Summary
- In Avengers #18, new Avengers member Storm is set to battle Hyperion, Marvel's Superman-like supervillain – a brutal first test of her role as the mutant powerhouse of Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
- The appearance of Hyperion in the mainstream Marvel Universe holds its own mysteries – but in the immediate future, fighting him will prove why Storm deserves to be a prominent member of the Avengers.
- Saving the Earth from Hyperion should earn Storm, and mutantkind in general, goodwill from the planet's human population – but given the current mutant-human tensions, that isn't likely to be the case.
The latest incarnation of the Avengers are about to fight Hyperion, the Marvel Multiverse’s evil equivalent of Superman, but luckily, they have a secret weapon: the X-Men's Storm. With the Omega-level weather controller ing the roster of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Hyperion may find that he’s bitten off slightly more than he can chew.
David Marquez's new variant cover for Avengers #18 teases the all-out brawl between Hyperion and the Avengers’ newest member, Storm.
Avengers #18 (2024) |
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| Release Date: |
September 18, 2024 |
| Writer: |
Jed MacKay |
| Artists: |
Valerio Schiti |
| Cover Artist: |
Joshua Cassara |
| Variant Covers: |
David Marquez |
STORM VS. HYPERION FOR THE FATE OF THE PLANET IN AVENGERS #18! After ing the team in next month’s AVENGERS #17, Storm must prove herself Earth’s Mightiest Mutant by defending the planet from the all-powerful HYPERION in AVENGERS #18! |
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After officially ing the team in Avengers #17, Storm will immediately jump into the spotlight, as she is one of the few character's powerful enough to go up against Hyperion, who essentially has the power-set of DC's Superman. David Marquez's cover for Avengers #18 shows her up for that exact task, depicting the two taking their fight into orbit above Earth.
Who is Hyperion? Marvel's Version of Superman Explained
Hyperion is Marvel's version of Superman, an Eternal with roots in the Silver Age - and almost as many retcons as the Man of Steel himself.
X-Men's STORM s The Avengers In Time To Take On HYPERION
Avengers (2023) #17 – Written By Jed MacKay; Art By Valerio Schiti; Color By Federico Blee; Lettering By VC's Cory Petit
Battling Hyperion gives Storm the opportunity to step right into her new role as the mutant powerhouse of Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
The original Hyperion first appeared as an Avengers villain in Avengers vol 1 #69 (by Roy Thomas, Sal Buscema, and Sam Grainger). Designed as a parody of Superman, the character is most famous as a member of the Squadron Supreme, the authoritarian superteam of Earth-712, aka Earth-S. Since then, multiple different Hyperions have appeared, from the despotic King Hyperion who fought the Exiles, though interestingly there’s no mainstream Earth-616 version of the character.
One of the major unknowns about Avengers #18 is which version of Hyperion will be appearing. The most likely candidate is the Hyperion featured in Jason Aaron’s Avengers.This Hyperion is an amalgamation of an evil government-sponsored Hyperion created by Mephisto, and the Hyperion of the Heroes Return universe, the authoritarian hero of his reality-warped Earth who merged with his Mephisto counterpart when that world collapsed. The other likely candidate would be the original Squadron Supreme version, though both Aaron's version and the original share the costume featured on Marquez's cover.
Storm
- Created By
- Len Wein, Dave Cockrum
- First Appearance
- Giant-Size X-Men
- Alias
- Ororo Munroe
- Alliance
- X-Men, Avengers, Fantastic Four
In other words, the appearance of Hyperion as the latest antagonist of the Avengers is a curious new turn for the character, one that can be expected to have larger implications moving forward. That said, in the very short term, battling Hyperion gives Storm the opportunity to step right into her new role as the mutant powerhouse of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. In turn, this also raises the question of how Storm's hip in the Avengers will reflect the X-franchise's new status quo.
Fighting Marvel's Superman-Analogue Is A Great First Test For Storm's Avengers Tenure
How It Will Impact X-Men's New Era Is A Major Question
Storm’s presence on the Avengers could be a boon for mutants, but it’s far from a guarantee.
It will be fascinating to see how Storm’s presence on the Avengers affects the larger perception of mutants in the Marvel Universe, especially if she’s going to be saving the world very publicly. This version of the Avengers is more sympathetic to the X-Men than some prior teams, having fought anti-mutant coalition Orchis in Avengers (2023) #12-13, but the previews coming out of the X-Men’s latest status quo, From the Ashes, suggest that this still isn’t a good time for mutants. Storm’s presence on the Avengers could be a boon for mutants, but it’s far from a guarantee.
While it will be interesting to find out Storm’s presence on the Avengers improve human/mutant relations, especially after her fight with Hyperion, it would be even more interesting if it didn’t do anything. So many X-Men stories have shown that the X-Men's attempts to appease, and appeal to, the general public just don't work, because some people never want to hear it. It might be cynical. though realistic, if Storm’s heroic Avengers battle against Hyperion saved the world from the Superman analogue, but ultimately did little for her public standing, or that of mutants.
Avengers (2023) #18 will be released September 18, 2024 from Marvel Comics.
