Foreword and Acknowledgements

On the week of June 6, 2022, writer OrionPax09 passed away following a long illness, according to his fellow members of the art group Silver Cow Studios, which they confirmed on his DeviantArt profile. Though he's written a number of other stories (and created a number of art pieces inspired by same), it's his Superwomen of EVA 'series' that's gained something of a cult following. For a refresher, the Superwomen of EVA series is a group of stories that depicts what happens when the female main and supporting characters of the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion gain the powers and mantles of various Marvel Comics superheroes, and the massive impact (no pun intended) this leaves on the events of Evangelion's story (spoiler alert, for the better, of course). The relative popularity of these stories in turn inspired a 'sister' series written by Mike313, though with them taking on DC Comics characters instead. The only exception was when Orion and Mike 'swapped' universes in the case of EVA supporting character Hikari, with Orion penning the first five chapters of 'Hunter's Legacy', in which Hikari becomes the Superwomen of EVA version of Ms. Martian; and Mike kinda/sorta penning her 'Marvel' tale with 'Spirit', though whatever Marvel connection there is minute. With Orion's passing, he left behind a number of stories that remain incomplete, with the one that started it all, the Misato-as-She-Hulk-centered 'Emerald Fury', being the most recently-updated.

After seeing Evangelion proper (the original TV series and the original two movies) for the first time, thanks to its debut on Netflix in 2019, I somehow found myself (via TV Tropes) falling down the rabbit hole that is EVA fanfiction, and the Superwomen of EVA series (both of them!) played a significant part. I even had the rare occasion to exchange messages back-and-forth with Orion (though thankfully our conversations never devolved into what I've heard and seen in other parts of the web), and even went so far as to favorite a number of artistic renderings by him of the Superwomen of EVA themselves on his DeviantArt profile. (Which in turn led me to doing a few 'tribute' pieces of my own.) When I learned from marcoasalazarm of Orion's passing, to say I was surprised was a bit of an understatement. In further conversation with marcoasalazarm, we bandied about ideas of a way to honor the guy's memory. So far, nothing's come of these talks yet, but...a little while after that, something hit me.

For the past couple of months, I was on a bit of a Superwomen of EVA re-reading streak, beginning with Mike's DC-themed tales (the completed ones, that is) before reading Orion's (the only complete ones being the one-shots focusing on the mother characters, except for 'Triple-Threat', which was the only one I didn't like), and eventually winding up with a re-read of 'Spirit'. It was after finishing that where I decided to follow through on an idea I'd toyed with in my own notes. Throughout 'Spirit' and a few of Orion's stories, there were hints and mentions of a story that would bring the Marvelous Superwomen of EVA together as the Avengers, simply titled 'Heroes United'. But with Orion's passing, that will unfortunately not come to pass. So in light of that, I decided to take a page from Toasterman when they set out to successfully rewrite the late 94Saturn's 'A Glass of Wine', titled 'A Glass of Wine Rebuilt'. Like them when it came to 94Saturn, while I wasn't a friend of Orion's, just a reader, I was a fan of his work and saddened by his passing, and wanted to do a tribute to one of the many fanfic writers, and their stories, that got me into writing myself. So with that said, for the following story, I'm going to attempt to do what OrionPax09 couldn't and bring the Marvel-themed Superwomen of EVA together as the Avengers. It may be different from what they'd intended (whatever it was), but that's the point of a tribute-something different, but keeping the spirit intact.

Before the story begins, I'd like to acknowledge marcoasalazarm for the conversation that helped spark this story; Lexarius and GainaxVel3o, for occasionally letting me bounce ideas off them; Mike313, who also had a hand in spurring this idea on, as well as allowed me to keep Hikari/Spirit as part of the proceedings; and Archdruid-Sephiroth, who allowed me to keep Mayumi/Storm as part of the proceedings as well.

Now then-as Stan the Man once proclaimed, face-front, true believers! Prepare for what hopefully is the most exciting story in the Superwomen of EVA 'canon'! Orion, wherever you are, I only hope I do the concept justice...

*Disclaimer: I own nothing of Gainax, Khara, Marvel Comics, or Disney. Superwomen of EVA concept originated by OrionPax09.*