A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| A-Force | |
|---|---|
 Cover of A-Force #1 (May 2015). Art by Jim Cheung and Laura Martin. | |
| Group publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | A-Force #1 (May 2015) |
| Created by | G. Willow Wilson Marguerite Bennett Jorge Molina |
| In-story information | |
| Leader(s) | She-Hulk |
| Member(s) | See below |
| A-Force | |
| Series publication information | |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | Vol. 1: May 2015 – October 2015 Vol. 2: January 2016 – October 2016 |
| Number of issues | Vol. 1: 5 Vol. 2: 10 |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | List
|
| Penciller(s) | List
|
| Inker(s) | List
|
| Colorist(s) | List
|
| Creator(s) | G. Willow Wilson Marguerite Bennett Jorge Molina |
A-Force is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics that debuted in May 2015 as a part of Marvel's "Secret Wars" crossover storyline.[1] It was created by writers G. Willow Wilson, Marguerite Bennett, and artist Jorge Molina.[2][3][4] It features Marvel's first all-female Avengers team called the A-Force.[5][6] The team first appeared as part of an alternate universe during "Secret Wars" but later reemerged in Marvel's primary continuity.[7][8]
The comic book series generally received positive reviews from critics. It has been described as "decidedly feminist."[9][10]
Publication history
In February 2015, Marvel Comics announced that they would launch A-Force in May 2015. The series, written by G. Willow Wilson (Ms. Marvel) and Marguerite Bennett (Angela: Asgard's Assassin) and drawn by Jorge Molina (X-Men), features Marvel's first all-female team of Avengers.[11] The team, led by She-Hulk, initially consists of Dazzler, Medusa, Nico Minoru and Singularity, a new "cosmic powered" hero, but features many more characters.[12] Wilson stated that Marvel editor Daniel Ketchum mandated that the team be composed entirely of female characters, but gave the writers total discretion when it came to which women to choose.[13] Ketchum also brought in Bennett, whom he worked with on Nightcrawler, to co-write the series with Wilson.[14] The series takes place within Marvel's 2015 "Secret Wars" crossover storyline, which finds the entire Marvel Universe, including the Avengers, disbanded. What is left is a patchwork of different environments and on one such environment called Arcadia, which Wilson describes as a "feminist paradise", a familiar threat arises that forces A-Force to come together.[15] Bennett elaborated,
It's this world where the Marvel heroines are leaders in their own civilization. I really didn't want to have some kind of validating reason... So I didn't want to do anything like, "all the men disappeared years ago" or "ever since all the menfolk were killed in that war" or something like that. There are men—there are heroes there. You'll see familiar faces and favorites, but the heroines are in charge, by majority. It's just this is how their world evolved. They were competent. They were clever and they were the ones in charge because of their skills and they were the best fit for these roles and demands of their world.[14]
About the roster Wilson said, "We've purposefully assembled a team composed of very different characters—from disparate parts of the Marvel U, with very different power sets, identities and ideologies. They'll all have to come together to answer some big questions: What would you sacrifice to succeed? What is being a hero worth?"[16] Wilson elaborated:
This an opportunity to put people who would normally have no reason to interact with each other on one team... I want people whose power sets really build on each other so that there are specific limitations that can only become overcome by working together. Nobody's so overpowered that it gets boring and nobody's so underpowered that they have to be saved all the time. I wanted a balance visually and practically... What's also going to be interesting is working out the power structure of the group. You have several people on it who are used to being either their own bosses or in a leadership position, and all of a sudden they're together.[15]
Bennett explained that although the team features a broader roster, Dazzler, Medusa, She-Hulk, Singularity and Nico Minoru make up the core members. Bennett stated that she found Dazzler's optimism to be the most interesting explaining, "It's really hard to write a dark and dire book if you've got Dazzler there beside you." Regarding the dynamic between Medusa and She-Hulk, Bennett said,
They're both leaders and there's a lot of conflict between them. They are very supportive of one another when operating against a third party, but they also disagree with how things should be handled when it comes to crises. Medusa is monarchy; She-Hulk is democracy. Medusa is the right of queens and She-Hulk is the rule of law. She-Hulk is much more balanced than Medusa. It's the two of them playing off of their strengths and sometime playing off of each other for both necessary good and necessary evil.[14]
