Ever since All-New Marvel NOW kicked off, the Avengers have been involved in some epic storylines. Currently, they’re caught up in the universe-wide murder mystery known as ‘Original Sin’, but what does Jonathan Hickman have in store for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in ‘Avengers’ and ‘New Avengers’ after that? Apparently, it’s an epic finale to the writer’s incredible run.
In a recent Reddit AMA with collaborator Nick Dragotta to promote their Image Comics release ‘East of West’ and it’s inclusion in the Humble Image Comics Bundle, Hickman announced that he would be wrapping up his duties with Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, and the rest of the roster in 2015 “around May”. He was extremely light on details surrounding his departure in that forum, but hints came later as Bleeding Cool revealed the first teaser images for a crossover event called ‘Time Runs Out’ from the Diamond Retail Summit in Las Vegas that featured a plain black slide that said “In May 2015…” and the covers of ‘Avengers’ #35 and ‘New Avengers’ #24 by Jim Cheung and Gabriele Dell’Otto respectively.
Since the most recent volume of ‘New Avengers’ started, the Illuminati has been trying to prevent catastrophic events known as incursions from destroying their universe. That drama has been spilling into ‘Avengers’ thanks to ‘Original Sin’, but in September, business is really going to pick up! Both titles will jump forward eight months in time where the beginning of the end commences in two special double-sized issues featuring a new version of the Avengers and what appears to be Thanos and his Cabal from ‘Infinity’ on the covers. Marvel Senior VP – Executive Editor Tom Brevoort weighed in on Marvel.com about this upcoming event that has been two years in the making:
“After the cataclysmic events of the Avengers tie-in to ‘Original Sin’ and the revelation as to what the Illuminati has been up to all this time, we jump the storyline ahead to the moment where time runs out for everybody.
In addition to setting the table for the astonishing climax of Jonathan Hickman’s run, we’ll also be providing a glimpse into the immediate future of our characters and what changes await them over the course of the next eight months of publishing. This isn’t some maybe-future; this is the real deal, what’s awaiting the Marvel Universe in the coming year.”
Hickman’s Avengers books have always had an epic blockbuster feel to them, so it’s fitting that his finale be so big that the company is promoting it eight months before it happens. But also that gives us a ton of time to talk about the future of Marvel’s premiere superhero team. So what are your first impressions of ‘Time Runs Out’? Do you think that it will live up to the 8-month long hype? Are you disappointed that Jonathan Hickman’s run on ‘Avengers’ and ‘New Avengers’ is coming to an end? Let us know in the comments below.
