The past seven years have been hard on the characters of Marvel Comics, especially the Avengers, who have seen their team break up thrice, been chased by the law twice and witnessed the death and rebirth of their leader, Captain America. For readers, it has been a roller coaster ride -- a continuous struggle to watch as our favorite characters lose epic battles against long-hated villians and fight for their sanity in a harsher world than they ever have. It has been seven years of big, over arching "mega events," and many of us are feeling the pain on our budgets, as well as our collective psyches. And yet, many of us return each month to pick up the newest "War" or "Secret" battle. But all of that is about to change.

A few months ago, Marvel announced their next big project – The Heroic Age. The impotence behind the new banner was a feeling that the line needed a soft reboot to usher in a new era of, well, heroism. The last seven years have left the Marvel Universe in a dark place and following the onslaught (yes, that’s an X-Men character from the 1990s) of mega events over the last few years -- including Disassembled, House of M, Civil War, Secret Invasion, Dark Reign and most recently Siege -- have left fans exhausted and almost entirely alienated the youth. Early reports show that many teams are to get a face lift, the most durastic occurring to the Avengers, whose roster is to change almost entirely (for the first time in seven years, Captain America, Iron Man and Thor, Marvel's "big three" are to reunite) and five (yes, five) new teams are to be formed from the ashes. In addition, stories look to shift to a more "self-contained" stories rather than "episodic" as they currently are, meaning the epic eight-issue story lines readers have become accustomed to are now to be told within three and even one issue.

From my aspect, the Heroic Age seems like a shift to a simpler time. When I started reading comics in the 90s, the good guys always won and stories would typically be resolved in a matter of two or three issues – making the genre incredibly accessible and safe. Marvel’s latest books wrap up a seven-year story arch, which has completely altered the status quo of the Marvel Universe, putting arch villains like Dr. Doom and Green Goblin in positions of world domination. It’s grim and dark – and unlike the books I grew up with. In some aspects, I think this represents a shift from what was previously viewed as literary garbage to becoming an exercise in true story telling. So, if the past seven years have been a turning point for comics, what is Heroic Age? Personally, I think its a step backwards. To put it in perspective, try to think of how current video game trends of hard-boiled mature titles all of the sudden shifted back to the comics of the 80s and 90s. Yes, its fun to have a game like that every now and then (Lego Series, LittleBigPlanet) but I highly doubt anyone would be happy if Master Chief spent the bulk of Halo 4 jumping on goombas.

What is strange is that this is all being done while Marvel has had one of the best decades since the company was formed in the 1960s. Many are not aware that Marvel declared bankruptcy in the early 2000s (and for those who are, I apologize for restating it a billionth time), but in large part to writer Brian Michael Bendis (who has written Avengers since 2004 and long-time writer of the fan favorite Ultimate Spider-Man) and the incredible supervising of Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada, Marvel has consistantly bested the competition on monthly sales and changed the market's focus on collected editions, not to mention multi-billion dollar film franchises (Spider-Man, Blade, The X-Men and Iron Man to name a few), making them one of the hottest companies during an economically harsh period of time. Of course, this culminated in Disney taking notice and buying the company out for $4 billion in August 2009. What is not surprising is that Heroic Age comes about six months following the buyout, which would make sense considering Marvel's classically kid-friendly new owner. I will admit that this is merely speculation and, as I've stated before, may be completely unfounded considering the growing number of fans' distaste for the current direction. However, it does make one wonder if we are embarking on "a new age of heroism" in order to bring the younger crowd back -- and raise stock for the Mouse.



There is, however, one shining light in all of this that makes me reconsider my worries, and that is Johnathan Hickman’s current run of Fantastic Four. As I have stated in the past, Marvel's first family is far from the most read or critically acclaimed book on the market right now, but the new direction has caught the attention of new and old fans who enjoy the series' ability to do self-contained yet interesting, thought provoking and fun stories. It’s a style which hearkens back to a bygone era, whith surprisingly good results. Hickman has shown that a good writer can still contribute to the maturity of story telling without having to delve into dark subject matters. Is it perfect? No, but it shows promise -- and gives me hope that Bendis and others at Marvel will be able to follow suit and give us great comics in the Heroic Age.

I recognize that my critique is a little harsh considering that the first book of the Heroic Age hasn't shipped yet and the details of the new direction are still fairly guarded, but I do worry about the company I have for many years considered home. In my youth I only followed superheroes on TV, through the Batman and X-Men cartoons. I wasn't a regular reader until much later, and even then I did not consider buying regularly until the Avengers broke up for the first time in 2004. Marvel has shown maturity in their story telling and I fear it may go by the wayside. I do not wish to bid adieu to the company I have cherished for many years, but I have grown to expect a certain product when I purchase a Marvel book. I only hope that the packaging will not tarnish the quality.

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