Comics for Noobs: The Heroic Age
May 18th, 2010 by Samodean

Boys and girls, there has never been a better time to be a Comic Noob. DC has some cool stuff going on with their “Brightest Day” stories and Marvel is poised to enter their “Heroic Age.”

The Siege of Asgard has ended. Everything is back on track and the Heroic Age is about to begin. Marvel is starting up the Heroic Age but relaunching their ENTIRE line of Avengers titles.

Tomorrow marks the launch of two titles.

Avengers #1 is going to be the core Avengers title, the place all the big stuff happens. The Avengers are going up against threats of a planetary scale. They will once again be “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.” Confirmed for the roster is Captain America (Bucky), Iron Man, Thor, Spiderwoman and Hawkeye. I’d also say Mockingbird is a virtual lock, with Vision from the Young Avengers an outside chance. Of course, if Vision shows up, Stature may come along as well. Yes, Spider-Man and Wolverine are on the cover, and they will be involved in the story of Issue 1, but they’ve got their own thing going on.

Age of Heroes #1 is the first issue of what I’m assuming is a miniseries. It’s helping set up the future course of the Marvel Universe, focusing on some key characters. Spider-Man is a central character, but we’re also seeing some B-Listers like Doctor Voodoo and Captain Britain, who may be staying around as an Avenger of some sort. Age of Heroes looks to be a great way to introduce new readers to some lesser-known characters.

But wait, there’s more! Next week brings us TWO more big books.

Secret Avengers #1 is a book I’ve said a couple things about already. This team has been confirmed to consist of Steve Rogers, Sharon Carter, Black Widow, War Machine, Beast, Moon Knight, Valkyrie, Nova and Ant-Man (Eric O’Grady). Secret Avengers isn’t going to be so much about giant battles, but rather more subtle battles. They’re going in to stop villains BEFORE they become a global threat. While the Avengers are the first line of defense, the Secret Avengers are a preemptive strike team.

There’s also a relaunch of one of my favorite books with Thunderbolts #144. The Thunderbolts have been through several incarnations over the years, from villains pretending, to be heroes to villains actually being heroes, to villains working for the government and being CALLED heroes. This time around, Luke Cage is hand-picking a team. He’s picking villains looking for redemption, characters that can earn their freedom by playing for the good guys. This team of Thunderbolts will consist of Moonstone, Ghost, Crossbones, JUGGERNAUT and even the freaking Man-Thing. Also, fan-favorite Songbird will be involved with the team somehow.

I’m not done yet!

June 3rd (delayed to Thursday because of Memorial Day) brings us Avengers: Prime #1. In the Avengers titles, Steve Rogers, Tony Stark and Thor are working alongside each other again, after dealing with some big issues between them. Avengers: Prime is a mini-series telling the story of how they got back together again.

June 9th is the launch of Avengers Academy #1. Hank Pym starts a training facility to teach young potential heroes to responsibly use their powers. It’s the follow-up to Avengers: The Initiative, which was a very fun book to read.

June 16th marks the relaunch of New Avengers with a new Issue 1. The New Avengers are the heroes looking out for everyone else, fighting the enemies the two “big” teams miss. The team is Luke Cage, his wife Jessica Jones, Spider-Man, Wolverine and the Thing. Also, I give good odds to Ms. Marvel and Noh-Varr showing up.

That’s a whole lot of awesome to fit in one month. If you only pick up one book, make it Avengers. Beyond that, you’ve got several flavors of great stories to choose from.

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