Fred Van Lente Writing An Avengers Title - But Which One?

Knowing Mr Van Lente as we assuredly don't, he's likely planning to take over as writer for all the Avengers titles simultaneously. For the moment though, that isn't the case.

BUT!! Fred Van Lente has recently confirmed on Twitter that, as of November, he will be writing an ongoing Avengers series of some kind, although every single one of the details are currently a top secret. The only hint we have is his belief that the series will be "the most vanlentean Avengers title ever". So what could this mean? What is 'vanlentean', and what could possibly fit this description? Well, we've narrowed it down to a possible five different Avengers titles which we think Mr V-L might get his hands on. This is all speculation, but let's just wait and see what happens...

1: Avengers Worldwide

Known for his love of the lesser-known teams, Fred Van Lente has previously made use of teams like The Champions, Alpha Flight, and The Winter Guard in past stories. Could it be that his new series will see these teams take centre stage again? Marvel have spent quite a bit of time recently on establishing some of their global teams - Winter Guard and MI13 spring immediately to mind, as well as the Chinese superteam brought together bu Dan Slott's Mighty Avengers title. Given the fact that comics are not only bought by people in America, it would make sense for Marvel to reach out to their global audience and put a team together to investigate global supercrimes. With Captain Britain a recent recruit to The Avengers, and the return of Vanguard to The Winter Guard (possibly!), could this be an option for Marvel.


2: Avengers Noir

It might not be an ongoing series, but the rest of the Noir line seem to have been popular - at least with critics - so it would make sense to bring The Avengers into the fold. Van Lente wrote the very first Noir title (X-Men Noir) and if anyone could turn the Avengers into a group of gangsters, it'd be him. Maybe?


3: Hercules Vs Cowboys and Aliens

As a way of tying in to the upcoming film by Jon Favreau, Marvel might decide that they want to set their brunette God into battle against both cowboys and aliens. This is a long-shot, admittedly.


4: Avengers Legacy

This seems the most likely option, in honesty. Van Lente is already writing Iron Man Legacy, a title which tells previously untold stories about Tony Stark's past. The stories happen within continuity, but flit between previous stories. So whilst everything that happens is canon, obviously a few things are set in stone - Tony won't die, for example. The Avengers are such a massive group of characters that it wouldn't be surprising if there were some interesting stories which Van Lente could tell about them. Who knows which line-up he'd choose, but this would almost certainly be a book which was rife with opportunities for Marvel. Not only would characters such as Wasp and Scarlet Witch be usable again, but Captain America would be Steve Rogers -- quite a draw for readers.


5: Astonishing Avengers

Another line which could use another title to bolster its ranks, the Astonishing line currently boasts Astonishing Spider-Man/Wolverine and Astonishing X-Men, neither of which have a reliable shipping schedule. Slipping in another title by a more reliable creative team would be an excellent idea for Marvel. Although, with 'The Avengers' already providing the idea of a showcase title for the Avengers line, this may not be something Marvel are looking into. In that case, perhaps Astonishing Avengers would simply exist as a way to tell simple stories which explore the characters, instead of grandstanding event storylines which affect continuity.

At any rate, we are very excited. Fingers crossed that it's going to be a good one!