Avengers: Kang Dynasty, the Kurt Busiek Era Reading Order (1997-2002)

In December of 1997, writer Kurt Busiek brought the heroic Avengers back to the main Marvel universe after a year-long absence, reinvigorating the team's classic members with fresh faces and a sense of heart. Along with a host of spectacular artists and a few guest writers, Busiek would go on to write a 4-year epic about why the world needs the Avengers, even as pressures from within and without seek to topple them. Highlights of this great series include the robotic Ultron decimating a small country in Ultron Unlimited, a seemingly-benign self-help group known as the Triune Understanding trying to discredit the Avengers, and the time-travelling Kang the Conquerer finally setting out in full force to conquer the 21st century in Kang Dynasty.

This reading order covers Avengers (1997) #1-55, Iron Man (1997) #7, Captain America (1997) #7, Quicksilver #10, Avengers/Squadron Supreme Annual, Avengers Annual 1999, Avengers Forever, Avengers Annual 2000, Thunderbolts #44, Avengers: Infinity, Maximum Security: Dangerous Planet, Maximum Security, and Avengers Annual 2001. General knowledge of the core Avengers team would help improve this run, but is not necessary to enjoy it.

Quality:★★★★★ Cohesion:★★★★☆ Accessiblity:★★★☆☆

1. Avengers (1997) #1-6
• This Avengers run opens with every Avenger coming together to stop a major threat, which dovetails into determining both the members of this new Avengers team and the legitimacy of their existence.
2. Iron Man (1997) #7
3. Captain America (1997) #8
4. Quicksilver (1997) #10
5. Avengers (1997) #7
• These issues make up the Live Kree or Die crossover, focusing around Carol Danvers, aka Warbird, and some very angry Kree. Richard Howell helps Busiek write the Iron Man issue, while Captain America is written by Mark Waid and Quicksilver is written by John Ostrander and Joe Edkin.
6. Avengers/Squadron Supreme Annual (1998) #1
7. Avengers (1997) #8-12
8. Avengers Annual 1999 #1
• The Avengers/Squadron Supreme Annual acts as a finale for the Squadron Supreme storyline from issues #5-6. Issues #8-12 wrap up storylines involving Hawkeye and the Thunderbolts, making for a fairly satisfying conclusion to the start of Busiek's run. Avengers Annual 1999 then acts as an epilogue, looking back at how the team formed and shining a bright light on their future. It is also a Jarvis-focused issue, which is cool.
9. Avengers Forever (1998) #1-12
• A standalone miniseries tying together the Avengers' distant past and distant futures, bringing together past, present, and future Avengers members for a time-hopping battle against Kang and Immortus. While the series is good on its own and adds to Busiek's overarching storyline, it draws a lot on Avengers continuity that could be confusing for new readers. However, the continuity-heavy bits don't affect the overall story, so this series is still worth a read.
10. Avengers (1997) #13-18
11. Avengers (1997) #0
12. Avengers (1997) #19-30
• Issue #13 picks up where the 1999 Annual leaves off. Gerry Ordway then takes over from issues #16-18 for a solid storyline before Busiek comes back for issue #0. Despite being labeled as #0, this issue is really a prologue to issue #19, which kicks off the phenomenal Ultron Unlimited storyline that concludes with issue #22. Also, despite issue #27 being 100 pages long, you only need to read the first story.
13. Avengers Annual 2000 #1
14. Avengers (1997) #31-33
15. Thunderbolts (1997) #44
16. Avengers (1997) #34
• Annual 2000 goes here due to Captain America's appearance and comments about Count Nefaria. The next four issues, along with Fabian Nicieza's Thunderbolts #44, make up the Nefaria Protocols storyline.
17. Avengers: Infinity (2000) #1-4
• A four issue miniseries written by Roger Stern that sees Thor and some supporting characters go to space, which ends up setting them up for their role in the Maximum Security crossover below.
18. Maximum Security: Dangerous Planet (2000) #1
19. Maximum Security (2000) #1-2
20. Avengers (1997) #35
21. Maximum Security (2000) #3
• The Maximum Security crossover, which sees Earth used as a prison planet for very angry aliens. Avengers #35 is basically Maximum Security #2.5.
22. Avengers (1997) #36-43
23. Avengers Annual 2001 #1
24. Avengers (1997) #44-55
• The grand finale of Busiek's run is the outstanding Kang Dynasty arc, which sees the time-travelling tryant Kang use everything he has to try and conquer the Earth. While it technically starts in issue #41, even issue #36 begins the leadup. Despite focusing on Kang, this arc resolves every thread for Busiek's run, as exemplified in the annual, which takes the spotlight off Kang and shines it on Giant Man to do some very impressive character work while building up the larger story.