#u.s.avengers

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[shamlesspandanerd]

[cultofstan]

✨Silver Spotlight: Robert Maverick (aka. The Second Red Hulk)

Robert Maverick is an American army general from Marvel Comics, most notable for being a core member of the U.S.Avengers (from the book of the same name). The book only had 12 issues but the team and Maverick were utilized in the Avengers No Surrender event from 2018. His main superpower is that he has a biological button graphed into his arm that allows him to transform into a Hulk-like being for one hour everyday. Additionally, since he is an Army general, he has combat experience with both weapons and his hands.

Sadly, there isn’t much to his character other than being the old army guy that follows orders and likes beating up whatever bad guys the team face off against. The closest thing we get to a stand alone issue for the character is issue #4, where Maverick is sent out on a solo mission to a stop American Kaiju and unexpectedly teams up with Deadpool, but the book makes fun of the flatness of this new Red Hulk rather than try and utilize the situation to flesh him.

Worse, the series takes a major shift in focus half way through due to being affected/related to the massive Secret Empire event, resulting in Maverick being relegated to a background character that gets his powers messed up as a result of being forced into his Hulk-state for longer than his body could handle. After Secret Empire and during Avengers No Surrender, Maverick only gets utilized in one major way: a fight with the real Hulk which results in Maverick losing his ability to transform into the Hulk completely (and basically being killed off since it’s repeatedly stated that his heart can give out at any moment due to the strain becoming the Red Hulk forced on him)

A huge reason why Robert Maverick interests me is because he serves as a perfect representation of both how the members of U.S.Avengers got treated after the All New All Different era of Marvel ended and how older characters in general get treated if they don’t fill the mentor archetype or comedic relief archetype. (That and he’s a hot DILF, which y’all should know by now I’m a sucker for) Focusing specifically on that second form of representation, Maverick doesn’t make any meaningful or enriching connections with his team members over the course of his existence. His fight with the Hulk serves to create tension for other character actions in Avengers No Surrender and make it so he can’t really be used anymore. All things considered, there was a massive missed opportunity to have an older character learn to be a hero in a way that was never possible before in their life. That’s something you just don’t see very much of. Heroes like Captain America and Doctor Strange are technically on the older side but they’ve been heroes for pretty much their entire adult lives. It would have been fascinating to see someone who had never been in the world of superheroes come in at an age when most people become stuck in their ways of living and see how a new set of powers and responsibilities forces them to change into something better. Considering Maverick was an active Army General, it would have been double cool to see him utilize and contrast his history in the military against this new history as both the Red Hulk and a member of a superhero team. Ultimately, imo, Robert Maverick was a cool character that deserved a lot more love and dedication put into him. ❤️

[watch-joey-collect]

[elgaberino-mcoc]

Kalantak had made a mustachioed version of his Red Hulk model that he felt looked somewhat like a Robert Maverick version. 

About a year later, Maverick was delisted this week

[joezy27]

HAWKEYE - "Avenger of Iowa"

U.S.Avengers (2017) #1 Variant cover by Rod Reis

[ewingstan]

Been curiosity-reading comics lately and rather enjoyed Immortal Hulk. I noticed it was Ewing and looked up what he's done, but that's a rather long list of other things he's written-figured it'd be best to ask tumblr user ewingstan for any particular recommendations to look at from here.

Oh dang! Glad you're enjoying yourself. I'll say up front that Ewing likes to use a lot of the same characters across series, and that they tend to have larger arcs between series, so reading all his stuff in order is pretty rewarding. I also provided a few reading lists below the cut. That said, If I were to recommend some highlights:

Iron Man: Fatal Frontier— Co-written with the incredible Kieron Gillen, this is one of Ewing's first series working in Marvel. A mini-series with a great premise (Iron Man acting as basically a sheriff on a Moon colony) and a great take on Stark, emphasizing a pig-headedness that makes him very entertaining to watch. It's also Ewing's first use of Doom as a character, who'll become one of his favorites to use—and damn if he doesn't write a good Doom.

Loki: Agent of Asguard— One of my first experiences with comics, and one that set the benchmark for what you could do with an extended universe. What starts as an interesting setup for a mythical spy storyline spirals into a larger tale of deciding what kind of character you want to be. Technically a follow-up to Gillen's runs on Journey into Mystery and Young Avengers, but these aren't at all necessary—Ewing sets up the context quickly.

Contest of Champions (2015)— An especially zany one, this series lets Ewing indulge in his favorite passtime: bringing back a bunch of unconnected obscure characters and banging them against each other like never before. An excellent showcase of Ewing's abilities to quickly spin a compelling character out of very little.

Avengers: No Surrender and Avengers: No Road Home—These two series have a soft spot for me. Co-written by Ewing, Mark Waid, and Jim Zub, they're both some of the best examples of classic "there's a big weird threat, lets assemble some heroes" storylines to date. They also serve as a culmination of sorts for Ewing's various scattered Avengers series, though they can each be taken on their own. (Those scattered Avengers series are typically quite good, though they tend to be mired in event cross-overs. Usually you'll need to quickly look up the basic premises of the event an issue is tying into to avoid confusion, though larger engagement with the events are unneeded. These two series thankfully avoid that trend).

Guardians of the Galaxy (2020): This is Ewing firing on all cylinders. It arguably requires a bit more comics background to get the full effect, but it employs some of his most interesting ideas and most compelling action. This ended too damn soon.

