Marvel Comics released the first six issues of the new lineup of Avengers Academy in a new edition, the first time that these appeared in print form. Avengers Academy: Assemble #1 tells how these young heroes became the latest part of Carol Danvers’ new school for youngsters looking to become the Avengers of the future. Originally released exclusively online, this print version gives all comic book readers a chance to discover this new team of heroes, and there is a lot of potential for these youngsters, from Blade’s daughter, Bloodstone, to the grandson of the original Juggernaut and the now-iconic Captain America of the Railways.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Six heroes are introduced at the start of the series, although later issues introduce a seventh in the form of Mephisto’s son, Blackheart. The heroes all have distinctly unique powers, and they work as a family as much as students and teammates, making Avengers Academy one of the best books Marvel is publishing right now. Out of the seven newcomers, all these heroes have a chance to become a big deal, but which ones rise to the top remains to be seen — so we’re ranking each of them, based on their potential.
7) Escapade
Of all the members of the new Avengers Academy class, the one who has had the least character development in the first 46 issues of the series is Escapade. This is Shela Sexton, and her powers are a little complicated to explain. She can switch places with anyone and gain their powers when she does so. Throughout the series, she has proven to be extremely powerful, such as when she absorbed the powers of several people at once to defeat Emplate, although it put her in a coma for a time. She also defeated Sin when the Red Skull’s daughter used social media to try to turn the city against the LGBTQ+ community.
Escapade appeared first in Marvel Voices: Pride (Vol. 2) #1 in 2022. She is a mutant, and while her parents supported that aspect of her life, they shut her out when she came out as transgender. Emma Frost discovered her and made her part of the Lost Club on Krakoa. It was Emma who recruited her to join the Avengers Academy. Most of her appearances in Avengers Academy saw her coming to terms with her sexuality and her strong attraction to teammate Bloodline. However, as a character, she has been the least interesting of any other member thus far.
6) Red Goblin
Red Goblin is Normie Osborn, Harry Osborn and Liz Allan’s son, and Norman Osborn’s grandson. He is bonded to the symbiote Rascal, and after a battle with Willow-Wisp at Oscorp Tower, Spider-Man convinced Normie to join the Avengers Academy to receive proper training and to get him away from his grandfather’s influence. At first, he was a runaway, and Norman tried to convince the world that Spider-Man abducted him. As a result, Red Goblin kept his identity a secret from everyone at the academy, with Carol taking him on Spider-Man’s recommendation.
This made Red Goblin very interesting at the start, but soon he revealed who he was to his teammates and let his grandfather know he was okay, but wasn’t coming back home. Red Goblin became close friends with Moon Girl, and he has an antagonistic relationship with Captain America since he is from wealth, which the new Cap is against. However, once he revealed his identity, he became much less interesting in the series.
5) Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur
Avengers Academy did something very smart with Lunella Lafayette. Through most of her appearances in the comics, Moon Girl can be very grating on the nerves since she is often portrayed as a brilliant little girl who has no social skills and can’t communicate with hardly anyone beneath her intellect. However, the highly underrated and brilliant Disney+ series Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur showed her in a very different light, a kind-hearted little girl who wanted to be there to help people. This character was miles better than most of her comic history.
Avengers Academy presents Moon Girl more like her Disney+ counterpart than her comic book personality. She is kind and does everything she can to be there for her classmates, whether easing Normie Osborn’s insecurities or her desire to protect Captain America from his reckless ambitions. Devil Dinosaur is not shown much, but he has the same playful personality as the Disney+ series. If these two characters morph more into the characters from that series, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur could finally find their spot as Marvel favorites.
4) Kid Juggernaut
Marvel chose to use Kid Juggernaut to introduce the new Avengers Academy. The first issue sees Justin saying goodbye to his mother and leaving with Carol Danvers for school. The story introduced the students through his eyes, displaying his almost innocent and wide-eyed personality. It was a very different look at a Juggernaut character, as Justin has no relation to Cain Marco and is instead the grandson of the original Juggernaut, Jim Taiko.
Justin refuses to do what Cyttorak wants from him and tries to show that he won’t allow the demon to do what it did to his grandfather. There was also a great storyline in the Avengers Academy series that showed his grandfather was a villain because of Cyttorak and the manipulations of Baron Strucker, redeeming this classic evildoer. This also plays into recent issues as Justin sometimes loses control, and his bond with Cyttorak will make Kid Juggernaut’s future very interesting to watch.
3) Bloodline
Bloodline is Brielle Brooks, and she is Blade’s daughter. She appeared first in Free Comic Book Day 2022: Avengers/X-Men #1. She had an interesting childhood. Doctor Strange knew she would be in danger, considering who her dad is, so he cast a spell that prevented people with magical powers from noticing Brielle. This was shown in the first Avengers Academy issue when Kid Juggernaut had trouble seeing her, even when they were talking to each other.
Most of the series has seen Bloodline and Escapade developing a romantic relationship. However, that has recently been put on hold as she heads home to let her family know about her sexuality, as she has decided to come out after realizing her feelings toward Escapade. With that said, there are some great things about her character, not the least of which is her cat Walpurgis, who is Agatha Harness’s familiar, Ebony’s, offspring. She also had a stake made for her far in the past by Kid Loki, shown in a time travel moment in the series. Her role in Blood Hunt shows that she will be a major player in Marvel Comics, and Avengers Academy is just the start.
2) Blackheart
The son of Mephisto is the most shocking member of the Avengers Academy. He joined the team in Avengers Academy #27. He has been around for a long time, debuting in Daredevil #270 in 1989. That makes him a strange addition to the school. However, his life changes when he refuses to bring Mephisto the ghostly children of Scarlet Witch (a time-displaced Tommy and Billy from another Earth). Mephisto turned Blackheart into a human in a young man’s body and banished him from his dimension.
Blackheart went to the Avengers Academy for help and took on the name Gabriel, seeking redemption. While he knows he will end up evil again one day, he has made it his goal to do his best to be a hero. He even won over Doctor Doom in the One World Under Doom crossover storyline and had a long heart-to-heart with Daredevil himself. If anyone turns evil from Avengers Academy, it is Blackheart, and his story so far makes that a tragedy in the making.
1) Captain America of the Railways
The one person who has gotten the best character arcs so far in Avengers Academy is Aaron Fischer, the Captain America of the Railways. His first appearance came in United States of Captain America #1 in 2021 as one of the Americans who picked up the mantle to show they stand behind Cap in the face of racists and fascists rising in the country. A runaway wanted for several crimes against mostly corporations, as he has made it his mission to fight for the little people.
He was also involved in some of the best storylines of Avengers Academy so far. He has an unrequited crush on Kid Juggernaut, and is also involved in a relationship with one of the best supporting characters in the series, the villain Mysteriant, Mysterio’s nephew, who steals from the wealthy to give to the poor. He works for a community center named after one of Steve Rogers’ closest friends, and defended it against a group of racists rallied by Sin because it houses an LGBTQ+ support community. This even ended with Steve showing up and endorsing Aaron. He represents the LGBTQ+ community, battles against the elite, and is easily the Avengers Academy member with the brightest future.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments!
