Secret Avengers is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics featuring a fictional black ops superhero team of the same name. The series started with Ed Brubaker on writing duties, depicting a black-ops sect of Marvel's premier super hero team, the Avengers, which operates under the guidance and leadership of Captain Steve Rogers (the former Captain America). The series is part of the Avengers-line relaunch as part of the "Heroic Age".
Contents
Publication history
Writer Ed Brubaker and artist Mike Deodato were announced as the creative team for the Secret Avengers title. A series of teaser images were released by Marvel to promote the upcoming series in February 2010, which slowly revealed the team's roster over the course of two months. The series started in late May 2010 (cover date July 2010).
As of the first issue, the roster includes Beast, War Machine, Valkyrie, Moon Knight, Nova, Black Widow, Sharon Carter and Ant-Man and the team is led by Steve Rogers. In regards to the tone of the new title, Brubaker has said:
Secret Avengers is definitely going to have a lot of the espionage plots and the Steranko influence, and the crazy Kirby technology, but I don't think there's going to be much soap opera. I hope it feels different than any Avengers team, ever.
After Brubaker left the title, author Nick Spencer wrote the first Secret Avengers "Point One" issue (#12.1) and three Fear Itself tie-in one-shots. Secret Avengers was then written by Warren Ellis from issues #16-21 and scribe Rick Remender picked up at #21.1 with former Hulk artist, Gabriel Hardman. Remender confirmed that his final issue of Secret Avengers will be with issue #37.
At New York ComiCon 2012 it was announced that the title would be relaunched as part of the Marvel NOW! initiative, with Nick Spencer returning as writer. Spencer said, "This really is a S.H.I.E.L.D. book. I think it's something we've been long suffering for and is long overdue. This gave us a nice excuse to get a proper S.H.I.E.L.D. comic going. This Avengers initiative within S.H.I.E.L.D. is obviously a big focal point of the book, but it still is a S.H.I.E.L.D initiative so everything originates there. So Nick Fury and Agent Coulson are very much involved in the missions. Nick will be in the field with the team. That's his role. He's the S.H.I.E.L.D agent that goes with these characters on the missions. Coulson has a fun role in that he's backup and support. He's the guy who makes the pitch, and brings in the team. So they're a big part of every issue and in some ways they're even our leads.
The third volume was cancelled with #15 in April, 2015.
Fictional history
Volume 1
After the events of "Dark Reign" and Siege, Norman Osborn was deposed as America's "top cop" and his organization H.A.M.M.E.R. was disbanded. In response to his hand in reforming the original Avengers and staving off the Siege of Asgard, the President appointed former Captain America Steve Rogers as America's new foremost law enforcement agent, as well as dissolving the Superhuman Registration Act at Rogers' request. Rogers forms the Secret Avengers as a group of superheroes to operate under a veil of secrecy, in addition to the main Avengers team.
The opening issues show the team being proactive about known threats and cleaning them up, black ops style. They are in direct opposition to a group called the "Shadow Council" seemingly led by Nick Fury. In one such plot they find a dangerous artifact, the Tentacle Crown. After some research the group finds a link to the Roxxon Corporation, which leads to investigations of a mining site on Mars. Richard Rider is on the case, and in his investigations he finds another crown, the Serpent Crown. The crown possesses Nova, but he is pursued by a guardian of the crown claiming to be a collective named the Archon who was created by the Watchers. The possessed Nova directs Shadow Council agents into unearthing a primordial evil. Steve Rogers, with the help of the Xandarian Worldmind, temporarily gains the Nova Force to take out the Serpent Crown/Nova.
The Secret Avengers later have to deal with the fact that someone resembling Nick Fury is shown to be working for the Shadow Council. The real Fury confirms that what they are seeing is a self-aware Life Model Decoy modified by Jake Fury. S.H.I.E.L.D. was going to destroy the LMD, but he was rescued by the Shadow Council and given the name Max. Some other operatives in the Shadow Council are an immortal named Aloysius Thorndrake and former Golden Age hero John Steele.
Shang-Chi offers himself as bait in order to capture his immortal father, Zheng Zu, who needs the blood of a relative to stay alive. Ant-Man accidentally foils that plan, but later the team falls into a trap where Carter is kidnapped. Shang-Chi volunteers to exchange himself for her, but during the exchange Moon Knight disguises himself as a Shadow Council guard. He is able to lead the team to stop the sacrificial ceremony. John Steele is apprehended and Captain America is able to delve into his memories and figures out that because of his actions during a WW2 mission, Steele ended up getting kidnapped and brain washed by the Shadow Council.
