Marvel's Avengers: The Extinction Key

by Greg Keyes

The official prequel to Marvel's Avengers from Marvel, Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal, and Square Enix, with an exclusive adventure that leads into the game itself.

The official prequel to the blockbuster action video game Marvel’s Avengers, written by bestselling author Greg Keyes. The game is being developed by Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montréal, Nixxes, and published by Square Enix. It will be released May 15, 2020 for PlayStation 4, Xbox, Stadia, and PC.

Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow, and the Hulk. Earth's Mightiest Heroes have assembled to face world-class threats whenever and wherever they might appear. They are the AVENGERS.

Yet some threats transcend the ages. Centuries ago, a never before seen group of heroes gathered as the Avengers of their ancient era to fight the Zodiac, foes who wielded unimaginable arcane energies channeled through a mysterious Key. The resulting battle devastated vast swaths of the planet. The Key was lost and the Zodiac went into hiding, influencing world events from the shadows, waiting for the stars to align to usher in their return.

When strange beings exhibiting the traits of the twelve astrological signs appear in the 21st century, the Avengers again answer the call to assemble. But when this modern team of heroes are forced to divide their efforts, each encounter leads to their opponents gaining strength. Once again, the hunt is on for the Extinction Key... and if the Avengers don’t find it, our world will be lost.

Genres: Marvel, Science Fiction, Superheroes, Fiction, Mythology, Magic, Audiobook

285 pages, Paperback

First published August 27, 2020

About the author

Gregory Keyes is a writer of science fiction and fantasy who has written both original and media-related novels under both the names J. Gregory Keyes and "Greg Keyes".

Greg Keyes was born in to a large, diverse, storytelling family. He received degrees in anthropology from Mississippi State and the University of Georgia before becoming a fulltime writer.
He lives in Savannah, Georgia.

Reviews

[Jay DeMoir · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book all the way until the end where it fell flat. I felt let down because the action and pacing had been so on point but the ending left me wanting more. It felt so unfinished :(
Though the epilogue was 'cute' I just felt as though there wasn't true closure with the Zodiac or Dr. Strange. What happened? Where are they? Did good really win in the end? Or....

I hate when a book doesn't answer all those questions.

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

would be 5 stars but Nat only having like 10 lines in this entire book has filled me such feminine rage that I will physically fight Greg Keyes until he is black and blue

[Lori S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, but a little too much info-dumping and not enough action.

Nice cameo by a future hero at the end.

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, this was a fun book to read. I assume that since it is a "prequel" story to an unreleased video game (as of the time this review was written), it is set in a "different universe" as opposed to the 616-Universe or the MCU. The character development was so-so; some of the characters were better developed over the course of the story than others. The plot was interesting. There is plenty of action in the book. It has humor in it that was more reminiscent of the comics than the movies, but some of the movies as well. The ending was a bit underwhelming.

As the cover and back of the book shows, the story features the five "most recognized" Avengers since the release of the movies (Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Black Widow, and the Incredible Hulk). I was somewhat surprised that Hawkeye was not on the team, as he has somewhat the same "powerset" as the Black Widow (and he was on the team in the comics for a while as well as in the movies) (Hawkeye is mentioned in passing, so there is that). Also, it "felt weird" not having Vision or Scarlet Witch on the team, considering how long they have been members in the comics. It also felt like this team had "recently come together," based on how they interacted with each other. Actually, it felt more like the author was not sure if the team had been operating together for a period of time or had recently started working together. Thor makes several comments throughout that indicate he has only recently started visiting Midgard again (especially when he tells Tony that he is back and plans to stay for a while; other indicators are his interactions with Captain America - he wants to impress Cap like nobody's business, which would be odd if they had been working together for a while). Captain Marvel is mentioned a couple of times in the story, but she is off-planet and not available for the story.

The dynamics of this quintet were interesting as a team. As I mentioned, there were times it felt like they had worked together for a while and other times like they were getting used to each others' styles. Romanov and Stark probably had the "best relational interactions" of the group, followed by Stark and Banner. Cap and Thor, not so much (well, not with the other three; they had a decent dynamic with each other). Doctor Strange also takes part in the story (he teams up with Cap and Thor for their parts of the story) because of the mystical elements of the Zodiac.

In the comics, the Zodiac tended to be either a crime cartel or B/C-class villains that opposed the Avengers. I remember when Marvel used to use the Annuals of the Avengers and West Coast Avengers to create an extended two-part story that one year they had the two teams face off against the Zodiac; Quicksilver was a "villain" at the time and helped the Zodiac face off against the two teams.
The Zodiac still lost, but it took both teams to defeat them. In this book, the power levels of the Zodiac are bumped up pretty significantly. I was pretty surprised, to be honest, but following the logic of the intro-story, it makes sense.

