Marvel has just announced a huge shake-up of the New Avengers, with an impressive leader and one of the most powerful rosters of all time. Here’s everything you need to know.
Luke Cage Leads the Ultimate Universe’s New Avengers
Marvel just released its upcoming solicit information for The Ultimates #21, revealing that the Ult U will debut its own version of the New Avengers. Led by Luke Cage (introduced in Ultimates #9, which revealed he’d been imprisoned by the Maker’s regime), the team seems to include two versions of Ghost Rider, a winged woman who may be the new Falcon, and a monstrous individual similar to X-Men’s Caliban.
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The Ultimates #21 |
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Release Date: |
February 25, 2026 |
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Writer: |
Deniz Camp |
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Artists: |
Pere Pérez |
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Cover Artist: |
Dike Ruan |
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LUKE CAGE AND THE NEW AVENGERS! The New Avengers, led by Luke Cage, take on the Maker’s Council! Prisoners turned super-powered heroes thanks to the heroic catalysts reclaimed from the Maker… in an all-out brawl across the globe! |
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In the dark timeline of the Ultimate Universe, the Maker’s regime locks up any troublesome rebels in AIM superprisons, including heroes like Luke Cage and Danny Rand. Thankfully, Iron Man was able to return Luke Cage’s powers, with Cage choosing to remain in prison and build a rebellion. It seems that Tony has continued to back Luke with access to superpower-granting Origin Boxes, creating a new team of heroes.
Our Take on the Ultimate New Avengers
Like the Guardians of the Galaxy, the New Avengers never got their own Ultimate Universe reimagining back during the imprint’s initial 2000s heyday. Also like the Guardians, that’s finally been put right by the new era, with Luke Cage taking his rightful place as their leader.
Cage was a longtime leader of the mainstream version of the team, especially once the Civil War and Captain America’s assassination took Tony Stark and Steve Rogers off the table. It’s a big deal for fans of that era to see Cage treated as the definitive leader of the New Avengers – especially with how Marvel has effectively ignored the character ever since.
At the same time, the team’s name poses a puzzle. In Earth-6160, the ‘Avengers’ are known as the Ultimates, so why are Luke’s team calling themselves the ‘New Avengers?’ Ultimates #21 will doubtless have a clever answer, while also allying the Ultimates with what they’ve needed all along – a full blown superhuman army to take on a villainous regime that stretches across the entire globe.
For fans of Luke Cage and the New Avengers, this reveal is as good as it gets, paying homage to the team’s greatest era while giving them a dramatic reinvention.
The Ultimates #21 is coming Feburary 25 from Marvel Comics.