Armageddon has fallen upon the Marvel Universe, and a bold new age awaits the survivors. Now, we have new details about the final issue of Avengers: Armageddon, the climax of the current story arc in Captain America, insights into the second arc of the new Avengers series, and some big changes to Iron Man's corner of the Marvel Universe.
After General Thunderbolt Ross, a.k.a the Red Hulk, led an army of gamma-enhanced soldiers in a hostile effort to "spread democracy" across Europe, the Avengers dispatched their team to put an end to Ross' conquest despite protest from the United Nations.
David Colton, a former Captain America who recently received a vast power upgrade from the mysterious Origin Boxes, engaged Ross in a highly destructive battle resulting in collateral damage. In the aftermath of that battle, the Red Hulk was captured and removed to Russia by the Winter Guard, while Iron Man discovered a highly dangerous piece of technology left behind that can show the user visions of possible futures.
The discovery of this machine and the consequences of Red Hulk and Colton's battle will be explored in upcoming issues of Avengers: Armageddon and, according to Marvel, will "change how everyone in the Marvel Universe feels about superheroes" while setting the stage for November's The Avengers #1 by Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto.
Before Avengers: Armageddon began, Steve Rogers confronted the Red Hulk and was placed into a coma for his efforts. Steve's soul was then captured and pulled down into Hell, where Victor Von Doom leads an uprising against Mephisto' sforces.
Together with Doom, Steve's noble deeds cause an army of the damned seeking redemption to follow him. Mephisto isn’t taking kindly to such actions and has assembled a horde of demons to confront Rogers and Doom, led by one of Rogers' archenemies from back on Earth, the Red Skull.
While the opening arc for the new Avengers comic series is still being kept mostly under wraps, a teaser image by Zdarsky depicts a cracked Punisher skull. The second arc will be titled "The Red Line."
As for Williamson's Iron Man series, Tony Stark has faced one of his greatest nightmares brought to life by a vengeful Madame Masque and a new incarnation of the terrorist group A.I.M. Stark's continued reactions to A.I.M.'s manipulations have put him under the microscope of his fellow heroes while a mysterious new figure calling themselves Citizen V implores Tony's closest companions to distance themselves from him.
With dangerous technology making it out into the wild and his increasingly reckless behaviour being scrutinised by the public, Stark ends up behind bars in the hi-tech prison known as The Vault as "The Incarcerated Iron Man" kicks off in December with artist Carmen Carnero.
Beginning with Part 1 of "The Incarcerated Iron Man" in Iron Man #12, the series will ship twice a month with alternating story arcs and artists through March 2027, as part of the lead-up to Iron Man #700.
"'The Incarcerated Iron Man' is the story we've been building to since Iron Man #1," Williamson teased. "Tony has accepted his role as the Marvel Universe's most dangerous hero and believes the Vault is the safest place for him to be, but that also means he's locked up with some of his greatest enemies."
"But it's a mystery how and why Tony finds himself behind bars. It's been fun to build on his history and then take Tony in a new and unexpected direction. This turns the series into a high-stakes thriller."
"The journey to our epic Iron Man #700 anniversary issue is so big that we had to split the book into two and double ship it," the writer added. "Our amazing series artist Carmen Carnero will handle the even-numbered issues where Tony Stark is in prison. While the odd numbered issues are taken over by the 'War Machines.'"
"James "Rhodey" Rhodes puts together a new team of Armored Warriors to help take down Madame Masque, Adam Ware and the new A.I.M. while Tony is locked up. For those issues, we're joined by my old partner in crime, Gleb Melnikov," Williamson concluded.
Check out a first look at what's to come in Avengers: Armageddon and beyond below.