One of the fun things about video games set in the Marvel Universe is that developers and creators are getting a chance to tell their own unique stories with Marvel’s pantheon. That freedom is allowing for some tales pulled from across all of Marvel’s rich history, as is the case with the next Marvel Avengers Academy update. Who’s ready for the Pet Avengers?
Long-time Namor villain Tiger Shark has teamed with Fin Fang Foom and the Lemurians to launch an attack against the superhero high school. TinyCo Lead Narrative Designer Allen Warner explains it best in his own words:
“The classic villain Tiger Shark is angry about not getting accepted to Pet Avengers Academy, so he turns his frustration and rage into a revenge plot against both the Pet Avengers and Avengers,” Warner said in a Marvel.com interview. “His fellow underwater villains the Lemurians have been without a leader since [the Avengers captured Attuma], so they decide to join Tiger Shark’s cause to get revenge and free their former leader. Tiger Shark knows that they’re outmatched, but he evens the odds by waking Fin Fang Foom, who is eager for his own revenge against the Avengers.”
This attack will be dealt with by the best of Marvel’s animal heroes. That list includes Howard the Duck, Throg (Frog Thor), Hairball, Zabu, Redwing, Lockjaw, Devil Dinosaur, and more. The rest of the academy will get in on the action, but might find themselves somewhat handicapped, thanks to a Loki spell that has turned them all into animals.
Long-time Marvel readers will remember the Pet Avengers from a limited mini-series titled “Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers.” This 2009 four-parter from writer Chris Eliopoulos saw a Mind Stone-enhanced Lockjaw assemble a roster of Marvel’s most formidable pets (including Ms. Lion from the old “Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends” animated series) to hunt down the Infinity Stones.
This will be Marvel Avengers Academy’s last event for 2017, but Warner is hinting at future updates that will tie into the next batch of Marvel Cinematic Universe releases, like “Black Panther” and “Avengers: Infinity War.” The Pet Avengers update for Marvel Avengers Academy is coming soon.