AARON & McGUINNESS Give AVENGERS a 'Fresh Start' , New #1, New Core Roster

Avengers will relaunch this May with a new #1 in the wake of "Avengers: No Surrender." The new series, which brings together the core trio of Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, and Thor Odinson with a smaller roster of heroes, is written by Jason Aaron with art by Ed McGuinness and is described as a "flagship" title for Marvel.

“We wanted to get back to a small, core lineup. With big, iconic characters at the heart of that,” Aaron toldIGN, where the announcement was made. “So we get Steve, Tony, and Thor Odinson back together at the heart of this new team, and the rest of the team we build around them over the course of the first arc. My aim with this series is basically, if you only read one Marvel comic -- not that you should read just one Marvel comic, but if you did -- if you picked this book up, this would show you the landscape of the Marvel universe issue after issue. We want to feature the biggest characters and go to the coolest, most exotic locations around the Marvel U.”

In the series, Aaron will split the story between the present day Avengers and the Avengers B.C. which were introduced in last year's Marvel Legacy #1, bridged together by a threat involving the Celestials.

IGN has exclusive art showing a line-up of Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Captain Marvel, She-Hulk, Doctor Strange, Black Panther, and Robbie Reyes/Ghost Rider. Strange is said to occupy a "rotating slot" on the team, which will feature various heroes over different arcs.

News of the relaunch comes on the heels of Marvel's announcement of a "fresh start" in 2018 with new creative teams and titles. The relaunched Avengerswill ship 18 times a year, and will be the only Avengers title moving forward.