It’s no secret that I haven’t been a fan of the ANAD
Avengers series. It’s not bad per se, it’s just not… good either. And with the
phenomenal set of characters it has, that’s some seriously wasted potential.
For what it’s worth, #11, the end of the Annihilus arc, is
considerably better than the two preceding issues. While the characters, plot,
and motivations remain murky at best, there are at least some pretty fun
moments.
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| Come on Kamala, it wasn't that bad. |
Like the battle against Kang earlier in this series, Waid
puts aside emotion for action, as he utilizes a fun sci-fi concept to it’s
maximum potential. There it was the use of time travel, causality and
paradoxes. Over here it’s inter-dimensional travel, as the Avengers repeatedly
utilize the nega-bands to swap places with each other in the Negative Zone, and
take turns using their powers to take down Annihilus and his weapon. I won’t
deny that it was somewhat enjoyable, despite some slightly wonky concepts (such
as Mjolnir being able to cross dimensions).
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| The keep trying to top that time Kamala flew with Mjolnir. They won't. |
There’s even a fun B-Plot involving the two Wasps, Janet and
Nadia, as they bond and basically have a great time as they hang out together.
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| It's not a B-Plot, it's a Wasp Plot! Amirite? |
Despite all that, this isn’t a great comic. The main issue
is that the writer simply doesn’t get the characters. As such, every line of
dialogue comes of feeling awkward and stilted. Meanwhile, Annihilus doesn’t
make a particularly interesting villain, and his evil plan has all the subtlety
of one of Marvin the Martian’s.
Overall, I wish I could say I’ll miss the series as it is,
what with half the team leaving to form the Champions, but I won’t. The Civil
War II tie in is coming up next, and it’s this comic’s last chance to prove itself.
Aranwe Quirke is a totally real, definitely not made up name. No, you may not see the birth certificate.
