Avengers #1 Negative Space Variant Cover Featuring Vision Revealed

Acclaimed cover artist John Tyler Christopher is bringing his signature “Negative Space” style to Avengers in a cover featuring Vision. Marvel has been releasing a variant cover each day of the week ahead of the relaunch of Avengers in May, from writer Jed MacKay (Moon Knight, Doctor Strange) and Marvel’s Stormbreakers artist C.F. Villa (Black Cat, X-Men). We’ve seen covers featuring Scarlet Witch, as well as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes assembled as a unit, but the newest variant cover by John Tyler Christopher is all about Vision, and the negative space that the artist has mastered.

Vision is shown on a gold background, with his green-and-red features on full display. It also demonstrates Vision’s ability to phase through any object, with the background acting as the thing he’s phasing through. Fans will have their pick of Avengers #1 variant covers to choose from, including ones by Daniel Acuña, Derrick Chew, and Kael Ngu.

Jed MacKay Reveals How Avengers Team Roster Was Chosen

ComicBook.com spoke with Avengers writer Jed MacKay to find out how they decided which heroes would be on the team, including Captain Marvel being named the leader and Sam Wilson making the list instead of Steve Rogers.

“[Editor] Tom Brevoort and I went back and forth on a lineup, but settled pretty early on with what I would call an iconic lineup of Avengers, something I wanted to reflect the classic stories of the Avengers while acknowledging the modern conception of what the Avengers are and should be,” MacKay said. “While, of course, maintaining a manageable roster size – with too many characters, you’re going to get into issues where some members aren’t getting enough spotlight, that kind of thing. Would I like to have Hawkeye, an Ant-Man or the Wasp? Sure, but I also really wanted to focus down on a group where I could do each of them justice.”

He continued, “Wanda and Vision on the team very much hearkens back to the Avengers comics I grew up reading, which were my dad’s old issue from the 70s (which does lead me to wish I could have Beast on the team, haha), when those two were core Avengers characters. They’re both characters I like a lot, and with the added attention from other media, I think the time is perfect to have them on the Avengers. In the other direction, Sam Wilson as the Captain America of the Avengers reflects the modern landscape of comics- and Sam fulfills an important role on our team. In a team of gods, kings, synthetics, and the like, Sam Wilson, inner-city social worker, is the most grounded perspective they have. Sam’s as close to a normal person as we have on our roster, in a way that Steve Rogers, living legend of WWII is not.”

He ended by discussing why now is the time for Captain Marvel to lead the Avengers.

“As far as Carol as leader goes, it’s just something that makes sense- Carol’s ascent over the last decade makes her a perfect candidate to run the Avengers, and I’m looking forward to people seeing her tenure in that chair,” he said.

You can find John Tyler Christopher’s variant cover of Avengers #1 below, along with a description of the series. The issue goes on sale May 17th.

• AVENGERS #1
• Written by JED MACKAY
• Art by C.F. VILLA
• Cover by STUART IMMONEN
• Negative Space Variant Cover by JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER
• On Sale 5/17
• Fans got their first glimpse at MacKay’s overarching AVENGERS plan in last month’s year-ending one-shot, TIMELESS. Readers followed Kang in his hunt for the unobtainable “MISSING MOMENT,” an ambitious quest that put him in direct conflict with the Twilight Court, a group of strange super heroes led by the mysterious Myrddin. Now, a dangerous game is afoot and the prize is greater than anything imaginable… Enter the AVENGERS! Will they be able to triumph in the face of the Tribulation Events and learn the truth behind these earth-shattering threats? Or will they be reduced to mere pawns in an extraordinary scheme beyond their comprehension?
• In addition to awe-inspiring new villains and never-before-seen architects of the cosmos, the upcoming saga will weave together insurmountable stakes and drama as the Avengers’ new missions take a heavy toll on the team’s trust in each other. The Tribulation Events will challenge the Avengers in bold ways and force them to prove, without a doubt, that they’re the most powerful force in the Marvel Universe. It all kicks off with a bang in May’s AVENGERS #1 when the Avengers confront Terminus and prepare for the first of the Tribulation Events: THE FALL OF THE IMPOSSIBLE CITY!