Add to favoritesThe issues of most of the series in this map come from their third volumes. The legacy number is included in parentheses. I realize that this map largely follows the volume breaks of the official Avengers Assemble hardcovers from Marvel, but also includes some extras. Not to mention that those volumes have gotten quite pricy.
Heroes Return
Avengers #1-6 (416-421)
Iron Man #7 (352) – Live Kree or Die part 1
Captain America #8 (475) - Live Kree or Die part 2
Quicksilver #10 - Live Kree or Die part 3
Avengers #7 (422) - Live Kree or Die part 4
Avengers/Squadron Supreme Annual ’98 (Avengers Annual #24)
Avengers #8-11 (423-426)
-For the longest time, I thought that the annual continued directly from Avengers #6, but that is not the case, as evidenced by the roster changes that occur in the meantime.
-The Avengers appear in Thunderbolts #12, but that will throw off the pacing of the beginning of this book, as the issue was published before Avengers finished its first arc.
-The Rough Cut edition of Avengers #1 can be placed in this book as an extra. It features all of George Perez’s pencil artwork, along with the plot by Kurt Busiek.
Avengers Forever
Avengers Forever #1-12
This map was built around my pre-existing hardcover of Avengers Forever. I believe Wasp and Giant Man are pulled from between Avengers #11 and 12, but the part where the team took Rick Jones to the moon at the beginning of Avengers Forever #1 might have happened between Avengers #9 and 10, based on notations in different chronologies available online (and in the back of the Avengers Forever hardcover). There’s nothing saying that Wasp and Giant Man were pulled from the exact moment after their first scene on the moon. The only chronological marker in the main Avengers series is a line of dialogue from Hank Pym in Avengers #13 confirming that all of Avengers Forever occurred before that issue.
Clear and Present Dangers
Avengers #12-15 (427-430)
Avengers Annual ’99 (25)
Avengers #16-18 (431-433)
Avengers #0
Avengers #19-22 (434-437)
-Avengers Annual ’99 was published the same month as #18, but has to take place earlier. Justice broke his leg in #18 and wore a cast until #24, but is seen in the annual without the cast. Therefore, I have slid it back prior to the arc by Jerry Ordway.
-Avengers #0 was a special issue included with Wizard as a prelude to the Ultron storyline that begins in #19.
-Originally, I had this volume running through #25, but placed a volume break here to give myself the flexibility of adding the Domination Factor story to my bookshelf.
Domination Factor
Domination Factor: Fantastic Four #1.1
Domination Factor: Avengers #1.2
Domination Factor: Fantastic Four #2.3
Domination Factor: Avengers #2.4
Domination Factor: Fantastic Four #3.5
Domination Factor: Avengers #3.6
Domination Factor: Fantastic Four #4.7
Domination Factor: Avengers #4.8
This story is not necessary for the Busiek run but takes place here. This was a set of two connected mini-series that went back and forth as notated by the number after the decimal.
Living Legends
Avengers #23-27 (438-442)
Avengers Two: Wonder Man and the Beast #1-3
Avengers #28-30 (443-445)
Avengers Annual 2000 (26)
Avengers #31 (446)
Thunderbolts #42
Avengers #32 (447)
Thunderbolts #43
Avengers #33 (448)
Thunderbolts #44
Avengers #34 (449)
-Avengers #24-25 is a sequel to the Eighth Day crossover that occurred in Iron Man #21-22, Thor #17, Peter Parker: Spider-Man #11, and Juggernaut: The Eighth Day #1. I have skipped those issues here as they are not very Avenger-specific, I have them in the Iron Man by Busiek omnibus and there is some time that elapses between the two stories. (Specifically, Iron Man makes mention of events in #25 of his own series.)
-Avengers #27 is a 100-page monster where the main story can easily be separated from the reprints which are not needed for this project.
-The Avengers Two mini-series ran the same months as Avengers #28-30 and could take place on either side of that arc, but is completely optional.
-Avengers Annual 2000 was published between #29 and #30 which were the last two parts of a three part story. I placed it after the arc to help make sense of Captain America’s appearance, as he had left the team in #27 and was just back for a visit in this issue. Thunderbolts Annual 2000 is an optional lead-in to Avengers Annual 2000, but doesn’t feature many (if any) Avengers. A Hellcat mini-series spins out of the two annuals, but doesn’t have much impact on the Avengers series.
Maximum Security
Maximum Security: Dangerous Planet
Maximum Security #1
Uncanny X-Men #387
Bishop #15
Maximum Security #2
X-Men #107
X-Men Unlimited #29 (main story)
Avengers #35 (450)
Maximum Security #3
I mapped and bound this story as part of my X-Men collection, and my general rule for crossovers like this is to include tie-ins written by the main writer, which is how the Avengers issues was included over there. The X-Men probably have the most important tie-ins to Maximum Security, which even Marvel acknowledged when they reprinted the event in a manner similar to this book and marketed it as an “X-Men/Avengers” book.
The Kang Dynasty
Avengers #36-43 (451-458)
Avengers Annual 2001 (27)
Avengers #44 (459)
Avengers: The Ultron Imperative #1
Avengers #45-56 (460-471)
-While The Ultron Imperative claims it takes place between #45-46, almost every online resource I could find places it between #44-45. It took a bit of digging to find any explanation but it boils down to the ring-walls that appear at the end of #45 and don’t appear in a lot of other Marvel issues. Therefore, sites like the Marvel Chronology Project have determined that there is a long narrative gap between Avengers #44-45, where many other stories, including The Ultron Imperative have to take place.
-Avengers #48 is another 100-page monster issue. The main story does not share pages with the reprints, but the letters page does.