frogoat wrote:

Thanks for clarifying, I found it a little unclear. I'm just happy we get more Handbooks, too. If this leads to a resurgence of them in years to come, I'll be a happy person!

Keep in mind that that's just an educated guess based on Previews being Diamond and thus the shippers. If any of the handbook writers say differently, go with what they say.

So all signs are that it will be out next week... but my dealer is taking a vacation that week so I won't be able to get it next week unless I get a 2nd copy from another shop. Sigh.

RVcousin wrote:

I really liked the way this updtaed profiles are presented with the quote of the last entry, especially since the sightings are listed (like Mantis in the Annihilation Conquest Omnibus) or the difference between the AZ hardcovers and trade paperbacks, really cool.

I agree; that was a very nice touch.

Andy, do you need the headshots info?

RVcousin wrote:

I really liked the way this updtaed profiles are presented with the quote of the last entry, especially since the sightings are listed (like Mantis in the Annihilation Conquest Omnibus) or the difference between the AZ hardcovers and trade paperbacks, really cool.

I just read this over again... there's an update in an Omnibus???
 

zuckyd1 wrote:

Andy, do you need the headshots info?

No need. I simply avoided this thread until my dealer came back from vacation and I was able to get my own copy. ;)

Thoughts so far: In the general sense it's great to have these back again. While the other threads are run, I always keep in mind that the primary reason for this forum's being is to discuss the new issues and collections. I read through over half of it on the beach today and have been enjoying these as always.

Specific comments:
It's interesting that due to virus-related delays, the indicia date is actually two months earlier than the release month. I'm betting that never happened in a comic before 2020.

Avengers: I hadn't known that Tony's actions during the Incursions were due to him still being inverted. Was that a later retcon or just something that just wasn't clarified in his New Avengers appearances during that time? It does explain a lot.

Nice seeing the Blue Area get a much fuller profile than it's Appendix entry. I hadn't know about the pre-FF #1 appearances.

Captain Marvel: The last page (History section) needed a bit more proofing. The start of the page changes to the present tense before reverting back to the past tense, and the second last sentence of the History suggests that [addiing spoiler tags as this relates to current stories)

Raksor learned that Raksor and Bel-Dann were working together.

Looks like I'll have to wait for my not-so-local comic shop to mail this bad boy out to me! Glad to hear it's finally available!

Rayeye wrote:

I have a question regarding the Avengers profile and the Avengers updated roster.
I noticed Avengers like Squirrel Girl, Pod and Songbird weren't listed (neither in the previous Avengers Now! handbook), so does that mean Sunspot's "New Avengers" and his USAvengers aren't officially "part" of the Avengers like the Avengers Unity Division does?
Same thing for the War Avengers (from the recent War of the Realm event) and the Occupy Avengers (which included Hawkeye and Earth-51920's Red Wolf).

Correct on all counts. We asked about all the groups that had used the Avengers name and were told none of those ones were official. It all came down to which characters had the right to create new Avenger teams, and Sunspot (for example) didn't.

Andy E. Nystrom wrote:

Avengers: I hadn't known that Tony's actions during the Incursions were due to him still being inverted. Was that a later retcon or just something that just wasn't clarified in his New Avengers appearances during that time? It does explain a lot.

Not a retcon, just something that became clear when the Avengers entry was being written. I got to the point while working on that entry where I had seen Tony become inverted, then reached the battle with Cap just prior to the final collapse of the multiverse. He was still in his Superior Iron Man armor, and I hadn't seen him being reverted in any of the stories I'd read. Given how he was acting, which fitted his selfish and arrogant inverted personality, I asked the rest of the team if there was another story I'd missed in his own title or elsewhere, one absent the other Avengers (otherwise I would have read it as part of my research for the entry in question), and after checking we were able to confirm we'd never actually seen him be reverted to normal following Scarlet Witch's inversion. So we double checked with editorial, and got confirmation - he'd been inverted right to the end. He was returned to normal by the universal reboot at the end of Secret Wars; this marks the second time that I can think of where he can thank Franklin Richards for fixing him as part of a reality reboot.

Hi all! First of all I am really grateful and happy for the Empyre: Handbook.

I enjoyed it too much! It was a long wait for new handbooks, but totally worth it! 

I waited for a couple of weeks before asking some questions about the Avengers membership, in order to avoid spoilers.

I am sure there were strong debates about these, but I would really  love, if possible, to understand the reasons behind the decisions. 

Questions about Probationary memberships
I understand the only characters considered members of the Avengers are those that are officially accepted by the Avengers or made honorary, either by a vote between the active members (pre-Disassembled) or those considered members of a sanctioned team by one of the original members.  The Avengers Charter mentions that “newly elected Avengers shall serve a probationary period of not less than thirty days”.  This probation period explains why Wonder Man, Beast, Mooondragon, Monica Rambeau, Starfox and others appear as Active Avengers in OHOTMU in the issue where they are confirmed as full-active members, instead of the issue where they joined or appear to have joined as probationary members (contrary to the issues that OHOTMU Master and Deluxe considered as their first issue joining the Avengers).    With this in mind, I have four questions:

1. Should Avenger-X be considered as a full-active member? - She was with the Avengers for a very  short time, less than thirty days, so she was on her Probationary period. This is the case, unless the Avengers Charter didn’t consider this Probationary period at the early stages of the Avengers, as it was apparently not considered for Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. 

