Trivia / The Avengers (Jonathan Hickman)

• Author's Saving Throw:
  • The "Time Runs Out" story features Thor being unable to lift the hammer of Thorr, which can only be wielded by those unworthy of using Mjolnir. Thor had been made unworthy of Mjolnir by Jason Aaron a short time before, which faced incredible backlash.
  • Also during "Time Runs Out", Hickman undoes Ultimate Reed Richards' not-terribly-well received Heel–Face Turn (given the dude had committed outright genocide) with a simple "nope, faking it. I'm a bastard and I'm not going back."
  • As for the Ultimate Marvel universe, Hickman also restored S.H.I.E.L.D., which had been disbanded after the events of Cataclysm: The Ultimates' Last Stand. This didn't show up in time at any of the Ultimate Marvel ongoing titles, but explains why SHIELD was fighting in the first Secret Wars issue.
  • And the reveal in Bendis' Illuminati series that the Beyonder is actually a mutant Inhuman, which Hickman and his editor, Tom Brevoort, have both said in interviews is just the Beyonder messing with the Illuminati's heads. Given that the Bendis story was something of a base-breaker to begin with, this particular retcon was one that many fans were okay with.
• Executive Meddling: Hickman intended to use Xavier in the Illuminati, and pledged to avoid the death of the character in Avengers vs. X-Men. He could not get things his way, so he arranged that Beast took his place in the team.
• What Could Have Been: In his initial idea, Xavier was part of the Illuminati. His death in Avengers vs. X-Men forced Hickman to rewrite his role.
• Word of God: The fate of Earth-1218 (our own one) was never mentioned in the comics. Tom Breevort clarified in his Tumblr account that it was destroyed, along with all the others. Mind screwing, isn't it?