Behold Marvel’s Mighty Avengers!
We have Luke Cage who won’t be the leader as we previously suggested, instead the often neglected Monica Rambeau formerly Photon now known as Pulsar will be leading this team along with Power Man who made his debut during the shadowland event and Ava Ayala the sister to the original Puerto Rican superhero White Tiger. Oh and the Falcon will also show up along with Blue Marvel. Now this is a team I can sink my teeth into because it’s ballsy enough to break out from the token black member that typically shows up on every team nowadays like affirmative action.
What got us even more excited was this quote:
a huge inspiration for the book was the late writer Dwayne McDuffie. Brevoort said he wanted to make a book that McDuffie would have made in terms of there being at least 50% non-white, non-male characters.
That guys is music to my eyes and ears. And with that let me introduce you to the black members of the latest Avengers team!
The call promised that many more characters beyond the ones teased this week would be a part of the team including Monica Rambeau who Ewing was very excited to write. “She’s got a new costume and a new name, but she’s kind of rejoining the superhero set in terms of rebranding herself. She’s basically coming back as Spectrum, which we batted around possible names, and you could tell that one had a kind of hard science-fiction feel to it. One of the things I love about Monica…is that she was once the leader of [the Avengers] team, and it’s great to have her in that position again.” He added that he’s finding new ways to use the former Captain Marvel’s powers and ways to incorporate her history into the group and book.
Brevoort says that “During his tenure as a member of the Avengers he became the Moral center for the team. Although Luke retired from being an Avenger to care for his family, he can’t refuse the call to arms when it comes time to stand in and defend the Earth because of the catastrophe that is Infinity. He’s the one character with the gravitas and the wherewithal to be able to make this team happen”
“Adam the Blue Marvel, a character that garnered a lot of attention from the one little limited series he was in,” Brevoort said. “He’s a phenomenally powerful character, a man who his conscience told him he had to stand down at the command of his president, and ever since he has regretted the action. He’s got some ambivalence about what he should be doing, his place in the world, whether everything has passed him by and he’s viewed in different ways by different members of the public. The time has come again for him to step into the world in a big way because the events of infinity are such that he can no longer sit on the sidelines. He has to get involved in the middle of the action.”
The very first African American superhero, longtime partner of Captain America and all around stand up guy. The Falcon currently serves on the Avengers (2013) team under Cap’s leadership. He has the power to communicate and command avian animals, even those born on different worlds. He’s grossly underused considering he was trained by captain America and has the added ability of flight but let’s hope for the best with his inclusion on this team. Curios though his team will be missing from Earth during infinity but he apparently gets left behind.
The All new Power Man made his debut during the shadowland storyline and set himself up as a hero for hire in the modern age, via email and craigslist. According to his creator Victor Alvarez has the ability to absorb the life energy “chi” of living things and release it in explosive punches. He also has the ability to absorb the knowledge of others to an unspecified degree since the collective knowledge of all who died in his housing complex now resides within him. Victor has had additional training from Iron Fist and never quite got along with Luke Cage who he thinks is a sell out for marrying a white woman….among other things. These two will def add drama to the team!
Ava Ayala is the third member of her family to hold the mantle of the White Tiger after her brother Hector made his debut as the very first Latino/Puerto Rican superhero from marvel comics. Ava has been a member of the Avengers Academy and a strong advocate for pride in her Latino heritage. Unlike the previous holders of the Amulets of power Ava occasionally loses control and becomes host to the less than benevolent tiger spirit. All her abilities are enhanced by the amulet as she carries on her family’s long heroic tradition!
The team is rounded out by She Hulk, Superior Spider-man and a new Ronin.
Superior Spider-Man
Brevoort had this to say about his inclusion “A very different flavor of Spider-man when Infinity takes place his vast Manhattan network of spider-cameras and spider-bots will be instrumental in the fight against Thanos. To him there is no way anyone will be attacking his place without his intervention”
She Hulk 
“She’s been a lawyer, she’s been a member of the Future Foundation right now, she’s juggled a lot of things,” he said. “In the past, she’s served with the Avengers, she’s been with the Fantastic Four and the Defenders a little bit. She’s a good team player, so when a band of characters is pulled together, she’s an essential piece in keeping the gears moving.”
Mark your calenders boys and gals!
“Mighty Avengers” #1 ships in September from Marvel Comics.
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[Source: CBR]