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| "Siege" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Cover ofSiege 1 (Mar 2010) FeaturingThor,Iron Man,Captain America,Loki, andNorman Osborn, art byOlivier Coipel | |||
| Publisher | Marvel Comics | ||
| Publication date | December 2009 – May 2010 | ||
| Genre | |||
| |||
| Main character(s) | Avengers New Avengers Dark Avengers Young Avengers Secret Warriors Asgardians Loki | ||
| Creative team | |||
| Writer | Brian Michael Bendis | ||
| Artist | Olivier Coipel | ||
| Siege Prelude | ISBN 0-7851-4310-6 | ||
| Siege | ISBN 0-7851-4810-8 | ||
Siege is anAmerican comic book, published byMarvel Comics from January to May 2010. It deals with the climax of the "Dark Reign" storyline, which saw the characterNorman Osborn become the United States primary defense officer, leadingH.A.M.M.E.R. as well as employing his own evilAvengers. The story depictsLoki manipulating Osborn into leading an all-out assault onAsgard, at the time located within a fictional United States.Captain America and his ownAvengers lead a rebellion against Osborn. The events inSiege led to Marvel Comics introducing the subsequent storyline "Heroic Age".
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The "Siege" storyline consists of a four-issuemini-series and a number of related tie-in books, includingone-shots, miniseries, and existingongoing series.
Marvel announced in early 2010 that the company's "Siege" storyline would be followed by the "Heroic Age" storyline.[1] This was first hinted at in the story byAthena toAmadeus Cho.[2]
The end of the story was described as what would be the start of a new "Heroic Age" in the Marvel Universe.[1]
The final tie-in issues of the four Avengers titles,Mighty Avengers #36,New Avengers #64,Dark Avengers #16 andAvengers: The Initiative #35 were the last ones of those series, along with aNew Avengers: Finale one-shot, with illustrations byBryan Hitch.[3]
In June 2010 Marvel publishedAvengers Prime: Siege Aftermath. This five-part series focused onThor,Iron Man, andCaptain America and bridged the gap between "Siege" and "Heroic Age".
Though not badged as an aftermath series, a limited series starting in May 2010 examined the fall ofNorman Osborn and effects upon his sonHarry Osborn. The series was titledAmazing Spider-Man Presents: American Son.[4]
The storyline opens withNorman Osborn calling a meeting of thesuper-villainCabal, consisting ofDoctor Doom,the Hood,Taskmaster, andLoki, to discussAsgard (the home of theNorse gods), which is now hovering aboveBroxton, Oklahoma, and the last holdout in Osborn's consolidation of power.
A rift develops between Doom and Osborn, creating mayhem that appears to break up the group. Later, under his pretense of respectability, Osborn attempts in vain to secure permission from thePresident of the United States to invade Asgard, claiming it poses a national security threat. On Loki's advice, Osborn manipulatesVolstagg into battling theU-Foes, causing an explosion that kills everyone in theSoldier Field football stadium. This gives Osborn the justification to lay siege on Asgard with military troops as well as with theDark Avengers — his team of supervillains posing as superheroes and with loyalists planted amid the various50-State Initiative teams of heroes.
Osborn's aide-de-camp,Victoria Hand, suggests unsuccessfully that Osborn seek therapy for his instability. Shortly thereafter, the President realizes that Osborn is unstable and orders Hand to produce him.
The non-canon series"What If..." features an alternate universe version of the story, "What if Osborn won the Siege of Asgard", in issue #200.Ares gives in to his intuition before the Siege of Asgard, attacking Osborn in his own office after realizing Osborn lied to him. Sentry murders Ares on the spot allowing him to rest up between battles and head into battle fully powered. In turn, this leads to him being able to kill Thor as well as Captain America. Most of the heroes present are subsequently slaughtered by the Dark Avengers. Doom devises a fresh plan of attack after teleportingEmma Frost and himself away from the conflict. Emma will scan the Dark Avengers as part of the new plan to learn the truth about Lindy's death.
Comics in the storyline have been collected into individualtrade paperback volumes:
