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Comicdom is littered with surprise hits. Who knew when Moon Knight first appeared in Werewolf by Night #32 that he'd one day headline a TV series? Or that the short, angry yellow-clad Canadian from The Incredible Hulk #180 would star in an Oscar-nominated film? Or that the little nerd from Amazing Fantasy #15 would make more money than the average country's GDP in merch? No one can expect where a Marvel Comics hit is going to come from... sometimes not even Marvel themselves.

Case in point: 2005's Young Avengers series, written by Allan Heinberg and drawn by Jimmy Cheung. The comic responsible for introducing characters like Hulking, Wiccan, and even Kate Bishop, the idea for Young Avengers was originally met with some skepticism from Marvel's decision-makers. One of those decision makers was Tom Brevoort, who wrote about the series in this week's installment of his Substack, Man with a Hat.

The subject came up after reader Montana Mott wrote in to ask about Allen Heinberg's mention of "some audience skepticism" surrounding the comic, inquiring whether or not "Young Avengers was anticipated or dreaded by audiences."

"Oh yeah," began Brevoort, "nobody liked the idea of Young Avengers before the book came out, most of all me."

A pretty honest admission from a person still at the top of the editorial chain at Marvel Comics, but Brevoort's never been shy about when he was wrong about a creative decision. The longtime Marvel editor was famously against the resurrection of Bucky Barnes into the character of Winter Soldier, a move he now admits he's glad was made.

"I thought it was another dopey idea that Joe Quesada had come up with," continues Brevoort, presumably to a readership that does not include Quesada. "But once Allan Heinberg was on board to create it, we came up with ways to make it work and to not have it be what everybody was dreading."

To be fair, attaching Allan Heinberg's name was a great reason for anyone to change their mind about the project - at the time, he was writing hit show The O.C. for Fox. and yet, there was still a little padding that the editors felt marketing had to do in order to make the Young Avengers sell to readers.

"This is entirely the reason why the first house ad we made up for the series," Brevoort concludes, "which ran in Avengers #500, was focused upon the idea that "They’re Not What You Think"."

Well, the Young Avengers certainly wasn't what readers thought. And due to the fact that it was a smashing success, one that readers still revere nearly two decades later, we'd say it wasn't what the skeptics thought either.

Get ready for what's next with our guide to upcoming comics, how to buy comics at a comic shop, and our guide to Free Comic Book Day 2025.