdown written by Mark Waid, Jeff Loveness, and Greg Pak, art by Humberto Ramos, Ramon Perez, and Luke Ross The younger faction of The All New All Different Avengers goes rogue. Enough with those stale-ass old Avengers. Most of them are dead, depowered or irrelevant now anyway, right? Change The World. 2 episodes Episode 19: Invincible Iron Man Ironheart written by Brian Michael Bendis, art by Stefan Caselli With Tony Stark either missing or dead after Civil War II, his most recent mentee, Riri Williams dons her own armor to become the new Iron Man of the Marvel Universe. Ironheart. 1 episode Episode 20: Occupy Avengers Taking Back Justice written by David F. Walker, at by Carlos Pacheco Since his role in Civil War II, Clint Barton has become a political touchstone, and he's decided to use his newfound anti-hero fame to do some damn good for those without superpowers. Hawkguy's First Stand. 1 episode Season 11 manages to also be 20 episodes! Season 12 will exist, probably in 2018 or so, with more stories of Kate Bishop, Jen Walters, Patsy Walker Hellcat, and The Champions! And maybe by then Avengers and New Avengers will be interesting enough to return to my chronology.
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The Avengers franchise is what made Marvel Studios the completely dominant force in comic based entertainment. The way they streamlined Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and other characters into an expansive universe that also includes television shows like Daredevil and Agents Of SHIELD is something that has never been achieved before in motion picture entertainment. The Avengers continuity, even without including the individual characters is supremely daunting. So, I’ve put together a chronology of some of the best Avengers related books that are currently or were recently available in collected editions (the recently available are still around for pretty cheap on various online outlets and in bookstores) into ten TV seasons. Now that all the superheroes are forced to register with the government, there’s a whole new status quo. Tony Stark is the head of SHIELD, and each state has their own team of superheroes. Truly, then, NOW is a great time to be a superhero, right? As long as you’re registered? Also, I’m avoiding The Death Of Captain America storyline because, while I thought his death was handled well, his return was so ridiculous, that it’s much more fun to think he’s in hiding for a bit than “traveling through memories” or whatever he was doing while the Marvel Universe thought he was dead. Get behind me, suckas. art by Jim Cheung Season 4: The Initiative (showrunners: Brian Michael Bendis and Dan Slott) Episode 1: Civil War Front Line Book 2
(written by Paul Jenkins, art by Ramon Bachs and Steve Lieber) Sally Floyd and Ben Ulrich at The Daily Bugle have ethical problems with the way Civil War is/was being reported and struggle with journalistic integrity. But, more interestingly, Speedball, whose actions caused The Civil War tries to cope with his survivor’s guilt and creates a whole new persona: Penance. Front Line. 1 episode Episode 2: Iron Man Director Of SHIELD (written by Daniel and Charles Knauf, art by Roberto De La Torre) Tony Stark is the new Nick Fury. How is he going to handle it.? The New Fury. 1 episode Serial 1: She-Hulk Planet Without A Hulk (written by Dan Slott, art by Rick Burchett) She-Hulk is now a registered agent of SHIELD and she might be having a fling with the new director. After the Hellicarrier is attacked by a bunch of Nick Fury Life Model Decoys, she discovers a clue as to why her giant green cousin is missing. That’s probably going to cause some friction with Director Stark She-Hulk Agent Of SHIELD. 2 episodes Episode 5: The Irredeemable Ant-Man (written by Robert Kirkman, art by Phil Hester and Cory Walker) One of Tony Stark’s SHIELD agents just got his hands on Hank Pym’s new Ant-Man suit, and he has no ambition to save the world with it. The Irredeemable Ant-Man. 1 episode Episode 6: Elektra The Hand (written by Akira Yashida, art by Christian Gossett) Daredevil’s ex has an extensive history with The Hand. This story just innocently checks in with her and he life among the Ninja clan. That’s all. There’s nothing foreshadowed in this episode at all. The Hand. 1 episode Episode 7: The Mighty Avengers Ultron Initiative (written by Brian Michael Bendis, art by Frank Cho) Carol Danvers is the new leader of The Avengers. And the official Avengers team has big problems because there’s a new Ultron in town. Stupid Hank Pym. The Mighty Avengers. 1 episode Episode 8: The New Avengers Revolution (written by Brian Michael Bendis, art by Leinel Francis Yu and Alex Maleev) Captain America’s team has to go underground to avoid the superhuman registration act but The Mighty Avengers do end up finding them and it’s Avengers vs. Avengers. Underground. 