This used to be an Avengers World.
The first of many.
But that was before things forgotten were remembered.
Before things that were secret were known.
Before the fall.
And now.
Time runs out.
Hello.
It's time for the penultimate part of our Avengers Odyssey provided by Jonathan Hickman.
When we left the secrets were all out in the open.
The Incursions. The Illuminati's reformation. The Avengers Machine had been shattered.
Now we see what happens next.
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| Library Copy of the Avengers |
The great thing about Time Runs Out is that much like Infinity Hickman's multifaceted storytelling takes on a more linear form, therefore again there's not going to be jumping about between titles. This is going to be focused on the whole in a much more traditional sense.
Having skipped forward a few months the world is completely changed. The Illuminati's machinations have been revealed to the world. The Avengers are fragmented as most of the team refuses to hunt fellow Avengers.
Those who are willing to become hunters have hooked up with SHIELD under the command of an aged and de-powered Steve Rogers. The remnants of The Illuminati have however expanded to compensate for the disappearances of Iron Man and Doctor Strange, and Namor's ejection. Mr Fantastic, Beast, Black Panther and Hulk are now joined by Ameadaus Cho and Captain Britain. With Namor's newly formed Cabal (imagine the villainous Illuminati) handling Incursions The Illuminati are focused on running, hiding and surviving another day. With SHIELD and their Avengers hot on their heels, it's a race against time as Mr Fantastic tries to initiate his plan.
So some of the Avengers hooked up with SHIELD, but not all of them. Turns out that as well as being a millionaire playboy Sunspot is also a sly little so and so. The former X-Man has been busy. Part of his plan involves recruiting the Avengers who have disowned Tony and Steve. Rather than being caught in the crossfire of their feud Sunspot believes that both have lost their way and need to be reminded of not just who they were, but what they stood for.
He has also used his not inconsiderable financial resources to initiate a hostile takeover of those pesky super terrorist A.I.M. Sunspot has repurposed the organisation for good. He has tasked the scientists with both investigating the end of all things, as well as equipping his New Avengers for the task they are going to face.
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| Entry for Mulitiversal from The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction in Oxford Reference Online |
Out in the wilds of the cosmos Ex Nihlo, Abyss and The Gardeners try to repair dying worlds. Yet despite all their abilities to create and nurture life, life does not want to be saved. Stars are dying early. Planets crumble to dust. But these are not the only Avengers in space. Nightmask and Starbrand are hunting down rogue Aleph's after The War with The Builders.
They too can sense that things are no longer normal. That the already accelerated death of all things is increasing at alarming speed. These two groups head back to Earth to meet Sunspot, who's plan turns out to be much more ambitious than we could ever have imagined.
Sunspot is creating two teams. The New Avengers will remain on Earth and attempt to stymie the conflict between The Illuminati and SHIELDs Avengers.
At the same time A.I.M will use the Auger to fire a team of Multiversal Avengers consisting of Thor, Hyperion, Starbrand, Nightmask, Abyss and The Ex Nihli across time, space, and reality. Their mission is to find out who has been causing the early death of everything, and to stop them from executing the final stages of their plan.
Yet the Avengers are not the only players on the board when it comes to this great game. Who is Rabum Alal? What is behind The Black Priests? Who created The Mapmakers? And where do The Ivory Kings fit into all this? There's scores to settle, answers to be had. This is the prelude to Hickman's endgame.
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| Library Copy Of Avengers |
The clock is ticking. One by one Universes blink out of existence. Everything dies. And time runs out.
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