Not With a Bang, but With a Throwback: ANAD Avengers Finale Review

ANAD Avengers finishes off with an issue that has very little to do with the titular team, but is a bit of fun anyway.

Spoilers beyond this point.

The Civil War II tie-ins for the series have been pretty odd so far, focusing very little on either the Avengers as a team or the conundrum of whether to utilize visions of the future or not. Fortunately, this issue puts the spotlight right back on those two elements. Just… not the ones you were expecting.

If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll have noticed that the last few issues have been showing how the members of the team who don’t have tie-ins in their solo series respond to the ongoing Civil War. I personally feel this is a bit of a let down; it would be much more interesting to see how the divided loyalties affect the team as whole. Using the last few issues of the comic as a vehicle to fill in some gaps, rather than a big finish that launches Champions and Avengers is a pretty big disappointment, and shows that Marvel doesn’t particularly care for this team any more.

That’s especially evident in this issue, which appears to be about Thor based on the cover and synopsis, but the majority of it is taken up by an extended flashback to an adventure with the classic Avengers lineup: the original iterations of Captain America, Iron Man, Giant-Man, Wasp and Thor.

 Now, I’m going to stop complaining about not expecting what we got, and review it instead. Because, despite everything, it’s a pretty fun throwback.

I love the way Hank Pym feels the need to be giant even in casual situations.

The premise for it is pretty simple: Present day Thor decides to ask her good friend Heimdall for advice on what to do about all the predictive justice business, because Asgardians are known for their intricate understanding of human policies. In response, Heimdall decides to tell her the story of the time the Avengers came to him for advice on whether to intervene in the Latverian invasion of a neighbouring country.  He’s reluctant at first, but when pressed he uses his future vision to tell them that they may win the battle, but Doom will still triumph. Naturally, they go off to fight him anyway.

With all this Infamous Iron Man business going on, I've really missed classic Doctor Doom

They win, as predicted, but Doom activates one of his many contingencies, which destroys the invaded country’s natural resources, forcing them to join Latveria to survive (not sure what Doom will do with them since he destroyed their economy, but sure).

So the moral of Heimdall’s story is… I’m not entirely sure? I would say it’s to not trust visions of the future, but the Avengers didn’t trust his vision fully, otherwise they would’ve known Doom would win.

Fine, the moral is "Never underestimate Doom". Happy?

Other than that, the writing is pretty strong in this issue. The adventure feels like it could’ve been lifted right out of one of the classic Avengers comics, and the art and coloring reflect the same.

So while it’s a bit disappointing that we didn’t get one last round with the team that could’ve been amazing, but wasn’t, going back to the classics was at least a fun way to end of the series.

We may not have got much of Jane in the issue, but what we did get was priceless

Now, will I miss the All New All Different Avengers? That seems like an easy question at first, look at any of my reviews and it’s pretty clear that I felt the whole thing reeked of wasted potential, from the mischaracterization to the ineffectual villains to the mediocre art to the weak dialogue. But all the same, it’s a team of characters whom I absolutely love, and it makes me a bit sad that we’ll not get to see the greatness they might’ve achieved together.

And that’s not to say it didn’t have its moments. It brought together Kamala Khan, Miles Morales and Sam Alexander, the three of whom are shaping to be one of my favorite trios of all time, and who are now starring in the far better Champions.

Well, it had to start somewhere.

We also got a romance between Jane Foster and Sam Wilson, and with it our delight at how outraged certain people got over a black Captain America kissing a female Thor.

And the cover art for the whole series, done by Alex Ross, has been glorious. 

And we got this panel here, which I will always treasure.

Live the dream, Kamala.

So, while I’m glad it’s over, and splitting into two hopefully better series, I’d be lying if I said I won’t miss it just a little bit. Farewell, ANAD Avengers. You may have mildly entertained me for almost a year, but we all have a time to go.

Avengers, disassemble.

Aranwe Quirke is a totally real, definitely not made up name. No, you may not see the birth certificate.

The Next Generation: Champions #1 Review

The most important part of any superhero team is the reason they have for existing. The Uncanny Avengers act as a crucial bridge between Mutants, Inhumans, and everyone else as tensions rise, the Ultimates solve the cosmic issues threatening the planet, and so on. And in a universe with these, and half a dozen other such teams, the (All-New All-Different) Avengers just seemed… aimless. It was a team of some of Marvel’s most popular and trendy heroes for the sake of it, without a thought as to how these characters would work together, or what their purpose would be beyond holding the prestigious title.

And that’s kind of why it flopped somewhat. Mark Waid isn’t a bad writer, nor is Mahmud Asrar a bad artist, but everything about the series felt like everyone involved wasn’t very invested in it.

