The Ultimate Spider-Man and Avengers Assemble team is getting the band back together for a back-up story featuring Iron Man, Thor and Captain America for Avengers #800.
Marvel announced the milestone issue will arrive in January, as issue #34 marks the 800th issue of Avengers, if you ignore all the relaunches and renumbering. Bendis actually made his debut on the title roughly 300 issues ago, on Avengers #500, which started the “Avengers: Disassembled” storyline that resulted in the book’s relaunch as New Avengers.
“Returning to the pages of Marvel Comics has been an incredible experience,” Bendis said. “To reunite with the Avengers on the occasion of an anniversary is doubly wonderful because anniversary issues are where we really celebrate our love of the characters and legacy. I made my Avengers debut on Avengers #500. I love the symmetry.”
Here’s Marvel’s official description of the story: Taking place on the anniversary of the founding of the Avengers, the all-new story brings together the “Big Three,” Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America, for a high-stakes mission to take down Hydra’s latest weapon of mass destruction. They’re soon joined by many more teammates—past and present—for a thrilling showdown that exemplifies the team’s mission and impact!
Bendis was exclusive to Marvel for about a decade, working not only on various Avengers titles but also Daredevil, X-Men, Iron Man, countless crossovers and of course, co-creating Miles Morales. He left for DC in 2017, and most recently has focused on creator-owned projects at Dark Horse. Bagley’s tenure at Marvel spans multiple decades; the artist stopped doing interiors last year, but he’s still been doing covers for Marvel since then.
“AND I get to reunite with my dear longtime Ultimate Spidey AND Avengers collaborator Mark Bagley,” Bendis said. “Just reuniting would be magical enough, but him coming out of retirement to do this story with me was an incredible gesture. He has already penciled magical pages. It’s been a wonderful reunion between us AND the characters. Thanks to everyone at Marvel for having me back for such an auspicious occasion. This is the first of some truly special Marvel projects that I will be part of in the near future. Stay tuned…”
Avengers #800 arrives in January, with a main story by Jed MacKay and Farid Karami.