Avengers Assemble #2
Avengers Assemble (Vol. 3) #2 is the second chapter of a five-issue limited series that formally established the AVENG.E.R.S. (Avengers Emergency Response Squad) as a functioning, mission-ready team distinct from the main Avengers roster — giving long-sidelined characters like Night Thrasher, Lightspeed, Lightning, and Wonder Man a sustained spotlight in a flagship context. The issue deepens the series' structural innovation: rather than a fixed lineup, only the heroes physically on-base at Avengers Mansion deploy, rotating the cast issue by issue in a way that echoes real-world rapid-response unit protocols. Issue #2 also delivers a darker backstory for the classic Stan Lee/Jack Kirby villain the Red Ghost, revealing that his Super-Apes were the survivors of many failed cosmic-radiation experiments on other apes, whose wronged ghosts now haunt a Massachusetts town — a morally complex retcon that recontextualizes a Silver Age villain for contemporary storytelling. The series as a whole, of which this issue is a key building block, proved durable enough to spin directly into the ongoing Astonishing Avengers Infinity Comic (2025), cementing the AVENG.E.R.S. concept as a lasting addition to Avengers mythology.
In Avengers Assemble #2 (2024), a team of the AvengE.R.S races to the eerie town of Kingsport, where radioactive ghost apes—once loyal to the Red Ghost—now rampage through the streets. Meanwhile, the Serpent Society presses on in their quest to collect powerful magical artifacts, their next move shrouded in mystery. Written by Steve Orlando and brought to life by Scot Eaton’s dynamic art, with Elisabetta D’Amico’s inks, Sonia Oback’s colors, and Cory Petit’s sharp lettering, the issue blends supernatural threats with the team’s relentless resolve. Leinil Francis Yu’s striking cover captures the chaos and intensity of the story’s unfolding dangers.
ComicBooks.com Value
This exact issue on ebay
CGC 9.8 ▾ $185–$350 2 listings
Raw — NM ▾ $3.39–$49.99 6 listings
Raw — NM- ▾ $20–$37.49 2 listings
Raw / ungraded ▾ $1–$74.99 21 listings
More listings for this title
Read it digitally
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
The series was conceived as a direct spinoff from Jed MacKay's Avengers (2023) run and the 2024 crossover event Blood Hunt, in which Captain America led an ad hoc team against a global vampire assault. Writer Steve Orlando, whose previous Marvel work included Scarlet Witch and Spider-Man 2099, pitched the AVENG.E.R.S. concept as a return to the intimate, personality-driven Avengers storytelling of the Roger Stern era — Orlando has publicly noted that West Coast Avengers was the first comic book he ever bought, making this project a personal one. Rather than assigning a single artist to the entire run, Marvel and editor Alanna Smith structured the series with a rotating artist per issue: Cory Smith drew #1, Scot Eaton took pencils on #2, with Marcelo Ferreira, Valentina Pinti, and others following. Eaton, known for his work on Cable, brought a textured, shadow-heavy style that reviewers noted suited the Halloween-horror atmosphere of the issue's ghost-ape haunting in Kingsport, Massachusetts.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Released October 16, 2024 (cover-dated December 2024); issue #2 of a five-issue limited series (Vol. 3 of the Avengers Assemble title).
- Written by Steve Orlando; pencils by Scot Eaton; inks by Elisabetta D'Amico; colors by Sonia Oback; letters by VC's Cory Petit; editor Alanna Smith; cover by Leinil Francis Yu.
- The issue deploys Captain America, Hawkeye, Night Thrasher, and Hercules to Kingsport, Massachusetts, to investigate radioactive ghost apes terrorizing the town — the series' second standalone 'villain of the week' mission.
- Central revelation: the Red Ghost (Ivan Kragoff) experimented on numerous apes with cosmic radiation before achieving success with his famous Super-Apes; the ghosts of those failed test subjects are the issue's antagonists, seeking revenge on Kragoff.
- Hercules' adamantine mace is established as capable of affecting the intangible ghost apes, while Night Thrasher identifies the creatures' Fantastic Four-style cosmic radiation signature — key character beats that showcase the AVENG.E.R.S.' diverse skill sets.
- Night Thrasher's custom AVENG.E.R.S. jackets (introduced in issue #1) are first worn in active field deployment here; the jackets are described in-story as bulletproof, fireproof, and equipped with basic first-aid functions.
- A subplot continues the series' background threat: while the AVENG.E.R.S. are occupied, the Serpent Society acquires another ingredient for a mystical ritual tied to Mephisto (the 'Serpent's Tears'), unseen by the heroes.
- The series spun directly into the ongoing Astonishing Avengers Infinity Comic (2025), with the AVENG.E.R.S. concept and several of this issue's characters — particularly Night Thrasher and Hercules — continuing as fixtures of that follow-up title.
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Avengers Assemble: The Serpent Scenario #[nn] (2025)
Variants (2)
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.