Merge:A-Next

A-Next is the Marvel Comics' MC2 Universe version of the Avengers. The team made its first appearance in What If? #105, the first comics featuring Spider-Girl, and its origin story was told in A-Next #1, cover dated October 1998. The comics lasted twelve monthly issues, all written by Tom DeFalco with art by Ron Frenz.

The first story paid homage to the original Avengers #1, with an Asgardian menace prompting new superheroes to band together, all of them analogues to the original team. Future stories introduced new heroes and menaces, many of them based on pre-existing Marvel characters. The comic ended at issue #12, never reaching a comfortable sales threshold. Characters and story elements created by DeFalco for other comics were used extensively throughout the 12-issue run.

Origin
The first issue opens in Avengers Mansion, turned into a museum and tourist attraction after the Avengers had disappeared 15 years before. A sudden attack by Asgardian trolls, commanded by Loki, prompted the mansion's caretaker, former butler Edwin Jarvis to send out a distress signal.

The summons was responded to by Thunderstrike II (Kevin Masterson, son of the original, who was visiting the mansion), Stinger (Scott Lang's daughter Cassie Lang, now an entomologist, who was testing Ant-Man's old uniform), Mainframe (a mysterious armored individual) and J2 (Zane Yama, high school student and teenage son of the Juggernaut). These characters were analogues for Thor, Ant-Man I and the Wasp, Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk, respectively.

In order to draw in readers, the story also featured adult version of modern teenage superheroes, Speedball, Jubilee and Jolt. They, along with the new recruits, were transported to Asgard by Loki, who wanted to retrieve the Thunderstrike mace's power for himself, but Masterson disrupts the spell, absorbing the mace into his physical body, and transforming into Thunderstrike in the process. Loki and the trolls are then defeated by the new Avengers, with assistance from Thor, who is now king of Asgard. The older members decline to stay with the reformed team.

Story
Subsequent stories did little in terms of character development. Thunderstrike and J2 adjust to their new status well, while Stinger, the oldest member of the team, had a spat with Mainframe for team leadership and with her father, who insinuated himself into the team as tech support, but mostly to keep an eye on her. Most of the stories served only to introduce more heroes to the MC2 universe. In issue #2, a downed Kree spaceship lead to the transformation of Bill Foster's son John into Earth Sentry, an analog of Captain Marvel. The following issue introduced Doc Magus, the new Sorcerer Supreme, who recruited the Avengers into fighting the reformed Defenders.

Issue #4 was a homage to both Avengers #4 and #16, introducing a new patriotic hero and her "kooky quartet". In the story, Mainframe and Jarvis are testing new prospective members, to the surprise of the regular team. They are American Dream (female version of Captain America), Freebooter (based on Hawkeye and the Swordsman), Crimson Curse (analogue to the Scarlet Witch) and Bluestreak (analogue to Quicksilver). The new team had their baptism of fire by saving N'kano, the Wakandan ambassador, from the racist Soldiers of the Serpent (an amalgam of the also-racist Sons of the Serpent with elements from the egyptian god Set), with the assistance of the Coal Tiger, son of the Black Panther.

The following issue is a homage to Avengers #25. An apparent battle with Doctor Doom actually serves to re-introduce former Fantastic Four cast member Kristoff Vernard, but in #6, the mystery of the Avengers' final fate begins to be investigated, when the Avengers are attacked by Argo, who claims to be Hercules' son, followed by an encounter with the villainous Ion Man, prompting Mainframe to reveal he is a sentient computer program based on Tony Stark's personality.

The comic's final issues were dedicated to solving the mystery of the original team's disappearance. The Avengers discover the Scarlet Witch in suspended animation in the mansion's subterranean levels, powering a gate to an alternate Earth. After defeating the Sons of the Serpent, with the help of Blacklight (the daughter of Monica Rambeau, the second Captain Marvel), the Avengers travel to the alternate dimension, which had been conquered by Red Skull after World War II, and was now ruled by the Skull's adopted son, Dr. Doom (who had murdered the Skull). During the battle, they discover Captain America is alive and leading the resistance, and the Avengers help them defeat the Nazi forces, including the Thunder Guard, an alternate version of the Avengers.

