Avengers Forever | |
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Cover to Avengers Forever trade paperback (2000). Art by Carlos Pacheco |
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Publication information | |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
Schedule | Monthly |
Format | Limited series |
Genre | Superhero |
Publication date | December 1998 – November 1999 |
Number of issues | 12 |
Main character(s) | Rick Jones Kang Captain America Yellowjacket Giant-Man Wasp Hawkeye Songbird Captain Marvel |
Creative team | |
Writer(s) | Kurt Busiek Roger Stern |
Penciller(s) | Carlos Pacheco |
Inker(s) | Jesus Merino |
Colorist(s) | Steve Oliff Graphic Colorworks |
Editor(s) | Ben Abernathy Tom Brevoort |
Collected editions | |
Hardcover | ISBN 0-7851-3796-3 |
Softcover | ISBN 0-7851-0756-8 |
Avengers Forever is a twelve-issue comic book limited series published from December 1998 to November 1999 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Kurt Busiek and Roger Stern and drawn by Carlos Pacheco and Jesus Merino.
Contents |
Publication history
Marvel originally contracted Busiek and Pacheco to produce a series called Avengers: World in Chains, but was too similar to another project (Mutant X) and was cancelled by the company.[1] As Busiek and Pacheco were under contract, the pair instead developed the concept for Avengers Forever.[1]
Plot
The character Immortus sends his servant Tempus to kill an apparently critically ill Rick Jones, the possessor of the 'Destiny Force', a powerful ability utilized during the Kree-Skrull War storyline.[2] Rick, however, is saved by the alien Kree Supreme Intelligence, who urges him to use the Destiny Force to summon aid. With the help of former Zodiac member Libra, Rick pulls various members of the superhero team Avengers from the past, present and future.
The team consists of a very disillusioned Captain America, who is pulled from an adventure in which he discovers a high-ranking government official is the leader of the Secret Empire;[3] Yellowjacket from a time when he is mentally unbalanced and unaware that he is Henry Pym;[4] Hawkeye from just after the conclusion of the Kree-Skrull War and war against Olympus;[5] Giant-Man (also Henry Pym) and the Wasp from the present, [6] while Captain Marvel is pulled from a few months into the future, [7] and Songbird is taken from an alternate universe.
The Avengers battle Immortus across several different eras (including encounters in the American Old West with the Two-Gun Kid; the Night Rider; the Ringo Kid; the Rawhide Kid; Kid Colt and the Gunhawks and an alternate version of the Avengers from the 1950's), and discover the villain possesses the Forever Crystal, an artifact that can control multiple realities. Kang the Conqueror (who is destined to evolve into Immortus) aids the Avengers and reveals that Immortus serves a trio of entities called the Time Keepers. These entities eventually reveal that mankind will travel into space and establish the Terran Empire, which will be at the cost of many alien cultures. A future version of the Avengers will apparently be at the forefront of the expansion.
Kang aids the Avengers and in the final battle kills the Time Keepers when they attempt to punish Immortus for failing. Captain Marvel merges with Rick to save his life, and all the Avengers are returned to their respective time lines with a lingering memory of the incident.[8]
A consequence of the adventure is that the alternate Earth version of the Avengers formed in the 1950s now exists in mainstream reality (Earth-616) as the Agents of Atlas (consisting of Marvel Boy; Venus; 3-D Man; Gorilla-Man; Human Robot and Jimmy Woo.[9]
Collected editions
The series has been collected into a single volume:
- Avengers Forever (softcover, Avengers Legends: Volume 1, 264 pages, January 2001, ISBN 0-7851-0756-8, hardcover, 296 pages, September 2009, ISBN 0-7851-3796-3)
Notes
- ^ a b Cronin, Brian (March 13, 2008). "Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #146". Comic Book Resources. http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2008/03/13/comic-book-urban-legends-revealed-146/.
- ^ Avengers #88 - 97 (June 1971 - Mar. 1972)
- ^ Captain America #176 (Aug. 1974)
- ^ Avengers #59 (Dec. 1968)
- ^ Avengers #88 - 100 (May. 1971 - June 1972)
- ^ Avengers #4 (vol. 3, May 1997)
- ^ Captain Marvel #20 (vol. 5, Aug. 2001)
- ^ Avengers Forever #1 - 12 (Dec. 98 - Nov. 99)
- ^ Agents of Atlas #1 - #6 (Oct. 2006 - Mar. 2007)
External links
- Avengers Forever at the Grand Comics Database
- Avengers Forever at the Comic Book DB
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