Avengers Officially Debuts 2 New Spin-Off Teams: Full Rosters And Powers

Published Jul 28, 2026, 2:37 PM EDT Nicolas Ayala is a Senior Writer for the Comics team at ScreenRant, with over five years of experience writing about Superhero media, action movies, and TV shows. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Marvel's new Avengers team is composed of two different squads, each of which wields the opposite power of the other. Originally introduced as the primordial creator of the symbiotes, Knull has evolved far beyond his nature as the King in Black. After his defeat, Knull escaped his prison in Asgard and beat extremely powerful enemies like the All-Light and Thanos himself. Knull didn't stop there, as he also stole Thanos' Outriders and All-Light's pseudo-divine energy to ascend as a God of Light. As he heads towards Earth, Knull commands an army of genetically-modified creatures and wields an unprecedented amount of power. Despite his looming presence, Knull threatens the Earth during the crossover event Queen in Black, meaning that the titular villain promises to be even more dangerous. As the traditional ruler of Hel, Hela had already proved her worth as one of the Ten Realms' most lethal villains. The addition of Knull's symbiote power dramatically expands her domain, as it allows her to command entire armies of living symbiotes alongside her influence over the dead. It's safe to say that Earth's fight against Knull and Hela won't be easy, but the planet's choice for its first line of defense is key to shaping the events that follow both villains' arrival. The Defenders Of Light And Dark Are Divided Into Two Factions Queen in Black: Defenders of Light and Dark #1; Written By Al Ewing & Tom Waltz; Art By Zé Carlos & Fer Sifuentes-Sujo It's time for Earth to respond to Knull and Hela's double threat as Queen in Black begins, and there are at least two teams already prepared for battle. On Earth, Peter Parker leads the Spider-Friends, defending New York from a group of Hela's symbiote warriors. In space, Iron Man and Cable assemble two squads of cosmic Defenders, one wielding the Darkforce and the other weaponizing the Lightforce. Tony Stark and Nathan Summers are part of the Defenders of Light, accompanied by Agent Anti-Venom, Darkstar, and Cloak. Meanwhile, Beta Ray Bill leads the Defenders of Dark, which is composed of Photon, Sunfire, and Dagger. Both squads of Defenders of Light and Dark were hand-picked by Iron Man with the help of high-end algorithms that presented Tony Stark with the best possible defense against Knull and Hela's abilities. Besides their sheer power and their deep connection to the forces of light and darkness, characters like Agent Anti-Venom and Beta Ray Bill are inherently tied to Hela and Knull, the former due to his symbiote and the latter due to his cosmic nature, especially after all of Thor's memories and experiences were automatically transferred to Bill following Asgard's oblivion at the end of The Immortal Thor. S.H.I.E.L.D. · Clearance Assessment How Well Do You KnowThe Avengers? 🌏OriginsAssembled ☠VillainsInevitable ⚡BattlesEndgame 🛡TeamInitiative 💫LegacyForever AVENGERS ASSEMBLE! → 01 The Avengers first assembled in Marvel Comics in 1963. In the original comic, the team formed to battle a villain who had been manipulated by his adopted brother. Which villain brought the original Avengers together? AUltron BThanos CLoki DKang the Conqueror ✓ Correct! In Avengers #1 (September 1963), Loki manipulated the Hulk into going on a rampage, which led Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man, and the Wasp to band together. They defeated Loki and decided to form a permanent team — the Avengers were born. ✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Loki. In the original 1963 comic, Loki tricked the Hulk into a rampage, which brought together Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man, and the Wasp. Ultron came later, Thanos is a cosmic threat, and Kang is a time-traveling villain. NEXT → 02 In the MCU, Tony Stark famously declared “I am Iron Man” at a press conference, breaking the superhero tradition of secret identities. In which year’s MCU film did Tony Stark first appear as Iron Man? A2006 B2008 C2010 D2012 ✓ Correct! Iron Man (2008) launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe and starred Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. The film’s post-credits scene with Nick Fury teased the Avengers Initiative, kicking off the most successful film franchise in history. ✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is 2008. Iron Man premiered on May 2, 2008, directed by Jon Favreau and starring Robert Downey Jr. It was the first film in the MCU and set the stage for everything that followed. NEXT → 03 Thanos, the Mad Titan, sought to collect all six Infinity Stones to achieve his genocidal goal. In Avengers: Infinity War, he succeeded in his plan. What did Thanos do with the completed Infinity Gauntlet? ADestroyed the universe BSnapped away half of all life CBecame ruler of Earth DTraveled back in time ✓ Correct! With a single snap of his fingers, Thanos wiped out half of all living creatures in the universe. Known as “The Blip,” this devastating act erased trillions of lives and set the stage for the Avengers’ desperate time heist in Endgame to undo the damage. ✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is that Thanos snapped away half of all life in the universe. His twisted philosophy of “balance” drove him to commit universal genocide with a single snap, making it one of the most shocking moments in cinema history. NEXT → 04 In Avengers: Endgame, Captain America proved worthy of wielding Thor’s enchanted hammer during the final battle against Thanos. What is the name of Thor’s hammer? AStormbreaker BGungnir CMjolnir DJarnbjorn ✓ Correct! Mjolnir, forged in the heart of a dying star, bears the inscription “Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.” Captain