Share this
With the release of Avengers #65 on February 1, Jason Aaron’s Avenger’s Assemble crossover event has made it over the midway hump. Avengers Assemble is a 10 part story being told in Avengers Assemble Alpha #1, Avengers Vol 8 #63-66, Avengers Forever Vol 2 #12-15, and will be wrapped up in Avengers Assemble Omega #1. Here is everything you need to know to get caught up in time to read the second half of the Multiversal Mayhem!
Who are the players involved in Avengers Assemble and what have they been up to so far? Lets break them down into four groups starting with…
The Multiversal Masters of Evil
Members:
Doom Supreme (The Doom Above All), The Black Skull (a Symbiote bonded Red Skull), King Killmonger, The Ghost Goblin (Norman Osborn), Kid Thanos, and Dark Phoenix and her pet Berserkers.
Summary:
Mephisto convinced Doom Supreme to form his Masters of Evil to eliminate the concept of superheroes across the multiverse. Doom Supreme and his Multiversal Masters of Evil have been on a rampage across the Marvel Multiverse. Conquering worlds and gaining power at an alarming rate, they set their sites on Earth 616. Ready to destroy the Prehistoric Avengers and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes from the present day, the Masters of Evil launched a battle that lasted nine days. The villains claimed the lives of Starbrand and Ghost Rider of the Avengers 1,000,000 BC and blinded Agamotto before Doom left his team, using them as a distraction, to embark on the next phase of his plan.
The Prehistoric Avengers (Avengers 1,000,000 BC)
Members:
Agamotto, Phoenix (Firehair), Odin, Black Panther (Mosi, the first Black Panther), Iron Fist (Fan Fei), Starbrand (Vnn), Ghost Rider (Ghost, the first Ghost Rider), Moon Knight (the first Moon Knight… seeing a pattern here?)
Summary:
Over 1,000,000 years before the present, Firehair, a mutant, became the host of the cosmic Phoenix Force and nearly destroyed the planet. Fearing the destruction that beings, such as herself, could bring to the planet she teamed up with Odin and formed the Avengers 1,000,000.
Over the years, the Avengers fought against time traveling foes bent on changing the timeline to suit their desires, such as Young Thanos, multible versions of Dr. Doom, and Mephisto. The Prehistoric Avengers disbanded for a time but reunited, minus a missing Phoenix, to battle the Multiversal Masters of Evil along side the present day Earth-616 Avengers.
The Avengers (Earth-616)
Members:
Iron Man, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Thor, Valkyrie(Jane Foster), Phoenix(Echo), Nighthawk, Namor, and Starbrand(Suzanne Selby)
Summary:
The Modern Avengers have been on a journey through time, attempting to stop Mephisto and his Council of Red, alternate versions of Mephisto, from destroying the legacy of superheroes. They battled in WWII, feudal Japan, and finally to the Old West, where Star Brand eradicated Mephisto from different points in history and sent the team to 1,000,000 BC at the cost of her own life force. The Prehistoric Avengers, fearing another time traveling threat, attacked the Avengers. After a brief fight, the two teams realised the true threat came from Doom’s Masters of Evil and came together to end the villains’ reign of terror.
Avenger Prime and The Multiversal Avengers
Members:
Ant-Man(Tony Stark), Ghost Rider(Robbie Reyes), Deathlok, Captain Carter and the Howling Commandos, The Carol Corps, Star Panther(T’Challa), Old Man Phoenix, The Goddesses of Thunder(Thor’s Daughters), Thor, and Avenger Prime
Summary:
After defeating the Black Skull on Earth-818, Ghost Rider, Deathlok, and the Tony Stark of Earth-818 embarked on a quest through the Multiverse. Together they recruited the largest group of Avengers of all time to defend Avenger Prime’s tower at the edge of the universe and keep Mephisto and The Council of Red from reaching The God Quarry beneath it. With the Carol Corps defending the skies and Captain Carter’s Howling Commandos fighting on the ground, Ant-Man led a group of Avengers underground to discover The Council of Red were already making their way to the First Firmament, the first universe in all of existence. As all hope seemed lost and the battle turned in Mephisto’s favor, The Goddesses of Thunder, with Old Man Phoenix at their side, arrived on the scene and repelled Mephisto and his Council. With the battle seemingly won, The Multiversal Avengers’ victory was cut short as Doom Supreme arrived at the God Quarry with an army of Dooms from across the multiverse to claim the First Firmament as his own.
That’s the story so far. Now you should be caught up enough to dive into the back half of this crossover event and not feel lost. I have to say that I have been enjoying this event so far and cannot wait to see how Jason Aaron and his team wrap up this multiversal thrill ride. Make sure to come back when the series has come to a close to read my thoughts on the event as a whole.
The story continues in Avengers Forever Vol 2 #14, on sale February 15th.