Now, from the yet to be revealed ashes that Civil War II left behind, rise the Champions, a team that looks like it might have real purpose again.

Spoilers beyond this point.

The issue kicks off with Kamala in a sort of retired state, and a flashback explaining why she quit the Avengers: the other heroes being reluctant to help clean up the collateral damage their last battle caused.

It’s clearly a much deeper issue than that though, and more like the breaking point for a number of unresolved tensions, undoubtedly stemming from whatever the hell happened at the end of Civil War II. Spider-Man and Nova apparently already quit earlier, and while they are happy to see Kamala on their side again, they’re a bit more reluctant to get on board her next plan: forming their own team.

Kamala, Miles, and Sam are this generation's Golden Trio. I love it.

She manages to convince them anyway, and they set about finding some more young heroes who may be interested, namely Hulk (Amadeus Cho) and Vivian, daughter of Vision.

Viv sweeps the net for any crimes they can help stop, and they discover a group of young girls being held hostage by a human trafficker.

It’s a surprisingly dark challenge for them to take on in the first issue, and the fact that one of the captives dies during the (overall successful) rescue attempt makes it even more so.

Hulk is ready to smash the kidnapper into a million pieces, and the crowd of onlookers filming him on their phones have no problem with that at all.

But then Ms. Marvel steps in, and gives a pretty awesome, and pretty relevant speech, while we get glimpses of a bunch of different young superheroes. It’s an uplifting moment, and an excellent note to end the issue on.

Heavy handed? Yes. Necessary? Hell yes.

Overall, I have a lot of hope for this series. While the plot was fairly straightforward, Mark Waid is already portraying the characters way better than he did in ANAD Avengers, and the rapport between the main three is a delight.

One issue I have is with the timing. Civil War II is over a month away from its conclusion and a lot of the events and the overall climate in this comic is based on what happens then. Another is the art. It’s a mixed bag for me, Humberto Ramos does an excellent job of stills and backgrounds, less so with faces and action scenes. At times, the art is exaggerated to the point of annoyance. Regardless, it works for most of the issue, and the coloring by Edgar Delgado during the flashback scenes is excellent.

Have a poorly drawn Kamala face, for old times' sake.

It just feels so good to have a team with a purpose, and the fact that the purpose is making people believe in heroes again after Civil War II (both in and out of universe) makes it all the more compelling. 

Aranwe Quirke is a totally real, definitely not made up name. No, you may not see the birth certificate.

Beelonging: ANAD Avengers #14 Review

ANAD Avengers #14 continues the trend set by its predecessor– an issue only slightly related to the Civil War II logo on the cover, which focuses on one Avenger in particular. And, like last time, it works surprisingly well, better than most of the series.

Spoilers beyond this point.

Ah, Nadia Pym. I was waiting for you to show a bit more character beyond being hyperactively excited all the time, and you finally delivered.

The issue picks up where we last left the two Wasps (and Jarvis) two issues ago– confronted by a group of men who are supposedly from the Russian consulate, here to deport Nadia.

Apparently they're either time travellers, or haven't got new badges for a good twenty five years.

Something immediately catches my attention- the art is much, much better! Sure enough, Adam Kubert is the artist for this issue, and it looks miles better than the usual ANADA fare.

The plot is weirdly disjointed. After figuring out these dudes are actually Agents of WHISPER and beating them up, that whole storyline screeches to a halt as they catch sight of a news broadcast on TV about the conflict over Ulysses and what happened as a result.

Basically everyone's reaction to Civil War II

Nadia flips out over this, and immediately sets herself to work on a scientific solution to the problem in her nano-lab, where time goes at a faster rate (SCIENCE!). Much like her father, she soon gets lost way too deep in her work, and it takes Janet to save her from it as it literally blows up in her face.

It’s honestly a very odd story, but also oddly sweet. Nadia’s reaction to the Civil War is one a lot of fans can probably identify with, and her desperation to fix the problem says a lot about what kind of person she is.

Janet also gets her time to shine. As the new Wasp’s step-mother/mentor, she’s acting as the reins to Nadia’s constant driving force, and the relationship between the two of them seems sweet.

Overall, I’d say this comic did it’s main job pretty well: Getting me interested in this fall’s The Unstoppable Wasp series.

Subtle.

Aranwe Quirke is a totally real, definitely not made up name. No, you may not see the birth certificate.

Everybody Wants to Be the King: ANAD Avengers #13 Review

Going into ANAD Avengers #13, I was unsure what to expect. Civil War II hasn’t exactly been a great crossover event, and ANAD Avengers hasn’t exactly been a great comic. What I was somehow hoping was that the fusion of the two might produce something interesting that would be greater than the sum of its parts.

