Aegis is a superhero lost in the pages of comics because he was never given a chance to ascend in comic book storytelling. Tons of other Black characters have met the same fate as him, and I am here to shed light on who they are and why writers should bring them back.
Who Is Aegis?
Aegis, AKA, Trey Rollins, is a young boy from Brooklyn who stumbled across an enchanted breastplate in an abandoned Brooklyn building. Trey donned the masked identity of Aegis to protect Brooklyn neighborhoods from ongoing gang wars. Soon, he joined the New Warriors.
The New Warriors, mostly Nova, didn’t trust Aegis at first because he was the only hero on the team not to reveal his secret identity. He got the team involved in a gang war, which only deepened doubts about trusting him. Fortunately, after he revealed his identity and owned up to his mistakes, the New Warriors helped bring things to a halt. After that, Aegis led the team in combat as a leader of sorts in New Warriors #10 against Hercules and won. This earned him the full respect of his peers.
After being in comic book limbo after his debut in New Warriors, and a short cameo in a X-Factor Civil War tie-in, Trey Rollins met an untimely demise in Incredible Hercules #127. While his spirit guided Hercules and a young Amadeus Cho through Enebrus, the in-between space that leads to Tartarus, that was the last we’ve seen of him. There’s much that we don’t know, and so much that should be explored with his story. That’s why I believe Marvel NEEDS to bring him back.
Powers and Abilities
Aegis donned a golden breastplate gifted to him by Athena that grants him super strength, force field creation, energy absorption and disbursement, and invulnerability to what he can see. So far, the biggest thing we’ve seen him do with the invulnerability is tank a strike from the fists of Hercules, so I’m sure he can tank more than we give him credit for!
Marvel Tossed Him to the Wolves
Trey Rollin’s death came out of thin air. It felt unnecessary, and quite frankly, lazy of Marvel to kill him off as a way to tell a story. We’ve seen him make one, possibly two appearances before his appearance in Incredible Hercules #127. I hate that he died six pages in to serve as a plot point to bring in Amadeus Cho. What made his death feel less than Athena leaving his dead body to Hera and saying that he should’ve been stronger. We know the Greek gods aren’t the best when it comes to being truthful, but they took a complete 180° on her calling Trey her perfect champion.
How to Revive Aegis
What made Aegis’ death even worse was that he acted as a guide for Amadeus in Erebrus and was never seen again in comics. Marvel faced a reboot and many retcons, yet he was left out. There’s a way for them to remedy this, and they don’t have to enact a complete reboot or retcon anything to bring him back.
Escaping Erebus
Marvel uses Erebus as a place for Marvel heroes to await resurrection. Marvel can write a miniseries–or make it an event–that uses Aegis teaming up with other heroes awaiting resurrection in Erubus to escape through an opening in Tartarus to come back to life. Of course, not all will make it, but the story will serve as Aegis leading like he did in his battle on Olympus. His biggest hurdle throughout the entire escape is releasing himself from the notion that he wasn’t good enough to be Athena’s champion and that she won’t be there to save him. This miniseries or event can run for four to six issues. If done right, not only will they have more characters to work with (because of revival), but they’ll also put a spotlight on Aegis as a hero, which can lead to an ongoing series.
Your Friendly Neighbourhood Aegis
Aegis is big on protecting the world, but primarily protecting Brooklyn. His ongoing series serves the same purpose as your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, except it’s Aegis. We haven’t seen Trey protect his neighborhood outside of the gang war in New Warriors (1999) and the opening pages of Incredible Hercules #127. This ongoing will bring the hero back to his stomping grounds to a new, transformed Brooklyn that has learned to survive without him. He’ll have to find his place as a hero in a neighborhood that no longer needs him. Add in a new super soldier serum, mythical threats, and other street-level threats that the rest of Marvel’s heroes are not paying attention to.
With Trey escaping Tartarus, having an incomplete soul, and a useless breastplate, it would be perfect for him to challenge the Olympian gods to challenge him for the rights to the breastplate or a brand new one. The challenges take place in his neighborhood or on Olympus itself, which bleeds over into his neighborhood. The ongoing series will feature guest appearances by Hercules, Miles Morales, Luke Cage, the surviving New Warriors, Captain America (Sam Wilson), and other mythological heroes of the Marvel universe.
I can see Aegis rebirthing a new generation of New Warriors. That would be SICK! Either that, or have him bring back Heroes for Hire. That would work because he needs money, but he has reservations about being heroic for cash.
Aegis Is A Perfect Hero for the New Generation
Aegis could be another big face for the newer generation of young Black readers, just like Miles Morales. If done correctly, Aegis will be a breath of fresh air, revitalizing Black storytelling in the comic book medium. He’s a Black man who grew up in a rough neighborhood and overcame all odds by becoming a superhero to his community. Aegis’ story will inspire young Black readers to be heroes in their own right for the communities they come from.
What other Black heroes do you think deserve a second chance at being revived in mainstream comic book media? Tune in next week for another look at Unmasked History. Subscribe to my Substack, blog, and be sure to follow me on Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky, and Threads.
Signing off,
Michael