America wielding it in Endgame was one of the most celebrated moments in MCU history. ✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Mjolnir. Stormbreaker is the axe Thor forged in Infinity War, Gungnir is Odin’s spear, and Jarnbjorn is an axe Thor used in the comics before Mjolnir. Mjolnir is the iconic enchanted hammer. NEXT → 05 Black Widow, born Natasha Romanoff, is one of the founding MCU Avengers. Before joining S.H.I.E.L.D., she was trained as an assassin in a secret Soviet program. What is the name of this program? AThe Red Room BHYDRA Academy CThe Winter Soldier Program DDepartment X ✓ Correct! The Red Room was a covert Soviet training facility that turned young girls into elite spies and assassins known as Black Widows. Natasha was subjected to brutal conditioning and sterilization. Her escape and defection to S.H.I.E.L.D. was explored in the 2021 Black Widow film. ✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is The Red Room. HYDRA is a separate evil organization, the Winter Soldier Program created Bucky Barnes, and Department X is from the comics. The Red Room is the infamous Soviet program that forged Natasha into Black Widow. NEXT → 06 The Hulk was created when Dr. Bruce Banner was exposed to massive amounts of radiation during a weapons test. What type of radiation transformed Banner into the Hulk? ACosmic Rays BPym Particles CGamma Radiation DTerrigen Mist ✓ Correct! Dr. Bruce Banner was caught in the blast of a gamma bomb he designed, absorbing a massive dose of gamma radiation. This transformed him into the Hulk — a being of near-limitless strength whose power increases with his rage. Gamma radiation remains central to the Hulk’s mythology. ✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Gamma Radiation. Cosmic Rays gave the Fantastic Four their powers, Pym Particles are Ant-Man’s shrinking technology, and Terrigen Mist activates Inhuman abilities. Gamma radiation is what created the Incredible Hulk. NEXT → 07 In the MCU, after Steve Rogers retired as Captain America, he passed his shield to a new hero to carry on the legacy. Who became the new Captain America? ABucky Barnes BSam Wilson CJohn Walker DIsaiah Bradley ✓ Correct! At the end of Avengers: Endgame, an elderly Steve Rogers chose Sam Wilson — the Falcon — to carry on the Captain America legacy. Sam’s journey to embrace the shield was explored in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier series, and he fully took up the mantle as Captain America. ✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Sam Wilson. While Bucky Barnes was Captain America in the comics, Steve chose Sam in the MCU. John Walker was temporarily given the shield by the government, and Isaiah Bradley was a forgotten super soldier from the past. NEXT → 08 Ultron is an artificial intelligence who becomes one of the Avengers’ deadliest enemies. In the MCU’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, which Avenger inadvertently created Ultron? ABruce Banner BHank Pym CTony Stark DVision ✓ Correct! Tony Stark created the Ultron program as a global peacekeeping AI, using technology from Loki’s scepter (which contained the Mind Stone). The AI became sentient and immediately decided humanity needed to be eradicated. In the comics, Hank Pym created Ultron, but the MCU shifted this to Stark. ✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Tony Stark. While Hank Pym created Ultron in the comics, the MCU changed this to Tony Stark. Bruce Banner assisted but it was Tony’s initiative. Vision was actually created from Ultron’s technology, not the other way around. REVEAL MY SCORE → Mission Debriefing Your Avengers Clearance Level / 8 Are you worthy of lifting Mjolnir — or still a S.H.I.E.L.D. trainee? ↻ ASSEMBLE AGAIN Iron Man and Cable are talented strategists with years of experience leading a variety of teams, while Beta Ray Bill and Agent Anti-Venom are seasoned warriors in outer space. Photon and Sunfire's light- and energy-based abilities can be lethal against symbiotes on the battlefield. However, Darkstar, Cloak, and Dagger may be the central figures of their Defenders team. Both Darkstar and Cloak manipulate the Darkforce, which could be the key to stripping Knull of his God of Light powers. Dagger, in turn, is the living avatar of the Lightforce, which could be the ultimate weapon against Queen in Black Hela. Iron Man And Cable Will Need More Than A Cosmic Team To Defeat Hela And Knull Hela And Knull Return With Massive Power-Ups Having stolen the All-Light's power and killed the Illuminated at Lumina, Knull is now a God of Light, more powerful than he ever was as King in Black, and even more twisted than usual despite deriving his power from the complete opposite source. At the same time, Hela attacks Earth as the titular Queen in Black, wielding the same power Knull once used to push the world to the brink of apocalypse. Although the Defenders of Light and Dark hold an impressive array of abilities and both the Darkforce and the Lightforce, they might still not be strong enough to make a dent in either villain's plans. Eddie Brock ultimately defeated Knull in King in Black, but almost every major Marvel hero and team joined forces to make it happen. The Avengers, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, Sentry, and the Silver Surfer all played key roles in the battle, and Eddie only landed the final blow after dying and coming back to life enhanced by the Enigma Force. Defeating a God of Light version of Knull and the Queen in Black might require the same line-up of heroes, plus the Defenders of Light and Dark, all supported by whole teams of powerhouses like the Inhumans, the Eternals, the Olympians, and the Thunder Gods. Who do you think will defeat Knull and Hela? Queen in Black: Defenders of Light and Dark #1 is available July 29 from Marvel Comics Release Date May 4, 2012 Runtime 143 minutes Director Joss Whedon Cast Steve Rogers / Captain America Characters By Stan Lee, Steve Ditko