Thunderstrike elected to stay on the alternate Earth, and the remaining Avengers return, receiving a reprimand from Tony Stark and Clint Barton. Immediately afterwards, they're attacked by a team of villains known as The Revengers, lead by Red Queen and Big Man, children of Hank and Janet Pym, out for revenge. The Avengers, alongside their reservists (the characters who debuted in previous issues) defeat the Revengers. Various plot points were left standing at the end of the series, such as the true identities and backgrounds of Freebooter and Bluestreak, and the Avengers only returned occasionally in the pages of Spider-Girl, as well as the mini-series Last Hero Standing and its sequel Last Planet Standing.

Other MC2 Appearances
J2 #3 expands on the fight between J2 and the Hulk from A-Next #3.

Stinger appears in Fantastic Five #5 to help the F5 in searching for Doctor Doom, but they end up saving Kristoff from Diablo. Kristoff decides to join the F5. He and additional Fantastic Five members appear in Spider-Girl #87.

After A-Next ended, the team first appears in Spider-Girl #13, where Spider-Girl is tested for membership. She succeeds in becoming a reserve Avenger. In #16, Spider-Girl and Stinger have a sparring session in the city, only to deal with a lecture from Nova about their irresponsible behavior.

Characters

 * Thunderstrike: 18-year-old Kevin Masterson is the son of the original Thunderstrike. He absorbed his father's mace into his body, and has gained the ability to produce "thunderclaps", i.e. generate bursts of concussive force from his hands.  He can use them to simulate superstrength or to propel him in huge Hulk-like leaps.  Although he doesn't possess real superstrength, he has limited invulnerability.  In his civilian identity, he is a college student.
 * Stinger: Dr. Cassandra Lang is the daughter of the second Ant-Man, Scott Lang. Although she is the oldest member (in her mid-20s), and the only one on the original team with a professional life and a scientific background, she is still doted on by her father, who constantly worries about her newfound superhero life.  She possesses many abilities originally engineered by Henry Pym, including resizing, flying, communication with insects and artificial "stingers", all based on her costume and helmet.
 * Mainframe: During the middle of the series, it was revealed Mainframe is a self-aware computer program, created by Tony Stark, that inhabits a series of identical armors. When an armor is damaged or destroyed, he simply transfers his consciousness to another body.  His body armor utilizes Stark technology similar to the one found in the Iron Man armor.  His personality is based on his creator's, possibly created by the same process as the Vision's.
 * J2: The only minor in the team, Zane Yama is a 15-year-old high school student and the son of the original Juggernaut (Cain Marko) and district attorney Sachi Yama. Picked on by bullies at school, he has recently manifested the ability to grow to a huge size, in which he gains superstrength and invulnerability.  His uniform (which includes his father's favorite flannel shirt tied around his waist over his armor) manifests itself automatically upon metamorphosis.
 * American Dream: Shannon Carter is the cousin of Sharon Carter. Her uniform is visually based on Captain America's, and includes a set of stun discs (similar to Nomad's) that can be thrown against an opponent.  She does not possess any powers, but is an olympic-level athelete, a skilled fighter and a strategist. American Dream was later rewarded for her dedication by receiving the shield of an alternate-reality Captain America after saving that world from destruction.
 * Freebooter: Not much was revealed about Freebooter's personal life, except his real name: Brandon Cross. He was trained by Hawkeye and has shown proficiency with a variety of weapons, as well as athletic skills.  His costume takes visual cues from both Hawkeye and the Swordsman.  Freebooter was romantically linked to Crimson Curse.
 * Crimson Curse: Aerika Harkness is related to the witch Agatha Harkness, former teacher to the Scarlet Witch. Like her ancestor, she possesses control over magical energies, although the exact nature of those energies is not known.  They appear similar to the way the Scarlet Witch's powers were originally portrayed (chaos magic), and she appears to control them with relative ease.
 * Bluestreak: Impatient and a person who likes to get to the point, Bluestreak has powers to match her nature, namely superspeed. No clues about her identity or past were revealed during the comic's run, with the exception she was once affiliated with the X-People, successor to the X-Men.  It has been speculated by fans she is Luna Maximoff, daughter of former Avengers Quicksilver and Crystal.

Inbetween
According to Spider-Girl #32, a temporary Avengers roster consisted of:
 * Jubilee
 * Jolt
 * Speedball
 * The Steel Spider/Ollie Osnick
 * Richard Rider/Nova