A new character promoted by Marvel as a “powerful new hero” proves a lazy addition to The Avengers. Indeed, calling them “new” is something of a stretch, given their background and powers are ripped-off of earlier heroes. To make matters worse, their grand unveiling in Avengers: Armageddon reveals them to be yet another example of the “evil Superman” trope.
The action of Avengers: Armageddon centers around General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross and his invasion of Latveria. The reawakened Red Hulk intends to conquer every nation hostile to the United States and build an American empire. This leads multiple Marvel heroes to join forces to stop him, despite the objections of the United Nations. Among these heroes is a relatively new character named David Colton.
Introduced in 2025’s Captain America #1, David Colton was an idealistic soldier recruited to be a new Captain America. He served under General Ross’ command before Steve Rogers was recovered. However, the trauma inflicted upon his body by a faulty Super Soldier formula coupled with PTSD pushed Colton to go rogue. He did this after getting an artificial heart, modeled on Tony Stark’s, which counteracted the stress of his powers.
Colton next appeared in Marvel’s 2026 Wolverine: Weapons of Armageddon miniseries. He crossed paths with Logan while seeking out and destroying secret labs attempting to create new Super Soldiers. In the course of their team-up, Colton was fatally wounded. In a moment of desperation, Logan tried to save Colton using the contents of an Origin Box. The miniseries ended with the effects of the box on Colton unclear beyond it granting him the power to fly. It turned out this would only be the start of how ridiculously overpowered David Colton would become.
Marvel’s latest hero brings nothing new to the Avengers
Avengers: Armageddon saw Colton being recruited to the ad hoc Avengers team assembled to stop Red Hulk. The events of the first issue revealed that Colton was now bullet-proof and super strong, in addition to being able to fly. Indeed, he could now trade blows with Captain Marvel without flinching and nearly killed General Ross.
By the end of Avengers: Armageddon #2, David Colton was specifically described as “an AWOL ex-soldier with the powers of Sentry.” However, beyond further complicating the issue of how superheroes are viewed on the world stage, Colton’s actions showcase how unoriginal his character is. This is in spite of Colton being promoted as “a new, mysterious hero with unrivaled power.”
Every aspect of David Colton, from his background to his powers, was taken directly from another Marvel hero. Any one of those aspects might have formed a compelling character. But making a new hero a former lab rat and patriot with a heart condition who gets the powers of The Sentry and is corrupted by that power is too much. Beyond that, the introduction of this “new hero” is as dull as it is uninspired.
Avengers: Armageddon #2 is now available at comic shops everywhere.
