Who is the biggest surprise member of Marvel's All-New Avengers NOW!? Vote here and discuss.
Earth's Mightiest Heroes have major changes ahead when Avengers NOW! touches down this fall! See the new Avengers main team lineup and Vote in the Poll for your biggest surprise team member.
Marvel have announced that there will be an all-new team of Avengers after their upcoming Time Runs Out event, masterminded by current Avengers guru Jonathan Hickman.
There are a few major surprises on the team, and we are asking you to VOTE on which of the team represent the biggest surprise to you as a fan.
Marvel released this image:
So which of these characters' inclusion surprises you the most?
(Clockwise from top left)
1. Medusa
Medusa has most recently been active in the FF series by Matt Fraction and Mike Allred. She is an important part of the Marvel's Inhumanity storyline, so I'd guess her involvement in Avengers is likely to reinforce that angle. It may be Marvel's first step in familiarizing the greater audience with the Inhumans as they prepare to unleash that faction into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, probably culminating with an Inhumans movie.
2. Scarlet Witch
Wanda's inclusion is no surprise, considering the crossover potential with Avengers: Age of Ultron on silver screens next summer. What may come as a slight suprise is the absence of Pietro "Quicksilver" Maximoff. Not much of a coincidence that none of FOX or SONY's licensed characters are in this team eh?
3. Superior Iron Man
Seriously, what are the Avengers without Tony Stark? We have no idea what this new version of Tony is all about, or what causes him to become "Superior" but we shouldn't be surprised to see him on the team, considering that RDJ's Iron Man has been the anchor of the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2008.
4. Doctor Strange
What better way to warm the general audience up for one of Marvel Studios' riskiest properties than by making him a core member of their flagship team? Doctor Strange has its director in Scott Derrickson, so now they just need to confirm its star, and they'll succed in promoting the Master of the Mystic Arts from sideshow to A-lister in one fell swoop!
5. Ant-Man
Starting to see a pattern here? Just like Doctor Strange, Marvel hedges their bets by putting one of their more obscure characters and riskier film titles firmly in the Avengers saddle. Scott Lang will make his screen debut as the Ant-Man in the general public's eye, and the name of Henry Pym will be swept under the rug with old dust. Old Michael Douglas dust.
6. Deathlok
Now this is getting silly. It's one thing to take their cinematic characters and try to promote them in the main monthly book, but what history does Deathlok have with the Avengers? It's a very clever idea isn't it, to take a character whose greatest exposure has been on ABC's Agents of SHIELD and cross him over to the flagship team. Hopefully this will be referred to in an episode, and it makes you wonder if it's Marvel's plan to move closer to fully integrating their film/TV and comic universes.
7. Flaming Guy?
I thought it might be Daimon Hellstrom, but he's been on Zemo's side recently in the pages of Avengers Undercover. Also, this character conspicuously lacks a magical pitchfork. Alternately, Charles Soule has been writing a new Terrigen-mutate called Flint in his Inhuman monthly title. Perhaps this is a double-whammy of Inhumans to compliment Medusa's presence. A sort of master & padawan kind of thing? That's my best guess.
8. Falcon Cap
There have been so many stand-ins for Steve Rogers in the Captain America books that this new understudy comes as no suprise. Or does he? Let us know in our poll below if you think so.
9. Female Thor
Every Avengers team needs a Thor right? Even the Dark Avengers had a couple of Thors, in the persons of Ragnarok (the android Thor) and Ares (the Greek Thor). This isn't even the first female Thor to appear in the comics. I'm not suprised, but are you?
10. Angela
I'm guessing that Marvel coughed up a pretty penny to get Neil Gaiman's character, and rub her in Todd McFarlane's nose at every opportunity. Not suprising she's on the team, considering the investment. And Bendis keeps saying they have big plans for her.
11. Winter Soldier
After this past spring's major breakout film, it's no shock to see Bucky popping up in all the main books is it? This way we still get the Bucky-Cap relationship to play with, but with the different dynamic of duelling sidekicks. Bucky is the older man, so he won't be playing sidekick to Falcon, but what will it mean for their status in the next Cap movie?
Now you've read about the new lineup after we jump five years into the future and Time Runs Out. Please VOTE in the poll below. Who agrees with me that Marvel appear to be taking steps towards fully integrating their Universe across screen and comic platforms? It's interesting to consider, especially given the rumours about them trying to quash the visibility of the FOX-held properties. I'm sure X-Men and Spider-Man titles will carry on in their own isolated parcels of the Marvel world, but their crossover involvement with the Avengers seems to be at its nadir. Or is it a trick?
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