AVENGERS #1 Announcement

[Drops Of Venus]

If people are tired of reading about Cap and Iron Man on Avengers, then maybe they should just try reading a different book.

If you Don't like the Thing, Don't read Fantastic Four. If you Don't like Batman and Superman, don't read Justice League. To some degree certain characters belong on certain teams.

Well, not everyone has that option for the characters they actually want to read about now, do they? And that's what's upsetting people the most here. I know for a fact that the one title I was looking forward to the most in a new Avengers line is not going to happen, and I might not have any other book to make up for that, so ''just go read a different book'' doesn't really work in this particular case. I don't have a problem with trying other new titles, though; I'm always open for something new. But it doesn't suck any less for the people who are not getting what they actually want to read.

Thing is, they've tried that a number of times and it's pretty consistently the Avengers with big gun line-ups that sell the best. It's like I said on another thread. Poor Al Ewing tried for several years to make a team book primarily consisting of B and C tier characters work with Mighty Avengers, New Avengers and most recently with U.S. Avengers, and they didn't sell well (which is a shame since I loved all three). There were similar attempts with stuff like Occupy Avengers, Avengers Academy, A-Force and Avengers A.I., but they just never sold as well as the big gun teams. The entire reason the original New Avengers relaunch even existed was because the Avengers book at the time wasn't lighting the sales charts on fire, and Bendis and Millar argued that a line-up featuring more A-listers like Spider-Man and Wolverine would sell better (and they were correct). People forget that Avengers being a top tier seller for Marvel was a very recent development, as prior to 2005 they were constantly being trounced in sales by powerhouses like the X-Men.

The only Avengers spin-offs in recent memory I can even think of that were very successful were Secret Avengers and Uncanny Avengers.

Ewing's New Avengers wasn't even doing all that bad, actually. I think Marvel just screwed things up by derailing the book with long ass tie-ins and relaunching it. I think ''New Avengers'' by itself is a strong enough title to make it, but it needs a solid direction.

And let's be real, Young Avengers wasn't what one would call a critical or commercial failure by any means... so what was the reasoning behind giving up on that one? Yes, I'm a dissatisfied YA fanboy who will bring them up at any chance I have.

That's my feeling also. With such big names on the team, what place is there for She-Hulk and Ghost Rider? Will they be considered "secondary characters"? Will they have as much character development as the others? I hope I'm wrong, but looking at the roster, those two feel like filling more than anything else...

The fact that they are literally promoting this roster as ''THE BIG THREE... and everyone else around them'' doesn't bode well for all those characters being considered equally important.

[Mary Jay]

The fact that they are literally promoting this roster as ''THE BIG THREE... and everyone else around them'' doesn't bode well for all those characters being considered equally important.

Kind of reminds me of the Gilligan's Island theme song, where the Professor and Mary Ann were mentioned as "and the rest" despite the fact that without these two, the rest of them would have probably died within a week

[Frontier]

The fact that they are literally promoting this roster as ''THE BIG THREE... and everyone else around them'' doesn't bode well for all those characters being considered equally important.

I'm not surprised to see them promoting the Avengers Trinity because it's the first time they've really been back together and back on The Avengers in a few years, but I imagine once the dust settles and the team is formed we'll probably seeing equal focus among the members (or at least we would hope).

Although some of the promotion makes it sound like the Trinity is spearheading this team but I can only see that as a bad thing depending on how Aaron handles it.

[Prof. Warren]

The whole reason why they struggle to "elevate" other characters is because they're constantly shoving the same characters into tons of stuff. Someone before mentioned Cap having "more fans" that Wasp, well there's a really obvious reason for that, he gets pushed to the forefront FAR more and FAR more often that she does, so it's only natural.

Do you really believe that's the only reason Cap has more fans than The Wasp? Because Marvel pushes the character more? Really?

I'm gonna say that's wishful thinking on the part of Wasp fans. Nothing against the character but come on...

There's no reason why Tony, Cap, AND Thor need to hog three of these spots (especially since they rarely are the most interesting parts of Avengers books anyway). Really Carol is the only one who currently has her own book who I think should stay.

It's been awhile since Tony, Cap and Thor have been on the roster together. Other character have had more than a shot at the spotlight on the team for some time now, without being crowded out by the Big Three. Bringing back the classic Avengers trinity now seems right.

I've never really cared for Dr. Strange on the Avengers, writers often struggle to make him fit. Someone like Clea, or Nico Minoru, or Magik, or Dr. Voodoo, etc would be more interesting imo.

Wasp, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Spider-Woman, Monica Rambeau, Songbird, Ant Man, Black Widow, any number of X-Men characters, etc. So many possibilities, and THIS is the most "creative" that they can get, how disappointing.

Every fan has their own pet characters who they think deserve more of a spotlight. However, they can't all be Avengers and they certainly can't all be Avengers at the same time.

I really love White Tiger, for instance, but I get why she isn't on this team.

[Frontier]

Do you really believe that's the only reason Cap has more fans than The Wasp? Because Marvel pushes the character more? Really?

I'm gonna say that's wishful thinking on the part of Wasp fans. Nothing against the character but come on...

Well, I think it's fair to say that Cap gets more promotion and time in the limelight then Janet usually does, which probably helped with his popularity, despite her status and probably having the longest leadership term of an Avenger next to Cap.

[Prof. Warren]

Well, I think it's fair to say that Cap gets more promotion and time in the limelight then Janet usually does, which probably helped with his popularity, despite her status and probably having the longest leadership term of an Avenger next to Cap.

