Today sees the release of “Avengers Assemble” #1, a new comic in Marvel continuity written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Mark Bagley that features the cast of the upcoming blockbuster film as a gateway for new readers to hop into the Marvel Universe.
The book features the new version of Zodiac, a former crime organization consisting of characters in a secret cabal named after astrological signs. (The previous incarnation had all been murdered off-panel by Joe Casey and Nate Fox’s mischievous solo incarnation of Zodiac, star of his own three-issue mini and the secret villain of “Vengeance,” who is now just plain missing.) As the comic unfolds, we learn that these members of the new Zodiac have their own new twist, which is pivotal to the first arc of the book.
However, as tweeted by Benids earlier this afternoon, the unrevealed secret of the Zodiac and where they got their powers is directly tied into whatever book Bendis helms when he leaves the franchise later this year.
What do we have to glean from all this? A super villainous organization given powers by a secret source, Bendis on a new book, assumedly one that ties in with the aforementioned villainous organization angle, and/or — at the very least — a book that could star someone with the ability to give ordinary people super powers.
So. Any guesses out there?
