As Marvel Comics gears toward a global takeover at the hands ofDoctor Doom, his new twisted version of theThe Avengersthreatens to succeed where many have failed before. The Superior Avengers aren’t the first “villain-turned-hero” team to copy themselves after the Avengers. FromSecret EmpiretoDark Reign, Marvel has perfected creating villainous teams that sinisterly mimic the World’s Greatest Heroes. This is something the MCU desperately needs.
As announced by Marvel Comics,Superior Avengers– written by Steve Foxe, with art by Luca Maresca –will tie into the massiveOne World Under Doomcrossover event, as the eponymous antagonist debuts his own ominous new team, with some of Marvel’s greatest villains, now operating as the Avengers.
Cover Artist:
R.B. Silva
And there came a day, unlike any other, when Doctor Doom ruled the world…and he needed an AVENGERS team all of his own! Kristoff Vernard, son of Victor Von Doom, has been tasked with building the newest iteration of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes! But who are these would-be heroes? And how did they come to be the SUPERIOR AVENGERS? Find out in a tale unlike any other in the landscape that is ONE WORLD UNDER DOOM!
However, these villains are far from the first to have stolen the Avengers’ moniker. While it may be a repeated trope, it’s admittedly one of Marvel’s most entertaining. Hopefully, the MCU has taken notes as Marvel Studios prepares for its own Doom takeover inAvengers: Doomsday.
Doctor Doom Debuts His Own Evil Version Of The Avengers, But They Aren’t Marvel’s First
These Teams Come From Similar Origins
Marvel has been featured numerous villainous Avengers teams, although the two most significant teams areNorman Osborn’s Dark Avengers, during theDark Reignevent, and Hydra’s Avengers, during theSecret Empireevent. In both instances, as with the Superior Avengers, the Marvel Universe had all but recently collapsed under the cataclysmic weight of Marvel’s apocalyptic events. With the country or world having freshly fallen apart, blame is placed on the previous politicians and heroes who had failed to prevent or contain the calamity.
Who Are The Masters of Evil? A Complete Guide To The Avengers' Darkest (and Most Underrated) Villains
Doctor Doom’s newest Masters of Evils are an eclectic group of heinous and immoral monsters and are more unhinged than the team has ever been before.
In the void of power left behind, traditional villainsarise with promises to save humanity where the heroes have failed.With thunderous applause from the public or the lack of means to stop the historical criminals, the villains take charge and impose their iron will upon their new subjects. Promises of prosperity sour into threats of control and censorship. Governments become overtly corrupt and self-serving. Andwhat remains of the Avengers, the world’s paragons of justice and hope, are removed and reorganized to create a team that better reflects the new villainous governing body.
The Avengers’ Corruption Feels Realistic Yet Fictionalized
The Villains Are A Reflection Of The State
While Marvel Comics has a longer history of telling these kinds of stories, Marvel Studios has already set a similar thematic precedent.
Toinfiltrate the Avengerswith violent and murderous villains, undermines the fictional and literal hope the heroic organization once stood for. As these themes often feel more familiar than we would like, Marvel’s willingness to explore the conceptscarries a significantly more emotionally impactful experiencefor readers who find hope in the heroes’ fight to overcome the oppressive regimes. While Marvel Comics has a longer history of telling these kinds of stories, Marvel Studios has already set a similar thematic precedent.
The MCU Has An Established Precedent For Its Own “Dark Avengers” Story
The Thunderbolts Don’t Necessarily Count
Captain America: Winter Soldiertells a story about a governmental authority falling underneath a traitorous fascist regime, while the heroes assemble an underground resistance network. The tone is eerie and cold, cementing the film’s unnerving dystopian feel. Now, over a decade later,Captain America: Brave New Worldoffers a new story of internal corruption and the continued struggle to live up to one’s truly heroic predecessors.The MCU has already established this comic book tropeand is continuing to lean into it. However, it’s worth noting that teams like the Thunderbolts don’t fall under this thematic category.
“We’re Not As Nice As the Avengers”: X-Men Points Out the Team’s Biggest Difference From the Avengers
Cyclops' latest one-liner goes a long way to explain why the X-Men’s more militant stories have been so different from the Avengers' over the years.
The Thunderbolts, in its ideal state, are designed to be a rehabilitation program for supervillains, criminals, and the morally gray to find a second chance. The modern Thunderbolts, like the ones featured in the MCU’sThunderbolts*film, don’t pretend to be villains. They know they have done awful things but own up to their past to seek redemption in the future. However, the likes of theSuperior Avengersare hypocritical frauds who defile what their namesake stands for. It’s a cheap play by the villains who want to feel admiration despite their secret wrongdoings.
Doctor Doom’s Avengers Team Represents True Evil
Nothing Will be Held Sacred by the Superior Avengers
The Superior Avengers are only one of a collection of bastardized versions of the Avengers. This collection of Marvel’s most violent and unhinged villains inherentlyundermines the practical and symbolic purpose of the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.As the threat ofDoctor Doom’s world takeoverapproaches, the world will face a version of the Avengers never seen before. Again, in the face of global tragedy, an empirical fascist has now found the means to seize control.Doctor Doom’sSuperiorAvengerswill tear down every pillar their predecessors held sacred whenSuperior Avengers#1 debuts later this year.
Source:Marvel Comics
Superior Avengers #1will be available July 18, 2025 from Marvel Comics.