I did like the new "origin story" for Emil Blonski and his becoming the Abomination. That was an interesting change and I liked how the author went about introducing it in the story. I thought it was reasonable, well thought out, and made sense. I wish the Abomination would have had a larger part in the the story, to be honest (maybe even have him assist the Avengers against the Zodiac).
I liked that he volunteered for some experiments (shades of the second Hulk movie, there, I guess) and he took the experiment further, faster, without Monica's safeguards in place. Also, his goal was to be able to better succeed at his job of protecting the labs where he was hired as the head of security; he had been brutally and badly beaten by the Zodiac in an early attack and did not want to be caught unawares like that again; that, and not able to defend himself and those under his protection from attack. So his goals, his desires, were noble; he just "jumped the gun" in an attempt to be better suited to fulfill his obligations as head of security and protect that which had been entrusted to him for safe-keeping.

It was also interesting to see Bruce in a relationship with somebody other than Betty Ross. I think I remember Monica from the comics, but I could be getting her mixed up with somebody else. Also, I enjoyed Tony's interactions with Maria Hill; those were fun. It was interesting that Tony had created such a powerful energy weapon for them (SHIELD), too, as it seemed to tie in with the first movie even though the rest of the book did not quite fit in as an "intermediate story" between the 1st and 2nd Avengers movies. I also liked the toss-out to the West Coast Avengers and how Tony wants to start a new team on the West Coast; Bruce isn't happy because it sounds like Tony's trying to create some kind of "superhero franchise," but Tony sees its value in that a team on the West Coast is better situated to handle a "situation" on the West Coast than the NY-based team having to fly 3-4 hours to reach the area before they can assess the situation and respond accordingly. It's a good/great idea, and a nice call-out to the same team in the comics.

It really felt like the story should have had one or two more mages in it to assist the Avengers, in my opinion. Granted, I also felt like the team should have been larger to take on the Zodiac. This particular team of Avengers is more "physically-based" and not well-equipped to face off against foes who can turn into water, energy, or ethereal forms. Not only that, but two of the Zodiac members could influence minds, so that should also have played a stronger role in the Avengers being defeated. The Avengers really needed individuals who could oppose the "mind-controlling" Zodiac members as well as those who could turn into water, "energy," or even gaseous/ethereal forms. What with the "mystical nature" of some of the powers of the villains, I would have thought that Thor would have faired better than he did, as well.

Based on the beginning of the book, I think the Avengers probably should have been beaten by the Zodiac. The team of "Avengers" that faces off against the Zodiac "three thousand years ago" is composed of various supernatural beings. There is the Black Panther of that time as well as the Greek God of War, Ares, and Brunnhilde (an Asgardian warrior of some kind, I assume?), as well as some other beings who assist that period's Sorcerer Supreme in facing off against the Zodiac of that time period. These supernatural beings and demigods are not able to defeat this version of the Zodiac; the Sorcerer Supreme has to overload the Key to prevent the Zodiac from taking over the world, but it exacts a pretty severe toll. Because of that, and how powerful the "modern iteration" of the Zodiac is and even becomes, I found it hard to believe that the "modern-day team" of Avengers could have beaten all twelve members of the Zodiac as handily as they did in the "final battle." The two "teams" had been broken into smaller units/teams while searching for the Key, and the smaller Zodiac teams had consistently beaten the smaller teams of Avengers. Because of that, it hardly makes any sense that the full Zodiac team could not defeat the full team of the Avengers (even with Doctor Strange tagging along like he did over the course of the book). I kept expecting more heroes to show up to assist, which obviously did not happen. I just did not feel like the Avengers' victory at the end felt believable (which I know sounds funny, considering it is a book based on a comic book) in light of what had transpired previously in the story.

It was a fun book to read, overall. It was interesting to read a book in which the team was clearly over their heads and needed outside help. Tony's interactions with SHIELD were fun and funny; I enjoyed the moments of humor scattered throughout the book (I'm not sure if they were intentional or not, but they were funny). The plot could have used a little more work, I think, based on how the story ends. Overall, though, I did enjoy it (although the Epilogue was kind-of "out there" and did not really fit in with the rest of the story. It felt really "out in left field," to be honest). I would probably rate it 2.5-2.7 stars, rounded up because of what I did like in the book, and I am glad I took a chance on reading it.

