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Analyzing the All-New, All-Different Avengers Roster

We tried talking about it in just two-minutes but we needed more time to look at the dynamics of this new team.

Last week Marvel teased us with the roster for the ALL-NEW, ALL-DIFFERENT AVENGERS. The idea is this will be the team after Secret Wars plays out. The new series will be written by Mark Waid with art by Mahmud Asrar, so that sounds cool.

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We do have an interesting mix of characters coming together. It's definitely new for some and pretty different from what we're used to. Some of the choices make perfect sense. Others make us say, "Hmmm..." We thought we'd look at each one individually to see how they might work on this new team.

Originally, the idea was to discuss them while bringing back the Comic Book 2-Minute Time-Out videos. The idea of that segment is to discuss a topic in just two minutes. Watch the video to see the attempt.

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Comic Book 2-Minute Time-Out: Episode 33

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Clearly 2-minutes is not enough to talk about seven characters. Let's look at them more in depth.

Captain America/Falcon

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Sam Wilson is Captain America now, plain and simple. It makes sense for an Avengers team to have a Captain America. Sam has earned the right to wear the costume and wield the shield. He has plenty of experience in the superhero department and has worked with Steve Rogers for many years.

Sam's problem is he hasn't worked with a team, or really lead a team for too long. During AXIS, some of the other Avengers were a little rude to them. They might've been inverted by the spell that was unleashed. With this roster, it seems they would all follow his orders. We'll just have to see if he's ready to lead these individuals and how well he knows and understands their powers and abilities.

Iron Man

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The big question is, who is this Iron Man? Is it Tony Stark? He was left inverted and became a bit of a jerk in SUPERIOR IRON MAN. That series is ending so it's possible at the end, he may return to the Tony Stark we're used to.

The other possibility is this could be a new Iron Man. There could be someone else in the armor. It is a return to the red and gold armor versus Tony's current silver suit. With Pepper Potts taking the lead against SUPERIOR Iron Man and her experience with the Rescue armor, she may decide to take on the role. Perhaps dressing as Iron MAN could be a way to throw people off.

It this is Tony returning to being a hero, will he be willing to be on the Avengers and let a lesser experienced Captain America lead the team? Would his ego allow that? Seeing a fight over leadership would give that juicy bit of tension that makes reading fun.

Vision

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Again we have to ask, which Vision is this? Vision is currently in UNCANNY AVENGERS. Vision is a character with a long history with the Avengers. He definitely has the experience to help keep the 'kids' on the team in line.

But we also had the Iron Lad version of Avengers that hung out with the Young Avengers. What will the personality of this Vision be? Chances are it's the current one we're seeing in the pages of UNCANNY AVENGERS.

It'll be cool to see Vision, any Vision, return to the forefront of an Avengers team. Having an unknown element to him could make it interesting with us knot not knowing exactly what he might do next.

Thor

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Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor. Three pillars to an Avengers team. If all three are indeed different, that makes things more fresh. This Thor has been kicking all sorts of butt in her own title. She's shown she is absolutely worthy of Mjolnir. Even Odinson, the Asgardian formerly known as Thor, has admitted she's worthy. She's done some new things with Mjolnir we haven't seen before.

The unknown aspect is who the heck is she?

We may find out before this series launches. Will the other heroes know who she is? Will she share her secret identity with them? Why would they trust her if they don't know who she is. How would they even contact her about joining?

Because she's still new and still figuring out everything she can do, she almost falls into the rookie area of the team as well. But she has shown great instinct in the heat of a battle so there's no doubt she will be a huge asset to the team. I'd imagine Odinson won't be too happy though. Here's something else she's taking from him, in a way.

Nova

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Sam Alexander is young but incredibly powerful. He's gaining a lot of experience with his Nova powers. He's been out in space, fighting the Chitauri and got caught up in the struggle over the Black Vortex along with the X-Men and Guardians of the Galaxy. He's also spent time with the New Warriors in the team dynamic situation, played a small but crucial role in AvX, and became an Avenger during Axis. With other young members, he'll be able to relate to them and has proven capable of working with, and taking orders from, adults.

Will his mother approve? Will he be able to go out on missions while still attending high school? He's already missed a lot of school and has had the threat of expulsion because of it. Flying from Arizona to New York won't be a problem for someone that can journey out into space. We'll have to see what his mother thinks and how he'll balance his private life with being an Avenger.

Ms. Marvel

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Being an Avenger is pretty much exactly what Kamala Khan wants. She's still new but she's showing she is also capable of using her powers to fight incredible odds. She even managed to outsmart and defeat Loki, in a way.

Kamala falls into the same category as Sam in terms of balancing her superhero life with her family life. Her family wouldn't really approve. How will she explain the possibility of going off on big Avengers adventures where she might not be home for dinner? This might not be something we would need to worry about for the sake of the stories but it could add a nice twist. In comics, there's always romance in the air. What will Sam and Miles think of her?

Miles Morales

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Another wild card. Miles Morales is the Spider-Man in the Ultimate Universe. Or at least he was. The big question with Miles is what does his being in the 616 Universe mean? We know the Ultimate Universe is supposed to be ending. Will he still remember his life and experience from there? What's the deal with 616 Miles Morales that we never found out about from the end of the SPIDER-MEN limited series?

Miles, as Spider-Man, has fought incredible odds and insanely powered villains. He already knows Spider-Man (from the 616 Universe) and even traveled across dimensions in Spider-Verse. He's also been in the Ultimates, an almost Avengers-like team, in his universe. Miles will make a fantastic addition but may find some difficulty adjusting to a new universe. Unless that's all taken care of with however he ends up merged into the 616.

All-New and All-Different?

We definitely have an all-new and all-different team. There is a lot of potential with this version. It might not be the team people would expect or think that they want. There's no denying that Jonathan Hickman's Avengers team has been pretty epic. But at the same time, it'll be great to see a smaller, scaled down version of the team. I personally don't want a team with a couple dozen characters. That has its advantages with each different situation that may arise but I want to see a more solid roster with the ability for the team to form a bond with each other.

This team is diverse as well. Mark Waid could have them take on different aspects or situations the members may find themselves in. We have someone with the powers of a god, someone that can easily fly into space, someone with access to all sorts of data, and (depending on who is in the Iron Man armor) someone with access to technology and cash. We're seeing a more realistic feel affecting the Marvel Universe. It makes sense for the team not to be just a bunch of white dudes. If Iron Man is really Pepper Potts, that would make three females on the team. We have different races and the characters aren't the first-generation versions we're used to. There will be a lot to look forward to with this team. This isn't a version of the Avengers we've seen hundreds of times.