Iron Man Was on almost every one Avengers list, but his newest team stretches the concept of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes further than ever. With not only surprising heroes but unexpected villains old and new, the new team promises to continue not only the lineage of the Avengers, but also the multi-series stories told by their latest writers.
Via CBRUpcoming West Coast Avengers Writer Gerry Duggan has broken down the weird roster of the new Avengers lineup, which includes Ultron and ‘Marvel’s Biggest Jerk’ Blue Bolt. Duggan also provides the first look at Danny Kim’s unlettered art. As Duggan explains
Ultron’s past is an obvious concern, and Blue Bolt’s future seems a mess. He has all the makings of a great Spider-Man rogue – not an Avenger. The concept of the team is going to try the redemption and rehabilitation.
The West Coast Avengers are a classic team, and like the typical ‘B-Team’ often include even more misfits than the main Avengers roster. Along with the villainous cohort, the new incarnation of the team includes Iron Man, War Machine, Spider-Woman and Firestar, all members of various Avengers teams in the past.
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The New West Coast Avengers debut roster included Ultron
West Coast Avengers #1 By Gerry Duggan and Danny Kim
Ultron’s role in this team is especially fascinating, as the character has gone through some major changes over the past decade. 2015s Avengers: Rage of Ultron See the villain merge with his creator, Hank Pym, becoming a new version still committed to evil. Ultron battled various heroes for the next several years, including Duggan Infinity Countdown event, before being shunted into the future in several stories by writer Al Ewing. Ewing then secretly brought Ultron back in the miniseries Avengers Inc.Where he became the amnesiac Victor Shade, unaware that he was Ultron.
Fortunately, Hank Pym has prepared for Ultron’s reemergence, basing the ‘Victor’ personality on Mark-12, a heroic Ultron from the original West Coast Avengers in the 1980s. The personality overpowered the evil Ultron, purging the villain from his system. It probably means that This is the heroic Ultron of Duggan’s new West Coast team. The other team villain is newcomer ‘Blue Bolt’, a former villain henchman who is likely named after the original Blue Bolt, a character introduced by Captain America co-creator Joe Simon in 1940.
West Coast Avengers hand-picks Duggan’s past characters
The writer will continue to torture Tony Stark and X-Men’s Firestar
The roster is also an opportunity for Duggan to return to characters he’s helped define over the past few years such as Iron Man, War Machine and Firestar. Duggan wrote Invincible Iron Man (2023)As for his other major series of the time, X-Men (2021)which featured heavily Firestar. The issue’s preview shows Firestar drinking desperately in a bar, suggesting that Duggan isn’t ready to put her through the emotional ring just yet. What Duggan has to say about Tony Stark, though, will be interesting to see now that Tony isn’t in the X-Men’s orbit anymore.
West Coast Avengers It’s long been a way for Marvel to take a radically different approach to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, and Iron Man’s decision to recruit a team of former villains and damaged heroes speaks to that goal. While West Coast Avengers While it will undeniably tell a new story that welcomes new readers, it will also be rewarding for longtime fans to see Duggan revisit characters like Iron Man And Firestar that he has so much to define in recent years.
West Coast Avengers #1 Releases November 27th from Marvel Comics
Source: CBR