The Marvel Comics Avengers will face a world where they never existed in May

In May this year, Marvel’s Avengers comic will have a strange direction: there will be no Avenger in it. The new arc of writer Jason Aaron and artist Ed McGuinness will explore a Marvel Universe where the Avengers never formed – but many of their villains did – according to a revealed form from Marvel Comics.

“Welcome to a world where Tony Stark never built an Iron Man armor,” says the Marvel press release, “where Thor is a drunken atheist who despises hammers. Where Wakanda is considered a myth. And where Captain America was never found on the ice, because there was no Avengers to find him. Instead, this world has always been protected by the Most Powerful Heroes on Earth, America’s Supreme Squadron. “

Image: Iban Coello, Espen Grundetjern / Marvel Comics

Squadron Supreme is … well, they’re a Justice League pastiche, usually led by the orphaned alien Hyperion, alongside the nightly Nighthawk, Warrior Woman, etc. In the current state of Marvel Comics, they are the U.S.-sponsored super team – coordinated by disillusioned Agent Phil Coulson – after the Avengers fell from grace after the entire disaster of the Secret Empire.

In this new Marvel Universe, the Squad also has its own set of new supervillians, each of whom appears to have a certain mashup quality for them. Dr. Juggernaut appears to be a version of Doctor Doom who claimed Cyttorak’s Scarlet Jewel and gained Juggernaut’s powers. Thanos wields “Rings of Infinity” this time, pointing out some qualities shared with the villain of Iron Man, Mandarin. It’s all very Infinity Warp-y.

The new arc – starring Blade as the only person in the Marvel Universe who remembers how things used to be – will begin at Avengers in May.