The series also introduces a new character named Singularity, a pocket universe that gains self-consciousness during "Secret Wars". Wilson likened Singularity to Q from Star Trek: The Next Generation and said, "Her entire existence is so unlike that of ours that she really has to learn about what we think of as being an individual and having an identity from the ground up, with no point of access except those she meets." Wilson also stated that Singularity can act as "a whole world within herself and she can also move between different worlds and dimensions like taking a walk, so she has access to all corners of the Marvel U in a way that other characters do not."[15] " one of the first people we have encounter Singularity," Bennett revealed. "So Nico is put in charge of acclimating this character and showing her their civilization and world while trying to save it. Nico is sort of like the grounding human force and the anchor that begins to show Singularity the capacity of human beings, both for good and for evil, so Nico becomes even more invested when she starts to see her homeland through the eyes of this stranger."[14]
At the 2015 Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, Marvel announced that A-Force would continue into All-New, All-Different Marvel, the next phase of Marvel Universe after the end of "Secret Wars", with a second volume.[17] Wilson said, "After 'Secret Wars', things don't go back to status quo. There long-term repercussions for what has happened in Battleworld. What the aftermath of Secret Wars is for all of those characters who were together in Arcadia who are now waking up in the Marvel Universe... I'm not going to say. But they're going to have to deal probably more directly with those repercussions than any of the other teams in the aftermath of Secret Wars."[18]
In January 2016, Marvel announced that writer Kelly Thompson, who co-wrote A-Force vol. 2, #2,[19] will take over the series with artist Ben Caldwell starting with issue 5. Thompson stated that while she respects the way Wilson built the team, in a world where women are the primary heroes, she does not intend on making stories that are "unique to women". Thompson explained, "It's a comic about super heroes saving the day, plain and simple, and I approach writing them like I would writing anyone. These ladies are heroes just like any of their male colleagues."[20]
In August 2016, A-Force tied into the "Civil War II" storyline beginning with issue #8. About the crossover, Thompson said, "There's no way, with our cast, that we weren't going to get drawn into it – Carol is obviously the big co-star of "Civil War II" and both Medusa and She-Hulk are poised to play big roles too. But I think we've got a really great A-Force story that ties directly to the event but will also stand on its own nicely. Because of the intricacies of "Civil War II" the ideas behind the event really pull our team apart – so what we're doing is a very personal and emotional gut punch of a story for these ladies who were sort of just getting started as friends and as a team."[21]
In October 2016, a day before the release of issue #10, it was reported that A-Force was "effectively cancelled" after no new issues were listed among Marvel's November, December, or January solicitations. The report came despite Thompson's intentions to continue the series after "Civil War II" with a storyline that involved an "unspecified A-lister". Sales of A-Force had fallen by 79% since its debut with issue #1 selling 114,528 copies and issue #9 selling 23,484 copies.[22] However, in a letter written to the fans in the back pages of A-Force #10, Thompson described it as "short hiatus" followed by an editorial note claiming that A-Force would be back and that fans could speed up its return by emailing Marvel.[23]
The series was cancelled in October 2016 due to the sales of A-Force Vol. 2 declining.[24]
Roster
Secret Wars
| Character | Real name | Introduced in | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Captain Marvel | Carol Danvers | A-Force vol. 1 #1 (May 2015) | |
| Crystal | Crystallia Amaquelin | ||
| Dazzler | Alison Blaire | ||
| Jessica Jones | |||
| Loki | Female version, arrested in A-Force #5. | ||
| Medusa | Medusalith Amaquelin Boltagon | Killed in A-Force #3. | |
| Miss America | America Chavez | Banished in A-Force #1. | |
| Phoenix | Jean Grey-Summers | ||
| Pixie | Megan Gwynne | ||
| Meggan Puceanu | |||
| She-Hulk | Jennifer Walters | Team leader; baroness of Arcadia. | |
| Singularity | Sacrifices herself in A-Force #5. | ||
| Sister Grimm | Nico Minoru | ||
| Spectrum | Monica Rambeau | ||
| Spider-Woman | Jessica Drew | ||
| Spider-Woman | Gwen Stacy | ||
| Storm | Ororo Munroe | ||
| Emma Frost | A-Force vol. 1 #3 (August 2015) | ||
| Hawkeye | Kate Bishoping | ||
| Ms. Marvel | Kamala Khan | ||
| Scarlet Witch | Wanda Maximoff | ||
| Spider-Girl | Anya Corazon | ||
| Squirrel Girl | Doreen Green | ||
| Agent 13 | Sharon Carter | A-Force vol. 1 #5 (October 2015) | |
| Angela | Angela Odinsdottir | ||
| Armor | Hisako Ichiki | ||
| Black Cat | Felicia Hardy | ||
| Clea | |||
| Karolina Dean | |||
| Domino | Neena Thurman | ||
| Dust | Sooraya Qadir | ||
| Elektra Natchios | |||
| Enchantress | Amora | ||
| Firestar | Angelica Jones | ||
| Molly Hayes | |||
| Jubilee | Jubilation Lee | ||
| M | Monet St. Croix | ||
| Mirage | Dani Moonstar | ||
| Mockingbird | Barbara Morse | ||
| Moondragon | Heather Douglas | ||
| Psylocke | Betsy Braddock | ||
| Rescue | Pepper Potts | ||
| Rogue | Anna Marie | ||
| Shadowcat | Kitty Pryde | ||
| Snowbird | Narya | ||
| Stature | Cassandra Lang | ||
| Tigra | Greer Grant | ||
| Black Widow | Natasha Romanova | ||
| X-23 | Laura Kinney | ||
| Mariko Yashida | |||
| Gertrude Yorkes | |||