Warning: Spoilers for Daredevil #1 and Avengers Inc. #1!The very heroes who have protected the Marvel Universe for years are now getting on the nerves of the citizens they protect. There has been a growing animosity among citizens towards their local superheroes, expressing frustration and even disdain about them as of late. This growing frustration has been prevalent in multiple recent comics, as well as upcoming ones.
An example of this can be seen in Avengers Inc. #1 by Al Ewing, Leonard Kirk, Alex Sinclair, and VC’s Cory Petit. In a conversation between private investigator Janet van Dyne and Mayor Luke Cage, the latter mentions that the public continues to hold an anti-superhero perspective towards any and all kind of “costumed activity.” He further reiterates this later in their conversation, stating that public perception is “real down” on superheroes.
The Public Hates Costumed Activity
Mayor Cage’s words appear to be confirmed in another comic released the same week as Avengers Inc. #1. In the opening pages of Daredevil #1 by Saladin Ahmed, Aaron Kuder, Jesus Aburtov, and VC’s Clayton Cowles, there is a traffic jam caused by clean up over a supervillain attack, and clearly, no one is happy about it. Both of these comics come with interesting timing, not just because they were released the same day, but because they arrive not long before Sentry #1 by Jason Loo and Luigi Zagaria, coming December 6. Summary solicits have teased that Sentry’s powers will be resurfacing and manifesting within random citizens across the planet.
The Public May Fight Back Against Superheroes Soon
With both of these comics coming out on the same day as the upcoming Sentry event continues to loom on the horizon, none of this feels like a coincidence. It would appear as though Marvel is setting up an event where the community of citizens are finally sick of heroes and the damages they bring to their cities. If not a full-blown event, it certainly feels like it is being set up to be a recurring theme. The city-wide destruction caused by superheroes and supervillains is nothing new, but Marvel seems to be putting a deeper focus on the perspective of the citizens and making it apparent that these citizens are starting to reach their boiling point.
Where the Sentry series works its way into this theory is the fact that random citizens could be gaining superpowers just as their frustrations boil over with the current superheroes in charge. Assuming this leads to at least some newly powered citizens adopting costumed identities of their own (not dissimilar to DC’s Reign of Supermen arc), then all this could be leading to normal people deciding to take justice into their own hands. Under the impression that the actual heroes in charge are doing it wrong, citizens could become heroes themselves thinking they can do better. There’s a lot to speculate here, but for now, it certainly feels as if Marvel is setting up something big.
Avengers Inc. #1 and Daredevil #1 are both available now from Marvel Comics.