One of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes is reclaiming a powerful enemy’s empire as his own and it might be a problem.

Rather than dropping readers into the middle of any action on Earth, The Avengers #20 finds the Black Panther fighting his way across the alien landscape of the pocket dimension that exists within one of the eponymous team’s deadliest enemies — Meridian Diadem. While T’Challa is more than happy to bring some semblance of hope to this land and the thousands imprisoned within it, he soon discovers that the promise of peace alone is not enough to quell the constant fighting. Instead, the Black Panther is forced to plant a new flag as a symbol of the strength he wields, beginning what might be the next empire to call him its king.

• Written by JED MACKAY
• Art by FARID KARAMI
• Colors by FEDERICO BLEE & ANDREW DALHOUSE
• Letters by VC’s CORY PETIT
• Design by CARLOS LAO
• Main cover art by VALERIO SCHITI & FEDERICO BLEE
• Variant covers by ELENA CASAGRANDE & ANNALISA LEONI, SARGIO DÁVILA & CECI DE LA CRUZ, and PACO MEDINA & RACHELLE ROSENBERG

First seen in the pages of 2023’s Avengers #3 by Jed MacKay and Carlos Villa, Meridian Diadem is one of six members of the Ashen Combine, a collective of unfathomably powerful alien villains who came to claim the Earth as their latest hunting ground. Consisting of Idol Alabaster, the Citysmith, Lord Ennui, The Dead, the Impossible City, and Meridian Diadem, the Ashen Combine rivaled the most powerful of supervillainous lineups the Marvel Universe has to offer. Eventually, the Avengers were able to overcome the threat of the Ashen Combine, though only by imprisoning its individual members within the genuinely benevolent Impossible City.

While each of the members of the Ashen Combine pose a potent threat unto themselves, Meridian Diadem was unique in that she didn’t just destroy her victims. Instead, Meridian Diadem was able to consume those swept up in her crusade of death and destruction, transporting them into a pocket dimension housed within herself where she could draw upon their energies as needed. Over time, the prisoners of Meridian Diadem’s pocket dimension have adapted to their new environment, becoming completely incapable of surviving outside its unique atmosphere.

While the Black Panther has long been the ruler of Wakanda, that fact of life took a drastic change for T’Challa in recent years. Not only did Wakanda adopt a parliamentary style of democracy over an overt monarchy, the Black Panther himself was exiled from the country after the truth of his global sleeper agent program came to light. Luckily, T’Challa found that he still had a home among the Avengers, especially under Carol Danvers’ new leadership.

Avengers #20 is on sale now from Marvel Comics.

Source: Marvel Comics

The Avengers

Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, Marvel’s Avengers first appeared in 1963. While Marvel Comics premier superhero team has boasted a rotating cast of heroes, and even spinoff franchises like the West Coast Avengers, heroes like The Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America, The Wasp, and Thor are mainstays of this potent franchise that has helped defined Marvel Comics and the MCU.