Marvel Confirms New Avengers Lineup Ahead of Avengers: Doomsday

With Avengers: Doomsday right around the corner, Marvel is ready to drop a new Avengers lineup, putting the focus on its magic-wielding heroes. New details for the Arcane Avengers reveal an exciting story arriving this September.

Marvel's Arcane Avengers will debut as part of the upcoming revival of the publisher's Mangaverse, celebrating its 25th anniversary. New details of the one-shot story tease a team full of Marvel's sorcerers, all led by Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier. The most notable members of the new team are Bloodline, the daughter of the legendary Blade, and Wiccan, the reincarnated son of the Scarlet Witch and Vision, who is a founding member of the Young Avengers. Arcane Avengers #1 goes on sale Sept. 16.

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Marvel Mangaverse: Arcane Avengers #1 is written by Ashley Allen (Magik & Colossus) and features art by Ms. Marvel's Mirka Andolfo. Marvel has already revealed the cover artwork for the one-shot, drawn by Yuji Kaku, allowing fans to see some of the new team members in action.

Marvel describes the Arcane Avengers as "a reluctant group of sorcerers led by Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier. Cursed to defeat and imprison a demonic yokai alongside teammates Bloodline and Wiccan, Bucky looks for an opportunity to free himself and finally be free from his captor’s control. As a new wave of yokai incursion stretches the team’s resources, Bucky plots his escape, but the sudden reappearance of his former childhood friend, Hawkeye, throws all his plans into disarray."

Arcane Avengers certainly offers Marvel fans an exciting new twist on a typical Avengers story. By putting the focus on magic, the story — which is set in Marvel's Mangaverse rather than the main continuity — also allows for the team to face villains they might not normally come across, including the terrifying yokai from Japanese folklore.

It's also highly likely that the events of Arcane Avengers will set up some major developments for the rest of the Mangaverse's revival. Marvel previously teased that the group of five one-shot comics would release weekly throughout September to celebrate the Mangaverse's 25th anniversary, paying homage to modern manga storytelling while also focusing on deep, world-building lore.

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Joining the Arcane Avengers in the Mangaverse's revival will be several other new takes on classic Marvel heroes. The event kicks off with Web of Blood on Sept. 3, marking the return to the alternate universe where Miles Morales, Laura Kinney and Illyana Rasputin find themselves facing Armageddon while trying to keep the world from falling apart.

Things will continue to spiral out of control in Iron Knight #1, on sale Sept. 9, which sees Ironheart teaming up with Moon Knight in a story inspired by manga's shōnen genre. After Arcane Avengers, Carnage will begin his own rampage, tearing through humans and yokai alike and prompting Kwannon (AKA Ghostlocke) to put an end to the madness. Lastly, things all wrap up in Web of Destiny on Sept. 30, which returns to Miles, Laura and Illyana as they put their differences aside to save the planet from burning to ash all around them.

Marvel Mangaverse: Arcane Avengers #1 goes on sale on Sept. 16.