The Mighty Avengers #20

History

Written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by a trio of artists — Lee Weeks, Jim Cheung, and Carlo Pagulayan, with Jeffrey Huet on inks — the issue was published in December 2008 with a February 2009 cover date, timed to ship the week after Secret Invasion #8 concluded the parent event. The cover was painted by Marko Djurdjevic and carries the Secret Invasion trade dress. This was Bendis's final issue as writer of Mighty Avengers; with the conclusion of Secret Invasion he moved directly to Dark Avengers and the Secret Invasion: Dark Reign one-shot, handing the Mighty Avengers title to Dan Slott beginning with issue #21. Editor Tom Brevoort oversaw the issue, with Jeanine Schaefer as associate editor and Joe Quesada serving as editor-in-chief.

Trivia · 8 facts

• The issue is titled 'Epilogue' and is the final chapter written by Brian Michael Bendis for Mighty Avengers (Vol. 1), concluding his run on the series with issue #20.
• The primary story is the funeral of Janet Van Dyne (the Wasp) at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan, following her death in Secret Invasion #8 — this is the main on-page memorial service for the character in the immediate Secret Invasion aftermath.
• A key flashback sequence is set during Avengers #4, depicting Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne watching over the newly-revived Steve Rogers / Captain America, giving the issue an emotional anchor that spans decades of Avengers history.
• Carol Danvers recaps for the returning Hank Pym (who was a Skrull prisoner) the major Marvel events he missed: House of M, the Super-Hero Civil War, the death of Captain America, World War Hulk, and the Skrull invasion — a rare single-issue 'catch-up' that names the entire Bendis-era event arc.
• Norman Osborn's closing scene — taking up residence in Avengers Tower — is among the first visual portents of the Dark Reign status quo, with Victoria Hand in attendance; it was published the same week as Secret Invasion #8's conclusion.
• The art was split between three pencilers: Lee Weeks (flashback sequences), Jim Cheung, and Carlo Pagulayan, with inkers Lee Weeks, Jim Cheung, and Jeffrey Huet — the multi-artist approach was used deliberately to distinguish present-day and historical storytelling registers.
• The issue is collected in Mighty Avengers: Secret Invasion (trade paperback, ISBN 0785142614), which collects Mighty Avengers #12–20, and also appears in the Secret Invasion Omnibus (ISBN 9781302912154) alongside the core event issues.
• Clint Barton (Ronin/Hawkeye) and Bobbi Morse (Mockingbird) confront Norman Osborn at the funeral, with Osborn threatening Barton's arrest under the Registration Act — an early dramatic clash that foreshadows the Clint/Osborn conflict that runs through Dark Reign.

Cast · 37 characters

Full credits

Key issues in The Mighty Avengers

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#25 1st appearance — Ban-Luck

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#27 1st appearance — the Unspoken

Variants (1)