No matter where you look on the Marvel Comics newsstand, there is one name that you will see almost everywhere—Jed MacKay. The writer of hit series’ like Strange, Moon Knight, and Black Cat has begun his newest run of The Avengers, with a top artist in C.F. Villa.
MacKay sat down with our Editor-In-Chief, TJ Zwarych, to discuss his latest titles with Marvel and his motivations for assembling this latest Avengers squad.
MacKay’s Avengers lineup inspiration
This particular lineup was one of the standouts following this title’s announcement back in January. The previous run by Jason Aaron has all the heavy hitters—Thor, Captain America (Steve Rogers), Iron Man, She-Hulk, and Captain Marvel, who were at one point led by Black Panther.
This new run features the biggest names in Marvel Comics. Led by Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers), the team also includes Iron Man, Captain America (Sam Wilson), Thor Odinson, Black Panther (T’Challa), Scarlet Witch, and Vision.
The Avengers have had many different lineups throughout the years. MacKay went into detail on why he chose this particular squad.
“I wanted to have an Avengers team that felt like, it is the Avengers lineup, so it should feel like it is the biggest book. So this is where all the big Marvel characters go. Thor, Iron Man, Captain Marvel, Captain America, Black Panther, Scarlet Witch, Vision … these are all characters who have a household name, star quality, now that they didn’t necessarily have in years before. So I wanted to bring them all together so when anyone wants to see all their favorite characters in one place this is where it is… in the Avengers.”
—Jed MacKay, Interview with Agents of Fandom
MacKay also wrote Timeless (2022), a new annual from Marvel portraying some themes and plot points from the year to come. The issue centers around Kang the Conqueror, leading up to the possibility of the now-popular villain being the biggest threat to this Avengers squad.
Black Cat to join MacKay’s new squad?
MacKay is integral to Felicia Hardy’s recent stories. Since 2019, the mythos of Black Cat has grown steadily under Jed’s watchful eye. It seems wherever MacKay goes in his next book, Black Cat follows, but MacKay wasn’t always familiar with the character, and Black Cat has since become one of his favorites.
“I think she is just a character who I found a voice for that I really enjoyed. When I came to work on the Black Cat book, Black Cat was not a character that I really repped for or had a full time affection for… But very quickly, when working on Black Cat, she went from something who was relatively unknown to me to my favorite character. That’s just part of writing, and part of writing comics,is taking a character and finding what this thing is that fascinates you and then bringing it to the forefront is to show everyone else why they should care.”
—Jed MacKay, interview with Agents of Fandom
Is it completely out of the realm of possibility to expect Felicia Hardy to appear in The Avengers title? Never say never.
MacKay also went into detail on his Moon Knight run and what makes this latest Doctor Strange story so interesting, but you’ll have to watch the interview below to learn more!
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