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. When last we left our heroes, everything seemed bleak. The Universe was ending. The Ultimate Universe was ending. No villain was victorious, except possibly the concept of entropy. And yet, at the last minute someone stepped in and saved as much as they could and has built a new universe. All hail God Doom. Just another night Doom wakes up with that name on his tongue. Season 10: Secret Wars (showrunner: Jonathan Hickman) Episode 1: Master Of Kung Fu Battleworld
(written by Haden Blackman and Peter Milligan, art by Dalibor Talajic) Shang-Chi, Iron Fist, Kitty Pride, and Lockheed are just some of the somewhat familiar faces in this world where all will battle to determine the next Master Of Kung Fu. Yeup, we’re starting Secret Wars off in an unusual manner. Master Of Kung Fu. 1 episode Episode 2: Marvel 1872 (written by Gerry Duggan, art by Nicole Verella and more) Next up, the Wild West, where Sheriff Steve Rogers is the drunk sheriff of Timely. Tony Stark is trying to get the sheriff sobered up because Wilson Fisk has put together a Wild West version of the Marvel rogues gallery. Plus, Dr. Banner and Red Wolf have to help out somehow, right? 1872. 1 episode Episode 3: Siege Battleworld (written by Kieron Gillen, art by Filipe Andrade) Abigail Brand guards the wall between battleworlds. She must defend them from characters trying to move between worlds. But how is she going to deal with Thanos when there are the hordes of Marvel Zombies, Ultrons, and other horrible things waiting just on the other side of the wall? The Great Wall. 1 episode Episode 4: Captain Marvel And The Carol CORPS (written by Kelly Sue Deconnick, art by Kelly Thompson) The Banshee Squad is an all female flight crew protecting the skies from Hydra. But when Carol believes her commanding officers have betrayed and lied to them, she takes things into her own hands. There will be consequences. Carol CORPS. 1 episode Episode 5: Ultimate End (written by Brian Michael Bendis, art by Mark Bagley) The Ultimate Universe was destroyed. Earth 616 was destroyed. Yet both of their Manhattans still seem to exist and overlap. Different versions of multiple characters are at odds with each other to figure out exactly what’s going on and if it’s fixable. Ultimately. New York Is The Cockroach Of Cities. 1 episode Episode 6: Civil War Warzones (written by Charles Soule, art by Leinil Francis Yu) What if the Civil War over the Superhuman Registration Act never ended. What if it kept going through The Secret Invasion. What if it kept going through Dark Reign, and Siege, and AvX, and dear God Doom, what if it was still happening? Civil War Eternal. 1 episode Episode 7: Guardians Of Knowhere (written by Brian Michael Bendis, art by Mike Deodato JR) The Guardians Of The Galaxy are living in a Celestial’s head. Most of them are acting like usual, but there’s one huge difference Gamora isn’t sure she believes that Doom is God. Blasphemy. Guardians Of Knowhere. 1 episode Episode 8: A-Force Warzones (written by G Willow Wilson, art by Marguerite Bennet) All your favorite female Avengers and heroes are living together in one world. But when one of them crosses the borders into another realm, Doom is displeased. And when God Doom is displeased, worlds tremble. A-Force. 1 episode Episode 9: Secret Wars Journal Battleworld (written by many, with art by a different many) An anthology adventure where we check in with all sorts of familiar Avengers characters and see how they’re doing in this zany series of worlds. Battleworlds. 1 episode Episode 10: Red Skull (written by Joshua Williamson, art by Luca Pizarri) Red Skull displeased God Doom, so God Doom sent him into the wasteland of Zombies and Ultrons to die. But did he die? A group of villains including The Winter Soldier and Magneto are sent to either find out or die. Or both. It’s not a mutually exclusive thing. Red Skull. 