2. Related to the previous question, in Avenger 20, Swordsman is mentioned as being in a Probationary Period, so maybe he was the first character that this probationary period was applied to. If that was true, maybe the Swordsman didn’t become a full-active member until Avengers 114 and that should be the issue in which he joined? 

3. Totally understand why Sabretooth is not considered a member of the Unity Squad, as he was a prisoner. Yet, the text says “Only the Unity  Squad remained active, now including Spider-Man, Thor (Jane Foster), Giant-Man, and Avengers prisoner Sabretooth.” - referring to Avengers: Rage of Ultron. Does this mean that maybe Sabretooth was in a probationary period but never attained full-active status? 

4. If probationary / provisional membership is not considered as the first time a character is active as an Avengers member, then why is Nova (Sam Alexander) considered to have joined in Nova 25?  Shouldn’t it be Free Comic Book Day 2015 together with Ms. Marvel (Khan) and Spider-Man (Morales)? 

Other questions non-related to probationary membership:
1. Shouldn’t the GLA during Flatman’s leadership tenure (Great Lakes Avengers 1-7) be considered former members? (Flatman, Big Bertha, Doorman, Good Boy, Mister Immortal) - I understand that this was a legal misunderstanding, but they were official members during this short period right? As the text says: “Trademark confusion resulted in the Great Lakes Avengers being given official Avengers status, but this was swiftly rescinded once the legalities were ironed out” 

2. The text says that Thor (Jane Foster) was a member of the Unity Division: “Only the Unity  Squad remained active, now including Spider-Man, Thor (Jane Foster), Giant-Man, and Avengers prisoner Sabretooth.” - referring to Avengers: Rage of Ultron. Shouldn’t that be her first active appearance? 

3. Shouldn’t the U.S.Avengers and Red Wolf be considered as Honorary members by Avengers 690 (2018)? - They were all considered Avengers by Captain America at that point and they even got a statue with  the rest of the Avengers at Avengers park. 

4. About impostors: Why not include Tanarus (Ulik)?  He was an Avenger in Thor’s place in Fear Itself 7.2 (2012).  Also, maybe Ultron Pym in Uncany Avengers 10 (2016)? - Although I understand it is not yet clear if he is really Ultron or Hank Pym or both. 

5. There are lots of characters that have joined as temporary agents for the Avengers or even interim Avengers as they are called-to-arms by Avengers founders, maybe they should be included in the Staff / Associates section? Or maybe there should be an Ad-Hoc / Interim teams as it is the case with the X-Men? The characters I am referring to are:
- Skaar (double agent infiltrating the Dark Avengers group)
- Songbird (double agent infiltrating the Thunderbolts - I believe in the Avengers / Thunderbolts limited series)
- John Steele (double agent infiltrating the Masters of Evil in the Secret Avengers comic)
- Prince of Orphans - (as he was an “unofficial” Avenger and went to several missions with the Secret Avengers)
- “Astonishing” Avengers (Nomad, Absorbing Man, Carnage, Enchantress, Hobgoblin, Jack O’Lantern, Mystique, Sabretooth, Loki) - gathered by Captain America, and clearly considered an interim Avengers team by him.
- War Avengers (Lady Sif, Weapon H) - this team was created by Captain Marvel, but apparently Captain America gathered them together as Weapon H said “when Captain America asks, I answer”.
- Avengers World (Blue Marvel’s team in Avengers: No Road Home 9) - more tricky, as this seems to be a team special agents gathered together as needed by Blue Marvel, but it seems that they are working together with the Avengers as Blue Marvel says to T’Challa “Can your Avengers Squad…” 

Sorry for all the picky questions, I just want to understand the point of view on this. 

Again, thanks a lot for these Handbooks! I can’t wait to get the X of Swords Handbook!!! 

I've not finished reading it, but I've read through some of the entries and I wanted to say a few things. I appreciate the note at the start of entries that tells you that it carries on from their previous handbook entry and where and when that was. I think this is a good method for saving some much needed space and keeping track of some of the more obscure entries. For example, I had no idea Captain Marvel received a profile in a TPB. 

I take it these new handbooks are intended as continuations and updates of the previous entries where ever applicable?

Unfortunately I didn't get any new information about Skrull life cycles, but I'm not too concerned. 

Looking forward to the X of Swords Handbook and whatever else the team puts out in the coming months!

Thanks to everyone involved!

I wonder when and how it is decided to assign a number to a new alternate reality. For example, the Empyre Handbook has the entry for Captain Marvel talk about the alternate reality of Zeta Flight and Lord Starkill (Quill) for several sentences, which would seem like the perfect place to namedrop its number, yet that never happens. Neither did it show up on the Unofficial Appendix Master List, which publishes new numericals all the time.

So if the Handbook team is clearly aware of that alternate reality being unique, does that mean that giving it a numerical is simply not a priority for either the writing team or Marvel? Or was there some sort of delay in the regular process that led to that number being excluded from the Handbook?

Mantis's entry states that it is continued from her profile in the Annihilation Conquest Omnibus. However as far as I can tell her omnibus entry is just a reprint of her entry from the Star-Lord: Annihilation—Conquest one-shot. Am I missing something, or was it an error?

Yes. The continuation note always references the most recent printing of the main profile, whether it has changed or not.