Marvel Hero Rejects Offer To Join The Avengers

In the Marvel Universe, there are few titles or associations as coveted as that of “Avenger.” The Avengers have inspired generations of new Marvel heroes to put on the mask and/or defend against evil, and it really is more than just a team or a club – it’s a calling. So imagine how surprising it is to see one Marvel outright reject an offer of membership in The Avengers – at a time when the entire multiverse is under threat and needs The Avengers’ protection. Unfortunately, this rebuke of The Avengers is also particularly stinging for Marvel fans, who hoped to see it happen!

Warning: Avengers #38 SPOILERS Follow!

In Avengers #38, we see the team picking up the pieces after the “Age of Khonshu” event. Mephisto’s machinations across the Marvel multiverse have been revealed to The Avengers and the team is trying to get a handle on the war they are apparently already losing. In order to win that war, The Avengers need new recruits – one in particular: Moon Knight.

Black Panther tracks down Moon Knight in New York, to make the begrudging offer for Marc Spector to join The Avengers. After all, Panther and Moon Knight had a nasty fight in the climatic act of “Age of Khonshu,” and even though Spector ultimately did the right thing by turning against Khonshu, he still stole the powers of some of Marvel’s biggest mystical heroes (Doctor Strange, Thor, Ghost Rider, Iron Fist), and enslaved the world in Khonshu’s name.

However, whatever conflicts The Avengers had about teaming with Moon Knight are ultimately irrelevant, as Moon Knight wants nothing to do with The Avengers. When Panther tells Moon Knight that he and the team can stop Mephisto together, Spector has some choice words for T’Challa:

“Hell no, we won’t. I tried to stop him. I put my blood in the dirt and my soul on the line. And you chose to come down from your fancy mountain to stand in my way. So I’m going back where I belong, to keep saving my crappy little corner of the world the only way I know how. With my own two Khonshu-damned fists. You want Mephisto? He’s all yours, Panther. Let’s hope you’re better at stopping him than you were me.”

As stated, this was a nice little trolling tease for Marvel fans who have wanted to see Moon Knight as a full-fledged proper Avenger. Maybe things will change when the war with Mephisto fully begins.

Avengers #38 is now on sale at Marvel Comics.