Secret Warriors vol 2: Wheels within Wheels

The power struggle between Hydra, Leviathan and Nick Fury has cost each side dearly, forcing Fury to reassess his future following the deaths of two of his oldest friends. But with a massive attack on a Seattle Hydra base, Leviathan and Hydra again make war – on each other and the world. As night falls and Seattle explodes, Fury makes some of the grittiest life-and-death choices his Warriors have ever seen. And as the long fight between the Secret Warriors and Hydra draws to its inevitable conclusion, Fury’s final wild card is revealed. Who are the members of his third covert team, and what have they been up to all this time?  (Secret Warriors was supposed to run around 60 issues. But writer Jonathan Hickman decided to kick his story in high gear and end the series with issue 28. Since I went all out with volume 1 and included all kinds of related material it left volume 2 with very little material in comparison.  In hindsight I would have bound all of Secret Warriors in one volume).

Black Widow / Hawkeye & Mockingbird

Hawkeye, the world’s greatest marksman is back-and reunited with the world’s most dangerous super-spy, Mockingbird-in an all-new adventure! The deadly duo defied every obstacle to make their way back to each other and put together the all new WCA team-but now the one thing that divided them years before has returned to haunt them: the Phantom Rider!

Natasha Romanoff is the Black Widow, longtime Avengers and a spy for even longer. But now someone has tried to kill Natasha…and almost succeeded. Injured gravely, almost beyond her ability to recover, Black Widow sets out to find her attacker.

Then, Hawkeye and Mockingbird discover espionage agents around the world are being assassinated, their covers blown, and governments’ intelligence and security capabilities devastated. The next target: Mockingbird! The former couple travels to Russia to investigate the death of the latest super-spy victim and is met by another target on the hit list, who also happens to be one of Hawkeye’s exes: the Black Widow! It’s a high-octane, international-espionage adventure featuring Marvel’s avenging super-agents matching wits and fists with the Black Ocean Society, the Supreme Soviets and an all-new Ronin

Thunderbolts / Atlas

It’s a new era for Marvel’s always evolving, always controversial team! The most dangerous people on Earth are now all in one hellish prison, and the only way out is through rehabilitation and contribution to society via The Thunderbolts… under the leadership of the steel-hardskinned Avenger named Luke Cage! So bring on the first participants: Juggernaut! Crossbones! Ghost! Moonstone! And…Man-Thing?

Then someone has come to ATLAS looking for answers to some very strange questions, and on his trail is a danger of a new level. Marvel’s Rat Pack is back o solve the mystery behind THE 3-D MAN.

Klaw, Master of Sound, is no more dead than he is human. The killer composed of living sound is back with a new and deadly plan that will spill blood from the Savage Land to the streets of New York. Shuri, the new Black Panther, has already tried (and failed) to stop this monster – a defeat that owed as much to her own reckless rage than it does to Klaw’s power. So, Shuri turns to the person who knows more about battling inner rage than anyone. If you think you know the Black Panther – you don’t.

The Thunderbolts adventures continues in Fear Itself!

(These binds take place at the same time as the recently updated Avengers vol 5-6 Dark Reign).

Dark Reign: Mercs

Most fight for money, some fight for power or fame. Others fight for the thrill while some have to fight just to stay alive. In the deadly new Marvel Universe Norman Osborn’s reign reaches far and wide. The New Thunderbolts are his Black Ops squad while rogue elements such as Deadpool become a constant thorn in his side.

Others such as Elektra and Spider-Woman whose lives have been devastated by the Skrull imposters try to find their place in the new Marvel Universe. As the only person to be studied and experimented on by the remnant Skrulls Elektra finds herself the center of Norman’s attention. While Spider-Woman leans on her rage, hate and self destruction as she hunts Skrulls for S.W.O.R.D. Can either women find the answers to their lives?

Follow the Thunderbolts in Secret Warriors and Deadpool in his series of binds!

