Captain America and Iron Man will be "beaten within an inch of their lives" by a deadly new villain this August

Marvel Comics will conclude its series of 'Infinite Destinies' annuals in August with Miles Morales: Spider-Man Annual #1, Guardians of the Galaxy Annual #1, and finally Avengers Annual #1 - with Avengers Annual #1 seemingly introducing a powerful new villain, perhaps with the Infinity Stones in their possession.

All of the 'Infinite Destinies' annuals deal with characters who wield Infinity Stones or derive their powers from them, with each annual also featuring a backup story in which Nick Fury works to discover the new wielders of the Stones.

Now, Marvel promises that the secrets of the Infinity Stones will be unveiled in Avengers Annual #1, which leads to the upcoming story 'Infinity Score' in Black Cat, which was previously announced to tie into 'Infinite Destinies.' What's more, there's a new threat debuting in the annual, who may or may not have ties to the Infinity Stones themselves.

"Avengers Annual #1 will present the startling conclusion to this unpredictable saga. Written by Jed MacKay with art by Travel Foreman, the last secret of the Infinity Stones and Infinity Stone-Bearers is revealed here," reads Marvel's announcement. "Plus, meet a brand-new character who beats Captain America and Iron Man within an inch of their lives."

If that doesn't sound threatening in Marvel terms, not much could. While the cover of Avengers Annual #1 doesn't show the new villain (just Iron Man and Captain America mid-ass-kicking), promotional art featured with the included Infinite Destinies checklist shows the Avengers apparently facing off with an unseen wielder of a new Infinity Gauntlet - perhaps the heralded new villain.

As for what the other annuals will hold, August 4's Miles Morales: Spider-Man Annual #1 will team Miles up with Amulet, a new hero with mystical protective abilities who was recently introduced in Ms. Marvel, as the pair track down ancient artifacts.

Then, August 18's Guardians of the Galaxy Annual #1 will tell the full origin of Prince of Power, who is the current bearer of the Power Stone.

"I've been holding onto the secrets of the Power Stone for a long, long time - some of these ideas have been bubbling away since the end of Infinity Wars," Guardians of the Galaxy series writer Al Ewing states in the announcement.

"But while anyone picking up Guardians of the Galaxy knows by now who the stone's new owner is, how they came to be has remained untold... until now," Ewing continues. "At last, the world can learn the true, tragic tale of the Prince of Power..."

Here's a gallery of all the newly announced 'Infinite Destinies' covers:

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'Infinite Destinies' starts in July, with Avengers Annual #1 due out August 25. Stay tuned to Newsarama for Marvel's full August 2021 solicitations, coming later this month.

The Infinity Stones have been at the heart of some of the best Marvel Comics stories of all time.

I've been Newsarama's resident Marvel Comics expert and general comic book historian since 2011. I've also been the on-site reporter at most major comic conventions such as Comic-Con International: San Diego, New York Comic Con, and C2E2. Outside of comic journalism, I am the artist of many weird pictures, and the guitarist of many heavy riffs. (They/Them)