Now for the reading lists:

Ewing loves working on team books that are 80% made up of heroes the average person has never heard of. Some of his favorites to work with are Blue Marvel, Spectrum, Sunspot, and various iterations of White Tiger. The most direct reading order for what I consider his most classic, pulpy superhero work is going in order from Mighty Avengers (2014), Captain America and the Mighty Avengers (2014), New Avengers (2015), U.S.Avengers (2017), Avengers: No Surrender (Avengers #675-690), Avengers: No Road Home, Empyre, and Avengers Inc.

However, you can alternatively take the Mighty series to be the start of his exploration of Marvel's larger cosmic makeup. For this somewhat separate, trippier storyline, the reading order is Loki: Agent of Asguard, Mighty Avengers (2014), Captain America and the Mighty Avengers (2014), Ultimates, Ultimates ^2, Contest of Champions, Avengers: No Surrender, Avengers: No Road Home, Immortal Hulk, Marvel Comics #1000, Defenders (2021), and Defenders: Beyond. From what I understand, Venom (2021), The Immortal Thor, Venom War and All-New Venom (2024) also follow from this storyline, though I haven't gotten to these yet. Do make sure to check out the tie-in Absolute Carnage: Immortal Hulk, the one saving grace of the whole Danny Cates Venom series.

Finally, you can construct a list focusing on his take on Marvel's interplanetary politics: Royals, Rocket, Empyre, Guardians of the Galaxy, S.W.O.R.D, X-Men: Red, and The Resurrection of Magneto.

Here's a more detailed breakdown with notes on where you can continue specific storylines. Note again that many of these will have tie-ins, just look up the basic premise of whatever event they're connected to and you'll be fine.

Mighty Avengers is directly continued through Captain America and the Mighty Avengers.

After that, Ewing starts working on two different ensemble books: Ultimates (2015) and New Avengers (2015), each using some characters from the Mighty Avengers books. Each of these are followed up in later series, creating two separate storylines. The New Avengers is arguably a more direct continuation of the larger Ewing Avengers storyline.

If you liked Spectrum and The Blue Marvel, and like your sci-fi with a dash of mytho-poetics, start with Ultimates and continue with Ultimates ^2 (2016). The team also makes an appearance at the tail-end of Contest of Champions. Much of the focus on the big cosmic beings it explores gets revisited in Marvel Comics #1000, Defenders, and Defenders: Beyond.

If you liked Power-Man and White Tiger, and want something pulpy and frenetic, start with New Avengers. Optionally, read the 3-issue Ultron Forever miniseries first. Then move on to U.S.Avengers.

After finishing U.S.Avengers, continue onto No Surrender (aka Avengers 675-690.) This is the last hurrah of the team started in New Avengers, and ties back in several characters from the Mighty Avengers runs. If you want more Roberto Da Costa afterwards, check out X-Men: Red.

No Road Home follows up on No Surrender, and follows up a bit more directly with some of the plot threads from the Ultimates series. Optionally read Rocket beforehand. Afterwards, you can continue the storyline it set up in Guardians of the Galaxy.

The event series Empyre, co-written with Dan Slott, follows up on character arcs from the Mighty Avengers with She-Hulk, The Ultimates with Captain Marvel and Black Panther, and from New Avengers with Wiccan and Hulkling. It also sets up storylines in GotG.

Avengers Inc. is not especially related to other works here, though it uses several characters that he's frequently used across his Avengers titles. Optionally read Ant-Man (2022) and Wasp (2023) beforehand.

[bi-astolfo]

Best part about Rivals is that it features some characters that need more love in the public eye. Like Squirrel Girl, she’s great! I loved her in U.S.Avengers. I tried to get into the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl series but I just hated Erica Henderson’s art for it. It looks like some kinda meme art. Just not my thing.

Now if we could get some other characters that need more love to be featured in the game then that’d be great. I do still want some of the popular characters as well. So far it looks like we’ll be getting a lot of characters though. Multiple every season and a season every couple of months so we’re gonna be good on that front.

[disabledpossumprincesses]

Squirrel Girl in a suit

U.S.Avengers #2 2017

She's so pretty and I love her and she's the best

👩🏻‍🦽

[komicoshea]

Team Building - Avengers final adjustments

Hey, my fellow Plastic Addicts. Today we finally finish off the Avengers with some additional adjustments. Now some may not agree with these additions but tough. I consider these to be members of the team. Today I have added members from the A-force, The teachers of Avengers Academy, Sunspot’s New Avengers/Avengers Idea Mechanic/U.S.Avengers, Avengers Incorporated, Savage Avengers, War Avengers…

[marveltournaments]

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[yokyopeli]

Aikku Jokinen POD/Enigma (The New Avengers/ U.S.Avengers/Agents of SHIELD, 2016-2018) +Tiktak Sankaritar

Mä näen tyhjän taistelukentän/ oon ihan yksin sodassa siellä/ ja vihaan tyyntä myrskyn edellä/ kun tapahtuu on helpompi hengittää/ Mä näen tyhjän taistelukentän/ pahimman vastustajani tiedän/ minusta itsestäni sen löydän/ ei, en pysty lopettamaan,/ mä huidon pimeän taa/ ota kiinni jos saat!

[watch-joey-collect]

[elgaberino-mcoc]