Secret Warriors: Agents of Chaos

Nick Fury was the first person to discover the Skrull infiltration but threats to the world does not end there. Hydra has resurfaced and Fury has learned just how powerful the organization really is. With S.H.I.E.L.D dismantled and Norman Osborn in his old position Fury begins an intricate plot to protect the free world. But a third power has surfaced and may destroy both Fury and Hydra. Can the teenage Secret Warriors tip the scale in Fury’s favor? And once the battle begins how many of them will survive?

(Secret Warriors was supposed to run around 60 issues. But writer Jonathan Hickman decided to kick his story in high gear and end the series with issue 28. Since I went all out with volume 1 and included all kinds of related material it left volume 2 with very little material in comparison.  I would have bound it in one volume.)

You can also include the Mighty Avengers issues #13 and #18 from Secret Invasion which shows how Nick Fury recruited the team.

Thunderbolts appear in Agents of Atlas while the Secret Warriors go to war in Siege.

Agents of Atlas: 

hen Federal enforcers under the hand of Norman Osborn bust into an armory under control of the Atlas Foundation, Jimmy Woo’s Agents go head-to-head with the new powers that be.  Then as disturbing visions plucked from the malignant mind of Norman Osborn lead the intrepid Agents to the darkest depths of the Atlantic Ocean, where Namora must have words with her infamous cousin – The Sub-Mariner! What happens next shocks her team, who must prepare to say goodbye to their aquatic avenger!

Dark Reign: War Machine/Black Panther 

The Black Panther is back… and she’s badder than ever! That’s right – she! What happened to T’Challa? Who is the new Black Panther? Find out why the female is the deadliest of the species! Wakanda has been attacked on every front. Heroes have fallen, old alliances have been betrayed, the country is in turmoil.

After stopping mercenaries from using a re-purposed Sentinel to slaughter innocents, Jim Rhodes decides that for his next mission, he’ll do what no court in the land will: bring the corrupt conglomerate responsible to justice! But before he can do that, Norman Osborn introduces the Dark Avenger known as Ares into the mix to take on War Machine!

Incredible Hercules: Incredible Adventures

In the wake of World War Hulk, the Mighty Avengers are hot on the heels of unrepentant renegades Hercules and Amadeus Cho. Driven into a mindless berserker rage by Ares, Herc has become the critical piece of Cho’s plan to utterly destroy S.H.I.E.L.D. What is Cho’s master plan to wipe out the spy agency…and is he willing to get Herc killed to do it? Follow Hercules and Amadeus through their many incredible and perilous adventures! Witness the creation of the most powerful super-team ever assembled to counter-attack the Skrull gods! Marvel as the Prince of Power takes the fight to his villainous stepmother Hera and the forces of the Olympus Group as she unleashes the most terrifying threat the Marvel Universe has ever seen! And when terrible threats rise in Svartalfheim, the land of the Dark Elves, only Mighty Thor, Son of Asgard, can hope to triumph! But what happens if the Odinson is temporarily…unavailable? It’s Hammer Time for Hercules as the Lion of Olympus gets his thunder on!

Dark Reign: Ms. Marvel / Dark Wolverine 

WAR OF THE MARVELS begins! Karla Sofen battles for her life in the streets of Los Angeles as an exciting new chapter in the history of Ms. Marvel begins! Guest starring the New Avengers and…someone we can’t tell you about.

He’s got the costume. But not the character. He’s got the claws. But not the compassion. He’s got the healing factor. But not the heart. He’s everything his dad feared himself capable of being, but never wanted to be — the inverse of the real Wolverine: Cold. Ruthless. Clinically savage. And now he’s Norman Osborn’s shiny new toy in the Dark Avengers, with unbelievable power at his command — all the way to the tips of his razor-sharp claws.