1 episode Episode 11: Runaways Battleworld (written by Noelle Stevenson, art by Sanford Greene) The Victor Von Doom Institute for Gifted Youths in Doomstadt? This is where the next generation of heroes is educated to love The God Doom, and to survive a constant series of battles. Rebelling against a death school SEEMS like a logical choice, but Bucky Barnes and The Doombots stand in their way. Runaways. 1 episode Episode 12: Infinity Gauntlet Warzones (written by Gerry Dugan and Dustin Weaver, art by Dustin Weaver) A small tale of a family that is just trying to survive Battleworld when they find an Infinity Gem and the good natured, always trustworthy, Thanos shows up to help them find more. I’m sure this will end happily for all. Infinity Gems Are Truly Outrageous. 1 episode Episode 13: Planet Hulk Warzones (written by Sam Humphries, art by Marc Laming) Steve Rogers and his trusty steed, Devil Dinosaur!, team up with Doc Green to battle all the rest of the Hulks. All. The rest. Of the. Hulks. Planet Hulks. 1 episode Episode 14: House Of M Warzones (written by Dennis Hopeless, art by Marco Failla) Oh, yea, it’s like if Magneto and his family ruled The Marvel Universe again. I remember that! Is Quicksilver a traitor in this universe, too? Bad Pietro! Houses Of M. 1 episode Episode 15: Age Of Ultron (written by Brian Michael Bendis, art by Bryan Hitch, Brandon Peterson, and Carlos Pacheco) Technically, this isn’t a Secret Wars book at all. I didn’t want to shoehorn it anywhere else into continuity, though, so while we’re investigating all these other odd possible worlds, why not throw everybody’s favorite evil android into the mix. Age Of Ultron. 1 episode Episode 16: Thors (written by Jason Aaron, art by Chris Spouse) It’s Law & Order where every character is a Thor. Frog Thor. Beta Ray Bill. Storm. Ultimate Thor. Odinson. Odin. The only person missing is Jane Foster. That is, until versions of her body start popping up dead across the Battleworlds. Thors. 1 episode Serial 1: Secret Wars (written by Jonathan Hickman, art by Esad Ribic) Everything explained! (We hope, the series hadn’t ended yet when I was making this list) How did Doom save the multiverse? Why didn’t Doctor Strange? How does Reed Richards from The Ultimate Universe fit into this? How does Reed Richards from Marvel 616 fit into this? Who, from those worlds, survived? Secret Wars. 4 episodes The final episode is 20 episodes, just like the rest. But wait, upon further reflection, this whole project was a misnomer! Look for Season 11 in January 2017! It's like Netflix saving your favorite show. 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. Season 8 was all a big lead up to the end of all things Avengers and Marvel. The complete destruction of 616. But it wasn’t just 616 that got destroyed, there was a whole nother universe completely eradicated, and that’s where we start season nine. The Vision’s harddrive failure led to a most unfortunate over-tanning during The Avengers beach vacation. Season 9: Time Runs Out (Showrunners: Mark Millar and Jonathan Hickman) Serial 1: The Ultimates Ultimate Collection
(written by Mark Millar, art by Bryan Hitch) Super powered being are popping up all over the place, and the government decides to form a team to deal with them. It’s a whole different version of The Avengers. The Ultimates. 2 episodes Episode 3: Ultimate Fantastic Four The Fantastic (written by Mark Millar and Brian Michael Bendis, art by Adam Kubert, John Dell, and Danny Miki) Awww, look at the adorable little fantastic fourlings. They’re all teenaged and excited about life. I hope they never ever change. The Fantastic. 1 episode Episode 4: Ultimate Galactus Nightmare, Ultimate Galactus Secret, Ultimate Galactus Extinction (written by Warren Ellis, art by Trever Hairsine, Mark Bagley, Steve Mcniven, and Scott Hannah) The devourer of worlds descends on The Ultimate Universe, and a team of Ultimates, and a team of X-Men need to figure out how to stop him before it’s too late. Ga Lak Tus hungers. Even The Fantastic Four join in on the, uhhh…fun? Ga Lak Tus. 1 episode Episode 5: Ultimates 2 Gods And Monsters, Ultimates 2 Grand Theft America (written by Mark Millar, art by Bryan Hitch) The origin of Thor, Ultimates dating Ultimates, the celebrity life of being superheroes, The Hulk gets outed, and one of the Ultimates is probably a traitor. Dra-ma. Gods And Monsters. 