WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for Avengers Forever #1, on sale from Marvel now!
Different Avengers rosters over the decades have always swung from Earth's Mightiest Heroes to some of Earth's weirdest. The newest team roster, though? They're literally Earth's Mightiest Losers. Oh, and they're the only hope their world has left.
Avengers Forever #1 (by Jason Aaron, Aaron Kuder, CRM Smith, Jason Keith, and Triona Farrell) opens with Odin of Earth-818, surrounded by the corpses of the other Stone Age Avengers, reaching out to Mjolnir and transforming it into the Hammer of All-Vengeance. A million years later, Tony Stark -- this universe's Ant-Man and its only archaeologist -- delves into the caves that surround the Wasteland. He finds the hammer left by Odin millennia ago and returns with it to his hideout.
Related: Why Marvel's Weirdest 'Avenger' Might Be Its Next Big Cosmic Hero
Along the way, he encounters a Deathlok and the Ghost Rider of Earth-616 as they lay waste to the Black Skull's forces, inspiring him. It's the first instance in a long time where he felt a reason to be hopeful. With this renewed sense of optimism, he returns to his home base, a cave stocked with every unearthed relic he's secured. Then he immediately calls for his teammate to assemble. As they gaze on a cave painting with the emblems of the Stone Age Avengers, he declares them "Earth's Mightiest Losers" and begins to plan out how they'll save the world.
As previously presented, the Omni-Avengers are a collection of universal heroes; that is Avengers who appear in every era, in every universe. One of the Deathloks has already confirmed Ghost Rider is one such hero. The cave painting with emblems of the Stone Age Avengers seemingly confirms the identities of the rest. While the Earth's Mightiest Losers only appear in the final panel of this issue, it's clear that they're mimicking the defeated Stone Age Avengers witnessed at the start of this issue. This may be the first step on their journey to becoming Earth-818's Omni-Avengers.
Tony Stark/Ant-Man has already shown he can wield the Hammer of All-Vengeance, making him this universe's Thor. The other characters' possible Omni-Avengers' counterparts remain unclear are still not clear, but context clues and previews give enough information to make an educated guess. The grey-skinned Wonder Man was previously revealed in Secrets of Avengers #50, covered in blood. A version of the skeletal Vision is another already glimpsed hero, albeit bearing a blue costume and seemingly possessing the ability to ignite his body. Floating about the team is readers' first look at a crystalline version of the Thing covered in shimmering pink light. Finally, a saber-wielding woman in a black and white costume rounds out the team. This last member appears to be the only one without an emblem that evokes other better-known heroes.
Each character's placement suggests how their powers may mirror the members of the Stone Age Avengers. Powers they'll need to face down the Black Skull and save Earth-818. Given that Aaron's run has been obsessed with heroes' legacies, it's interesting to see old characters take on aspects of different heroes to create ones greater than the sum of their parts.
Since the Multiversal Masters of Evil cut down this universe's Age of Heroes before it could even start by killing the Stone Age Avengers, the universe's inhabitants have only known subjugation at the hands of Black Skull and his War Machine army. Earth's Mightiest Losers may have spent most of their lives on the losing side of the battle against evil. However, the discovery of the Hammer of All-Vengeance and the appearance of Earth-616's Ghost Rider seems to be the spark that catalyzes them to be proactive in their fight against oppressors.