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 4 out of 5]

84 - 2024

Setelah banyak baca fanfic AO3 yang penuh drama konflik internal dan angst, fresh banget baca novel Avengers yang murni mereka vs musuh. Humor dalam dialognya dalam porsi yang pas dan tidak maksa, bisa membuat pembaca malah tersenyum-senyum di tengah adegan kritis dan menegangkan.

Pokoknya kerja sama full team plus Dr Strange yang mantap!

Btw, Avengers di sini kalau bukan versi komik Earth 616 mungkin versi Earth Mighty Heroes, karena Thor bilang menyaksikan waktu esnya Kapten Amerika meleleh. (less) [edit]

[Qt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a lot of fun reading this.

[deborah.reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seguimi su Instagram: @books.coffee.fantasy 🖤

“Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow e Hulk: i più potenti eroi della Terra si sono riuniti per affrontare una minaccia comune. Loro sono gli .. Avengers!”

#LeggereMarvel in romanzo? Si può fare, grazie a Multiplayer Edizioni che tra il 2020 e il 2022 pubblicherà tutta la collana dei volumi dedicati ad alcuni dei personaggi più popolari e amati del panorama fumettistico di casa Marvel.

Avengers: La chiave dell’estinzione di Greg Keyes, uscito il 15 Ottobre 2020, rappresenta il primo volume di questa serie e il prequel ufficiale del videogioco a loro dedicato "Marvel's Avengers" ma che si può leggere tranquillamente anche senza averlo giocato, proprio come ho fatto io!

La squadra è composta dai cinque Avengers originali e più conosciuti come Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow e Hulk (anche se da fan dell’MCU ho sentito la mancanza di Occhio di Falco!) che con la collaborazione di Doctor Strange sono pronti a riunirsi per salvare il mondo da una nuova minaccia: Lo Zodiaco.

Un gruppo di 12 potenti nemici legati proprio ai segni zodiacali da cui ognuno di loro prende il nome, la forma e i propri poteri mistici. Uniti da migliaia di anni e fallimentari tentativi di trovare la Chiave dell’estinzione e metterla in funzione, stanno per riprovarci ma riusciranno nel loro intento questa volta?

Un romanzo scorrevole, pieno di azione e appassionante che riporta alcune delle atmosfere dei film del Marvel Cinematic Universe inserendone alcune totalmente nuove, con storyline e dinamiche molto diverse da quelle che conosciamo che si ricollegano appunto al videogioco sopracitato. Ogni Avengers ha un ruolo fondamentale nella battaglia e il meritato spazio all’interno della narrazione che rende giustizia a questa storia supereroistica davvero accattivante.

Seguimi su Instagram: @books.coffee.fantasy 🖤

[Steve Joyce · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've probably prefaced a number of superhero paperbacks with something like this:
"The ceiling for my rating on a superhero paperback is rarely above a 3. They just don't make for great meaningful literature. The floor for my rating on a superhero paperback is usually also about a 3. I (or the 11 year old still inside me) is a sucker for them and I'm very forgiving."

Having so prefaced my rating. It's a 2. This one just doesn't click. The main Avengers that I know and love are all there but the story and (especially) the villains are weak.

[JJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Extinction Key begins with some solid worldbuilding and admirably sets up the events of the 2020 Avengers game, but falls flat in too many key areas to hold my interest.

I've read a lot of comics (although I never gravitated toward the Avengers in particular), so I know that oftentimes the stories are jam packed with massive casts of characters, explosive action, and just enough plot to keep the ever-present superhero soap opera moving forward. In some ways, this is replicated faithfully in The Extinction Key. But a bunch of wild characters are far less interesting if you're just reading vague descriptions than seeing them in action, and the action itself isn't nearly as entertaining when you're just reading page after page after page after page after page of it.

The Extinction Key is not without its strong points. I learned a lot about the status quo of the Avengers at the time of the game's beginning, with a somewhat unrefined team dynamic and simmering tensions beneath the surface (although notably fewer than in the prequel comic series that takes place earlier). I learned more about the team's place in the world, with plans to open a West Coast branch in motion, interaction with SHIELD, references to Captain Marvel, and a meaty appearance from Doctor Strange. And I saw some important foreshadowing and pieces moved into place as Bruce Banner interacts with Emil Blonsky, George Tarleton, and Monica Rappaccini.