1 issue Episode 9: Avengers The Initiative Basic Training (written by Dan Slott, art by Stefano Caselli) Tony Stark’s Initiative means fifty teams of Avengers in fifty different states. Yellowjacket, She-Hulk, and War Machine teach some new recruits how to be Avengers. Basic Training. 1 episode Episode 10: Young Avengers Presents (written by many authors, art by many) Check out where The Young Avengers are in the post Civil War Marvel Universe. Coping Mechanisms. 1 episode Serial 2: Thunderbolts Faith In Monsters, Penance Relentless, Thunderbolts Caged Angels (written by Warren Ellis and Paul Jenkins, art by Mike Deodato JR and Paul Gullacy) A team full of supposedly reformed villains, along with Penance (formerly Speedball) work under the direction of Norman Osborne (formerly The Green Goblin) to solve problems in The Marvel Universe. The Thunderbolts team has actually been around for quite a while, but they really shine under Ellis’s direction. Penance. 4 episodes Episode 15: Mighty Avengers Venom Bomb (written by Brian Michael Bendis, art by Mark Bagley) A virus that turns normal people into symbiotes like Venom hits New York City, and it’s up to The Avengers to figure out a way to stop it. Plus, Tony gets a little green present in a bag. Venom Bomb. 1 episode Episode 16: Avengers The Initiative Killed In Action (written by Dan Slott and Christos Gage, art by Stefano Caselli, Clayton Henry, Steve Uy, Salvador Larroca, Tom Feister, and Patrick Sherberger) More training for the new cadets. But being a good guy ends up being fatal for some team member. Also, there’s been a thread running through almost all of this season. What is going on with Skrulls? Taskmaster. 1 episode Episode 17: New Avengers The Trust (written by Brian Michael Bendis, art by Leinil Francis Yu) Skrull. Problems. Plus, The Hood has designs on being the next Biggest Bad in The Marvel Universe. How will The Underground Avengers team keep him from rising to the top? The Trust. 1 episode Episode 18: New Warriors Defiant, New Warriors Thrashed (written by Kevin Grievoux, art by Paco Medina, Reilly Brown, and Joe Malin) There’s a new New Warriors team. Why? Since Civil War, that’s a super loaded team name. But this group of youngish familiar heroes in new costumes is out to help fight crime, even though they don’t appear to be registered. New New Warriors. 1 episode Serial 3: World War Hulk, World War Hulk Gamma Corps (written by Greg Pak and Frank Tieri, art by John Romita JR and Carlos Ferreira) This is not the green invaders from space we’ve been building up to all season long? Why is The Hulk back? And who are The Gamma Corps? Invasion. 2 episodes Season 4 is 20 misdirect episodes long. Don’t worry, we get back to the other green space problem next season. The Avengers franchise is what made Marvel Studios the completely dominant force in comic based entertainment. The way they streamlined Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and other characters into an expansive universe that also includes television shows like Daredevil and Agents Of SHIELD is something that has never been achieved before in motion picture entertainment. The Avengers continuity, even without including the individual characters is supremely daunting. So, I’ve put together a chronology of some of the best Avengers related books that are currently or were recently available in collected editions (the recently available are still around for pretty cheap on various online outlets and in bookstores) into ten TV seasons. Last season ended with The Scarlet Witch’s nervous breakdown nearly taking down the entire Avengers roster. We start this season with them tracking her down, not to hurt her but to figure out if they can help her. We’re kidding. Without macguffins, Bendis stories would never resolve. art by Olivier Coipel Season 3: The New Avengers (showrunner: Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Millar) Serial 1: New Avengers Breakout, Spider-Man Breakout
