Hot on the heels of the announcement of the new Champions lineup, Marvel has revealed to The Nerdist that it's bringing back another team with a less-than-stellar reputation. Zac Gorman, a writer for Rick and Morty, is teaming with artist Will Robson for a new ongoing Great Lakes Avengers. The book is the brainchild of Marvel editor Tom Brevoort, and features the surviving members of the original team: Mr. Immortal, Doorman, Big Bertha, and Flatman.

The Great Lakes Avengers, for those who don't know, are an intentionally second-string team that first appeared in a 1989 issue of West Coast Avengers. They've had various appearances and short runs in the years since, and have even featured Squirrel Girl and Deadpool as members, although both of those characters are too busy these days to appear in this series. But they have a cardboard cut-out of Squirrel Girl, at least.

The new book finds the team authorized by the "real" Avengers, but uprooted from the Milwaukee home to fight crime in Detroit. Gorman is from the area, and promises that the real city of Detroit and the problems it faces will be reflected in the book, albeit in a humorous context. There's a vague mention in the Nerdist story of "a few new faces that we’ll meet as the book goes on," which hopefully means the cast will expand and Big Bertha won't remain the only woman on the team.

Talking to The Nerdist, Brevoort explains the appeal of the Great Lakes Avengers:

I think that it’s very easy to relate and connect with a bunch of characters who really, really want to be superheroes and really, really want to do good, and be a part of this superhero experience, but who are just kind of not wonderful at it. They’re kind of the closest, in their way, to what we, the audience, would be like if you gave us superpowers and a costume. Characters like the Great Lakes Avengers, they’re the Bad Luck Bears of superhero teams. They’ve got plenty of heart, but they’re not all that wonderful at being able to do the gig. And yet the fact that they have such heart is part of their appeal. They’re all kind of weird and offbeat and factory second superheroes in a way. They’ve got powers that kinda sound good, but aren’t all that useful, and they’re just kinda weird. I find that very appealing somehow. They’re much more like the people in my immediate circles than most of the actual superheroes we publish comics about.

 

Mike Allred, via The Nerdist
Mike Allred, via The Nerdist
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