But if you're thinking "that doesn't sound like a whole novel", you're right -- that's only the good part, and most of it isn't good. Other than Banner, none of our heroes get any time to shine. Sure, they go on missions and fight people, but Banner is the only one that I feel I understand better for having read the novel. Everyone else has practically no character to speak of. And the villains -- the Zodiac, which is apparently actually a Marvel villain team that I wasn't aware of -- just feel gimmicky. Oh, and there are actually 12 of them, so if four of five Avengers didn't get their time in the sun you know none of these folks did.

After all the build-up and exploration and adventure of the early parts of the book, it does its best Marvel Cinematic Universe impression and has a bombastic action set piece to finish things out. The problem is that reading bland descriptions of another generic Marvel action scene that goes on for far too long isn't fun. It was a truly painful way to finish the story that I had to slog through, wondering how all this punching was going on when the enemies were supposedly so much physically larger and more powerful than before. This climactic action sequence singlehandedly took my score from three down to two stars.

I guess you don't have too many other options if you want to read a story in this Avengers world. (The Road to A-Day comics are slightly better, but give you less context for the game.) Overall, I'd say The Extinction Key is similar to the game it leads into: A missed opportunity, a failed attempt to capitalize on one of the biggest entertainment franchises ever, and something that will probably be forgotten far sooner than one would have expected.

[Chris The Lizard from Planet X · Rating 3 out of 5]

Avengers: The Extinction Key by Greg Keyes, is a prequel video game tiein to the Action RPG Game Marvel’s Avengers game. To further build upon that game’s expanded universe. The book deals with the Avengers team battling against the resurrected Zodiac, an ancient Evil organization that for centuries has tried to rewrite the world with an ancient, key like artifact. If you’re looking for a way to further interact with the world the developers of Marvel’s Avengers have crafted, it’s worth picking up The Extinction Key, but for those who aren’t big into reading and don’t want their controller pulled from their hands. The book is really fun to read - if you care about the game's lore. The story itself, if consumed apart from the context of the game, has some substance to it but not enough for me to recommend it as a completely standalone piece. Character arcs are superficial and there aren't many turning points, and I feel like the story goes a bit too much into the more mystical side of the Marvel universe than you'd expect an Avengers story to, but that's a matter of opinion. If you do care about the game's lore though, there's quite a bit to chew on here. You won't be getting many big revelations, but it lays the groundwork for this iteration of the universe, helping you better undesrtand how close to the actual Marvel universe this is in terms of variety and who may or may not already be around doing their thing even if they are not featured in the game (yet, at least). Overall, The namedrops and cameos are plentyful in the beginning, but the book quickly focuses itself on it's own story and there's no more of that, with one big exception. Not many definitive answers, but it will give you a better idea of what this universe looks like.

[Sabrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vendicatori ne abbiamo qui?
Ebbene, miei cari signori, sono più che felice e onorata, oggi, di parlarvi di una delle mie passioni più grandi: GLI AVENGERS!
Chi è Team Iron Man alzi la mano e diventeremo Best Friend ForevaH!
Come si fa a dire no al fascino di Tony Stark?
Da grande appassionata dell'universo Marvel, ho letto buona parte dei fumetti - un caos temporale è dir poco; se cercate qualcosa che segua una linea basic e si ricolleghi ai film: I FUMETTI NON FANNO PER VOI. Piuttosto comprate i Preludi pubblicati dalla Panini che hanno a che fare con i film -.
Avere l'onore di poter leggere questo libro edito dalla Multiplayer Edizioni, per me è stato emozionante a dir poco.
Ma di cosa parla La Chiave dell'Estinzione? Proprio come dice la trama, ci ritroviamo davanti una minaccia epocale per l'universo, che risale agli albori e a tanti, troppi, anni fa ( e quando mai; ma un po' di pace quando? ).
Ovviamente chi ci va di mezzo? Bravi, sapevo che avreste dato la risposta giusta: Gli Avengers. Chi principalmente passa i guai? Bravi anche qua: Tony Stark.
E vabbè.
Se avete giocato al gioco Avengers per Play Station 4, sicuramente avrete una chicca in più, poiché il libro si ricollega praticamente a quello ( io l'ho A-MA-TO. Una gamer incallita tra le altre cose, lo so, mi conoscete ).
La storia letta in singolo comprende comunque un certo spessore e una chiave che si ricollega a tutta la trama, seppur molte cose come dicevo potrebbero sembrare strane o incomplete se non conoscete almeno un puntino di quanto essenziale da sapere.
Nel libro ci ritroveremo una particolare attenzione all'intero universo di ciò che comprende i personaggi della Marvel, quindi non solo degli Avengers.
Un prequel presentativo, insomma, del videogioco.
Avete mai visto gli Anime basati sugli otome-game? Che comunque ti fanno capire la trama, vi piacciono, ma c'è qualcosa che manca? Esattamente la stessa cosa! Se volete godere appieno della lettura, meglio spalleggiarla col videogame, altrimenti la godrete solo al 70%.
Detto ciò, signori, quanto ho amato, QUANTO, l'introduzione ai primi Vendicatori presente nel libro? Shaushka, Ares e molti altri personaggi ci narreranno di cosa rischia il mondo, di un pericolo imminente che va fermato.
Sono stata felicissima, tra l'altro, di poter vivere, dopo il prologo, l'emozione di leggere del mio amato Strange ( secondo personaggio preferito dopo Tony ), quasi del tutto protagonista dell'intera storia!
Riusciranno i nostri eroi a fermare il gruppo dello Zodiaco?
E qui mi parte la sigla dei Cavalieri, poiché i cattivi traggono poteri proprio dal segno zodiacale.
Che dire: sono stata brava a non farvi spoiler QUIIINDI, qualora le mie parole vi abbiano incuriositi e siete fan: TUTTI A LEGGERE LA CHIAVE DELL'ESTINZIONE.
E ricordate: vi amo 3000.

