Young Avengers Appreciation 2022

[Frontier]

Random question: do we think Billy and Teddy's digital Infinity comic will ever appear in a printed format? I own basic every trade the boys have been in. I'd like that too, but don't know how likely it is.

I think they're reprinting some of the Infinity Comics in trades or single issues so I think it's inevitable at this point.

[Journey]

Since we are using facts

Champions still have more solo success and team issues than Young Avengers.

Ended or ax does NOT change that FACT.

We are into what year 8 of no book. With some members finding success without the YA brand.

Point is you can want the YA but we don't need any bashing of other franchises.

Point is if Marvel throws any of them on a YA team-everyone has a choice buy the book or NOT.



Marvel said different.

8 years and Kate and Hulking & Wiccan have found success elsewhere. So comics Marvel says they have moved on.

Now when Marvel wants to toss out release of trades-we will see a team of SOMETHING claiming to be YA. Same thing we saw with New Warriors, Generation X, Young Justice, whatever is claiming to be Teen Titans or Titans and Runaways.

You can't bring everybody back.

The Champions have no success their brand is a flop. Kamala has success, Miles & Riri have success alone cause they started off alone, as a whole Champions flops everytime, hence why so many wanna merge with YA cause the Champions can't stand on their own it's been proven go defend em in they thread.

[Journey]

The only member of that flop team who could probably cut it with the YA with no complaints is Viv & that's just to see her actually interact with her brothers, plus she's Queer she fits the brand the rest of em let em flop on they own with another low selling rebrand.

[Digifiend]

Aren't Kate and Eli heterosexual? The second YA team being mostly LGBTQ+ was pretty much an accident.

[Waking Replica]

Happy New Years everyone! Hope you were all well and safe. Here's to hoping for a good year for the team!

Anyway, to also chime in, I've always thought that YA was kinda like the Runaways (ironic considering recent developments and teases lol) in that they were known for being that specific grouping of characters, versus a sorta common ground book where solo characters come to be part of a team, ala Champions.

I think if there were to be a reboot/new volume, I would prefer that the core of the group was mainly og members, specifically those who weren't able to step out of the main three's (Kate, Billy and Teddy) shadows, then adding in characters who never really took off (maybe b to f-list level characters). One character I've thought would be cool to have is Luna Maximoff so that if Billy isn't there, Tommy has a family member to bounce off of. And considering the state nu and inhumans are in right now, I think she'd be free. And like Journey said, Viv would be a good Jonas replacement, plus she's also the youngest Vision spawn so that would be a fun dynamic to explore. Really, anything would be better than her constantly being killed in the Champions lol.

And when it comes to LGBTQ+ rep, I feel like Marvel has to realize how intertwined the team is with queer audiences, considering a select few of that audience went on to write comics for them lol.

[AJpyro]

If it puts Eli back into Hero mode, Im all for a revamp.

[Bunch of Coconuts]

Aren't Kate and Eli heterosexual? The second YA team being mostly LGBTQ+ was pretty much an accident.

I’m pretty sure it was very intentional. Gillen made America lesbian and made Prodigy (and by proxy Tommy) and Noh Varr bisexual (or is Noh pan?).

Gillen also started the concept of America having lesbian mothers (screw that recent mini btw).

[scourge]

Aren't Kate and Eli heterosexual? The second YA team being mostly LGBTQ+ was pretty much an accident.

So far they've not been said to be anything else on panel. But popular fandom opinion is that Kate's bi or lesbian. And then there was that "joke" in West Coast Avengers about Kate not ever dating anyone straight...and then Tommy came out...so people are assuming it means Eli's not straight too.

[MaximoffTrash]

I kinda liked the idea of Kate being the token straight in V2, which doesn't contradict the other meme about her never dating straight people. If anything it adds an extra layer to that meme.
But again I don't mind her being bi(not sure about her being lesbian in comics, since the gag is her dating none-straight men most of the time?)

[Drops Of Venus]

Vol 2's issues had less to do with the roster and more to do with Gillen wanting to write a Loki book and twisting the YA around that idea instead of writing a YA story.

I don't disagree that Gillen definitely wrote Young Avengers as a follow up to his Journey Into Mystery book, but I also think he managed to make the book about Billy and Teddy just as much as Loki. I always say that Vol. 2 was the Loki/Billy/Teddy show, because the dynamic between those three characters was pretty much the driving force behind the whole story. Now I get that some YA fans didn't like that either and wanted other YA members to shine, but I won't lie and say I wasn't a fan of a gay relationship being a central plot point in a Marvel book. I mean, we literally had Wickling saving the universe with the power of their love. The book will always have a special place in my heart because of that.

Marvel said different.

8 years and Kate and Hulking & Wiccan have found success elsewhere. So comics Marvel says they have moved on.

Now when Marvel wants to toss out release of trades-we will see a team of SOMETHING claiming to be YA. Same thing we saw with New Warriors, Generation X, Young Justice, whatever is claiming to be Teen Titans or Titans and Runaways.

