The Avengers are about to face off with a deadly new group of villains. This year marks the 60th anniversary of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, and in true Marvel fashion, that includes a new volume of Avengers by writer Jed MacKay and artist C.F. Villa. May's Avengers #1 springs out of the most recent Timeless one-shot, which featured Kang the Conqueror searching for the elusive "Missing Moment." Now, a new roster of Avengers assemble to take on a new threat, and Marvel is giving fans the first look at a group of villains called The Ashen Combine that will appear in July's Avengers #3.
Marvel released C.F. Villa's character design sheets for the five members of The Ashen Combine: Lord Ennui, Idol Alabaster, Citysmith, The Dead, and Meridian Diadem. While they won't clash with our heroes until Avengers #3, Avengers #1 will be where the villains' story truly begins. The Avengers will become aware of the Tribulation Events, which are a series of grand-scale disasters that will spark upheaval throughout the known universe. The introduction of The Ashen Combine and the Fall of the Impossible City are only two of the challenges that await the Avengers in this new run.
Avengers Reveals First Look at New Villains
"I'm extremely excited to be launching the latest chapter of Avengers with my old Black Cat teammate C.F. Villa!" Jed MacKay said in a statement when Avengers #1 was announced. "I grew up on the Avengers, weaving in and out of their 60s and 70s exploits as a kid, and having the opportunity to plot the course of Earth's Mightiest Heroes is a rush, especially coming from the street-level and/or weirdo niche I've been working in over the last couple of years. This is big, loud Avengers stuff—nothing in this story should ever feel small or inconsequential, and our lineup reflects that. Heavy hitters and iconic Avengers are to the fore—The Tribulation Events are coming, and only the Avengers can take them on."
You can find those character design sheets for The Ashen Combine below. Avengers #3 by Jed MacKay and C.F. Villa goes on sale July 26th.
