Marvel Comics Just Quietly Killed Off Three Fan-Favorite Young Avengers

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The following contains major spoilers for World of Revelation #1, on sale October 8 from Marvel Comics.

Three of the greatest Young Avengers of all time are officially dead in the Age of Revelation, and there is simply no avoiding their tragic fates.

In a preview of "Never Let Me Go" from the pages of World of Revelation #1 (by Al Ewing, Steve Foxe, Ryan North, Agustin Alessio, Jesús Marino, Adam Szalowski, Wil Quintana, Cris Peter, and VC's Travis Lanham) from Marvel Comics, readers find Wiccan and Hulkling make a sudden appearance within Revelation's stronghold in the hopes of holding him to account for the deaths of their closest friends. As it turns out, Kat Bishop, Eli Bradley, and Cassie Lang, better known as Hawkeye, Patriot, and Stinger, respectively, all lost their lives during Revelation's conquest of New York. Worse still, there might not be any hope for setting things right, as the Age of Revelation has already been set in stone.

World of Revelation #1

Written by AL EWING; STEVE FOXE; and RYAN NORTH
Art by AGUSTIN ALESSIO; JESÚS MERINO; and ADAM SZALOWSKI
Colors by WIL QUINTANA and CRIS PETER
Letters by VC's TRAVIS LANHAM
Design by JAY BOWEN
Main cover art by PHIL NOTO
Variant covers by C.F. VILLA & RACHELLE ROSENBERG; GIADA BELVISO & MATT MILLA; MIKE McKONE & RACHELLE ROSENBERG; SALVADOR LARROCA & EDGAR DELGADO; and CARLOS MAGNO & YEN NITRO

Although Cassie Lang is by far the oldest of the Young Avengers, thanks to having first appeared back in 1979's Marvel Premiere #47 by David Michelinie and John Byrne, she was one of the last members of the classic lineup to join the team. The rest of the classic Young Avengers, consisting of Billy Kaplan, Teddy Altman, Nathaniel Richards of Earth-6311, Eli Bradley, and Kate Bishop, all made their respective comic book debuts in 2005's Young Avengers #1 by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung. At their outset, the Young Avengers were formed in the hopes of staving off the threat of Kang the Conqueror, yet each member of the team has since gone on to lead their own unique superhero careers.

From what can be gathered from Marvel Comics' preview of World of Revelation, Billy and Teddy are still very much powerhouses of the Marvel Universe in this devastating new future, though they may not be a match for Revelation himself. Formerly Doug Ramsey, aka Cypher, the once beloved New Mutant was transformed into the hulking Revelation after being selected as the heir to Apocalypse's vision for mutantkind. In Marvel's Age of Revelation event, set a decade into the future, Revelation has remade much of the world in his own image, though not with the support of all his fellow mutants.

Back in September, Executive Editor and Conductor of X for Marvel Comics Tom Brevoort explained the lasting impact of the Age of Revelation, specifically on what it means for the Marvel Universe of the present. "Going into January and beyond, we’re kind of in the shadow of tomorrow, where the events going forward will all kind of live in the umbra of these events that we have just witnessed," Brevoort explained. "We've just seen things that have happened to all these characters 10 years down the line. As far as we're approaching this, these are all legitimate futures. This isn't a What If world. These things exist, as far as even the present-day characters are concerned. So, you’ll see a certain amount of reflectivity in what happens."

World of Revelation #1 goes on sale October 8 from Marvel Comics.