To drum up the hype for the Avengers: Age of Ultron premiere on April 13, Entertainment Weekly unveiled its latest special edition covers of the superhero team. Diehard fans of the franchise, however, noticed quite a few similarities to a cover of another iconic super squad, the X-Men.
In the EW cover, the Avengers are joined by new additions Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, and the Vision. The team is confronted by the menacing presence of Ultron, who has the superheroes surrounded by his Ultron-bots.
The scene is reminiscent of Jim Lee's cover for X-Men #1 released in 1991 complete with super-powered beings (X-Men) going up against a seemingly impervious supervillain, Magneto. Lee's run with the X-Men title earned him praises both from fans and critics alike. X-Men #1 became the bestselling comic of all time, putting it in the Guinness Book of World Records.
When asked about the similarities, EW's director of design Tim Leong gave credit to Lee's work as his inspiration for the series of covers.
Avengers: Age of Ultron Cover
Entertainment Weekly's special cover features Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, the Incredible Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye. It also marks the debut of Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, and the Vision.
The main villain in the scene is Ultron, the sentient artificial intelligence created by Tony Stark (Iron Man) in the film.
The setting depicts an earth ravaged by the invasion of the Ultron-bots as the Avengers use their individual powers to stop the mayhem.
Cap leads the team in battle with Iron Man and Scarlet Witch using energies to blast Ultron apart. Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Quicksilver gear up to do damage on their own. The super-muscled duo of the Hulk and Thor ready themselves to pounce on the twisted android while the Vision seems to have a battle tactic up his cybernetic sleeve.
X-Men #1 Cover
The cover for X-Men #1 shows a variation of the mutant team, which includes Professor Xavier, Cyclops, Wolverine, Psylocke, Gambit, Rogue, Beast, Storm, Jean Grey, and Colossus. They are locked in a head-to-head battle with the master of magnetism himself, Magneto.
Similar to the Avenger's poster above, the X-Men in Jim Lee's cover use their mutant powers to beat the super villain. The X-Men are led by Professor X while Cyclops shoots Magneto with his optic blast. Jean Grey uses her telekinesis with the rest of the team preparing for the attack. Just like the Avengers, the X-Men also have their heavyweights Beast and Colossus ready to do number on the misguided Magneto.
X-Men #1's cover features a dystopian world with mass destruction surrounding the battle of the super-powered mutants.
Whether Entertainment Weekly's series of covers drew inspiration from Jim Lee's X-Men #1 cover or not, fans can be sure to see this brand of pumped-up action from their beloved superheroes come to life, from the comics to the big screen.
