Another fresh start for Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
The Avengers franchise has been in an almost constant state of flux over the past decade. Marvel is constantly launching or relaunching new Avengers comics, each with their own creative teams, rosters and mission statements. The latest volume of Avengers replaces All-New, All-Different Avengers, retaining writer Mark Waid but welcoming a new artist and pruning the roster. The result is a solid debut issue, but not one that inspires the same level of excitement Waid's Champions #1 did a few weeks ago.
The fact that Avengers and Champions now exist as two distinct books may be the biggest hurdle this new series faces. All-New, All-Different Avengers had its problems, certainly, but the dynamic between veteran heroes like Sam Wilson and Vision and teen rookies like Kamala Khan and Miles Morales made the book worth reading. It loses something crucial in the shift to an all-adult cast. The addition of Hercules and Peter Parker to the mix certainly helps keep the humor level high, but there's still a certain something missing. It doesn't help that this issue represent the dangers involved in pushing Peter's new status quo as a billionaire industrialist too far. He's quickly starting to come across as Tony Stark 2.0 and losing that inherent everyman quality that makes him such an iconic hero in the first place.
The good news is that Waid's ongoing Kang conflict builds some necessary steam in this issue. Kang also served as the first major villain of ANAD Avengers, but that conflict failed to really coalesce. But here, the fact that multiple versions of Kang have joined forces helps set this latest Avengers vs. Kang battle apart. More importantly, the fact that Vision is both the catalyst and (arguably) the villain of this arc helps prevent it from playing out as a straightforward clash between good and evil. Vision was easily the most compelling team member in the previous book, and that shows no sign of changing here.
Artist Mike Del Mundo brings a very unique look to this series, though one that isn't without its drawbacks. Del Mundo is unquestionable a talented artist, rendering some of the most creative and striking cover images in the industry and breathing new life into the more surreal corners of the Marvel Universe. The problem is that Del Mundo's style doesn't necessarily suit every series. It's very surreal and psychedelic, and applying that to a more traditional superhero book rather than something like Weirdworld is sometimes like trying to smash a square peg into a round hole.
Waid does a great job of tailoring this issue to Del Mundo's style. Del Mundo's is a great fit for those weird moments where Kang and the Scarlet Centurion bound through the timestream and reality begins to unravel. The opening battle against a Frost Giant also kicks off the story on a very colorful and eye-popping note. But in the more ordinary, dialogue-driven scenes, Del Mundo's art seems out of place. He certainly brings an energy to those sequences through his varied facial expressions and body language, but the art creates a surreal tone even when the script doesn't call for it.
The Verdict
Mark Waid's Avengers saga begins its new stage on slightly rockier ground. The team dynamic definitely suffers from the fact that the younger characters have departed to form their own team, and new recruits like Spider-Man and Hercules don't do enough to make up for that loss. But at least the Kang conflict is heating up. Plus, Del Mundo's art is incredibly striking, even if it occasionally gives the issue a more surreal tone than necessary.
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