Volume 2
As part of the Marvel NOW! event, a new version of the Secret Avengers is formed under the jurisdiction of S.H.I.E.L.D. A mysterious traveler from the future attacks a battalion of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents before he is killed. Following the attack, Maria Hill decides to form S.H.I.E.L.D.'s version of the Secret Avengers. Maria Hill is able to recruit Hawkeye, Black Widow, Nick Fury Jr., and Phil Coulson. Their first operation is to foil a plan of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda from using teleportation knowledge given by Andras Bertesy to execute a terrorist attack on the United States. The Secret Avengers follow the terrorist group to Budapest, where they get the coordinates of the attack from one of their members. After Hawkeye is left to be rescued by Black Widow, Nick Fury Jr. sets a trap for the Al-Qaeda member who was going to perform the attack, by waiting him in the Oval Office to kill him.
In the second mission, the Secret Avengers raid Bagalia and fight through the Masters of Evil, in order to free Taskmaster, who is going to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. Mockingbird joins up with them, using S.H.I.E.L.D. Camo-Tech to masquerade as Aloysius Thorndrake of the Shadow Council. Nick Fury Jr. pays Crossfire to let Taskmaster out of his cell. After Taskmaster agrees to join the Secret Avengers, he goes on a mission to infiltrate A.I.M.'s new High Council (consisting of Andrew Forson, Graviton, Jude the Entropic Man, Mentallo, Superia, and Yelena Belova).
When Daisy Johnson and Nick Fury Jr. were attending the weapons expo, they meet up with Senator Robert Ralston. Daisy notices that one of the items at the expo is the Iron Patriot armor. A.I.M. then attacks the weapons expo which leads to the supposed death of Ralston during A.I.M.'s fight with the Secret Avengers. During the fight, Forson steals the Iron Patriot armor.
Director Daisy Johnson gave Nick Fury, Hawkeye, and Black Widow the Protocol D which is the assassination of the A.I.M. Scientist Supreme. Hulk was recruited to help with the mission when A.I.M. duplicates the technology of the Iron Patriot armor to create an army of sentient drones that A.I.M. would use to incriminate the United States in numerous international attacks. Hulk was able to destroy the Iron Patriot drones that were attacking Iran. Meanwhile, Phil Coulson talks to War Machine about the Iron Patriot armor.
The Secret Avengers raid A.I.M. Island and seemingly killed Andrew Forson. Daisy Johnson ended up suspended for breaking protocol and Maria Hill is put in charge of S.H.I.E.L.D. again. As Andrew Forson was revealed to be alive all along, the news of A.I.M. being a new permanent member of the Security Council is known.
Volume 3
In the All-New Marvel NOW!, a new Secret Avengers team was assembled consisting of Nick Fury Jr., Black Widow, Phil Coulson, and Spider-Woman. Hawkeye rejoins the team, sometime later. The series was cancelled in 2015, after 15 issues.
Roster
Marvel NOW! recruits
Following the Avengers vs. X-Men storyline and the fight against the Descendants, S.H.I.E.L.D. takes direct control of the Secret Avengers' operations.
Honorary
These characters temporary joined the team to help on that particular mission.
In other media
Television
The Secret Avengers appear in Avengers Assemble. In the episode "Avengers Disassembled", Captain America leaves the Avengers, joins S.H.I.E.L.D., and forms the Secret Avengers with Black Widow, the Falcon, and the Hulk. In the episode "The Ultron Outbreak", the Secret Avengers rejoin the original Avengers to defeat Ultron.
Film
The Secret Avengers serve as inspiration for films set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU):
In Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Captain America wears a suit based on the "Super Soldier" suit worn by Steve Rogers in Secret Avengers Vol. 1.
While not directly referred to as such in Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Captain America, Black Widow, Wanda Maximoff, and the Falcon are depicted as an independent group following their separation from the Avengers in the preceding film Captain America: Civil War. Co-director Joe Russo confirmed on the audio commentary for Infinity War that this team is the MCU incarnation of the Secret Avengers.
Video games
Captain America's "Super Soldier" suit from Secret Avengers Vol. 1 appears as a DLC costume for Captain America in Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds.
Captain America's "Super Soldier" suit from Secret Avengers Vol. 1 appears as an unlockable costume for Captain America in Marvel's Avengers.