Earth's Mightiest Heroes are about to embrace another global superhero genre in Tech-On Avengers, a five-issue limited series from writer Jim Zub and artist Jeff 'Chamba' Cruz in which the Avengers will take on 'tokusatsu' inspired armor suits.
If that sounds slightly familiar, it's because the Avengers also recently mashed up with another Japanese superhero genre in Avengers: Mech Strike in which the team piloted massive giant-robo suits.
The ideas may be somewhat similar on the surface, but 'tokusatsu' is a separate concept that actually refers to special effects-heavy live-action Japanese filmmaking, encompassing everything from Ultraman (who Marvel publishes licensed comics about) to Godzilla (who Marvel used to publish licensed comics about) - and even the cult-favorite '70s Japanese adaptation of Marvel's Spider-Man.
"When the Red Skull wields a strange new power that strips heroes of their powers and threatens the entire world, the Avengers turn to Tony Stark's experimental new technology to save us all," reads Marvel's official description of Tech-On Avengers.
"Here come the Iron Avengers — Tech On Avengers! Sleek high-tech power suits bristling with energy and amped-up attack power face off against super villains enhanced to match. It's mechs and mayhem in the Marvel Mighty Manner!"
Again, don't get it twisted - the Avengers won't be piloting the giant mecha style suits of Avengers: Mech Strike. Instead, Tech-On Avengers will put the team in decidedly more person-sized hi-tech armor suits. Think Kamen Rider or VR Troopers.
In this case, the suits were designed by toymakers Bandai Spirits, who will also produce an action figure line corresponding with Tech-On Avengers.
"I grew up on a steady stream of Japanese animation and tokusatsu-centric stories, so bringing those same sensibilities to Earth's Mightiest Heroes is an absolute rush," states writer Jim Zub in the announcement.
"The team at Bandai Spirits absolutely crushed it on the hero and villain designs and Chamba is the perfect artist to bring this world to life, with dynamic action art that feels like it popped off the screen and onto the printed page."
"Tech-On Avengers is bombastic and kinetic, bursting with color and energy," Zub concludes. "I can't wait for readers and retailers to get on board this wild ride!"
Tech-On Avengers #1 is due out August 11, with a cover from famed manga artist Eiichi Shimizu, seen above.
We don't know if this will make Newsarama's list of the best Avengers stories of all time, but the field at least is getting a little bigger.