(written by Brian Michael Bendis and Tony Bedard, art by David Finch and Manuel Garcia) The Avengers are all broken up but when dozens of prisoners break out of a prison called The Raft, someone has to keep the streets safe. Spider-Man tries on his own but doesn’t have much success so he joins The New Avengers, a virtual Who’s Who of Marvel heroes. Breakout. 2 episodes Episode 3: New Avengers Sentry (written by Brian Michael Bendis, art by Steve Mcniven) One of the New Avengers is totally new. A Superman like hero with some serious mental problems could fit perfectly on to this team, or, you know, could cause a lot of problems. New Avengers. 1 episode Serial 2: Young Avengers Sidekicks, Young Avengers Family Matters (written by Allan Heinberg, art by Jim Cheung) A group of teenagers who seem to resemble classic Avengers shows up in New York City and start fighting crime. What are their ties to the original team? Are there ties? Jessica Jones, Iron Man, Captain America and…J Jonah Jameson? are on the case. Young Avengers. 2 episodes Episode 6: The Pulse Fear (written by Brian Michael Bendis, art by Michael Gaydos and Oliver Copiel) Jessica Jones and Luke Cage have a baby. Then they get married, and The New Avengers are at the wedding. Enjoy the somewhat fun sidetrack while you have the chance. The Baby. 1 episode Serial 4: New Avengers Secrets & Lies, The Amazing Spider-Man New Avengers (written by Brian Michael Bendis and J Michael Straczynski, art by David Finch and Mike Deodato JR) Spider-Woman gets caught up in some New Avengers drama, and Spider-Man is upgrading to life in the big leagues with a swanky new apartment and new friends. Isn’t it just a great time to be a superhero? Oh, who the hell is Ronin? Secrets & Lies. 2 episodes Serial 5: House Of M (written by Brian Michael Bendis, art by Oliver Coipel) Still suffering from her nervous breakdown, Wanda uses her powers to distort reality so that every hero gets everything they’ve ever wanted. But in this fantasy world, one little girl keeps activating the memories of certain heroes who know that what they need to do is convince The Scarlet Witch to return reality to the way it was. That is not, precisely, what she does. House Of M. 2 episodes Serial 6: Captain America Winter Soldier, Captain America Red Menace (written by Ed Brubaker, art by Steve Epting, Michael Lark, Jon Paul Leon, Mike Perkins, Javier Pulido, and Marcos Martin) The Red Skull gets killed over possession of The Cosmic Cube, and it’s up to Captain America to find out who killed him. Also, there’s an assassin running around who seems to be Captain’s long dead partner, Bucky. Someone should make a movie about this. Red Menace. 2 episodes Episode 13: The Road To Civil War (written by Brian Michael Bendis and J Michael Straczynski, art by Alex Maleev, Ron Garney, Mike McKone, and Tyler Kirkham) A group of top tier Marvel heroes have been meeting every few years to solve major crises like The Infinity Gauntlet. Their current problem is what to do about The Hulk. Thor’s hammer appears to have fallen and Dr. Doom and The Fantastic Four are all trying to prove worthy of it. Plus, Peter Parker works for Tony Stark now, and his new Spider-Man costume is definitely more useful, but it feels as though something is about to go horribly wrong for everyone. Illuminati. 1 episode Episode 14: Iron Man Extremis, Iron Man Execute Program (written by Warren Ellis, Daniel and Charles Knauf, art by Adi Granov and Patrick Zircher) It’s the Extremis storyline, so uhhh, Iron Man 3. But then Nick Fury, Captain America, and The New Avengers step in to stop Tony and a rogue assassin. Extremis. 1 episode Episode 16: Ms Marvel Best Of The Best (written by Brian Reed, art by Roberto De La Torre) Carol Danvers woke up from House Of M remembering how her life could have been. So the former Avenger who’s gone by Ms Marvel, Captain Marvel, Binary, and Warbird, returns to her Ms. roots to fight crime. Doctor Strange and The Fantastic Four are on hand for a few of her exploits before Captain America shows up with an offer. Ms. Marvel. 1 episode Serial 7: Civil War, Amazing Spider-Man Civil War, Peter Parker Spider-Man Civil War, Young Avengers Civil War, New Avengers Civil War (written by Mark Millar, J Michael Straczynski, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, and Zeb Wells, art by Steve McNiven, Ron Garney, Angel Medina, Clayton Crain, Sean Chen, and Stefano Casselli) After a group of reality TV superheroes called The New Warriors are involved in a massacre that wipes out an elementary school, The Government finally decides to push for a Superhuman Registration Act. Tony Stark leads the movement to get all superheroes to unmask for the government, including Spider-Man (and, oh that does not go well for him). Meanwhile, Captain America runs an underground group of superheroes who don’t want to register. A few deaths, and some personal conflicts surface that aren’t going to disappear for a while. Civil War. 5 episodes Season 3 is 20 episodes Interseason Special: Planet Hulk (written by Greg Pak, art by Carlo Pagulayan and Aaron Lopresti) Remember how, in episode 13, The Illuminati thought it would be a good idea to fling The Hulk into space and let God or Science or whatever sort him out? Wellllll, he went a little off course and is now a gladiator on an unfamiliar planet. He has one thing on his mind, though, escaping, and getting back to Earth. |
April 2019
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