Marvel Comics' Avengers has an illustrious, ever-rotating lineup. Now, the team has some enduring figures - Captain America, Iron Man and Thor are the team's key trinity in both the comics and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But ever since 1964's The Avengers #16 (when all of the team's founding members quit, leaving Captain America to lead Hawkeye, Quicksilver, and the Scarlet Witch), Earth's Mightiest Heroes hasn't been as exclusive a club as the name implies. . Avengers take leave, new ones join in the meantime, etc. The MCU is currently finding that movie audiences may not be as receptive to this revolving door as comic book readers; There's a reason Chris Evans is back in Avengers: Doomsday.

The current Avengers comic book series, written by Jed McKay, began with a very classic team-up: Captain Marvel, Iron Man, Captain America (Sam Wilson), Thor, Black Panther, Scarlet Witch and Vision. In Avengers #18, McKay (who is also typing "X-Men" right now) Storm added to replace the departing Thor. In Avengers #22, the team gets another, unexpected new member: Black Cat.

Also known as Felicia Hardy, she is Spider-Man's own Catwoman, sometimes master thief, sometimes anti-heroine infatuated with the superhero she fights. Apart from her acrobatic skills, she can subconsciously cause bad luck to others. (Instead, "Spider-Man: The Animated Series" had the power of the Black Cat come from the same Super Soldier serum that empowered Captain America.)

McKay previously wrote a solo Black Cat series.so it's no surprise that he brings her to The Avengers for the first time. The synopsis of the release reads:

BLACK CAT JOINS THE AVENGERS?! For a cosmic caper! The Avengers attend an intergalactic auction in an attempt to get ahead of some of this trouble... but they're in for a shock when the Black Cat turns up on SOMEONE's arm! The most shocking date since 2025 - and the year has only just begun.

The cover of the issue, drawn by Valerio Schitti, shows the Black Cat throwing several playing cards with the faces of the Avengers painted on them.

Marvel Comics

The inside opening page of the issue is a repeat, going back to the first arc. Kang the Conqueror then warned the Avengers of impending "Unfortunate Events" (terrifying threats that not even Earth's mightiest heroes can handle). The series' first arc was about the first event, where the Avengers faced off against alien warriors named Ashen plant. The next trouble has not yet come, but it has will to come.

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The following pages set the stakes. Scarlet Witch discovers that the data archive, once owned by Kang, has been auctioned off at a casino owned by the Grandmaster. If the Avengers manage to get that, they can prepare for the upcoming Tribulation Events. But because they can't win the auction, which calls for "riches on a planetary scale" (too much even for billionaire Tony Stark), they'll just steal it. As Storm excitedly declares, the Avengers are about to go on a caper.

Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics

Wanda and Vision arrive at the casino, with Wanda using her embarrassment across the multiverse to get an official invitation. As they buy time in the casino, Wanda notes how the setting is ripe for her probability-altering powers. Vision agrees that "The Woman Who Changes Fortunes is really something to watch out for in a casino" — which feels like a nod to Black Cat's entrance, especially since the preview page ends with Wanda running into someone unseen.

Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics

This Avengers arc, which is being called The Casino Job, will be a three-parter based on pleas for "Avengers" #23 and #24. Black Cat is the focus of all three covers, so you have to wonder: is she being set up as the new main character? Or maybe she's just a guest star, and the Avengers will say "bye Felicia" after "The Casino Job" is over.

Avengers #22 will be available in print and digital on Wednesday, January 1, 2025.