YA Friday: Prepare for Endgame

It's the end of the world as we know it...

So in case you're new, this entire blog post is a ginormous spoiler if you haven't seen Avengers: Infinity War or Captain Marvel for that matter. Turn back now. You've been warned.

So ever since the big purple guy snapped his fingers last year, we have all be desperate to know how our abandoned (and dusted) heroes are going to get out of this disaster of universe-wide proportions. Thankfully the newest Avengers: Endgame trailer gave us a strong idea that Carol (aka Captain Marvel) and cool matching space suits have little something to do with a thrilling finale to twenty-two films and the third phase of Marvel Cinematic Universe.

But while you wait, or in-between bingeing the first 21 films, I have pulled together a list of Marvel-cannon novelizations and character backstories as well as a couple other superhero-themed side-stories that will appeal to any fan of high-octane action.

Avengers: Infinity War: Prelude

Tales from the onset of the Infinity War shows Captain America and the Winter Soldier hunting down a terrorist, Stephen Strange discovering the existence of the universe altering infinity stones, and reveals tales from the past of Thanos.

Thanos: Titan Consumed by Barry Lyga

Shares the origins of the Mad Titan, including how growing up an outcast on his home planet shaped him into the dangerous villain that not even the Avengers could defeat.

Black Widow: Forever Red by Margaret Stohl

Natasha Romanov, called the Black Widow, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D, rescues a young girl from Ivan, the man who once trained her as an assassin--and eight years later she is called upon to protect the teenage Ava from a threat from the past--and possibly from S.H.I.E.L.D itself.

Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet by Ta-Nehisi Coates

When a violent superhuman terrorist group known as The People spark a violent uprising in Wakanda, T'Challa fights to unite his citizens and show them how to adapt in order for Wakanda to survive.

Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 1: Cosmic Avengers by Brian Bendis

A team of intergalactic warriors that include Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, and Rocket Raccoon protect Earth from extra-terrestrial threats, including an invasion by the Badoon that threatens London.

Captain Marvel: Prelude

Meet Carol Danvers, NASA's youngest head of security - but when an encounter with the Kree soldier Mar-Vell gives her amazing powers, she begins a costumed career...as Ms. Marvel! Determined to prove herself the best of the best in a world full of fearsome foes, Carol soon takes on the mantle of Captain Marvel - and the responsibility of protecting the entire planet! But what happens when she comes face-to-face with Mar-Vell...who died years before? Look back at Carol Danvers' early days, and learn what shaped the woman behind the mask!

Further Reading

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