1 episode Episode 6: Ultimate Origins (written by Brian Michael Bendis, art by Butch Guice) Everything. is connected. The Ultimate Connection. 1 episode Episode 7: Ultimate Comics Avengers Next Generation, Ultimate Comics Avengers Crime & Punishment (written by Mark Millar, art by Carlos Pacheco and Francie Lienil Yu) Nick Fury must protect Captain America at all costs. AT ALL COSTS. What does The Punisher have to do with any of this? Crime And Punisher. 1 episode Episode 8: Ultimate Comics Doomsday (written by Brian Michael Bendis, art by Rafael Sandoval) There’s a new Big Bad in The Ultimate Universe. And he’s going to be doing some major damage. The Face Of Evil. 1 episode Episode 9: Ultimate Comics Ultimates By Hickman Volumes 1 & 2 (written by Jonathan Hickman and Sam Humphries, art by many) The Ultimates have to contend with Reed Richards and his Children Of Tomorrow. The Universe is, of course, at stake. The Children Of Tomorrow. 1 episode Episode 10: Ultimate Comics Ultimates Disassembled (written by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Carmen Di Giondomenico) It’s Reed Richard’s world, and you’re just living in it. New World Order. 1 episode Episode 11: Original Sin (written by Jason Aaron, Ed Brubaker, and Mark Waid, art by Mike Deodato JR, Javier Pulido, and Jim Cheung) I bet you thought we were never going to get back to the 616. Well, surprise, we’re back in the old continuity. And whenever some huge event is about to take place in the Marvel Universe, Uatu The Watcher can be seen observing. So, what do you do when someone shoots and kills him? PANIC!!!! Original Sin. 1 episode Episode 12: Avengers Infinite Avengers (written by Jonathan Hickman, art by Leinil Francis Yu) Remember that time Steve Rogers was part of The Illuminati? Well he doesn’t. Remember how they mindwiped him? Well, now he does. That and other revelations come out due to Original Sin. It could distract our heroes from some very important going-ons. The Past Catches Up To The Future. 1 episode Serial 3: Secret Avengers Let’s Have A Problem, Secret Avengers The Labyrinth, Secret Avengers God Level (written by Ales Kot, art by Michael Walsh) It really does seem like the whole world is coming undone, doesn’t it? Can the addition of Deadpool and MODOK possibly help take down AIM? Probably not. Plus, Fury the monster threatens to completely destroy the team put together by Fury, the man, The Labyrinth. 2 episodes Episode 15: Thor Goddess Of Thunder, Thor Who Wields The Hammer (written by Jason Aaron, art by Russel Dauterman) After being deemed unworthy during Original Sin, the Odinson can no longer lift Mjolnir (his hammer). While we’ve seen many heroes attempt to lift it over the years, apart from Storm of the X-Men, frogs and horse faced aliens are way more likely to be worthy of the hammer than any humans. And yet, a woman on the moon picks up the hammer easily. Who is this new Thor? Odinson would like to know. Goddess Of Thunder. 1 episode Episode 16: Avengers World Before Time Runs Out (written by Frank J Barbiere, art by Marco Checchetto) The super, mega, universe destroying event is about to occur, so let’s tie up as many loose threads as possible before we get the…we’re introducing new plots? Why? Before Time Runs Out. 1 episode Serial 4: Avengers Time Runs Out Books 1-4 (written by Jonathan Hickman, art by Jim Cheung, Kev Walker, and many more) This is it. This is really it. All of the plots from the Hickman run, plus all the plots from The Ultimates universe converge in one dizzying story where all continuity unravels. Truly, the end of Marvel 616 and The Ultimate Universe. How will any of our heroes survive the destruction of The Universes? Time Runs Out. 4 episodes This penultimate season (“but how”, you ask, “is not everything gone?”) is 20 episodes |
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