‘Avengers: Armageddon’ #4 Reveals The Return Of A Legendary Hero
by Tony Thornley
Marvel Comics’ Avengers: Armageddon has promised a massive shift for Earth’s mightiest heroes. On the last page of this week’s fourth issue of the event series, part of that promise was fulfilled.
*Spoiler Warning*
In the past year, Chip Zdarsky, Captain America, Armageddon and upcoming Avengers writer, has been building up David Colton as one of the key players in the Marvel Universe’s future. Colton has progressed from a patriot who enlisted in the wake of the September 11th attacks, to the Captain America of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, to a tragic victim of super-science gone wrong, to a powerhouse of unbelievable strength. That last one was thanks to one of the Stark Origin Boxes, multiversal artifacts containing the catalysts that can create heroes.
In last month’s issue of Armageddon, Colton used his power to forcibly disarm the world’s nuclear arsenal, but as he arrived at the last silo in Russia, he was confronted by the Avengers, Winter Guard and Thaddeus “Red Hulk” Ross. In that confrontation, the Russians launched their nukes. In this week’s issue, the combined powers of the Avengers, Fantastic Four, Namor, Black Panther and the X-Men narrowly averted nuclear armageddon, while Colton, Captain Marvel and Bucky Barnes confronted Ross.
That fight ended with Ross and Bucky seemingly dead, and Colton seriously injured. In that moment, the former supersoldier uttered a word never heard on Earth-616, but would utterly transform it.
Kimota.
The transformation trigger that unleashed Miracleman.
After years of teases, false starts, and publication delays, the mantle of Miracleman has been taken up in the Marvel Universe.
Miracleman is rightfully considered one of the greatest stories in modern superhero lore — a deconstruction of superheroes that elevated the tales of heroes into myth. But since Marvel purchased the rights to the character in the early-2010’s (at the end of a long and frankly confusing legal battle), he’s been the subject of continued speculation and teases. It’s a story that frankly deserves its own write up, and not a sidebar in a story about the return of the character.
With Colton assuming the mantle, Marvel has made clear that this is a new beginning for the character.
“Dave Colton is a fascinating, complicated character, now much more so as he takes on the mantle of Miracleman,” Avengers Editor Wil Moss shared. “Chip has big plans for him that will affect not just the Avengers, but the entire Marvel Universe. This is the beginning of something really special.”
To celebrate, Marvel revealed three new Avengers: Armageddon covers featuring Colton as Miracleman — a spoiler variant for issue #4 by Michael Cho, the un-redacted main cover by Dike Ruan to issue #5, and John Romita Jr.’s variant to #5 featuring Colton.
Check out all three covers and watch for more news about what miracles this might bring to the Marvel Universe soon.
