Avengers' New Era Officially Begins September 16, Marvel Confirms

A new era is approaching for the Avengers, as Earth's Mightiest Heroes undergo an epochal rebirth. However, the crucial moment is happening significantly earlier than fans thought, with Marvel revealing that September 16 is the vital date no Marvel fan should miss.

Debuting in 1963, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby conceived The Avengers thanks to a happy accident. With Daredevil #1 running behind schedule and a printing press already booked, the pair threw together Marvel's biggest solo heroes into a ragtag team, not suspecting they were creating one of the most iconic franchises in all of pop culture.

Over the decades, the Avengers have evolved and been reborn to keep up with changing times, most notably with their MCU debut in 2012, which changed the face of popular cinema. Now, they're transforming once again, and the first hint of the new era is coming in a couple of months.

Avengers Is Introducing a New Core Hero

Marvel is currently publishing the event series Avengers: Armageddon, where the team and their godlike ally David Colton take on the Red Hulk. Fans know this will be followed with a relaunch in November, beginning Volume 10 of Avengers with a radical new team. However, that new team really begins this September.

Marvel has teased that the latest Avengers roster will include a brand-new hero. Fans had speculated this might be David Colton or new Wonder Man Vin Lerner. However, newly released solicit information for Avengers: Armageddon #4 officially confirms it's an entirely new character who will debut in this issue, boasting the issue contains, "A key moment in Marvel history as a new character takes the stage."

In the current comic series, the Avengers are trying to prevent the takeover of Symkaria by Red Hulk's new army, carried out in the name of New America (formerly Latveria.) Out of this conflict, a new hero will rise, presenting the first building block of Avengers' new era, and joining a new team made up of Luke Cage, Captain Marvel, Daredevil, Wolverine and Spider-Man.

Marvel has nicknamed these heroes 'Earth's Mightiest Survivors,' implying Avengers: Armageddon will kill off iconic heroes such as Captain America and Iron Man (while Thor is already not just dead, but wiped from mortal memory.)

Who Is Avengers' New Hero?

With the new hero officially debuting this September, all fans know is that they haven't met them yet, however it's likely their powers will come from an Origin Box. These recently introduced devices contain the powers of heroes from the alt-reality of Earth-6160, and are the reason David Colton is currently utilizing Sentry-class powers.

Writer Chip Zdarsky is known for decompressed storytelling in event titles, and it seems that issue 4 will still be set during Red Hulk's attack on Symkaria. That means the new hero could be an unseen Hulk or a citizen of the country, however there's another, more likely possibility...

So far, the event has paid a lot of attention to the fact that the United Nations don't want the Avengers involved in fighting Red Hulk, despite traditional forces being vastly outgunned. It's possible that the UN has its own superhuman enforcer waiting in the wings to join the fight, and that they could debut in the new issue. This would help explain why they'd be welcome on the new Avengers roster - maybe the team will work in alliance with the UN in its new era, following the disastrous loss of the old team.

September 16's Avengers: Armageddon #4 will introduce a new hero who'll be core to Avengers comics for at least the next few years, as the franchise undergoes a dramatic rebirth that has fans hyped.

Avengers: Armageddon #4 is coming September 16 from Marvel Comics.