Avengers #18 Brings Earth’s Mightiest Heroes And The X-Men Closer Together Than Ever [Exclusive Preview]

Jed MacKay might be Marvel Comics’ busiest writer. In May 2023, while penning runs on “Doctor Strange” and “Moon Knight,” he took over writing “Avengers.” Now, since this past July, he’s been writing the relaunched “X-Men” series (drawn by Ryan Stegman). Writing both of the biggest Marvel teams simultaneously? Definitely a superhero-sized challenge.

The Avengers and X-Men are often rivals, but MacKay is bringing them closer together. In last month’s “Avengers” #17, he brought Ororo Monroe/Storm onto the Avengers. The weather witch definitely fits the job description of Earth’s mightiest heroes. Rather than joining one of the team X-Men books in the “From The Ashes” relaunch, Storm will be playing on the other side for a while. (She’s also getting an eponymous solo series, written by Murewa Ayodele and drawn by Lucas Werneck, this coming October.)

MacKay’s “Avengers” — initially drawn primarily by C.F. Villa with covers by Stuart Immonen (as well as issue fill-ins from Ivan Fiorelli and Francesco Mortarino) — has so far been basic Marvel stuff. The book’s starting seven-person cast is an Avengers all-stars: Iron Man, Thor, Captain America (Sam Wilson), Black Panther, Scarlet Witch, The Vision, and team leader Captain Marvel. They’re currently set up in a space station base, the Impossible City, a la the Justice League’s Watchtower.

The first two “Avengers” arcs, “The Impossible City” and “Twilight Dreaming,” feature Kang the Conqueror heavily and focus on the Avengers fighting team foils. In the first arc, the villains are the multiversal butchers the Ashen Combine; in the second, the Avengers battle the Arthurian-themed time travelers the Twilight Court. These stories feel like leftover MCU synergy from before “The Kang Dynasty” became “Doomsday.”

After that, the book got sidetracked with tie-ins to crossover events “Fall of the House of X” (issues #12-13) and “Blood Hunt” (issues #14-16). “Avengers” #17 was promoted as a “new beginning,” down to both Storm joining the book and Valerio Schiti taking over as artist.

Now, the first pages to “Avengers” #18 (shared by Marvel with /Film) offer some further glimpses at Ororo’s baptism by fire.

“Avengers” #18 is part 2 of a storyline titled “Impact.” The previous issue ended with Hyperion (Marvel’s Superman stand-in; sometimes good, sometimes evil) announcing he is charging at the Earth from light years away, intending to shatter the planet like a bullet shatters a skull.

The issue’s primary cover (drawn by Joshua Cassara) puts Hyperion front-and-center. He towers over the defeated Avengers; in the background, Storm is the only one left standing to oppose him. Is this how the battle will go down in the issue itself?

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While Storm has been prominent in the issue’s cover art, the interior credits/recap page doesn’t include her in the list of the team’s members. A mere oversight, or will that be coming in issue #19?

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The first narrative page of issue #18 continues with the image that ended issue #17; Hyperion charging through the black depths of space.

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On the next page, the six Avengers present share a sitrep and calculate that they have only five and a half hours to stop Hyperion. When Thor finds the situation challenging even for a god like himself, Ororo — a goddess — enters with her team sponsor Captain America.

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Cementing herself as the issue’s star on page no. 3, Ororo gets two huge panels (a wide shot and a close-up) to herself, while the rest of the team has to settle for being cramped into a small one at the bottom. Not that they’re complaining; they could use Storm’s power (and connections) in this time of need.

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The cover declares the X-Men are guest-starring in the issue. So, I’m guessing the person Carol wants Ororo to talk to is Cyclops and/or Magneto (they’re leading the team in MacKay’s “X-Men” series.) Will all go well for this alliance? “Avengers” #21 (currently scheduled for a December 4, 2024 release) teases Captain Marvel and Cyclops leading their teams into battle against each other. If these blows do come to pass, which side will Storm choose?

“Avengers” #18 will be available from physical and digital retailers on September 18, 2024. The first 14 issues of MacKay’s “Avengers” are currently available on digital reading subscription service Marvel Unlimited, with more to be added one-by-one in the near future.