King in Black: Avengers

King in Black

by Geoffrey Thorne, Danny Lore, Ed Brisson

Knull’s invasion tests Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to their limits! T’Challa’s most treasured allies have been lost — and once again, the Black Panther must choose between his role as a king and the yearnings of his heart! Captain America, aided by the Falcon and the Winter Soldier, faces a brutal battle against
darkness! Knull raises fresh hell for Ghost Rider! Joe Fixit is out to make sure this is the best holiday the Hulk’s ever had — he just has to fight his way
through a planet of symbiotes first! Iron Man and Doctor Doom are forced together to battle an all-too-familiar specter of the festive season! And on vacation in the Shi’ar galaxy, newlyweds Wiccan and Hulkling face a honeymoon to die for!
 
COLLECTING: King in Black: Black Panther (2021) 1, King in Black: Captain America (2021) 1, King in Black: Ghost Rider (2021) 1, King in Black: Immortal Hulk (2021) 1, King in Black: Iron Man/Doom (2021) 1, King in Black: Wiccan and Hulkling (2021) 1

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Science Fiction

200 pages, Paperback

Published July 27, 2021

About the author

Geoffrey Thorne is an American novelist and screenwriter.

Thorne was born in the United States and currently lives in Los Angeles, California.

After winning Second Prize in Simon & Schuster's sixth annual Strange New Worlds anthology with his story "The Soft Room," he went on to publish more stories in several media tie-in anthologies as well as the Star Trek: Titan novel Sword of Damocles.

As a screenwriter, Thorne has worked with Disney, Cartoon Network, STARZ, developing various properties. His TV work includes BEN 10: ULTIMATE ALIEN & OMNIVERSE, LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT and the hit TNT series', LEVERAGE and THE LIBRARIANS.

Thorne is the co-founder and writing partner in GENRE 19, a studio he formed with artist Todd Harris in 2008.

Reviews

[Khurram · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to say I was not expecting much from thus book. It is dux different one shots. I really got thus book for the end of the Ghost Rider King of hell storyline in GR's one shot.

The Black Panther. A solid story of the Black Panter protecting Wakanda dispite his personal loss. Can he focus to turn the tide of the invasion. Great use of science, alchemistry, the will of s King and the trust he has earned of his people and his family.

Captain America. Steve Rogers is back in action after recently being freed from Knull's control. Is the control completely gone? Steve must contend with his own doubts, fears and self image. Luckily he has two partners who always have his back.

Ghost Rider. Johnny Blaze is trying to get back yo Hell, with his prisoner Mephisto, but with the world overrun by Knull's symbiots he has more pressing matters than a stopping a war for a crown he does not even want. Maybe a family intervention is just what he needs.

The Immortal Hilk. I hate the look of the anorexic child Hulk. Probobly as have always seen Hulk as the huge muscle bound behemoth. Just seeing him like thus just feels completely wrong to me. The silent story though is done extremely well. I enjoyed it.

Ironman and Doctor Doom. I was not sure how this was going to work, but in a strange way this is the prefect dark humorous story. Tony racked with guilt projected back by an empathetic blank like Doom works really well. Then there is santa???? Somehow it works.

Hulkling and Wiccan. Hulking now has an Empyre to run. Every decision dissected, every action considered, and constantly have to prove himself to not only his people but the other Empires as well. When a chance to go on a honeymoon comes up, what could go wrong? How about a symbiote army on its way to Earth and turning everything in it's path.

All these story were better than I was expecting. All added to the King in Black main story. The book finishes with a cover gallery of some of the varients of each one shot and two pages of coloured character designs. A great companion to the crossover but moves each individual series forward as well.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Black Panther by Geoffrey Thorne & German Peralta ★★
Black Panther, Shuri and Okoye try to stop Knull from taking over Wakanda. Not very interesting until the very end.

Captain America by Danny Lore, Mirko Colak, Stefano Landini, Roge Antonio & Nico Leon ★
Captain America fights alongside Bucky and the Falcon while fighting off Knull in his head. Complete fluff and unneccessary.

Ghost Rider by Ed Brisson & Juan Frigeri ★★★
Brisson uses this as an opportunity to close out his short Ghost Rider run and tie up all his loose ends before Benjamin Percy starts up a new series.

Immortal Hulk by Al Ewing & Aaron Kuder ★★★
In a completely silent tale, the Hulk and Joe Fixit trade off fighting some of Knull's symbiotes over Christmas. Pretty inconsequential but good art.

Iron Man / Doctor Doom by Christopher Cantwell & Salvador Larroca ★★★
Iron Man and Dr. Doom fight a knullified Santa Claus. Ends up being more strange than funny.

