Warning: Contains SPOILERS for X-Force #5! When Avengers fans think of Captain America, they see the perfect embodiment of a hero in every sense of the word – but this cannot be said about his variant, Captain Assyria. Captain Assyria comes from an alternate universe that was corrupted by a divine villain and is now officially returning to Marvel lore. Not only that, but Captain Assyria comes with his full roster of Avengers, complete with costumes and codenames.
In a preview for X Force #5 by Geoffrey Thorne and Marcus To, the team of militant mutants is facing the last people they thought they would have to fight: the Avengers. While it’s true that the X-Men and the Avengers haven’t always gotten along, the current state of the Marvel Universe has cemented them as allies. When Orchis attacked the mutants, the Avengers were there to help. Captain America led the Supernatural Avengers, Spider-Man let Nightcrawler use his superhero identity, and Iron Man risked his company and his life to help the X-Men.
However, as this preview shows, the Avengers are no longer friends with the X-Men. At least, this version of the Avengers. These ‘heroes’ crossed over to Earth-616 from Earth-9105, aka the world that was corrupted by the Sphinx. Leading this team of Avengers is Captain Assyria, and the rest of the Avengers are: Fenris, Horus, Iron Man and Storm – and this evil version of the Avengers can take down X-Force (and even all mutants) at once for all.
Who is Captain Assyria? Origin and history of the evil Captain America, explained
First appearance: New Warriors #11 by Fabian Nicieza and Mark Bagley
Captain Assyria (whose real name was never revealed) played the role of Captain America on Earth-9105 and – just like in this X-Force preview – led a version of the Avengers that had just one goal: protecting the Sphinx’s tyrannical government. The Sphinx is a divine entity that possessed an ancient pharaoh and, through him, changed the course of world history. Everything that happened was part of the Sphinx’s grand plan, which ruled the entire world from the shadows.
When the Sphinx was passed on to a new host, it decided to emerge from the shadows and rule with a much heavier hand. It was at this point that the Avengers were formed, with Captain Assyria (named after the new name of the United States in this timeline) as the team’s leader. Instead of advocating justice and heroism, Captain Assyria merely followed the will of the Sphinx, as he believed that working blindly for his tyrannical ruler was equivalent to being a hero. And above all, the one thing Captain Assyria hated most were mutants.
Captain Assyria and his Avengers’ hatred for Mutants spells trouble for X-Force
On Earth-9105, the group that most threatened the Sphinx’s power were mutants, making them public enemies number one of Captain Assyria and his Avengers. And now, that hatred will fuel Captain Assyria’s effort to destroy Earth-616’s X-Force. In fact, with the widespread anti-mutant sentiment that is currently rampant in the Marvel Universe following the Fall of do: destroy mutantkind.
While Captain Assyria’s return to Marvel Comics may seem shocking given that he and his Avengers were seemingly erased from existence when the New Warriors defeated the Sphinx, it was later confirmed in Avengers: Forever #11 that he and his Avengers still existed in the multiverse. And now, Captain Assyria and your Avengers have crossed over to Earth-616, ready to destroy mutants while they are at their most vulnerable – and they may very well succeed.
Force X #5 from Marvel Comics will be available on November 6, 2024.