The Avengers don Japanese "tokusatsu" sci-fi armor in August

Tech-On Avengers
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

Earth's Mightiest Heroes are about to embrace another global superhero genre in Tech-On Avengers, a five-issue limited series from writer Jim Zub and artist Jeff 'Chamba' Cruz in which the Avengers will take on 'tokusatsu' inspired armor suits.

(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

If that sounds slightly familiar, it's because the Avengers also recently mashed up with another Japanese superhero genre in Avengers: Mech Strike in which the team piloted massive giant-robo suits.

The ideas may be somewhat similar on the surface, but 'tokusatsu' is a separate concept that actually refers to special effects-heavy live-action Japanese filmmaking, encompassing everything from Ultraman (who Marvel publishes licensed comics about) to Godzilla (who Marvel used to publish licensed comics about) - and even the cult-favorite '70s Japanese adaptation of Marvel's Spider-Man.

"When the Red Skull wields a strange new power that strips heroes of their powers and threatens the entire world, the Avengers turn to Tony Stark's experimental new technology to save us all," reads Marvel's official description of Tech-On Avengers.

(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

"Here come the Iron Avengers — Tech On Avengers! Sleek high-tech power suits bristling with energy and amped-up attack power face off against super villains enhanced to match. It's mechs and mayhem in the Marvel Mighty Manner!"

Again, don't get it twisted - the Avengers won't be piloting the giant mecha style suits of Avengers: Mech Strike. Instead, Tech-On Avengers will put the team in decidedly more person-sized hi-tech armor suits. Think Kamen Rider or VR Troopers.

In this case, the suits were designed by toymakers Bandai Spirits, who will also produce an action figure line corresponding with Tech-On Avengers.

"I grew up on a steady stream of Japanese animation and tokusatsu-centric stories, so bringing those same sensibilities to Earth's Mightiest Heroes is an absolute rush," states writer Jim Zub in the announcement.

(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

"The team at Bandai Spirits absolutely crushed it on the hero and villain designs and Chamba is the perfect artist to bring this world to life, with dynamic action art that feels like it popped off the screen and onto the printed page."

"Tech-On Avengers is bombastic and kinetic, bursting with color and energy," Zub concludes. "I can't wait for readers and retailers to get on board this wild ride!"

Tech-On Avengers #1 is due out August 11, with a cover from famed manga artist Eiichi Shimizu, seen above.

We don't know if this will make Newsarama's list of the best Avengers stories of all time, but the field at least is getting a little bigger.

George Marston

I've been Newsarama's resident Marvel Comics expert and general comic book historian since 2011. I've also been the on-site reporter at most major comic conventions such as Comic-Con International: San Diego, New York Comic Con, and C2E2. Outside of comic journalism, I am the artist of many weird pictures, and the guitarist of many heavy riffs. (They/Them)

Read more
Millie Bobby Brown in The Electric State
Avengers: Endgame directors Anthony and Joe Russo's new Netflix sci-fi movie The Electric State is "by far and away the hardest VFX film" they've made so far
CAPTAIN AMERICA & VOLSTAGG #1
Steve Rogers gets his own Asgardian armor in this preview of his team up with Volstagg of the Warriors Three
Godzilla and The Thing face off.
These Godzilla vs. Fantastic Four covers see Toho's King of the Monsters bring the pain to Marvel's First Family
The cast of Thunderbolts
The mystery of the Thunderbolts asterisk might have been solved by a new poster
The Winter Guard
Tony Stark teams up with Red Guardian and the Winter Guard to take on Doctor Doom in Iron Man #6
Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch
The Russo brothers hid an Avengers Easter egg in Netflix movie The Electric State ahead of their Marvel comeback – and I'm convinced it's teasing Scarlet Witch's return
Latest in Marvel Comics
The New Thunderbolts leaping into action
Marvel's New Thunderbolts* comic steals the MCU's asterisk, and the reason why is just as big of a mystery
Web of Venomverse: Fresh Brains #1
Meet the Venomouse, an all new Eddie Brock, and more in Web of Venomverse: Fresh Brains #1
Ms. Marvel alongside the mutants of Age of Apocalypse
30 years after the original Age of Apocalypse, Ms. Marvel Kamala Khan will travel to the alt-reality to save X-Men history
The Punisher holding two machine guns in the rain
Daredevil: Born Again - Learn the bullet-riddled comic book history of the Punisher before he officially joins the MCU
Close up on Emma Frost's face as she sits on a throne on the cover of Emma Frost: White Queen #1
"Bow down to the White Queen" as Emma Frost gets her own X-Men solo comic that flashes back to her time as a villain
Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #12
Gwen Stacy and Loki team-up for a cosmic adventure in Spider-Gwen: The Ghost Spider #12
Latest in News
Phoebe Dynevor
Bridgerton star to join Jake Gyllenhaal in a new romantic supernatural thriller from M. Night Shyamalan and the author of The Notebook
The Steam logo on a blue background.
Steam's new game revenue is 10x higher than it was 10 years ago, but only around 200 made more than $1 million in their first 30 days
Roblox
Roblox CEO tells concerned parents not to "let your kids be on Roblox" even if it "sounds a little counter-intuitive"
Sucker Punch
New Prison Break reboot adds Sucker Punch and Euphoria stars to its cast
Matt Damon in Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey
The cast of Christopher Nolan's Odyssey has grown again, with a Sons of Anarchy and God of War actor joining the stacked line-up
Pokemon Horizons: The Series
New Pokemon leak reveals a surprise first for the next chapter of the anime series – and it fixes a complaint fans have had for over 25 years