Marvel Comics have announced “Avengers: War Across Time,” a five-issue series by writer Paul Levitz — in his Marvel debut — and artist Alan Davis. Intended to mark the 60th anniversary of the team’s first appearance (published July 2, 1963), the comic will take readers back to those early days, when the line-up consisted of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Giant-Man, and the Wasp
As the title suggests, Kang the Conqueror will be the main villain, “reaching back from the furthest reaches of time to destroy the Avengers’ legacy,” as he orchestrates “an onslaught of powerful and strange new threats that strike at the very heart of the team.” One of the threats featured in the first issue will be a possessed version of the group’s own stray co-founder, the Hulk.
Levitz’s presence has come as a surprise to many longtime comics readers, given he was the publisher of Marvel’s main rival, DC Comics, from 1989 to 2009, and its president from 2002 to 2009. However, it is also surprising for a far less amusing reason: in 2020, Business Insider ran a report on racism at DC, where two former editors, Harvey Richards and Lateef Ade “L.A.” Williams, alleged Levitz had fostered an hostile environment for Black creators.
Williams, who was at DC from 1994 to 2000, said Levitz personally vowed to never promote him following the use of an Alabama governor’s likeness in “Impulse,” and after filing a racial discrimination complaint over then executive editor Mike Carlin’s behavior. Richards, who was with the company from 1997 to 2019, was only promoted after Levitz’s tenure, and described incidents where Levitz told him he had “grammar problems,” and that “some people think you deserve this” when he won an employee recognition award.
Levitz responded to the allegations at the time saying, “I’m not going to comment on decades old incidents. I’m proud of the increasing diversity at DC in my time as an executive there, and while we didn’t achieve an ideal balance, I think much changed for the better.” It is unknown if Marvel were aware of the article, or if it factored into their decision to work with him.
Regardless, “Avengers: War Across Time” #1 will be released on January 11, 2023.
