This year marks the 60th anniversary of the debut of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, Marvel Comics’ superhero team The Avengers. To commemorate this hallmark, the House of Ideas is relaunching The Avengers title this May with a new issue #1, helmed by the talents of writer Jed MacKay and artist C.F. Villa. The two and the rest of the creative team will be adding their mark to the team’s history from the outset, introducing a brand-new group of villains to the Avengers’ world: The Ashen Combine.

Right away, the name is striking and an attention-grabber, but then the character names and descriptions add to the spooky factor—something MacKay has had ample experience with in books like Doctor Strange.

  • LORD ENNUI, an embodiment of atrophy who drains a city’s life and spirit.
  • IDOL ALABASTER, a living godhead that you’ll worship whether you like it or not.
  • CITYSMITH, an insane artist that twists cities like clay.
  • THE DEAD, a mysterious commander of ghosts.
  • MERIDIAN DIADEM, an endless dungeon who consumes, converts, and spits out prisoner after prisoner.

As compelling as those names are, the character designs by C.F. Villa are both beautiful and haunting:

The Ashen Combine

Lord Ennui

Idol Alabaster

Citysmith

The Dead

Meridian Diadem

According to the press release, the Ashen Combine make sport of metropolitan centers, applying their nihilist beliefs and destructive powers to those populated areas. It’s a novel and intriguing choice to make these characters nihilists; it makes them more of an unknown and intangible quantity. How do you fight unrepentant nihilism? That’s something that the champions of Earth will have to struggle with when the Ashen Combine make their full appearance in July in The Avengers #3.

From the official press release:

Just in time for their milestone 60th anniversary, the Avengers will enter a new era next month under writer Jed MacKay and artist C.F. Villa, complete with a new lineup, a breathtaking mission, and deadly new enemies…

Meet the ASHEN COMBINE!

  • LORD ENNUI, an embodiment of atrophy who drains a city’s life and spirit.
  • IDOL ALABASTER, a living godhead that you’ll worship whether you like it or not.
  • CITYSMITH, an insane artist that twists cities like clay.
  • THE DEAD, a mysterious commander of ghosts.
  • MERIDIAN DIADEM, an endless dungeon who consumes, converts, and spits out prisoner after prisoner.

The Avengers fly into action as this collection of the multiverse’s greatest monsters descends from the Impossible City to follow their respective appetites. Cityslayers all, these super nihilists pursue the assassination of metropolitan areas for sport! Each member ravages populations in their own terrifying way and their unique methods of destruction will make them a formidable match against even the powerful roster of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes that assemble in this new run of AVENGERS! As the battlezones are declared, the Avengers scatter to defend Earth. Who will be pitted against who?

The ASHEN COMBINE won’t start wreaking havoc until July’s AVENGERS #3 but their story begins in AVENGERS #1 on May 17 when the Avengers first receive knowledge of the TRIBULATION EVENTS, a series of grand-scale disasters that will spark upheaval throughout the known universe. Unleashed due to Kang’s desperate search for “THE MISSING MOMENT,” the ASHEN COMBINE and the FALL OF THE IMPOSSIBLE CITY are one of the many extraordinary challenges that the Avengers will need to overcome as they are tested to see if they truly are the greatest heroes of all reality!