You can't bring everybody back.

Actually, no, Marvel didn't say different, because it was just a while back that they literally put the Young Avengers back together on-page, written and drawn by their creators, and teased that they would be a group again. If they had moved on, I don't see why they would feel the need to do that. Those characters are literally still referred to as Young Avengers on-page, even after all those years. So clearly Marvel writers don't feel that they moved on.

And it's interesting that you're mentioning trades, because guess which books have been getting reprints left and right these days? That's right: Young Avengers. Specially last year because of the MCU, YA books went up on the Amazon charts, their physical books became more valuable than ever for collectors, and every now and then you can see that Marvel reprints Heinberg's and Gillen's runs due to higher demand. So again, even in a commercial sense, I ask: does it seem like they're ready to move on from the team?

And while I don't expect EVERYONE to be back (like, I don't think Nate would ever be a Young Avenger again), I think it IS very possible to get most of the team back, or something that resembles it. It was just recently that we almost had a near full New Warriors reunion with all of the OG members back (except for Nova), which only didn't get printed because Covid happened. Ewing just recently relaunched Defenders with a more classic line-up. Comics do that all the time when they think nostalgia will sell.

I mean, I'd still say characters like Kate, Billy, and Teddy are running off the success and nostalgia of their YA years even when they're in different books.

EXACTLY. In Empyre, Billy and Teddy were STILL being called Young Avengers on the recap pages, and Tony Stark's first reaction to Teddy in the event was to say ''Hulkling from the Young Avengers?''. Not to mention that one of the highlights of the event was the YA getting back together for their wedding. On Ant-Man's most recent mini featuring Cassie, one of the plot points was that she wanted to go join Kate in the West Coast because she missed being a Young Avenger. And even now on Kate's most recent solo, one of the first panels was a group chat between her, Cassie and America where a Young Avengers reunion is mentioned. Like.... how can anyone seriously think Marvel has moved on from YA? They are still very much associated with the name, even in current stories. Like I said, the brand is inevitable, and it will be even more after they make their MCU debut.

Random question: do we think Billy and Teddy's digital Infinity comic will ever appear in a printed format? I own basic every trade the boys have been in. I'd like that too, but don't know how likely it is.

Only time will tell. A while back they did a similar imprint for digital comics called Marvel Digital Originals that eventually got a print format, but IDK what is the long-term plan for the Infinity Comics imprint.

I’m pretty sure it was very intentional. Gillen made America lesbian and made Prodigy (and by proxy Tommy) and Noh Varr bisexual (or is Noh pan?).

Gillen also started the concept of America having lesbian mothers (screw that recent mini btw).

Yeah, Gillen said that he actively tried to make his YA run as queer as possible, and gods bless him for that.

[OopsIdiditagain]

Can I talk about west coast avengers here or is having only two former young avengers character in it too little? Rewatching New Girl makes me appreciate the sitcom vibe it was going for more. I wonder if it will get a series soon.

[Drops Of Venus]

Can I talk about west coast avengers here or is having only two former young avengers character in it too little? Rewatching New Girl makes me appreciate the sitcom vibe it was going for more. I wonder if it will get a series soon.

Any talk about books involving the Young Avengers is welcome. WCA was cool and all, but I don't see it getting a follow-up, at least not that iteration of the team. Tom Brevoort (who edits most Avengers books) was known for being firmly against relaunching WCA for many years for whatever reason, so the fact that they finally brought the group back only for it to get cancelled after 10 issues probably discouraged Marvel to continue the brand anytime soon, unfortunately. And with recent developments (Kate and America leaving LA and breaking up their relationships with the Watts siblings), I feel like Marvel kinda wanna leave that behind, at least for the YA members.

[scourge]

I don't disagree that Gillen definitely wrote Young Avengers as a follow up to his Journey Into Mystery book, but I also think he managed to make the book about Billy and Teddy just as much as Loki. I always say that Vol. 2 was the Loki/Billy/Teddy show, because the dynamic between those three characters was pretty much the driving force behind the whole story. Now I get that some YA fans didn't like that either and wanted other YA members to shine, but I won't lie and say I wasn't a fan of a gay relationship being a central plot point in a Marvel book. I mean, we literally had Wickling saving the universe with the power of their love. The book will always have a special place in my heart because of that.

I wouldn't really agree the story was about Loki, Billy, and Teddy...so much as Loki and Billy with the others just tacked on for the ride. Gillen changed the YA's personalities a bit too much for it to feel like a good YA story. Gave me a strong impression of "no matter what characters were here, their personalities would alter to fit the Loki story".

[AJpyro]

Would the YA be the closest equivalent to Young Justice in Marvel?

[Frontier]

Would the YA be the closest equivalent to Young Justice in Marvel?

More or less what with all the legacy members.

Champions I guess are a little more Titans-y.