Captain Britain & the MI-13

The Skrull Invasion isn’t restricted to the US. When the Skrull Invasion hits England, only Captain Britain and MI13 stand in their way. Can they find out what the Skrulls are after before it’s too late?  Then the king of the vampires is back! As if the hoards of demons that Pete Wisdom let out in order to defeat the Skrulls in England weren’t enough, now DRACULA has entered the scene. What does he want with Spitfire? And how will an election help his cause? You better hope that Captain Britain and the rest of MI13 have a way to defeat him!

Dark Reign: Dark Reflections

The Melter, The Executioner, The Enchantress, Egghead, Big Zero, and Coat of Arms: they call themselves the Young Avengers, teenage rebels, on the run from the authorities, hated and feared by a world they’ve sworn to protect. Their interests include interspecies romance, modern art, and bloody murder. Everything is permitted, and so are they. Until they meet the original Young Avengers. And then their grey areas will come home to roost.

Mr. Negative has carved out a substantial slice of the big apple for himself over the past year. But when the super-villain mastermind The Hood strikes at the heart of Mr. Negative’s criminal operations with a whole horde of classic Arachno-Foes (including The Scorcher, Speed Demon, The Squid and the long awaited return of the White Rabbit), Spider-Man is left to clean up the mess between these two violent nemeses.

He ain’t friendly and this ain’t your neighborhood! Yes, Mac Gargan, America’s favorite sociopath-turned-symbiote-host-turned-hero-hunter now takes the spotlight as Norman Osborn’s sinister Spider-Man. Now, Mac’s a beloved hero, but nobody wants to run into him after midnight because the symbiote is still pretty darn hungry.  Plus more stories from the Dark Reign era!

Continues in Siege!

Back to Avengers Volume 5-6: Dark Reign!

Back to Secret Invasion!

I have adjusted the reading order of the books from my chronological listing of Siege for pacing purposes since I also split it into two volumes.

Volume 1 First Blood

Beginning with the ravaging effects of Avengers Disassembled and following the aftermath of House of M, Civil War and Secret Invasion, culminating with the evil Reign of Norman Osborn, the Marvel Universe has been left with its greatest villains holding more power and control than ever before. On the brink of madness, Osborn, in his final bid to take total control, targets the final obstacle in his mission…Asgard.

Events are set in motion forcing our heroes to put aside the deep rifts that have grown over the past seven years. Opposing them stand a horde of evil that has begun to take down the gods of the Golden Realm! SIEGE will rock the foundations of every super hero, villain and team in the Marvel Universe. Witness the end of an Avengers era as the clouds start to part and the Dark Reign comes to a close…

Volume 2 Fall of Asgard

The storm that is Dark Reign intensifies as Norman Osborn rallies every single super power at his disposal to invade Asgard. He has ruled the Marvel Universe with an iron fist but this time he may have gotten in over his head. The warrior race that is the Asgardians will not yield nor surrender and when the heroes join the battle things actually get worse. It all ends here! Plus: A lingering menace created by fiendish Loki as an afterthought returns to wreak havoc on the Asgardians! Can Thor and his unlikely allies defeat this devastating force of destruction?! Or in their weakened state after the battles of Siege, will this new, ancient enemy prove too strong?

Onto Avengers vol 7-12 the Heroic Age 

Back to Avengers vol 5-6

Back to Dark Reign Marvel Universe!

Volume 69: Messiah CompleX

In the aftermath of House of M the future of mutants has never been bleaker. At the seeming end of their evolutionary cycle, a miracle arrives in the form of the first mutant birth since the events of M-Day. But from this source of hope comes a clash between mutants over who will control the child’s fate. It is a race for the future as the Purifiers, Mr. Sinister and the X-Men clash! The fight for the future begins here!