[Ryan Walton · Rating 3 out of 5]

A prequel to the Avengers video game, this book provided insight into various characters of which the most developed was Bruce and Monica's relationship which is often talked about within the game but nothing further than that.

I enjoyed the book, the only let down is the ending, there are a lot of plot lines still open and yet to explore, which would be fine if they were included within the Video Game, but they aren't. If there is to be another novel then i would change this to 4 stars, but as it stands the very open ending doesn't provide a very satisfactory ending.

I think keeping The Avengers to those within the game, plus Dr Strange, helped keep the number of a characters to a minimum and develop them further, as much as I'd have looked for more superheroes to be in this, the "Main" Avengers was enough to use within this story.

Overall, it's an average book, not boring or dull, but exactly exciting and engaging either. (rather like the video game itself).

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Avengers must assemble to prevent an apocalyptic event brought on by twelve villains whose powers are inspired and powered by the Zodiac. It’s a good adventure fueled by Greg Keyes’ tight storytelling. As the stars get closer to the proper alignment, the villains’ powers get stronger, but they’re up against the Avengers and Dr. Strange, so the outcome is never really in doubt.

I think the best part of the story was the introduction of the Abomination with a new origin story. It adds a little humanity which I thought was more effective than the efforts with Bruce Banner and other members of the team. The best parts of the story were when the Avengers stopped forgetting they are a team and started, well, teaming up to face down the threat.

[Shibosan · Rating 3 out of 5]

На удивление неплохо - именно как приквел к игре, когда ты уже знаешь этих персонажей, слышишь их голоса в своей голове, знаешь как дальше будут развиваться события и складываться их взаимоотношения. Интересная идея для масштабных злодеев (куда более масштабных, чем в той же игре), но концовка подкачала, опять же - из-за игровой логики, в рамках которой Черная Вдова, например, сражается в открытом бою не уступая Тору или Железному Человеку.

[Adam Boudreau · Rating 3 out of 5]

The was alright book I found myself drifting a lot while reading but the action sequences where really good. They called this a prequel to the video game but in all honesty it was just an Avengers story, there wasn't much connecting this to the game. What an interesting choice to use C-list villains from the 80's and not really develop them it left you wanting to know more about the baddies of the book.

[Niket Sheth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feels like an extravagant Marvel film... Perfect for a light read.

[Jennifer Findling · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was full of adventure, I enjoyed reading it. Young readers and teens would also enjoy reading it.

[Derrick · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea, but these video game prequals are weird.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10

[Jázmin Hajnal · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,75⭐️

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

the plot didn’t really feel like it fit with the story at all especially since this book is a prequel to the new avengers video game. i mean, it was good, but i’ve read better fanfiction than this.

[TONY · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great avengers adventure. I didn’t play the game and you do not need to to follow the story. Thank you can we have more ?

[V. Arrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made me ship Thor/Steve. Why is Thor so obsessed with Steve and so romantic about it? He gives him a whole speech about it. They need to wine and dine. There should be only one gigantic bed.

Also, having read literally any other comics and watched the MCU really spoiled some major plot twists for me right at the outset, which is a bummer. But it was still entertaining, and also, I might finally kind of get the whole Thor thing.