In this review of Avengers: Armageddon #1, the Red Hulk begins his global conquest as the Avengers assemble and gain a powerful new ally.
AVENGERS: ARMAGEDDON #1
Written by: Chip Zdarsky
Art: Delio Diaz, Frank Alpizar
Main Cover: Dike Ruan
Variant Covers: Kaarjore Andrews, Jerome Opeña, Jenny Frison, Ryan Stegman, Marco Checchetto, Skottie Young, Chip Zdarsky
Page Count: 29 pages
Release Date: 6/10/26
This review contains spoilers
Avengers: Armageddon #1 begins with Red Hulk remarking on how he feels America has been too passive, allowing dictators such as Dr. Doom gain power. He remembers his own torture at the hands of Victor, showing both bitterness alongside pride at the fact he’s now conquered that same adversary’s kingdom. Additionally, Ross now possesses Doom’s secret weapon (after the events of Captain America #11). He has renamed Latveria into New America and Doomstadt (the capital) to Democracy City, and now aims for global conquest. Ross flies his own flag, with red and white stripes alongside a black star in the middle.
Elsewhere, T’Challa and Wakanda prepare for invasion. Mister Fantastic attends a meeting with UN secretary Renata Riani, who tells him that the UN will take care of Red Hulk without the help of enhanced beings, believing them to be the problem.
The Avengers, Spider-Man, Namor, and the Fantastic Four gather to discuss the state of affairs. Bucky and Sam soon arrive, and are offered condolences for Red Hulk putting Steve Rogers in a coma (in Captain America #11).
They meet Iron Man, who uses the Ironalert System’s predictive mode to approximate that the Red Hulk will succeed in conquering the world. Tony guesses Ross now has access to predictive technology, presumably from Doom’s weapon.
Deciding they need more firepower to deal with the Red Hulk and his army, the Avengers attempt to recruit the X-Men but are shot down. However, Wolverine joins the mission and comments on David Colton (whom he met in Wolverine: Weapons of Armageddon) being a good addition. They find and enlist him.
Bucky and Namor–former members of The Invaders–comment on how humanity hasn’t learned from tragedies such as WW2. Still, they prepare to fight for freedom and to avenge Steve. Spider-Man decides to hang back and protect the local neighborhoods.
The heroes gather and receive a call from Secretary Riani, who tells them she will take them in if they pursue this mission. They ignore her, and Tony declares, “Avengers Assemble” to kick off the blockbuster summer event.
Analysis
The most intriguing set-up for me in Avengers: Armageddon #1 is Black Panther vs Red Hulk. For starters, the fight itself should be rich, seeing the Hulk Army against advanced technology. But I’m also curious to see how Chip Zdarsky handles the ideological battle.
Red Hulk alongside his New America group are vehemently for the ideals and establishment of democracy. However, Wakanda is one of–if not the–most successful nations in Marvel Comics. And they’re a monarchy. Wakanda recently established a democracy but found itself worse off, soon reverting back to a monarchy under T’Challa. To see the ideals clash and the argument over systems between T’Challa and Thaddeus Ross is something that has strongly grabbed my attention.
As for another thing that will grab a lot of people’s attention, David Colton’s introduction was stellar. He absolutely floors Captain Marvel and grabs Sam WIlson’s Captain America shield like it’s a toy. A lot of his character positioning is similar to Sentry in the original New Avengers run, displaying him as an immensely powerful character with an edge to him, but working to further the light.
The shot of Colton hovering in the air with the sun flashing behind him as the heroes look up at him strongly echoes this sentiment. Jesus Aburtov paints panels featuring the heroes with a brighter color scale, in stark contrast with the darker one for Red Hulk and New America. Colton’s illustrations fit the aesthetic perfectly.
There’s also a dedicated panel featuring him shaking hands with Spider-Man, which makes me think Colton is here to be a prominent character long past the Armageddon run.
On the topic of Spider-Man in Avengers: Armageddon #1, I’m iffy on him missing out. On one hand, his reasoning for wanting to protect civilians and prevent a local power grab makes complete sense. On the other hand, he’s participated in Nick Fury’s Secret War on Latveria and 2018’s Infinity Wars. A global war could certainly use his help.
I really don’t want to see Spider-Man miss out on Marvel’s annual big event. But, he might get involved regardless in a tie-in special or through Ultimate Impact: Reborn, which features Miles, so here’s to hoping on that.
Ending on a high note, Bucky and Namor’s discussion makes the issue philosophically rich, as here is yet another war the World War 2 veterans have to fight. They come from an era where people thought it couldn’t get much worse, yet a new global conquest scheme arises, with a much higher potential of destruction. Still, they choose to fight.
Final Thoughts
Avengers: Armageddon #1 is an extremely strong start to Marvel’s summer blockbuster, as Chip Zdarsky carries forth the superb momentum of his Captain America run.
