Avengers: Armageddon #5 Gives Fans Their First Comic Look at Avengers: Doomsday

Marvel is using next month's Avengers: Armageddon #5 to bridge the gap between page and screen. The October 21 issue, priced at $4.99, wraps a Marvel Studios-approved cover from artist Leonel Castellani around the book, folding in likenesses from the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday film alongside a mid-battle Ant-Man squaring off against Sentinels. It's being billed as the first time film-accurate Doomsday imagery has shown up in the comics line.

The issue caps off the fallout from #4, where the miniseries' catastrophic turn leaves humanity turning on its own superheroes. David Colton, the book's central figure, is left grappling with the consequences of newfound power as the arc reaches what solicits describe as a point of no return. The story is doing real connective work for Marvel's line, setting the stage for Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto's Avengers #1 relaunch in November. A alternate cover from Mark Bagley adds another layer for longtime readers, riffing on Alan Davis's 1980s Fall of the Mutants house ad artwork.

Film tie-in covers tend to move fast at the shop level, and with Doomsday anticipation building all year, a Studios-sanctioned cover carrying actual movie likenesses is the kind of thing worth flagging for pulls and walk-in customers alike well ahead of its October ship date.

Original reporting: Bleeding Cool.