He gets more promotion because there's always been more demand for him.

If you think that The Wasp could have sustained a solo book for all these years just as Cap has if only Marvel would have pushed it, you'd be wrong.

I love The Wasp but saying that Marvel pushing Cap is the only difference between the popularity gap between the two is just silly.

And I'd say the same thing about Hawkeye or Ant-Man or a dozen other high profile Avengers. They're great and all but just not in Cap's league.

[Captain M]

He gets more promotion because there's always been more demand for him.

If you think that The Wasp could have sustained a solo book for all these years just as Cap has if only Marvel would have pushed it, you'd be wrong.

I love The Wasp but saying that Marvel pushing Cap is the only difference between the popularity gap between the two is just silly.

And I'd say the same thing about Hawkeye or Ant-Man or a dozen other high profile Avengers. They're great and all but just not in Cap's league.

Yeah there could be other, better examples that could be made here. Like Captain Marvel. If Janet got 1/20 of the promotion Carol got in the last 10 years, Janet could have been a lot more popular than she currently is. If she got just as much promotoion as her, who knows maybe she would have been more popular than Carol

But comparing any character to the big 6 isn't really helpful.

[Colossus1980]

The whole reason why they struggle to "elevate" other characters is because they're constantly shoving the same characters into tons of stuff. Someone before mentioned Cap having "more fans" that Wasp, well there's a really obvious reason for that, he gets pushed to the forefront FAR more and FAR more often that she does, so it's only natural.

Shouldn't Captain Marvel and the Inhumans be the most popular franchises with all the pushes they've received from Marvel the last few years by your logic?

[Colossus1980]

The fact that they are literally promoting this roster as ''THE BIG THREE... and everyone else around them'' doesn't bode well for all those characters being considered equally important.

Do you actually believe Marvel is going to stick with 'The Big Three' the entire series? One if not all three will eventually leave during the year.

[Johnrevenge]

Do you actually believe Marvel is going to stick with 'The Big Three' the entire series? One if not all three will eventually leave during the year.

Hope the three of them leave the series soon, so worthy characters can join the Avengers as it should have been from the start.

[Prof. Warren]

Yeah there could be other, better examples that could be made here. Like Captain Marvel. If Janet got 1/20 of the promotion Carol got in the last 10 years, Janet could have been a lot more popular than she currently is. If she got just as much promotoion as her, who knows maybe she would have been more popular than Carol

But comparing any character to the big 6 isn't really helpful.

Well, I think Carol is a good example of how all the promotion in the world can't force the popularity of a character. No matter how much Marvel pushes Carol - and they've pushed her a lot - she still struggles in sales. If promotion was all it took to make a character successful, every character would be a superstar.

Hope the three of them leave the series soon, so worthy characters can join the Avengers as it should have been from the start.

With all due respect to whatever characters you personally enjoy, I think most people would say that there's few characters outside of Tony, Cap and Thor that are more worthy of being on the team. Saying they shouldn't be on the team is like saying Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman should be kicked off the Justice League to make room for more deserving members.

[Thursaiz]

I think we have seen the so-called "worthy" characters have their shot at several team books, solo books, and crossovers in the last few years. The fans who want Steve, Tony, and real Thor on the core Avengers team far outweigh the number of fans who want obscure characters like Doctor Voodoo, Wasp, Ms. Marvel, or Falcon there. They are B and C list heroes who can't hold their own from a sales perspective. They have been pushing Captain Marvel and She-Hulk on the fans for several years now, and look at the wonderful success they've had with that. The sales speak for themselves, and that is what matters. Even the Ghost Rider they are using isn't as popular as the Frank Castle one in the current Thanos series...and he's only been in three or four issues as a supporting character. Marvel should have put out an Avengers book with the characters that are going to be in the next film. Judging by the box office take on the last movie, that's who the public want to see.

And sorry - no amount of promotion could make Wasp interesting to the general public. Marvel has always struggled with the shrinking heroes, as has DC with The Atom. There is only so much a writer can do with a character who seems to fill the exciting team-book niche of "If only someone could shrink down and fit through that keyhole. Hey! Janet! Get in there!". A friend of mine who doesn't read comics saw the Ant-Man 2 trailer, and said "So, she's like if Tinkerbell was a scientist?". It was tough to argue.

[wano]

Yeah there could be other, better examples that could be made here. Like Captain Marvel. If Janet got 1/20 of the promotion Carol got in the last 10 years, Janet could have been a lot more popular than she currently is. If she got just as much promotoion as her, who knows maybe she would have been more popular than Carol

But comparing any character to the big 6 isn't really helpful.

I agree, Janet is more likeable than Carol

[Captain M]

You lost any relevance you had when you called it Ant-Man 2.

I mean your post was filled with wrong stuff but that sealed the deal

[Johnrevenge]

With all due respect to whatever characters you personally enjoy, I think most people would say that there's few characters outside of Tony, Cap and Thor that are more worthy of being on the team. Saying they shouldn't be on the team is like saying Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman should be kicked off the Justice League to make room for more deserving members.

Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, Quicksilver (and I'm not a fan of him), Beast, Wonder Man, Spectrum, Vision, Wasp, Hercules, Falcon and the list is longer of characters more worthy than the trinity. Avengers was never about those three, it was about those characters that could get some growth and exposure because the trinity already had their solo books for that. And between the roster that have solo books already and the boring Avengers BC, I seriously doubt we'll see character development and more an awful plot. Justice League was always about the main seven, but Avengers was more about the other characters that weren't overexposed nor shoved under our throats constantly. That is the difference.