*of course, huge spoilers ahead*
Avengers #25
Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Salvador Larroca
Coloured by Frank Martin
Cover by Mike Deodato and Frank Martin
Dated March 2014
Let’s kick things off in high fashion—that’s a Mike Deodato cover, but guess what!? No Mike Deodato inside! That’s right, it’s Salvador Larroca’s ball game, and I’m a happy, happy man.
Art-wise, that is.
Now over the course of 25 issues (not including the sister-series New Avengers or the event mini Infinity) Jonathan Hickman has built up quite the impressive new mythos for the Avengers. He’s shown us the creators of the universe, the destruction of a few different Earths, introduced us to new Avengers, flew us to space, beat up Thanos and had the Earth almost go sentient. He’s incorporated New Universe elements in Nightmask and Starbrand, revived (and made relevant again) the Captain Universe concept, brought Hyperion back in the game and kicked Wolverine out. That right there seems like quite the impressive list, but it’s the way he’s told these tales that really gets my goat. It’s all build up; all promise. Whenever a game-changing moment occurs, it’s usually via some poorly earned, out of left-field victory. There is an abundance of concepts on the table, but whenever Hickman actually tries to do anything with them, it’s often disappointing. He’s mastered the anticipation—I credit him that; but it’s to the point where we’re all getting sick of the gimmick.
He promised (and continues to promise) us “all things come to an end”. Boy, after reading this issue, I wish they would.
We open with SHIELD touching down in a crater in New York City. Something nuts probably happend, but we don’t get the details, just the punch-line—Hank Pym is dead! Or so it looks.
Shoot back to AIM Island and we witness (over the course of five talky but insubstantial pages) the scientists booting up their newest toy. Remember how way back near the start of this series we learned that AIM plucked Hyperion from an alternate universe as it all came crashing down? Well, they figured they’d try it again, but—OOPS! Seems this time they pluck out a whole team of Avengers, fresh from a dimensional collapse!
Well, these alternate Avengers look just like ours (albeit with some old-fashioned costumes), but what about character? They decide to high-tail it off of AIM Island and head straight to New York City. So far, they seem pretty Avengersey. But wait! Thor decides people should bow before him, whips out his hammer and makes a big mess of the city street. SHIELD takes notice, calls in the real Avengers for questioning, and because SHIELD isn’t all that bright, they wonder if these two teams aren’t one and the same. Holding our heroes at gunpoint over a misunderstanding? You really think that’s drama, Hickman?
This issue is nothing but lost opportunity. First, the concept of an evil team of Avengers doppelgangers really isn’t all that interesting. Second, Hickman wanted to make both teams similar enough that an organization like SHIELD might think “hey, they dressed up in their 70s costumes and went on a rampage”. That’s stupid. He had free reign to create an alternate version of the Avengers and what did he do? He put them in old uniforms and said they were bad guys.
If there’s one interesting thing to note, it’s the actions of AIM. Upon watching the evil Avengers take off, they decide to stop messing around and to quit picking stuff up out of that bleed-space between universes. They want to get in there themselves! That could be fun.
So from the looks of things, the Avengers of now (or NOW, as Marvel likes to remind us) are going to duke it out with evil versions of the Avengers of old. I put up with Hickman using comic book clichés as a crutch (“Hulk smash”, anyone?) but the ol’evil doppelgangers trick has been done to death. There’s even something of a subtle apology hidden in the AIM leader’s dialogue… “What came out of the portal is of less significance than the fact that something came out at all”. That’s no excuse. He’s got so much to work with, and this is the story we get after Infinity? What if dark Avengers came to town (no, not those Dark Avengers)? Yawn! Yawn! Yawn! (I’ve never yawned so aggressively before!)
Look, we know our Hank Pym isn’t really dead. We know the Avengers are going to start a little brouhaha with either SHIELD (due to the misunderstanding), their evil doubles, or both.
On the upside, we have Salvador Larroca’s very capable art in the driver seat.
On every other side, it looks like we’re in for one dull story arc. I hope it’s a short one (hint: it’s not).
Avengers #26
Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Salvador Larroca
Coloured by Frank Martin
Cover by Mike Deodato and Frank Martin
Dated April 2014
Let’s…attempt…to start things off, once again, on a positive note. Remember how I said, last issue, that the one interesting thing Jonathan Hickman plugged in was the fact that AIM was going to start exploring the multiverse? Well, that’s sort of the focus in this issue…so that’s a good thing, I guess.
First, let’s treat ourselves to one of the dumber scenes you’re likely to find in Hickman’s Avengers (regrettably, that’s saying a lot). A while back, before that whole Infinity mess, the Avengers took on a bland, smooth, one-eyed robot and got their butts handed to them in Perth, Australia. They were all knocked out for a while, and thanks to a flashback in this issue, we learn that the AIM scientists came by, took DNA samples (by drilling into the arms of knocked out Avengers? Are you kidding me?) and went home before anybody noticed. They later took those samples and pumped them into a machine that created new Adaptoid robots… that basically look like gray, blobby mash-ups of the Avengers. And here I was thinking the evil twin concept was overused! Yes, Hickman needs to spin his own on the Adaptoid formula, and it’s as bland as ever.
Turns out AIM created the newest batch of Adaptoids to endure the impossible travelling of the multiverse. But that, folks, does not an issue make. They decide to take their new toys for a spin and attack to those pesky evil Avengers.
The ensuing fight results in the revelation that the evil Dr. Banner/Hulk was being controlled via an old-timey remote that Wasp used (which gets crushed, oh so easily, setting Banner free). Oh, and one of the Adaptoids kills the evil Hank Pym. But we knew that.
The evilVengers eventually take off, leaving Pym’s corpse behind and allowing Banner to escape. We later find out he ran away and bumped into good Banner, but that’s as juicy as it gets. AIM then decide to take their toys home and the Adaptoids ditch their mash-up Avengers look in favor of a generic, featureless, one-eyed drone look. We go from stupid looking gray robots to stupider looking dark blue robots. In fact, stupid is the wrong term. These baddies look dull. Boring. Uninspired. Okay, stupid too.
Fortunately, when we pick up the plot with the (real) Avengers and SHIELD, things don’t go the sour and predictable route. There’s no huge melee to sort things out. It’s as simple as the Avengers explaining something’s up and Iron Man tracks the new bad guys. Again, dull, drawn out and basically filler, I’m trying to be thankful that this scene didn’t, at least, resort to comic book cliché.
This story is taking baby-steps (because remember, this is Jonathan Hickman) and going nowhere. I can’t say I’m looking forward to the next issue, but somewhere down the road all those neat characters and concepts Hickman set-up must pay off, right? It must all come to some grand conclusion, yeah?
Don’t hold onto that hope too tightly, it’s going to be awhile…