The Avengers' Newest Member Appears Alongside Team For The First Time

Published Sep 13, 2026, 9:30 AM EDT

Nicolas Ayala is a Senior Writer for the Comics team at ScreenRant, with over five years of experience writing about Superhero media, action movies, and TV shows. 

The Avengers officially welcome their new member this week, bringing together some of the most famous of Earth's Mightiest Heroes to celebrate. The Avengers have undergone a drastic evolution since their first mission in 1963, going from an exclusive squad of literal Earth's Mightiest Heroes to a global network that encompasses all tiers of the superhuman community. In their early days, membership was strictly reserved for top-tier heroes like Thor, Iron Man, and Captain America, who possessed the strength or resources to handle extinction-level threats.

As the scale of the Marvel Universe expanded, the Avengers realized that protecting the world requires more than sheer power. The main team spun off initiatives like Avengers West Coast, Avengers Resistance, and the 50-State Initiative, opening its doors to all kinds of members, including street-level vigilantes and reformed antagonists. Some of the most unexpected characters to become Avengers include the Spider-Man villain Sandman, the pro wrestler Demolition Man, and the Golden Age masked secretary Blonde Phantom, alongside other unconventional temporary recruits like the mercenary Deathcry, the robotic Machine Man, and the all-around absurd Great Lakes Avengers.

Six decades after they first assembled, the Avengers add a new member into their ranks, who stands out over all the rest due to his nature as a real-life celebrity.

Chef José Andrés Becomes A Member Of The Avengers This Week

Meals to Astonish: Avengers #1; Written By Paul Eschbach, Jacob Chabot, And Steve Orlando; Art By E.J. Su And Jacob Chabot

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Chef José Andrés first entered the Marvel Universe in Spider-Man: Meals to Astonish #1, where Peter Parker arrives to photograph the opening of the chef's real-life restaurant location, Mercado Little Spain, only for the celebration to be crashed by the electricity-wielding villain Electro. Chef José Andrés and his culinary team chip in alongside Spider-Man to protect the guests, defeat the villain, and successfully save everyone's dinner. Following his debut, Chef José Andrés levels up to join Earth's Mightiest Heroes in Meals to Astonish: Avengers #1 (via AIPT), where he shares the stage with Tony Stark in Las Vegas to unveil disaster-relief technology, only for Ultron to crash the party.

In real life, José Andrés is an internationally acclaimed, Michelin-starred Spanish-American chef, restaurateur, and global humanitarian. Andrés is the founder of World Central Kitchen, a fearless non-profit organization that travels directly to frontline disaster zones and communities in crisis to provide meals to people in need. Marvel brought Andrés into their fictional continuity to celebrate the monumental impact of WCK's mission and show a different, more fantastical side of José Andrés' heroism.

Meals To Astonish Shows A Rare Perspective On The Marvel Universe

Seeing The Avengers Outside World-Threatening Events Is A Breath Of Fresh Air

Meals to Astonish delivers a refreshing perspective on the Marvel Universe by stepping away from global, universal, and multiversal battles to showcase superheroes in everyday moments. Seeing the Avengers outside world-threatening events provides a breath of fresh air and serves as a reminder that these larger-than-life icons are still deeply human beings who need a moment to pause and enjoy experiences like attending events and having delicious meals. Even though most comics focus on their crises, characters like Tony Stark, Peter Parker, and Sorcerer Supreme Wanda Maximoff do spend plenty of time enjoying casual activities outside their world-saving jobs.

While José Andrés' casual encounters with the Avengers quickly go sour thanks to the violent interruptions of villains like Electro and Ultron, the heart of the Meals to Astonish stories lies in what happens between battles. Andrés' efforts to change the world one meal at a time allow Marvel's exhausted superheroes to enjoy a genuine break from their duties, which Marvel rarely explores beyond annual holiday- and season-themed one-off stories and variant covers. Although Marvel Comics is all about action, the Avengers' team-ups with figures like Chef José Andrés are necessary every once in a while.

Which real-life celebrity would you like to see join the Avengers?

Meals to Astonish: Avengers #1 is available October 14 from Marvel Comics