The Avengers’ King in Black Victory Made Their Other Villains Stronger
King in Black proves the Avengers need to evolve. Their smartest villains now assume the heroes will succeed, and use their triumphs for evil.
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Warning: contains spoilers for King in Black #5, King in Black: Thunderbolts #3, S.W.O.R.D. #3 and Taskmaster #5!
The Avengers’ heroism has become predictable, and the King in Black event saw several villains become more powerful thanks to the heroes’ triumph. Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are always on call to protect the planet from internal and external threats, whether that means shutting down a deadly experiment by AIM or fending off a Chitauri invasion. But while some villains consider heroes like Captain Marvel, Iron Man, and Thor an obstacle – and others wrongly assume they’re a nuisance that can be overcome with enough force – the smartest Marvel villains now actively anticipate the Avengers will save the world, factoring this protection into their evil plans.
Recently, the King in Black hit Earth – an alien invasion like none before it, with God of Symbiotes Knull seizing control within minutes, corrupting major heroes and enclosing the planet itself in a dark shell. The fight seemed impossible, but there was one person who knew the Avengers would win out: Wilson Fisk, aka the Kingpin of Crime. Fisk sent a newly assembled team of Thunderbolts on a wild mission to weaponize the dead body of superhero the Sentry and blow up Knull. But King in Black: Thunderbolts #3 confirms he never truly expected his plan to work.
Instead, Kingpin just needed to do something so that when the Avengers inevitably defeat Knull, he can claim credit, reassuring bodyguard Typhoid Mary that, “He will be [killed] soon enough. They always are.” This certainty that the Avengers will save the day – and the opportunity it creates for villains to benefit – isn’t confined to just Wilson Fisk. S.W.O.R.D. #3 reveals that the Avengers’ bureaucratic villain Henry Gyrich, the new commander of Gamma Flight, is progressing with his own plans on the assumption the Avengers will take care of Knull, saying, “We have to assume the super heroes are going to do what they always do.” Rather than helping to address the alien threat, he then comfortably goes back to plotting against the mutant nation of Krakoa.
While King in Black has exposed how the Avengers’ enemies use their heroism as a convenient step to further villainy, the problem isn’t exclusive to this event. Taskmaster #5 just saw the titular villain activate the Rubicon Trigger – an extinction-class weapon – for the same reason. Knowing that Taskmaster was the only person who could gather the intel needed to shut down the weapon, Maria Hill framed him for her murder, forcing him to gather the intel needed to “prove his innocence” and unlock the weapon’s interface. But when Taskmaster learns he’s been framed, he promptly activates the weapon, narrating, “Relax. They’ll save the day. They always do. But it’s about time they remembered who they’re dealing with.”
Marvel’s villains have now reached a point where they have complete reassurance the Avengers will fend off major threats to the planet. Whether it’s Kingpin using King in Black to bolster his popularity, Gyrich being able to focus his resources on a bigoted campaign against mutants over planetary defense, or Taskmaster building up his rep at the risk of all life on Earth, the Avengers’ heroism has become so dependable that their smartest villains now use it to further their own ends.
The Avengers’ heroism has always saved the good and bad alike, but Marvel’s stories are going through a political evolution that suggests Earth’s Mightiest Heroes need to update their methods. As the X-Men’s new nation operates on the world stage, and the darker forces of humankind struggle to keep their place at the top of the food chain, the Avengers need to start factoring in how their plans could benefit powerful enemies. Upcoming event Heroes Reborn will see the Avengers written out of reality in a way that benefits the background machinations of Phil Coulson and Mephisto – exactly the kind of villains they’re currently overlooking in their heroic but tactically ill-considered response to problems like the King in Black.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/king-black-avengers-taskmaster-kingpin-sword-villains-knull/