Volume 70: Divided We Stand

With the tragic ending of Messiah Complex the X-Men are no more! Lost more than ever the X-Men disband as Cyclops ponders the future of not only the X-Men but all of mutant kind! Will the Young X-Men be the new team to replace the X-Men? In these trying times one thing is certain. The last remaining mutants must be protected at all costs. In the darkness Cyclops puts together a team that must do what the X-Men never could. Actively and permanently remove threats to all mutant kind. Beware X-Force has returned and they have only one goal, to kill!

X-Men: Divided We Stand is a two issue mini series containing multiple stories. I have spliced up the issues stating which story to use in parenthesis.

Optional volume to read next:

Vol 1 of Wolverine Origins

Volume 71: Manifest Destiny

Cyclops has decided to move the X-Men west. Founding a new home for all mutants in a place known for its tolerance: San Francisco. Shortly after their arrival, however, the X-Men find themselves knee deep with Magneto and the robotic Sentinels!

Plus Xavier revisits one of his biggest challenges and failures of his career: Logan. But the layers of lies hide one last, deadly secret which goes back to the days of the X-Men’s founding – and the Professor’s timing couldn’t possibly be worse!

Secret Invasion then takes place

Vol 2 of Wolverine Origins Optional volumes to read next

Volume 72: Dark Reign

In the depths of his heartache over Kitty Pryde, Colossus goes looking for something, anything, to stop his pain…and finds a nightmare from the Old Country running rampant in the States. What’s their connection? Then, Rogue makes her return but while Xavier seeks her out, who is searching for him? Hunter becomes hunted and friend becomes foe, in a story that will change your favorite Southern Belle forever!

Plus Emma checks into a hotel you have to see to believe, while poor Scott sits idly by. Darkchylde returns to get her soul back, even if she has to conquer Earth in the process. Can the combined forces of the X-Men stop her rampage? They’ll have to fight through every demon in Limbo to try!

Volume 73: Messiah War

Cyclops has complete faith that his son, Cable, will do everything he can to protect the so-called mutant messiah – who he believes will save mutantkind. But he also knows what havoc former X-Man Lucas Bishop has wreaked in the nightmarish future. So now he’s sent his black ops team, the X-Force, on a risky, time-traveling mission to save Cable and the child, completely unaware that there’s something else waiting for them in the future. Something not even Bishop was counting on…and while X-Force battles in the future Beast and the X-Club travel into the past to try to reverse the affects of M Day!

Volume 74: Utopia

Who are the Dark X-Men? He has his own Avengers team and now Norman Osborn has his own X-Men team. The other shoe has finally dropped and Emma Frost has betrayed Cyclops and the rest of the X-Men. And that’s just one of the huge surprises in “UTOPIA”. Is that Namor? Cloak and Dagger? Professor X?! The thing that you aren’t ready for is that Osborn is right.

Emplate is back and he’s out for blood. More specifically, for mutant bone marrow. And with the X-Men still reeling from Utopia, he may have picked the perfect time to come calling.

Volume 75: Necrosha

Selene’s Inner Circle stands revealed and her master plan has been set into motion. Watch as the resurrected dead lay siege to the X-Men’s headquarters and the fight to survive the Black Queen’s vengeance begins. But while Warpath and Wolverine realize what’s happening, they may be too late to stop it. Because Selene is already well on her way to achieving ultimate power half a world away. And the rest of the X-Men fight mutants back from the dead!

(Now here is where we pick up with X-23 being somehow “captured” again)

Volume 76: Nation X

Cyclops has moved the X-Men from New York and created a home for mutants in San Francisco. He sent X-Force to the future to support his son Cable and even outwitted Norman Osborn and his Dark Avengers. He even led the X-Men against the undead armies of Selene but now comes one of the most difficult tasks he has ever faced….handling the day to day duties of managing the sovereign nation island of Utopia.

Juggling the basic needs of food, water and shelter are stressful enough but when trouble threatens to consume Emma Frost from within Cyclops may be in for the fight of his life. To make matters worse Beast has caught wind of X-Force, his secret black ops squad. Plus Pixie’s mother pays Utopia a visit but when evil forces conspire to consume Pixie it spurns a family reunion you would not believe! And just wait until you find out which long time X-Men villain is her father! Meanwhile Cable and Hope inch closer and closer to the present.

