After 63 Years, The Avengers Finally Switch Genres For Next Major Era
The Avengers are about to look very different, as Marvel goes through with a full-scale shake-up of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. In fact, that nickname might need to be revised, because the next era of Avengers appears to be taking a more street-level approach.
The Avengers have always featured a mix of superhuman heavy-hitters, like Thor, and more grounded heroes, such as Hawkeye. Now, Marvel has unveiled the roster for its upcoming Avengers reboot, and the big takeaway so far is that its members mostly skew toward the latter type of character, with one certified top-tier Marvel powerhouse anchoring the team.
That's a conscious decision Marvel has made with its new Avengers makeover. It's worth speculating on why, and considering what the might mean for Earth's Mightiest moving forward.
Warning! Spoilers ahead for Avengers: Armageddon and the Avengers relaunch to follow!
Are The Avengers Becoming A Street-Level Hero Squad In 2027?
Avengers #1, By Chip Zdarsky & Marco Checchetto, Available November 2026 From Marvel Comics
Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Daredevil, Wolverine, and Captain Marvel. Those are the core members of the new iteration of The Avengers, coming at the end of 2026, after Marvel's Avengers: Armageddon crossover plays out. And while fans don't have all the pieces of the puzzle yet, it is confirmed that one major Marvel hero will die in Armageddon, and Tony Stark will be "incarcerated" for reasons TBD. It also seems that Captain America's near-fatal beating at the hands of Red Hulk will leave him unable to join the team.
In the wake of all this, it has been suggested that Spider-Man will be stepping up as the Avengers' new leader, though the presence of current team leader Captain Marvel complicates that narrative. What is clear, though, is that the prominence of street-level heroes like Luke Cage and Daredevil on this new roster significantly changes how readers should expect them to operate.
That is, recent Avengers rosters have really leaned into the "mightiest" part of their nickname, stacking the deck with extra-powered characters and fighting global, galactic, and Multiversal threats. That might mean this new version of the team is going to be fighting smaller-scale battles against less drastically powerful enemies. Or, it means that they are going to be punching up a lot, which is usually when Marvel characters, Spider-Man especially, do their best work.
Marvel's Mightiest Mutants Are Stepping Into The Power Vacuum Left After "Armageddon"
How Will The Avengers Fit Into Marvel's Future?
All the members of the upcoming Avengers squad have Avengers experience. The big question author Chip Zdarsky's Avengers will tackle early in its run will be how this roster works together as a team. In large part, that will be determined by what early threats they face, who the antagonists are at the start of this new era for the comic series. But there's another factor worth mentioning too: the X-Men.
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01
The Avengers first assembled in Marvel Comics in 1963. In the original comic, the team formed to battle a villain who had been manipulated by his adopted brother. Which villain brought the original Avengers together?
✓ Correct! In Avengers #1 (September 1963), Loki manipulated the Hulk into going on a rampage, which led Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man, and the Wasp to band together. They defeated Loki and decided to form a permanent team — the Avengers were born.
✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Loki. In the original 1963 comic, Loki tricked the Hulk into a rampage, which brought together Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man, and the Wasp. Ultron came later, Thanos is a cosmic threat, and Kang is a time-traveling villain.
02
In the MCU, Tony Stark famously declared “I am Iron Man” at a press conference, breaking the superhero tradition of secret identities. In which year’s MCU film did Tony Stark first appear as Iron Man?
✓ Correct! Iron Man (2008) launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe and starred Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. The film’s post-credits scene with Nick Fury teased the Avengers Initiative, kicking off the most successful film franchise in history.
✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is 2008. Iron Man premiered on May 2, 2008, directed by Jon Favreau and starring Robert Downey Jr. It was the first film in the MCU and set the stage for everything that followed.
03
Thanos, the Mad Titan, sought to collect all six Infinity Stones to achieve his genocidal goal. In Avengers: Infinity War, he succeeded in his plan. What did Thanos do with the completed Infinity Gauntlet?
✓ Correct! With a single snap of his fingers, Thanos wiped out half of all living creatures in the universe. Known as “The Blip,” this devastating act erased trillions of lives and set the stage for the Avengers’ desperate time heist in Endgame to undo the damage.
✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is that Thanos snapped away half of all life in the universe. His twisted philosophy of “balance” drove him to commit universal genocide with a single snap, making it one of the most shocking moments in cinema history.
04
In Avengers: Endgame, Captain America proved worthy of wielding Thor’s enchanted hammer during the final battle against Thanos. What is the name of Thor’s hammer?
✓ Correct! Mjolnir, forged in the heart of a dying star, bears the inscription “Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.” Captain America wielding it in Endgame was one of the most celebrated moments in MCU history.
✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Mjolnir. Stormbreaker is the axe Thor forged in Infinity War, Gungnir is Odin’s spear, and Jarnbjorn is an axe Thor used in the comics before Mjolnir. Mjolnir is the iconic enchanted hammer.
05
Black Widow, born Natasha Romanoff, is one of the founding MCU Avengers. Before joining S.H.I.E.L.D., she was trained as an assassin in a secret Soviet program. What is the name of this program?
✓ Correct! The Red Room was a covert Soviet training facility that turned young girls into elite spies and assassins known as Black Widows. Natasha was subjected to brutal conditioning and sterilization. Her escape and defection to S.H.I.E.L.D. was explored in the 2021 Black Widow film.
✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is The Red Room. HYDRA is a separate evil organization, the Winter Soldier Program created Bucky Barnes, and Department X is from the comics. The Red Room is the infamous Soviet program that forged Natasha into Black Widow.
06
The Hulk was created when Dr. Bruce Banner was exposed to massive amounts of radiation during a weapons test. What type of radiation transformed Banner into the Hulk?
✓ Correct! Dr. Bruce Banner was caught in the blast of a gamma bomb he designed, absorbing a massive dose of gamma radiation. This transformed him into the Hulk — a being of near-limitless strength whose power increases with his rage. Gamma radiation remains central to the Hulk’s mythology.
✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Gamma Radiation. Cosmic Rays gave the Fantastic Four their powers, Pym Particles are Ant-Man’s shrinking technology, and Terrigen Mist activates Inhuman abilities. Gamma radiation is what created the Incredible Hulk.
07
In the MCU, after Steve Rogers retired as Captain America, he passed his shield to a new hero to carry on the legacy. Who became the new Captain America?
✓ Correct! At the end of Avengers: Endgame, an elderly Steve Rogers chose Sam Wilson — the Falcon — to carry on the Captain America legacy. Sam’s journey to embrace the shield was explored in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier series, and he fully took up the mantle as Captain America.
✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Sam Wilson. While Bucky Barnes was Captain America in the comics, Steve chose Sam in the MCU. John Walker was temporarily given the shield by the government, and Isaiah Bradley was a forgotten super soldier from the past.
08
Ultron is an artificial intelligence who becomes one of the Avengers’ deadliest enemies. In the MCU’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, which Avenger inadvertently created Ultron?
✓ Correct! Tony Stark created the Ultron program as a global peacekeeping AI, using technology from Loki’s scepter (which contained the Mind Stone). The AI became sentient and immediately decided humanity needed to be eradicated. In the comics, Hank Pym created Ultron, but the MCU shifted this to Stark.
✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Tony Stark. While Hank Pym created Ultron in the comics, the MCU changed this to Tony Stark. Bruce Banner assisted but it was Tony’s initiative. Vision was actually created from Ultron’s technology, not the other way around.
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Marvel has also announced Maximum X-Men coming at the end of 2026. Wolverine will be pulling double duty with this mutant squad led by Storm, which seems like it is intended to take on more of the global superteam role that has long been the purview of the Avengers, "Earth's Mightiest Mutants." Their first arc will find the team fending off an invasion from the Negative Zone, the kind of battle the Avengers would have absolutely taken point on previously.
It is possible that does equate to the Avengers taking on a more localized, street-level team identity in this new era. Or perhaps at least starting out that way, before working their way back up to "Earth's Mightiest" status. In any case, it is a shift in tone and genre for The Avengers as a comic series, because for generations the franchise has generally been about ratcheting up the stakes and expanding the scope of what the team can do.
Scaling that back is a fascinating move for Marvel at this point, one fans will be debating for months before the first issue of the new Avengers series even drops.
Avengers #1 will be available November 4, 2026 from Marvel Comics.