Wiccan & Hulkling by Tini Howard & Luciano Vecchio ★★
I like seeing Wiccan and Hulking get more page time. I do not like seeing Tini Howard's name on the creative team. This is just filler content. Wiccan and Hulkling are attacked by symbiotes on their honeymoon in space. It barely has anything to do with King in Black. Vecchio draws Wiccan and Hulkling with the faces of little boys. It's offputting to put it nicely.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This King in Black anthology collects six Avengers-related one-shots featuring (deep breath) the Hulk, Iron Man/Dr. Doom, Black Panther, Captain America/Bucky/Falcon, Ghost Rider and Hulkling/Wiccan.

Surprisingly, the low point of the collection was the Cap story, which was fine but very much by-the-numbers. The Black Panther and Hulkling & Wiccan one-shots were fine (although the artist on the latter drew the protagonists’ faces like they were ten years old for some reason) and the Ghost Rider story (which had beautiful art) was more of a coda to flame-face’s recently cancelled book than anything to do with King in Black.

The highlights of this collection are the Hulk story, which was told entirely without words, had stunningly good artwork and was a really sweet Christmas tale, and the Iron Man & Doctor Doom story, which featured our armoured adversaries going toe-to-toe with a symbiote infected Father Christmas! It has to be read to be believed but they really knocked it out of the park with this one.

I usually find anthology books average out to 3 stars but this one bucked the trend with a whopping 4 star average! Way to go, folks!

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

And lo, there will come a volume of tie-in one-shots, because that's just how we do. King In Black infects the Black Panther, Captain America, Ghost Rider, the Immortal Hulk, Wiccan & Hulkling, and...Santa?

Oddly consistent, considering the wildly different creative teams and approaches to the event on display here. The Black Panther one-shot's a bit wordy, and the Captain America one's mostly just fine, but the others really shine.

The Ghost Rider one-shot acts a bit of closure for the recently ended Ed Brisson Ghost Rider series, so that was a nice surprise even if it's not entirely concerned with King In Black as a result. The Immortal Hulk story is both Christmas themed and a 'Nuff Said, which is ambitious to say the least, but Al Ewing and Aaron Kuder pull it off surprisingly well.

Wiccan & Hulkling's one-shot finally gives them a honeymoon after their Empyre wedding, and manages to tie into some of the King In Black set-up one-shots along the way too. I'm glad these two are getting more focus in recent days, they really deserve it. And then there's the Iron Man/Doctor Doom one-shot about symbiote infected Santa which you just have to read to believe. It's nuts, and I loved it.

A mixed bag, which is a phrase I seem to trot out a lot, but at least this one's weighted on the positive end for a change.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

King in Black: Avengers offers a series of one-shots that more or less go downhill from the start.

- Black Panther saves Wakanda from Knull dragons: good, cool, exciting.
- Captain America has an internal crisis after being infected by venom: boring, bland, lame.
- Ghost Rider deals with demons, Knull, and assorted D-listers in what appears to be an issue of his ongoing series, not a standalone one-shot: confusing, but fine.
- Dialogue-free Weak Hulk fights Knull beasties and Christmas shops: weird, but oddly satisfying.
- Iron Man and Doctor Doom banter and fight a venom-infested Santa Claus: weirder still, and not oddly satisfying.
- Hulking and Wiccan fight Knull dragons on their honeymoon: dull, with bland YA art.

So much Christmas? What's the deal with that? Overall, a collection you can bypass. Adds nothing to the main event and adds little to the characters themselves.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

My second King in Black collection (getting these in a weird order from the public library). Consists of a bunch of one-shots of varying quality (writing and artwork), showing a variety of Avengers battling the symbiote invasion of Knull and his army. I liked the ones featuring the Immortal Hulk (a text-free story that ends with the child-Hulk playing with toys in a toy store) and Iron Man/Dr. Doom (they go up against...Santa Claus?). The others are pretty non-essential, to say the least.

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume includes 6 one-shots that tie into the events of the King in Black Marvel crossover event.

Black Panther - Not bad. Nothing spectacular, but at least they seemed to have a good grasp on T’Challa’s character. Nice art as well (3/5).

Captain America - This one felt rather pointless. Just some rushed filler material to give Captain America, Falcon and Bucky something to do (2/5).

Ghost Rider - Pretty darn good, mostly, except ... wait let me start with the good stuff: specifically that Johnny actually something to do here and that it progressed the story as well. What was bad here? Ah, dragging Mephisto around behind a motorcycle while he’s tied up in magical chains? Seriously? This is one of those juvenile visual gag stunts that works about as well as DC comics from the late 1960s when they were trying to capitalize on the success of the Batman TV series. This was all kinds of lame. I’ve never going to be able to take Mephisto as a serious threat again (2/5).

