Gang, our Avengers #675 review is a little SPOILER-Y, so…check back with us after you’ve read the issue. Oh? Still here? Thank you!
Writers: Mark Waid, Al Ewing & Jim Zub
Artist: Pepe Larraz
Colorist: David Curiel
Ever since Marvel Comics took a page from DC’s playbook and did their version of “Rebirth” with “Legacy,” many questions have arisen as to what’s in store next for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
“Legacy” gave Marvel the promising, spectacular restart the company needed regarding titles mired in poor sales and even poorer storylines.
One of the biggest storylines is a 16-issue (with each issue coming out weekly!) event which culls together every variation of the Avengers team: the Uncanny, the U.S., Champions, Occupy, and every other version. Basically, any hero who is or ever has been an Avenger is in this title, as well as quite a few fan-favorite X-Men.
In this first entry, the story starts with Earth and the moon apparently disappearing. Of course, there are many heroes on Earth and they are separated from their counterparts who are off-world, such as Captain Marvel and Alpha Flight. Because of this sudden shift, many disasters spring up all over the world, keeping every hero busy.
After most of the disasters are averted, a mysterious force freezes most of the major heroes and villains — namely Captain America, Vision, Spider-Man, Black Panther, the original Wasp, the X-Men Gold team, Squirrel Girl, and many others. This leaves Citizen V and Rogue to place an emergency call to every active and reserve Avenger to assemble to try and figure out what’s going on while also taking on usual Avengers duties.
So, with only a few A-listers left, it’s mostly up to the B and C teams to step up and take on responsibilities they never shouldered before.
What I didn’t like about this issue was the constant scene switching which doesn’t give readers much time to become emotionally invested in the situations or the characters. Some of the dialogue was much too childish (Wasp Jr. comes to mind) and there were too many little asides that tried to be funny but ultimately failed.
Overall, the story simply didn’t come close to the potential of greatness that was conveyed in “Legacy;” but there is potential, nonetheless.
What I did like was the art by Pepe Larraz, with every character masterfully drawn. Because of the scope of this storyline, with dozens and dozens of characters, Marvel throws in the proverbial kitchen sink and has room to do more. I’m happy to hear they’ve chosen 16 issues to wrap up this story as, most times, the appropriate number of issues isn’t given.
And I do like the idea of bringing forward B-list and C-list heroes to save the day. I also like that they’re actually saving people instead of beating on villains or fighting each other.
Like DC’s “Rebirth” and the teasing of Mr. Oz, Marvel’s tease since “Legacy” leads to the promising twist at the end of this issue, which pretty much rewrites some of the Avengers’ history and leads to many, many questions — the most prominent being: Who is Voyager? By the looks of the cover to issue #676, she was an original member of the Avengers, but she hasn’t been seen for quite some time. What’s more intriguing is all the members standing around at the end of this issue seem to know who she is.
This issue is one of the better stories to come out of Marvel in the past few years, which isn’t saying too much since most of their storylines have been forgettable. But I look forward to seeing where Mark Waid and company take our heroes! They’ve got plenty of time to go to some great places, but they must walk the tightrope of balancing story and character development.
Was there anything you liked or disliked that I missed? Let us know in the comments!
