Hero and villain fought side-by-side when the Skrulls invaded the Earth in “Secret Invasion.” (Artwork by Leinil Francis Yu; Property of Marvel Comics)
By: Jacob Elyachar
One of Marvel Comics’ most prolific runs comes to an end on Wednesday.
Longtime Avengers writer Brian Michael Bends ends his run on the title after an impressive eight years.
Throughout this outstanding period, the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes were on an extreme roller coaster of emotions as fans saw longtime members leave, surprising heroes becoming Avengers and countless dramatic moments that made readers say “What the…”
Here are 10 of some of the most memorable and shocking moments from Bendis’ run that redefined the long-running franchise:
Chaos (Avengers Vol. 1 #500; 2004)
Bendis started off his run by creating the worst day in the team’s history. During the first chapter of Avengers Disassembled, the Avengers’ Mansion was destroyed, She-Hulk lost control, an alcoholic Iron Man threatened the life of the Latverian ambassador to the U.N. and Vision devolved into five Ultrons. All of this chaos was due to the Scarlet Witch, who lost control of her powers and gone insane.
Breakout (New Avengers, Vol.1 #1-6; 2005)
During the first arc of the first volume of New Avengers, when a shadowy group hires Spider-Man villain Electro to initiates a prison break on the Raft, two veteran Avengers (Captain America and Iron Man) are joined by a new group of heroes: Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Wolverine and Spider-Woman to form a new superhero group dedicated to stop the breakout and stumble upon a villainous sect of S.H.I.E.L.D.
With three little words, the Scarlet Witch decimated Marvel’s mutants at the end of the epic mini-series: “House of M.” (Artwork property of Marvel Comics)
No More Mutants (House of M #7; 2005)
These three words changed the Marvel Universe forever as the unstable Scarlet Witch magically wiped away almost all of the X-gene that left only 198 mutants in the world. Wanda’s actions not only affected the Children of the Atom but also her former teammates as several of them experience side effects from the massive House of M crossover.
Elektra is a Skrull (New Avengers, Vol. 1 #31; 2007)
One of the biggest WTH moments happened at the finale of the post-Civil War arc “Revolution.” After a period of heated combat against Elektra and the Hand, Echo (Maya Lopez) kills the Hand’s leader and to the shock of all of the Underground Avengers, Elektra turns into a Skrull. Thus beginning the prelude to Secret Invasion.
The Marvel Universe vs. the Skrulls (Secret Invasion #6-8; 2008-09)
Once Iron Man stated the classic line: “Avengers Assemble” in Secret Invasion #6, one of the most epic fights in Marvel History began. Countless of heroes and villains fought side-by-side to defeat the Skrulls and their leader: Queen Veranke. While they were successful in the battle, there were two major consequences: the heroes “lost” founding Avenger: the Wasp and Norman Osborn was handed the keys to the kingdom.
After Norman Osborn was handed the keys to the Marvel Universe, he gathered some of the most powerful villains and anti-heroes for a huge meeting (Artwork by Leinil Francis Yu; Property of Marvel Comics)
The Cabal’s formation (Secret Invasion #8 & Secret Invasion: Dark Reign; 2009)
When Norman Osborn was handed the Keys to the Kingdom, he summoned some of the Marvel Universe’s most dangerous figures: Dr. Doom, Loki, Namor, the Hood and Emma Frost together in one room and managed to unite them to his cause. However, this super group did not stay together as Doom, Namor and Frost betrayed the group while Loki managed to manipulate Osborn into invading Asgard.
Captain America leads the heroes into Asgard (Siege #3; 2010)
Siege contained two highlights in Bendis’ run. The first highlight was the return of Captain America (Steve Rogers) after a three-year absence. His first action back was leading the heroes into Asgard to stop Osborn’s forces. While they were able to fend off the Dark Avengers and the Hood’s lackeys, Osborn had a deadly secret weapon.
The Sentry’s destruction of Asgard was one of the most shocking moments in Bendis’ run. (Artwork by Oliver Coipel, Mark Morales & Laura Martin; Property of Marvel Comics)
The destruction of Asgard (Siege #3; 2010)
The former Green Goblin revealed to the Avengers that he was able to control the Sentry’s malevolent personality: the Void and commanded him to bring the mythical city down. To see the Sentry bring Asgard down sent chills down the readers spine and that scene will haunt the Avengers forever. Artist Oliver Coipel’s impeccable pencils along with assistance from colorist Laura Martin perfectly illustrate both of these moments that changed the Marvel Universe landscape forever.
The Illuminati Revealed (Avengers, Vol. 4 #8-9; 2011)
For years, the most brilliant minds of the Marvel Universe (Iron Man, Mr. Fantastic, Black Bolt, Namor, Dr. Strange and Professor X) met in secret to discuss what is going on with the world. However, when three Avengers teams track them down, Tony Stark spills the beans about the group to an enraged Steve Rogers.
Cyclops lets out his anger to Captain America. This moment shocked many Marvel fans and marked the first battle in “Avengers vs. X-Men.” (Artwork by John Romita, Jr., Scott Hanna & Laura Martin; Property of Marvel Comics)
Avengers v. X-Men begins (Avengers vs. X-Men #1; 2012)
When the Phoenix Force was approaching the Earth, the Avengers went to Utopia to take Hope into protective custody. However, the X-Men’s leader Cyclops, who was fed up with the Star-Spangled Avenger stood his ground and attacked Captain America. This was the first punch that launched the mini-series into high gear.
For more information about Bendis’ final Avengers issue, visit the Marvel website: http://marvel.com/
