AUTHOR: GERRY DUGGAN | ARTIST: MIKE DEODATO | PUBLISHER: MARVEL COMICS | FORMAT: SINGLE ISSUE | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Wolverine. The Punisher. Elektra. Doctor Voodoo. Venom. Conan the Barbarian. So far, so Thunderbolts. Wait… Conan the Barbarian?!  Robert E. Howard’s Conan had already found himself unwittingly initiated into the Marvel 616 Universe during the events of Avengers: No Road Home, which left the great furry underpantsed one roaming the Savage Land (close enough to home for Conan the Barbarian), battling ninja agents of The Hand. Savage Avengers gives him a team of his very own when he runs into Wolverine during one particularly bloody adventure.

But first, the necessaries: in typical Marvel style, the pair hit it off by hitting each other in the face, albeit with the sharp end of their pointy objects. Wolverine versus Conan the Barbarian is a draw enough on its own, and writer Jerry Duggan lets it play out for just long enough, with artist Mike Deodato clearly relishing the issue’s central battle sequences. While it does feel akin to two kids excitedly smashing their favourite action figures together, and doesn’t do much for the plot, there’s no denying that it’s a fun start, well-executed by Duggan and Deodato.

After that, there’s not much room for anyone or anything else, and the wider team is only hinted at so far, with brief cameos from Venom, Doctor Voodoo, and the Punisher. One suspects that the book’s main arc will be bringing these characters together cohesively and coherently, finding a way to have Frank Castle and Conan the actual Barbarian sharing a panel together in a manner that isn’t completely ridiculous.  To that end, having Conan and Wolverine repeatedly stab each other in the Savage Lands while exchanging their most iconic lines is a pretty smart way to kick off the story.