Well, I certainly got interesting, though it has basically nothing to do with either Civil War II or the Avengers. What I ended up reading felt like Waid’s attempt at writing an issue of Tom King’s excellent Vision series.

Although he's taking it a bit far with the narration boxes.

Like the Tom King series, much of the story is told through narration, complete with ominous foreshadowing every few pages. It is somewhat more dynamic though, with a lot more action, and a more diverse setting than a simple suburban neighborhood. This is reflected in Adam Kubert’s fantastically detailed and well-shaded art, a very welcome break from the last several issues.

The basic plot resembles, of all things, the first season of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, as Vision jumps though time to track down and stop Kang the Conqueror before his rise to power (and, on a more personal level, before he can hack Vision and make him attack his teammates).

So a time machine has been in Peter Parker's company HQ all this time. Okay.

As far as Civil War II goes, all we get is a brief conversation Vision has with Ulysses on the morality of killing baby Hitler. The exchange provides no response to that question, though it explains his powers don’t work that way. So, basically it's just there to get that logo on the cover.

Vision knows better than to get dragged into that mess.

The story ends on a strangely ambiguous note for a solo, standalone issue. Vision is whispered to by one of the strange shadowy creatures who have been following him through time, and whatever is said to him causes him to kidnap baby Kang rather than kill him, and all the while the narration promises the Avengers will feel the resonance of his decision in years to come.

And, that’s it. Can I just mention, for a moment, how tired I am of game changing whispers that we don’t get to hear? It happened with the Odinson formerly known as Thor a few years ago, and we still don’t know what Fury said to him. And now, whatever it turned out to be, if we ever find out, will be inevitably disappointing. The same applies here.

Rant over, sorry.

Overall, while this was a vast improvement over the issues preceding it, it’s really hard to call it an Avengers comic. At this point though, I’ll take anything to salvage this series, even if it is destroying the premise.

'Paradox be damned' is something I really need to see in more time travel stories

Aranwe Quirke is a totally real, definitely not made up name. No, you may not see the birth certificate.

The Search for Spidey: ANAD Avengers #12 Review

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.

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).

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.

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.

The (Almost) Final Frontier: ANAD Avengers #11 Recap

Every month, I read the latest issue of ANAD Avengers in the hopes that maybe, maybe the series will have miraculously improved. And every month, I remain disappointed.

And the worst part is that I honestly can’t see why it’s all going so wrong. The team roster is excellent, and Mark Waid has shown he can be a really good writer with his work on things like Superman: Birthright and the Archie reboot.

Anyway,  #11 picks up where the previous issue left off, with the Avengers in the trapped in the Negative Zone, in the clutches of Annihilus. Spider-Man and Nova let Ms. Marvel go through a whole inspiration speech to his other prisoners, before pointing out they don’t speak English.

Jerks.

Will every Avengers review open with a badly drawn Kamala face? MAYBE!!!

Meanwhile, Cap and Iron Man realize that the antimatter sun is poisoning Vision, while elsewhere, Thor has been locked in battle with Annihilus for hours, and in true supervillain fashion, he reveals his evil plan to… build a giant cannon to destroy the universe. Because reasons.

"Let me just go back to my excellent solo series!"

The younger Avengers manage to escape the mines, and they meet up with the rest to help Thor with her fight. Stark recognizes the Nega-Band Annihilus is wearing, and recalls a similar one on the planet they were on earlier, realizing that a portal can be formed between the two of them.

"No, Nova. I AM YOUR FATHER!" 

So the new game plan is to get the band off Annihilus, and they manage to do so by Stark fiddling around with Nova’s helmet and putting it on Vision to restore him to his full strength, with which they are able to succeed.

Kamala flying with Mjolnir in the last issue wasn't enough, they had to top that somehow

Thor opens up the portal, and they all head back to their dimension with all the other enslaved beings. Unfortunately they are terrible at counting, and in true Home Alone style, they realize they accidentally left Miles behind.

Whoops.

"Oh, mention an iPhone somewhere in the issue, the youths will love it!"

Now, I’m going to be brutally honest here. The plot is mediocre. The art is mediocre. The characterization is mediocre. The dialogue is mediocre. The villain is, you guessed it, mediocre. Literally the only positive I can think of is that the cover art is as fantastic as ever.

I never thought I’d say this, but a Civil War II tie-in might be exactly what this comic needs. Some compelling drama and character division, no matter how forced, would be better than what we have right now. Unfortunately, we’ve still got one more issue in this arc before that can happen.

Oh, and whatever happened to that Wasp teamup the last issue set up, huh?

Aranwe Quirke is a totally real, definitely not made up name. No, you may not see the birth certificate.