Captain America and Iron Man may be movie stars, but the time has come for Wolverine, Punisher, Venom and more killer heroes to form a new kind of superhero team... as the Savage Avengers. The Marvel Universe doesn't know what's coming.
It's no understatement to say that for many current Marvel fans, the newly announced series will be their most exciting Avengers roster to date, filled with characters far too brutal, violent, bloodthirsty, and broken to ever work as part of Marvel's movie universe - no matter how successful it may be. We've got all the details fans will want to know before picking up Savage Avengers #1... starting with their newest member, Conan the Barbarian. Yes, THAT Conan the Barbarian.
- This Page: The Savage Avengers are Coming To Marvel
- Page 2: Wolverine, Punisher & Venom Have Changed
Along with the first cover art (confirming that this team-up is really, truly, not-just-a-dream happening) comes the first details straight from Marvel, promising that this collection of heroes and antiheroes won't be changing their personalities or learning to play well with others because the story demands it. Allow Marvel SVP and Executive Editor Tom Brevoort to explain:
SAVAGE AVENGERS is just what it says on the label—it’s all of the biggest badasses of the Marvel Universe brought together uneasily in one explosive series—and with Conan as a wild card. It’s big, it’s brash, it’s explosive, it never slows down—the only scenes in SAVAGE AVENGERS that involve a table is when somebody is being thrown through one.
Take a look at the first glimpse of Gerry Duggan and Mike Deodato, Jr.'s Savage Avengers #1 with cover art by David Finch below.
The heavy hitters are easy to spot, but as writer Gerry Duggan explains to EW, every member of the team has been chosen for a reason. With Duggan just launching his limited Savage Sword of Conan series, it makes sense that he would bring the recently-reacquired-by-Marvel Conan the Barbarian into the spotlight with this Savage follow-up. The plot details are being kept under wraps, but it seems that mystical trading between the sorcerers of Conan's world and the villainous group known as The Hand are what pull him into Marvel's universe. From there, Wolverine, Venom, Punisher, Elektra, and Brother Voodoo wind up on the case.
Duggan wouldn't reveal just how this "unsanctioned team of heroes" unites, but did tease that this roster is "summoned" meaning it's no coincidence. While she's the only woman on the team, Elektra is described as "a methodical detective, while everyone else is running through walls like the Kool-Aid Man and stabbing people." And if that doesn't make you instantly add Savage Avengers to your shopping list, perhaps word that Conan the Barbarian and Wolverine will cross blades will do it.
But to those casual fans who are already sold on the team-up, we feel obliged to inform that these versions of Venom, Punisher, and Wolverine may not be the ones that most fans will expect. In fact, this trio of headlining heroes is so broken at the moment, their forming of a found family may actually be the Savage Avengers' biggest selling point. SPOILERS ahead.
Page 2: The Wolverine, Punisher & Venom You'll Meet in Savage Avengers
Venom, The (Less) Savage Avenger?
For fans of Venom who aren't quite up to date on the recent changes to the symbiote mythology, or think the Tom Hardy movie reflects the hero's current status quo... we've got some bad news. The word that Eddie Brock and his symbiote "Other" would be joining a new Avengers team - sanctioned or not - may be the biggest surprise of the whole roster. Because at present, the symbiote has been effectively lobotomized, no longer able to truly merge with its other half. And Eddie Brock? He's facing the return of his cancer because of it.
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Fans reading through Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman's current Venom series likely accepted that won't be permanent, since Eddie is going to need to return to full power if he stands any hope of defeating Carnage, basically a Symbiote God thanks to his recent power-up. But one thing we can say for certain is that after a year of several near-death experiences, Eddie Brock and Wolverine are going to have plenty to talk about. Especially after Marvel recently revealed that Wolverine's the reason Venom became a hero instead of a villain.
Wolverine, The (Resurrected) Savage Avenger
If the current state of affairs for Venom seem to be personal disarray and weakness, then Wolverine is going to make him feel a whole lot better. After spending years "dead" Logan has returned to the world of the living, facing a path that is anything but straight. In fact, news of his coming enrollment in these Savage Avengers arrives just as it seems the Return of Wolverine comic will explain his resurrection. Who did it, how they did it, and for what purpose... because at the moment, Wolverine can barely remember the hero he once was.
Being on a team with Venom might help him more than casual fans expect, with the Venom series recently revealing that Wolverine was "Venomized" during the Vietnam War under Nick Fury's supervision. That's likely to become a topic of conversation, whether or not Logan has his memories fully restored. It's just as likely that those memories are gone for good (or for now). In which case, being surrounded by killers like Venom and The Punisher might make him more of a hero than ever before, just to balance things out.
Punisher, The Savage (Scarred) Avenger
Assuming that it's even possible for Frank Castle to break, the last few years in the Marvel Universe have done their best to make it happen. After launching a war against Baron Zemo and his HYDRA forces across the planet, The Punisher was finally beaten--that is, captured. Perhaps not yet defeated, Frank was dragged into the darkest prison cell Zemo had in his HYDRA nation of Bagalia, where he has stayed until today (being beaten in private as he was publicly framed for increasingly senseless crimes). Thankfully, a recent prison break has laid the way for The Punisher to break out, and back into the Marvel Universe. But a team-up with Elektra, Brother Voodoo, and Conan the Barbarian was definitely not the reception fans expected.
On the surface, these Savage Avengers may seem to be the most unstoppable, unkillable vigilantes and superheroes Marvel has to offer. And they may be that, regardless of their mental states. But for fans of Duggan's writing, and the characters that flesh out these franchise titles and brands, this collection of deeply, deeply damaged individuals may be just what the Avengers universe needs. Whether Wolverine and Venom are slicing apart The Hand or sharing a beer with Frank Castle... what comic book fan wouldn't want to read it?
The Savage Avengers will arrive with a 30-page first issue on May 1st, 2019, but fans can also head to their local comic shop on Free Comic Book Day, May 4th, to pick up FCBD AVENGERS for a 10-page Savage Avengers story launching the ongoing series.