A major revelation about the Marvel universe has just been made, and it's a rather unexpected one at that. Marvel Comics recently released a brief preview of the upcoming Avengers #26, which comes from writer Jason Aaron. This run has been exploring some rather interesting cosmic elements of Earth's history, including some deep history regarding heroes on the planet. In this issue, it's revealed who the first superhero was on Earth and, rather unexpectedly, it was a dinosaur. Specifically, a T-rex. It's a pretty big revelation, and we have to wonder if Disney will slip this unique superhero into an MCU movie or Disney+ TV show.
Warning: mild spoilers ahead for Avengers #26. But, since these were released by Marvel as preview pages, it shouldn't be anything too major for those who intend to read the issue. That said, Marvel Comics did recently reveal a few preview pages for the upcoming book and it's taking the current storyline, which centers on Earth's mysterious and powerful defense mechanism known as the Starbrand. Here's how the issue's preview describes the events.
"Since the dawn of time, the planetary defense mechanism known as the Starbrand has been wielded by a variety of people, granting them virtually infinite power. Over the years, the Starbrand manifested in several hosts, and the first walked the Earth over one million years ago..."
The pages released take us back 66 million years ago to when the famed meteor collided with the Earth, killing off the dinosaurs. It's revealed this meteor was brought here by the planet's own cosmic power. A gigantic sacrifice made to open up the Earth's larger power source. It's revealed that power needs to bond with a host and, as it just so happens, the host in the case was a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
We then see the unnamed dino planetary defender going to work against some Kree invaders. The T-rex is blasting some sort of powerful beam from its mouth, sort of like if the T-rex from Jurassic Park suddenly got Godzilla's powers. It's truly something. But the big implication here is that this effectively makes this nameless prehistoric beast Earth's first superhero, which is no small thing. For those who intend to pick up this book to dive in a little deeper, here's the logline for Avengers #26.
"Legendary artist Dale Keown (The Incredible Hulk) is here to unleash the secret, savage origin of the biggest, nastiest, most cosmically-powered caveman who ever lived: the original Starbrand, one of the mighty Avengers of One Million B.C."
Marvel Comics has done deep dives into Earth's history before, and we've seen various heroes throughout time. Captain America dates back to WWII and there are plenty of examples throughout the decades. But taking things back more than 60 million years to show us that the Earth itself endowed a T-rex with superpowers is a pretty bold choice. One can only hope this is explored further in the series, or maybe even in a new spin-off comic. Fingers crossed. Avengers #26 is in stores on November 20. Be sure to check out the preview pages from Marvel for yourself.
