The Avengers #1 review
You’d be forgiven for tracking down your eye rolling emojis whenever Marvel Comics promised some big change to the status quo. It only feels like every year there’s a new groundbreaking shift in the landscape. But with The Avengers #1, Marvel might be on to a new run with some staying power.
On every level, Avengers #1 feels like an A-List book. It’s the players on center stage with a team consisting of Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Hulk, Doctor Strange and Ghost Rider. That’s a lineup worthy of the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes tag. Equally as impressive is the creative team behind the scenes of writer Jason Aaron, artist Ed McGuinness, inker Mark Morales and colorist David Curiel.
Absentee Marvel fans don’t have to know everything that’s gone down in the last two years of continuity to quickly catch up. Aaron made Avengers #1 just as easy a read for lapsed and movie fans as he did for faithful Marvel readers.
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The Avengers Big 3 of Cap, Iron Man and Thor have reconnected and are somewhat unsure of their future. Cap is not surprisingly, ready to get the band back together. Iron Man is more reluctant since the Avengers operated just fine without them.
But that day unlike any other arises once again to set things in motion to justify the return of the Avengers. Black Panther and Doctor Strange are already investigating an odd occurrence and Captain Marvel is alerted to an outer space threat. Ghost Rider and Jennifer Walters have no clue what’s in store.
While the alien invasion angle seems a little played, Aaron brings enough freshness to it so it doesn’t come off like a retread. Especially with the threat level of said invasion. In just the first issue Aaron shows a terrific level of comprehension of the character dynamics.
Cap, Thor and Iron Man sitting at a bar was a lot of fun and the banter between Black Panther and Doctor Strange was engaging. Aaron already seems to be making good on his statement that he sees Black Panther as an A+ player fully capable of turning the Avengers Big 3 to a Big 4.
McGuinness’ pencils look incredible. He might be the best in the business of drawing in an animated style that doesn’t look too simplified and contains a ton of detail. I also appreciate how McGuinness handles the little things so smoothly like Iron Man, Cap and Thor having different builds or Stark snapping his Shirley Temple umbrella after getting an alert. Curiel’s color work is vibrant and bombastic. After so many moody moments in recent Marvel events, the bright colors are a nice signal to a more classic sense of storytelling.
Aaron also builds on the mystery of the original Avengers team as they confront the same threat that returns to face the current Avengers. Marvel’s latest tweaking to its universe might warrant a wait and see approach, but Avengers #1 assures this title is definitely one worth grabbing right away.
Rating: 10 out of 10
Photo Credit: Marvel Comics