What self-respecting ruler of the world doesn’t have their own team of superheroes? Certainly not Doctor Doom. Your Major Spoilers review of Superior Avengers #1 awaits!

SUPERIOR AVENGERS #1

Writer: Steve Foxe
Artists: Luca Maresca and Kyle Hotz
Colorist: Mattia Iacono
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
Editor: Danny Khazem
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: April 16th, 2025

Previously in Superior Avengers: Doctor Doom has cemented his control of the world, but some people still aren’t convinced. His son, Kristoff, has come up with a brilliant plan, pull figures from futures where Doom’s reign continues, to act as heroes and proof of Doom’s vision.

COMPLETELY, TOTALLY, LOYAL

Superior Avengers #1 opens up in Washington, DC as Annihilus is trying to unleash his latest brood on Earth. But a team consisting of versions of Killmonger, Doctor Octopus, Ghost, Malekith, Onslaught, and Abomination arrives on the scene. The team works together to stop Annihilus, but at the same time, Ghost sneaks into the Capitol Building to grab something mysterious. Things then flash back two weeks to show Kristoff showing his father a test run of his plan to bring in heroes from the future, where Doom still reigns. This attempt brings Amadeus Cho from the future, and the meeting doesn’t go well. Back in the present, the new team of Avengers converse with each other before slipping into the Negative Zone with the thing that Ghost stole to discuss their secret plans.

THAT’S A WHOLE LOT OF MYSTERY

Superior Avengers #1 is an odd comic that doesn’t feel like it had a lot of thought put into it at conception. That’s not to say that the writing in here is bad, it’s actually a really well written comic where all the characters feel unique, in particular Onslaught has a great characterization here, there’s multiple layers of intrigue and motivation going on, and there’s a pretty solid action sequence right off the bat. Where things get weird, though, is the creative indecision that comes across. Like, on one hand it we have characters like Killmonger and Abomination who are dressed like Black Panther and Captain America respectively, so there’s a bit of Dark Avengers In here, but then you have characters like Ghost and Doc Ock running around as themselves, so it’s sort of like The Thunderbolts, but neither of these scenarios fulfill the goal that Kristoff had for the group in the first place. Where this issue really shines, though, is how it manages to sprinkle in details about the future where some of these characters come from and make it a legitimately interesting version of the future to explore further, which hopefully this series will do.

ABOUT 50/50 ON THE CHARACTER DESIGNS

For the most part, the character designs in Superior Avengers #1 are really fun. I particularly liked a female Killmonger’s version of a Black Panther costume and a futuristic take on Doctor Octopus we saw in Into the Spider-Verse. I even enjoyed a scrawny version of Onslaught. On the other hand, Abomination’s take on a Captain America costume is a bit too reminiscent of the Hydra Cap we got in Secret Empire, and Malekith just looks like a rip-off of Gill from Street Fighter 3.

BOTTOM LINE: NOT BAD, A LITTLE WEIRD THOUGH

On the outside, this sounds like a really cool premise: a group of villains from the future are brought to the present, to pretend to be heroes, while enacting their own schemes against the person they’re working for. For the most part, this comic lives up to this premise, but there are a few moments here and there that don’t quite work and make me wish that this hadn’t been part of this event, but it’s own thing. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Dear Spoilerite,

At Major Spoilers, we strive to create original content that you find interesting and entertaining. Producing, writing, recording, editing, and researching requires significant resources. We pay writers, podcast hosts, and other staff members who work tirelessly to provide you with insights into the comic book, gaming, and pop culture industries. Help us keep MajorSpoilers.com strong. Become a Patron (and our superhero) today.