IGN The Avengers vs. Norman Osborn

Fear Itself is building towards its climax, and that means the time has come for Marvel to reveal what's coming next for the Avengers. At a press call today, writer Brian Michael Bendis and editor Tom Brevoort discussed a major upcoming storyline in the pages of both Avengers and New Avengers called "The H.A.M.M.E.R. War." The story kicks off in New Avengers #16.1, which sees the return of Norman Osborn, his sinister organization, and even a new group of Dark Avengers.

Bendis started off by saying that the issue, "sets up a pretty huge, multi-tiered war that the Avengers have to deal with, and what H.A.M.M.E.R. Has become in Osborn's absence and what it becomes with him back in the fold is more than the Avengers have ever had to handle. Especially these teams of Avengers we have right now. This is one of the largest threats they've ever had to face. It's up there with the biggest threats they've ever had."

Bendis confirmed that "The H.A.M.M.E.R. War" follows up on the events of Kelly Sue DeConnick's Osborn mini-series. "For fans of that mini-series, there will be stuff picked up and brought forward that I think people will be pleased with. It will follow Osborn's trajectory. The difference here is that Osborn has been out of the loop he created. He gets out of prison and then is surrounded by his followers with a plan that was put together without his knowledge."

That plan, Bendis revealed, involves a team-up between Hydra, A.I.M., and the Hand. "[They] all decide to pull together under his banner because they're all fighting for similar things. They see the world in similar ways and they want it taken care of. They're working together under Osborn's leadership, so now we have a mixture of disgruntled S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and Hydra agents and the brilliance of A.I.M. all pulling together for the same goal, and that's probably more than Steve Rogers' pared-down Avengers can handle."

The story will reflect the fallout of Jonathan Hickman's Secret Warriors, with Madame Hydra and Gorgon serving as the two remaining heads of Hydra. Bendis also instructed readers curious about the current whereabouts of Nick Fury and the Secret Warriors to look to Avengers #16 next week.

Bendis also elaborated on the return of the Dark Avengers. Despite the deaths or imprisonment of many members during Siege, "the idea of the Dark Avengers was very successful for Norman. It was a good second life for him. There's going to be something really cool that happens within A.I.M. that gives him the opportunity to create a new Dark Avengers. It'll include some characters we know and some characters that will be either brand new or reinvented like the original Dark Avengers were for this opportunity. His Dark Avengers will have a Thor, a Hulk, a Hawkeye, a Spider-Man, and some scary crap that is even more technologically advanced than Tony Stark has ever seen."

The regular Avengers will be experiencing some roster changes of their own after Fear Itself. Bendis was careful to avoid spoiling the outcome of Fear Itself, but said "not everyone is going to be available to the team one way or another, particularly on Avengers. With New Avengers we've already announced that Daredevil is going to join the team. There are some characters I'll be sharing with Matt [Fraction] in his Defenders series. But Avengers is having a huge lineup change. Two characters will be "as classic as classic gets" Avengers characters, and one will be a relatively new character.

Readers can look for more direct correlation between the two Avengers books. Bendis said, "I kind of looked at this like the classic Avengers/Defenders War, where something gigantic happened in every issue. But if all you're reading is New Avengers, you'll be fine. The threat of H.A.M.M.E.R. is so large that these two Avengers teams can fight without coming in contact with each other. The New Avengers will be dealing primarily with the Dark Avengers situation, while the Avengers will be dealing with H.A.M.M.E.R. as a new entity and what that means and what their secret weapons are." He also hinted that a team-up is coming next spring as part of the build-up to the Avengers movie.

Another major Avengers story coming soon involves the emergence of Wonder Man's new team of villains called the Revengers in next month's New Avengers Annual. Bendis described the team as, "all people who have been an Avenger, one way or another, and were either disgruntled or outed and are someone who Simon could pitch his anti-Avengers spiel to." This team will include characters like Captain Ultra, D-Man, and Goliath. Bendis dismissed the notion that he was turning Simon into a villain. "I know some people think I'm just going down the Roy Thomas roster and destroying each of those characters, but that's not the case. There's a very interesting road ahead for Simon, is all I'll say."

The fallout of Fear Itself will also see Bendis work with some new artists. Daniel Acuna is taking over Avengers beginning with issue #18 while John Romita Jr. moves to another unknown collaboration with Bendis. Neal Adams is illustrating New Avengers 16.1, which Bendis and Brevoort were quick to point out is his first Avengers issue since The Kree/Skrull War. Mike Deodato will remain on board New Avengers.

Finally, Bendis touched on the events of Avengers #12.1, which teased a major Ultron-themed project by Bendis and artist Bryan Hitch in 2012. Bendis confirmed that this story is separate from "The H.A.M.M.E.R. War." Bendis said, "That's coming after, and Bryan Hitch is working on it even as we speak. That is gorgeous, by the way." He also revealed that several issues have been completed and that they anticipate a delay-free release schedule.