Immortal Hulk - Nice! A ‘Nuff Said style story. Always fun. Xmas themed? Really? Guess I can’t have anything nice can I? They lost a star there. What’s up with Banner’s mustache? He looks like a dumbass Leader reject (2/5).

Iron Man / Doctor Doom - And there they go again! Seriously? Does nobody get how to write Doctor Doom anymore? Or maybe he really was just all in the mind of Tony. If he’s doing extremis crap again, he’s basically succumbed to his addiction issues all over again, so I would put put anything past that misogynistic asshat. Nice art though, plus a star for that (3/5).

Wiccan and Hulkling - My boys! Wiccan & Hulkling get their honeymoon, which is (of course) ruined by a dumbass villain. But hey, there’s a flying robot that dispenses champagne. Who wouldn’t want that? And we’ll, they definitely saved the best for last in this collection (5/5).

Sadly, as much fun as this last story is, it won’t be enough to offset the otherwise lame collection of tales in this collection, but I will round it up (3/5).

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better King in Black tie in volumes.

Black Panther: Dealt with Wakanda being defended against the symbiotes, at least made sense in the bigger picture.

Captain America: Showed how he was dealing with the aftermath of being possessed by a symbiote, with Knull still in his head.

Ghost Rider: This really seemed like a very important piece of Ghost Rider continuity, and the King in Black part was an afterthought. I was surprised they'd put something this important in a one shot that most would think unrelated to core continuity.

Immortal Hulk: A silent issue that was very well done. Nothing integral to the story here, but a touching story nonetheless.

Iron Man/Doctor Doom: This seemed a little out of place as it was a Christmas story (featuring Santa Claus, even) that was used as a King in Black tie in. Not bad really, but this would have worked much better in a Marvel Holiday Special rather than in King in Black.

Wiccan and Hulkling: Dealt with the King in Black invasion not on Earth. Not bad, and I guess it did give an idea of the cosmic scope of the symbiote invasion.

Overall good.

[Nicholas Dehler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked that each of the stories focused on different parties, which made for a pretty light and diverse read. None of the stories were especially exceptional, I would say they basically range from okay to pretty good. My favorites were Ghost Rider, Iron Man and Doctor Doom, and Hulking and Wiccan.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars.
Another crossover into the King in Black saga. This time, we get several individual stories about different Avengers. Most are pretty good, but standard fair, and not overly crazy or awesome.
Highlights:
- Black Panther - This tale deals with how Wakanda is handling the invasion from Knull. There is quite a bit of chaos, but some last minute ingenuity from T'Challa makes a huge impact on the Earth (much like Wakanda is known for)
- Captain America - Recently freed from Knull's influence (or is he?), Cap teams up with Falcon and Bucky against Knull's forces. They are able to rescue some civilians, and help Cap against the doubts in his own mind.
- Ghost Rider - (Why didn't this series get to continue? BRING IT BACK!) - Johnny, with Mephisto in tow, is trying to track down Lilith, who opposes his reign in Hell. The forces of Knull interfere and Ghost Rider teams up with Death Rider (Dan Ketch) and Caretaker to stop them. They let Mephisto go, preferring the devil you know to the one they don't (Knull).
- Immortal Hulk - A dialogue-less issue, where we see Hulk fight a few symbiotes, but mostly in defense of a present store on Christmas.
- Iron Man/ Doctor Doom - Tony's new techno-organic armor helps fight the symbiotes, but the team-up takes an odd turn when they must fight "Santa Claus". (This issue was actually pretty funny!)
- Wiccan and Hulkling - Fresh off of the events of Empyre, our couple are given a honeymoon on a Shi'ar planet. The forces of Knull arrive to take out the Emperor, but the two prove why they are such a good team. (and so adorable!)

Overall, a good Volume, but I'll be done with King in Black soon.
Recommend.

[Sesana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Six one shots, all tied to the King in Black event and none necessary reading strictly for the event itself. The first two are Black Panther and Captain America focused. They're both fairly standard event comics, but fairly good ones. Cap's is slightly more introspective, but they're both largely about punching symbiotes. The Ghost Rider one shot is more like a story that happens during the event than one actually about it. It looks like it's functionally an epilogue to the recently cancelled version of Ghost Rider, with some surprisingly big ramifications for the structure of hell. Immortal Hulk and Iron Man/Doom are both, believe it or not, Christmas stories. Hulk's is a surprisingly effective story that just happens to be going on during the event, while Iron Man/Doom features a Santa who's been infected with a symbiote. It's nuts, in the best possible way. Finally, the moment I've been waiting for, the Wiccan and Hulkling book. This is set during their honeymoon, which gets interrupted by a symbiote invasion. I really enjoyed it. It's fun, Wiccan and Hulkling are cute, and it makes me happy to see Lauri-El hanging around. This particular collection is 100% not essential reading for understanding the event, but it is a good read.

