In the universe of Marvel, new teams are constantly being formed to counter threats to Earth. In 2025, a brutal version of the Avengers was established, which primarily has to deal with ugly clones.
What are these new Avengers? In June 2025, a new New Avengers
comic series started by author Sam Humphries, after the Thunderbolts movie of the MCU introduced a film variant. Usually, the New Avengers
teams are less heroic than the main team.
In a variant of the New Avengers series from 2005, Marvel geniuses founded the Illuminati. But they have done rather less heroic things, like shooting their friend Hulk into space. The members of the new New Avengers are not exactly classical heroes either:
- Bucky Barnes as Winter Soldier
- Natasha Romanoff as Black Widow
- The King of Atlantis: Namor, or the Sub-Mariner
- The wife of Doctor Strange, Clea, who is currently the Sorceress Supreme
- The brutal symbiote Carnage, who has currently infected Eddie Brock
- Laura Kinney as Wolverine
Especially Carnage stands out here. Of course, the others are also rather anti-heroes, relying on deadlier methods, but Carnage is one of the deadliest Spider-Man villains, who previously killed many people alongside the serial killer Cletus Kasady. But for their new enemies, they need such methods, as they are the very distorted version of powerful heroes.
Classic Villain Ideas: Clones
What are these clones? Right in the first issue of New Avengers (2025), the Spider-Man villain Jackal showcases his new creation: 7 clones based on the powerful heroes of the Illuminati. All with the new team name Killuminati
:
- Bolt as a clone of Black Bolt
- Mr. Ourobouros as a clone of Mister Fantastic
- Guru Strange as a clone of Doctor Strange
- Professor X-Tinction as a clone of Professor X
- Luke Charles as a clone of Black Panther
- Iron Apex as a clone of Iron Man
- Imperius Rex as a clone of Namor
At first glance, you can see that they are not exact clones of the known characters. They look distinctly more absurd and distorted, in the case of Imperius Rex not even human. He is a flying octopus, which should not be underestimated. Together with Mr. Ourobouros, he represents the probably most dangerous members of the group.
Why are Mr. Ouroboros and Imperius Rex particularly dangerous? While 2 of the clones have already been defeated in issue 2 (Source: Marvel), later, especially the octopus Imperius Rex causes them problems. He can not only attack Namor telepathically and make him act against his friends, but he can fly, heal himself, and even become a real Kaijū like Godzilla.
Mr. Ouroboros, on the other hand, is so dangerous solely because of his intellect. In the Marvel Universe, Mister Fantastic has often shown that he is capable of many inventions, and one of his evil variants threatened the entire universe.
How can I read the story? Currently, you still need to order English single issues or read them digitally. On March 10, 2026, a collection volume titled Vol. 1 will be released, summarizing issues 1 to 5. This will also be in English. A German version has not yet been announced. Comic apps can be a good alternative if you don’t have much space. MeinMMO editor Nikolas Hernes has had good experiences: I don’t want to wait for a Marvel and DC movie anymore – Thanks to two subscriptions, I can read the best comics simply on my phone
