Warning: Minor SPOILERS for Avengers #28
The newest threat coming to Marvel's Avengers will be from within their own ranks, as the team learns about the alien horrors waiting in outer space... and see one of their own team members transformed into a monstrous killer.
That's according to Marvel's official solicitations for December 2019, and the month's Avengers #28. It had previously been revealed that the Avengers would be searching for Starbrand in a highly dangerous Galaxy, but the mysterious new wielder of the cosmic super weapon may be the least of their worries. With a space prison the size of a galaxy to be searched, the Avengers are going to be in over their heads--and it looks like Thor will be adding to the problem once he succumbs to an infection of the Brood.
But just what kind of alien infection are we talking about here? What are the Brood? The alien race known as the Brood first appeared as an X-Men enemy, in the pages of Uncanny X-Men #155 in 1982. the Brood are an alien race of parasitic insectoids, with a hive mind. The Brood are capable of impregnating any species of host with an egg, which when grown turns the host into a Brood themselves. While many heroes have managed to rid themselves of the Brood egg before being turned into a Brood themselves, if left unchecked the host will be killed.
The resultant Brood is able to inherit the powers of the host, and has the ability to morph into the host's original form and a hybrid form with both Brood and host characteristics.
The cover of Avengers #28 shows a hybrid form of Thor, which would mean he was unable to remove the Brood egg before it changed him into a member of the alien hive mind. While comic book covers are notorious for showing events that don't quite occur in the actual storyline whatsoever, readers can at least enjoy seeing what an evil badass a Thor/Brood hybrid would look like (with metal Asgardian Destroyer arm and all).
If Thor does succumb to the Brood, the Avengers will be in for one hell of a fight. A Brood with the powers of the Thunder God will not be an easy opponent to subdue. The solicit for the issue doesn't give a hint of Thor's fate, so readers will have to wait to see it unfold for themselves--and if Brood Thor is still worthy of lifting his hammer Mjolnir!
- AVENGERS #28
- Release Date: December 18th, 2019
- Written by: Jason Aaron
- Art by: Ed McGuinness
- Cover Art by: Ed McGuinness
- 2020 Variant Cover by: Ema Lupacchino
- STARBRAND REBORN PART TWO: THE DRAWING OF THE HERALDS! A mysterious new wielder of the all-powerful, cosmic super-weapon the Starbrand has arisen inside a space prison the size of a galaxy, drawing the attention of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, along with some of the most powerful figures from beyond the stars. Behold the coming of the Three Heralds. Also, Thor is a Brood now…
Avengers #28 will be available from your local comic book shop on Decembert 18th, or direct from Marvel Comics.