New Avengers lineup revealed for May relaunch

The newest incarnation of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes has some returning stalwarts and one newcomer, but it’s anchored by the three most traditional Avengers.

Just about every Avenger possible is currently assembling in Avengers: No Surrender. So what comes next?

A brand new Avengers volume, of course, scaling the group back to just a single team and reuniting the Avengers Trinity, if you will — Captain America, Iron Man and Thor — for the first time in years. Avengers #1 is part of the “fresh start” that Marvel teased this week, and it will come our way in May from the team of writer Jason Aaron and artist Ed McGuinness.

Along with the aforementioned trio, the new roster includes three members who have served long stints in the past in Black Panther (perhaps obviously with the movie and all), Captain Marvel and She-Hulk. Doctor Strange is on-board to handle the mystical side of things, though IGN says he will only be “on the team for a limited time in a ‘rotating slot.'”

And then there’s one complete newcomer, Ghost Rider. This is the Robbie Reyes version, and his inclusion promises to be a story in and of itself, as Aaron teased to IGN.

"Robbie Reyes is sort of the new kid on the block, he doesn’t really know any of these other characters, they don’t know him. They know the Ghost Rider, but this is a Ghost Rider not quite like anyone they’ve ever met before."

Also of note is the suggestion that the first arc, at least, will also feature the 1,000,000 B.C. Avengers and the coming of the Dark Celestials. Yes, Avengers will (finally) pick up on the big thread introduced in Marvel Legacy #1, and you can see clear evidence of that in the uncolored preview pages Marvel sent out today.

Looks like a fun story to jump back into the Avengers if you haven’t read their adventures for a while, or to continue the momentum if you’re enjoying No Surrender.

Avengers #1 goes on sale May 2 at comic shops everywhere, on digital and wherever new comics are sold.