Volume 77: Second Coming

The climax of four years of X-Men stories is the X-Event of 2010! What started in HOUSE OF M with the Decimation of mutantkind and erupted with the first new mutant birth in MESSIAH COMPLEX finishes here. In the epic crossover SECOND COMING, Cyclops’ faith pays off when Cable returns to the present with Hope, the girl he believes to be the mutant messiah. But will she be the savior or destroyer of mutantkind? We may never know, as she is the target of an initiative for mutant eradication unlike anything the X-Men have ever experienced. Many will be wounded. Several will die. Is Hope worth it?

 
Continued in The Heroic Age

Back to The Decimation

Volume 5: The Dark Avengers

From the ashes of Secret Invasion Norman Osborn has risen to power and has now been proclaimed the protector of the world.  What plans does his Cabal have in store?  What will the heroes of the Marvel Universe do now that the villains are on top?  Can Norman keep the Green Goblin in check?  And who are his Dark Avengers?  As the dark clouds cover the Marvel Universe his reign has begun.From here you can take a tour of the Marvel Universe in Dark Reign: Marvel Universe

Dark Reign: Avengers Prime

Tony Stark has lost everything. The Avengers, his fortune and his position as lead of S.H.I.E.L.D. However he does not leave Stark Tower empty handed. After storing the S.H.R.A. (Super Hero Registration Act) Database in his mind he goes on the run from Norman Osborn to protect the identities of the registered super humans. As he slowly erases the database from his mind he is also erasing his mind…

Loki’s schemes begin to build as Thor is banished from Asgard! Can he find Sif in die before the body she inhabits expires? And as Dr. Doom’s continues his twisted experiments it ultimately leads to a confrontation with the Asgardians and Thor!

Finally the new Captain America settles into his new uniform when someone from his past forces him to lay down his shield. The Winter Soldier has returned! And what has Sharon Carter remembered? A figure in the light?

Dark Reign:  Mighty Avengers Initiative

Hank Pym picks up the pieces of his life after Secret Invasion but where does he belong? The woman he loved is gone and a Skrull imposter has been living his life everything has changed. But when the return of an old enemy threatens all life on the planet Pym forms his own Avengers, the Mighty Avengers! But what is the Scarlet Witch up to?

The 50 State Initiative promised to train young heroes and put a Super Hero team in every state. However Norman Osborn has some plans of his own as he takes over and adds known villains to the roster! And wait until you see who he puts in charge! Will the Initiative recruits take a stand against the corruption? And what is the Avengers Resistance?

Volume 6: The New Avengers Strike Back

Lines have been crossed. As Osborn tries to strengthen his grip on the Marvel Universe things and people begin slipping through his fingers. As new laws are drafted to restrict mutant rights Norman finds an opportunity to boost his public standing. However he faces the mutant militia known as the X-Men and their leader Cyclops. Forming a mutant group of his own Norman unveils his Dark X-Men. It’s a chess game of war but who will be the victor?

Then New Avengers find themselves once again facing off against the Hood’s crew but where is the Hood? Things go from bad to worse as the Avengers are stripped of their powers and then the Dark Avengers arrive! A ray of light shines through Norman’s reign as the greatest Avenger is reborn! And what exactly is going on with the Sentry?

I mainly put Mighty Avengers 34 here as the round table discussion talks about recent events that are in this volume. If I put it with the rest of Mighty it would spoil things that happen before you get to this volume. If you’re not binding Mighty Avengers then you can leave it out.

Continues in Dark Reign Marvel Universe!

Or jump to Siege!

Back to Secret Invasion!

back to Avengers Vol 4 The Initiative Era 

Back to Avengers Vol 1-3 Bendis Era