West Coast Avengers [2024] #3 - Marvel Comics

WEST COAST AVENGERS No. 3, March 2025

Advertised as being the comic in which Iron Man and War Machine finally reveal just “how their Ultron became a hero”, Gerry Duggan’s storyline for Issue Three of “West Coast Avengers” probably didn’t live up to its audience’s expectations. Sure, the twenty-page periodical does provide its readers with some sort of insight into why one of Hank Pym’s mechanical monstrosities suddenly decided to join Tony Stark’s super-team whilst the convalescing artificial intelligence was orbiting the Earth. But precisely what the motivation for so shocking a change in behaviour could be is never debatably disclosed; “I will find out enemies, the Avengers, and make them allies. I will live to serve.”

Instead, the majority of this magazine has the “veteran of Deadpool, X-Men, Star Wars, and Gotham City” depicting just how dangerously dysfunctional this particular incarnation of the “Wackos” is, with the likes of both Blue Bolt and Firestar appearing to be utterly incapable of following their team leader’s instructions. Indeed, arguably the highlight of this book is Tommy Watt’s repeated attempts to best the One and his cyborg-cultists against Iron Man's wishes, only to keep being continually flattened by them.

Furthermore, Angelica Jones’ complete inability to pull her fire-laced punches, even though her opponents are still partially human, shows just how far down the slippery slope of alcoholism the former New Warrior has sadly fallen. However, rather than make the reader sympathetic to the young woman’s plight, Duggan pens her with such arrogance and hubris that the character becomes increasingly disagreeable – most notably when Firestar shows no remorse for burning a chap who is subsequently almost killed by the One as a punishment for hitting Blue Bolt into a lamp post.  

With such ‘choppy’ writing, it is therefore perhaps not too unexpected to find Danny Kim’s layouts rather disappointing too. This comic’s aforementioned opening featuring a number of Ultron’s holding court on the Moon’s surface debatably lacks any sense of true drama, whilst many of the artist’s panels appear to alternate between some rather impressively detailed close-ups – such as when Spider-Woman realises one of the One’s followers is terminally ill Meredith, to some rather bland, almost amateurish figures – as seen when a rather disconcertingly rotund War Machine decides to deploy his riot package in mid-air.

The regular cover art of "WEST COAST AVENGERS" #3 by Ben Harvey