Avengers by Jonathan Hickman Reading Order

This reading order is designed to give an outline of Jonathan Hickman’s time writing the Avengers for Marvel Comics. It attempts to find the best way to showcase the narrative that stretches through this author’s time with the team. It may not encompass every one of the team’s appearances but is an outline of the major ones and the stories that affect them.

The continuity details relating to each specific storyline are explained in the “Review” of each storyline. Every “Review” link will provide a detailed continuity breakdown of that story and will explain any reference the story makes to other aspects of the Marvel Universe. All of this can be found under the “Continuity” section of each link.

Before Reading

Jonathan Hickman’s time writing the Avengers comes shortly after the close of Avengers Vol. 4 and New Avengers Vol. 2 series. At this point, Hickman began writing the Avengers Vol. 5 series and, shortly after, the New Avengers Vol. 3 series. Therefore, this era in the team’s history vaguely follows the events of these past comics.

However, the narrative stretching through this era more directly relates to Jonathan Hickman’s past work with Marvel. This includes his work on the Fantastic Four, the Ultimate Marvel Universe, the S.H.I.E.L.D. series, and the Secret Warriors series. Small elements from these comics are referenced at various points during this era. ComicBookWire does not currently have a reading order for these comics but will be working on creating them in the future.

Marvel NOW!

Jonathan Hickman’s time writing the Avengers started with the team’s restructuring, which allowed them to take on many of Earth’s most significant threats. Meanwhile, a reconvened Illuminati began examining a problem at the core of the Marvel Universe. The actions and activities of both groups went on to impact and influence one another, creating two separate but thematically relevant narratives. These narratives then collide during Time Runs Out (Reading Order), which led directly into the universe-altering events of Secret Wars.

In this era, the Avengers is a large group with many members. However, these members all rotate around a core group consisting of Black Widow (Natasha Romanova), Captain America (Steve Rogers), Hawkeye (Clint Barton), The Hulk (Bruce Banner), Iron Man (Tony Stark), and Thor (Odinson).

Avengers issues are from the Vol. 5 series
New Avengers issues are from the Vol. 3 series

Notes

1. These issues of Avengers World, co-written by Jonathan Hickman, start a global Avengers adventure. They also have thematic ties to the main Avengers narrative.
2. A story from this issue, written by Jonathan Hickman, presents a humorous and self-referential look at the Secret Wars event. Only the "Sraw Terces" story, from this issue, is relevant to this reading order.

All Marvel Comics Reading Orders