This week, Marvel solicitations revealed that New Avengers, Mighty Avengers, Dark Avengers and Avengers: The Initiative would all be "cancelled" in the wake of the current crossover, Siege.

Now, although Marvel has been known to cancel a profitable book to service the overall brand, there's no way it's going to kill off an entire franchise, especially when it's responsible for two of its strongest selling books.

So the question, essentially, isn't ‘will they relaunch these books?', it's how will they relaunch them?

The smart money says that a book called simply Avengers will be making its first appearance since 2005, probably from a new #1 issue, rather than immediately picking up the old numbering, though. That way they can make a big deal out of #600 a few months down the line.

Dark Avengers is the strangest player in this game. Marvel's biggest-selling ongoing essentially hijacked the concept and cast of Thunderbolts, leaving that book floundering a little, so it's possible they'll fold back into that title and buoy it up substantially. If nothing else, Dark Avengers is a book heavily tied into the current crossover, so it won't be surprising if it gets properly dissolved at the end of Siege without a replacement. Marvel will comfortably expect any Avengers relaunch to outsell Dark Avengers anyway.

New Avengers is a book that originally took the place of Avengers in Marvel's publishing slate, but as the strongest performer, besides Dark Avengers, it's also the most likely to stick around. New Avengers is a strong brand that Marvel won't jettison lightly, and with Thor, Cap and Iron Man back together in Avengers, well, maybe there'll still be space somewhere for Luke Cage, Wolverine and Spider-Man's street-level "New Avengers".

Mighty Avengers is also a likely candidate to disappear. At the moment, it fills a hole in the publishing slate as the Avengers book for people who liked the original Avengers team, though obviously, it's not quite seen as the equivalent by Marvel because it's being allowed to languish, mid-tied.

Slott is a writer who Marvel is fond of, though, so it would be strange for him to have his ongoing book taken away from him and no new work has been suggested just yet. The jury is still out on Mighty Avengers' fate - but whatever the book returns as, it probably won't be called Mighty Avengers, at least.

Avengers: The Initiative was barely an Avengers title anyway, so it's no surprise that it's getting cancelled, especially considering that the whole Initiative concept will presumably be done with once Norman Osborn falls and HAMMER disbands. It has, however, been given a successor already in the form of the rumoured Avengers Academy book, which, it seems, will fold it into the franchise more definitively.

There is also speculation that the place of New/Dark/Mighty Avengers might actually be taken up by a single Avengers title which, Spider-Man style, comes out three times a month. A bold move, if true, but welcome. Regardless of the marriage issue, Amazing Spider-Man has creatively thrived under its thrice-monthly schedule.

The only dangling thread left, of course, is Allan Heinberg's Young Avengers. Joe Quesada recently confirmed that work on part of the second volume was complete, but it doesn't seem like it'll be ready in time for the inevitable Avengers franchise relaunch - or will the sort-of-announced Avengers: Children's Crusade take its place entirely?

Time will tell, but between this and the coming X-Men reshuffle, it's an exciting time for Marvel fans who are looking for a jumping on point - or, in fairness - a jumping off point.

James writes Alternate Cover every Monday at Den Of Geek. His previous column can be found here.