One of the darkest superhero teams in the Marvel Universe is back in action, and this time they’re on the wrong side of the fight.

Avengers Assemble #3 sees the members of the new Avengers Emergency Response Squad, or AVENG.E.R.S., making their way to North Brother Island just off the coast of New York City. There, a brazen daylight attack has been launched against an unsuspecting populace, though not as fans might expect. Rather than a vampiric horde swooping down to feast on the living, it is the vampire population of North Brother Island who have come under attack by none other than the latest iteration of the Nightstalkers.

• Written by STEVE ORLANDO
• Art by MERCELO FERREIRA
• Inks by ROBERTO POGGI
• Colors by SONIA OBACK
• Letters by VC’s CORY PETIT
• Design by KAT WALKINGTON
• Main cover art by LEINIL FRANCIS YU & ROMULO FAJARDO JR.
• Variant covers by INHYUK LEE and STEPHEN SEGOVIA & SONIA OBACK

The Nightstalkers are an iconic team of antiheroes and vampire hunters whose origin stretches back to 1992’s Nighstalkers #1 by Dan G. Chichester and Ron Garney. Formed during the “Rise of the Midnight Sons” event, the earliest iteration of the team consisted of veteran vampire hunters Frank Drake and Hannibal King alongside the Daywalker himself — Blade. These early Nightstalkers faced off against all manner of monstrous threats including Marvel’s very own Mother of Demons, Lilith, and her infernal spawn.

The current Nightstalkers are led by Abby Morris, an overtly bloodthirsty vampire hunter who claimed control of the team in the wake of the recently concluded Blood Hunt crossover event. Though the team still includes classic members such as Bloodscream and Frank Drake, the latter’s lifeless corpse is merely being puppeteered by the former. The rest of the team’s members, Coma and Voracious, are entirely new additions to the roster, yet are just as willing as their compatriots to root out any and all vampiric entities wherever they can find them.

While Marvel’s Blood Hunt did see an army of vampires nearly take over the entire planet, its aftermath has proven to be even more world-changing. Following the defeat of the Varnae-possessed Blade at the hands of Doctor Doom, Earth’s new Sorcerer Supreme, the vampires of the world found themselves capable of walking freely in sunlight without any worry of bursting into flames. As such, the world’s vampire population has not only exploded in number, they have been given a chance to rejoin the same society from which they have largely hidden for thousands of years.

Avengers Assemble #3 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.