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a mixed bag, which I suppose was inevitable given the format. It's a compilation of various one-shot tie-in titles featuring the likes of Captain America, Black Panther, the Hulk, and as featured on the cover, Hulkling and Wiccan. The label this an Avengers book is following a very loose definition, but I guess they needed a way to brand this.

It's a lot of small stories of on the ground efforts to fight the forces of Knull, the King in Black. The Wakandan story was very Wakanda. The Hulk story was good, but I also feel like I've seen it included in other compilations because that's what people do. The Captain America story was surprisingly heavy and very internal given Cap still trying to shake off the effects of having been possessed by Knull's symbiotic goo. And finally the Hulkling and Wiccan story was rather light in tone (and art style) but was okay enough in the end.

I just don't get why Knull felt it necessary to dispatch forces against Hulkling since it was clear he was making a beeline for Earth because his main target was there. But hey, the demands of plot and all.

[Joey Nardinelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

One-shot collections can feel really hit or miss to me, and this one felt like a few of each. In the camp of “you really need to be actively reading these to get them,” I think the collection of Black Panther, Captain America, Iron Man/Dr Doom, and Ghost Rider all demanded a pretty thorough awareness of the runs leading up to King in Black. Black Panther felt the most easy to wrap my head around, Cap felt thematic but boring, Ghost Rider was exhausting AND boring and the Iron Man bit with Santa was maybe arguably one of the more amusing. The also Christmas-themed Hulk one-shot sans dialogue was pretty fun. I don’t much care for Wiccan/Hulkling, but their chemistry was fun in moments and the space opera politics weren’t too much. I do like that being invested in a broad swath of Marvel comics and the Disney television/film helped me to really follow most of this stuff since the art style is often working within a contemporary register of iconicity.

[Bárbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like I enjoyed all the stories in this one, even the ones with characters I'm not usually super interested in. I do have to say, the one with Hulk was a welcome change of pace, and definitely easier to read than the rest lol
My favorite, needless to say, was the last one. I will always have a soft spot for anything Billy Kaplan-Altman. However, I do have to say the art was a little off-putting. It didn't just clash with the general style of the rest of the volume, but it also made them look like twelve-year-olds which, given the context (they are in a mature, long-term relationship, and are now also married), they are not. If this style had appeared at some point in their Young Avengers era, I'd have more than welcome it (especially in YA's first run, but that's another thing). Here, it seems out of place.

Overall, this was a mostly solid volume, with only very few points of contestation from my part. Another Marvel win for my collection.

[Nicole Westen · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favorite story in this collection was Iron-man/Dr. Doom. Even when he's being helpful, Doom is still a condescending jerk face. And they fought friggin Santa! Tony is already beating himself over Eddie, and now he thinks he's killing Santa. And Doom? Doom wants to believe... that Santa is a sorcerer supreme XD Love it.

[Jennifer Juffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the reviews I’ve read about this book, I have to agree, I wasn’t expecting the book to be this good or to have so many different characters so throughly covered.

It’s the perfect book to read right before Christmas, as two of the stories, Hulk and Iron Man/Doctor Doom, centered around Christmas tales.

The Hulk was the most surprising.
I subjectively thought the most touching, too.

[Tracey Sinclair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably 3ish stars from me, but that is because I didn't realise it was part of a series! But as a series of short stories that pretty much explain what went before, it's fun with great art. The Teddy / Billy story is adorable.

[Kris Ritchie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed bag of one-offs for the King in Black 9venom) event, none are really awful though. I personally enjoyed the Wiccan and Hulking & Iron Man/Doctor Doom issues.

[Daniel Butcher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mix of stories….Hulk best one.

[Michael Rivas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This issue was broken down into parts. Most of which were very decent and comical. Still not a fan of the series but I can’t not finish it off.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Came here for the Wiccan and Hulkling honeymoon, got Santa Claus too.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the Captain America and Ghost Riders stories. A moment of weakness but friends are very supportive. Accepting allies and giving up an unwinable situation.

[Fuuma · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars for the Wiccan and Hulking tie in it's too cute and too fun I love it

[Anne Barwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Must admit picked it up for Hulking and Wiccan though enjoyed the other stories too.