STORY Marvel's Executive Editor Reveals More About 'Time Runs Out' Storyline

The villain of the series is longtime Captain America villain the Red Skull, who has in recent years had parts of the brain of the X-Men's Professor Xavier inserted inside his own, giving him telepathic powers. Rick Remender, the writer responsible for that plot development, is also the writer of AXIS, and he describes the new Red Skull as "a threat that is ultimately too big for [the Avengers and X-Men] to contend with even working together."

The series is "a nice cathartic chapter in the history of the Avengers and X-Men at the worst moment in their lives," Remender said. "Writing it, there were a couple of moments where I banged on my desk and said, 'Yes! Yay, nerd!' and I got excited for it."

In addition to the Red Skull, Remender suggests that the series will feature an important turning point for Iron Man. "The Red Skull has seen things that Tony Stark is capable of and has seen value in them," he teased. Considering that Stark is a former weapons manufacturer, the implications of Stark's potential from the eyes of a genocidal Nazi might be problematic for the heroes.

Avengers & X-Men: AXIS launches in October.