Avengers [2016] #5.1 - Marvel Comics

AVENGERS No. 5.1, May 2017

Desperately hidden within the twenty-pages of “Death Be Not Proud!” is a somewhat fun Silver Age tale which certainly had the potential to encourage this mini-series’ remaining 21,614 readers to buy Issue Seventeen of “Avengers” in order to continue its adventure. Sadly however, Tom Brevoort’s decision to allow Mark Waid to completely undermine Cap’s Kooky Quartet by having the super-team’s original line-up actually save the day, as well as utilise the artistic talents of Mark Bagley, Sean Uzaakse and Ro Stein alongside regular Barry Kitson, arguably must have destroyed any faith the audience had that this adventure was supposedly a faithful recreation of the days when original creators Stan Lee and Jack “King” Kirby were at the helm.

Indeed, this comic’s “most nonsensical, non-costumed super-hero staff in comicdom” do such a good job of making Captain America, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver appear utterly impotent, that it’s a wonder the book sold as well as it did, and those bibliophiles who weren’t “emotionally enraptured by the contents within these palatial pages” should hardly have been stripped of their Merry Marvel Marching Society button as this publication’s opening editorial suggests. Certainly it's difficult not to embarrassingly grimace as Giant-Man effortlessly swats Cressida aside just moments after the Southeast Asian super-villain has so easily ‘killed’ the Sentinel of Liberty, the Golden Archer, and two of the Earth’s most formidable mutants single-handedly; “Pick on someone your own size -- or bigger!” 

To make matters worse, a revitalised Steve Rogers subsequently spells out his team’s total defeat even clearer, by admitting to Avenger X that she “almost had us” if not for “Giant-Man’s Bio-Lab skills” and his ‘uncanny’ scientific ability to rejuvenate the foursome using their “dying sparks of energy”. In fact, Hank Pym proves himself to be so formidable a chemist that he even manages to immunize the “also-rans” against their opponent’s “powers from here on in”, thereby permitting them to battle Cressida without requiring any additional support or fear of being soundly thrashed a second time…

Unfortunately, the illustrations for this notoriously undermining narrative are equally as sporadic as its storyline’s sensibilities, and was hardly likely to help this comic become “a tale destined to become a magnificent milestone in the Marvel Age of Comics” as its creative team would seemingly have wished. Admittedly, Barry Kitson’s opening pages are pencilled pleasantly enough, such as his recreation of the original grim-faced Giant-Man, but once the British artist is repeatedly replaced by his ‘helpers’ matters take a decidedly disconcerting turn for the worse, with Hawkeye’s initial capture of Avenger X at his mock-funeral appearing particularly poorly-sketched.

Writer: Mark Waid, and Pencilers: Barry Kitson with Mark Bagley, Sean Izaakse & Drew Hennessy

Avengers [2016] #4.1 - Marvel Comics

AVENGERS No. 4.1, April 2017

Ordinarily this book’s 22,810 readers would probably have enjoyed a “Showdown With The Frightful Four” and Captain America’s “ragtag team” of Avengers. After all, Mark Waid’s twenty-page long narrative not only includes a wonderfully tense build-up which ultimately sees a rehabilitating Quicksilver petulantly turn his back upon his team-mates as ‘High Noon’ fast approaches, but also focuses upon the Wizard’s dastardly quartet in arguably their Silver Age prime, ruthlessly led by an always arrogant Bentley Wittman who cares little for the welfare of hapless civilians in his villainous ambition to destroy the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes; “Give in to it, Medusa, on this day, in this battle, the Frightful Four will take lives.”

Unfortunately however, this entire “frightful rematch” is utterly ruined by the Alabama-born author’s basic premise that (once again) the titular “group of untested [and] untried new recruits” have obtained a distinctly unfair advantage over their criminal opponents “by using the power-enhancing abilities of Cressida” to make the team “stronger -- and more popular -- than they ever could have imagined.” Indeed, apart from the potential break-up of the Avengers at the very start of this periodical, due entirely to the manipulative machinations of the group’s latest addition, the American writer’s narrative contains absolutely no suggestion of threat or physical menace to its leading characters until the book’s cliff-hanger, when Avenger X finally reveals her true traitorous colours and begins to leech the life out of Wanda and Hawkeye “in public!”

Up until this point, the most tense moment created by “Marvel’s Merry Living-End Lineup” is Steve Rogers wrongly accusing Clint Barton of robbing a jewellers and becoming unnecessarily irate when he feels the archer is lecturing him about the Flag whilst the former carnival showman ‘drags it through mud?!'. And even this flash of ‘family friction’ only lasts a single Barry Kitson-pencilled panel before the Sentinel of Liberty apologises to his seething colleague and gathers everyone in the Meeting Room to ‘save the World’ once again.

Perhaps the biggest problem with Waid’s script for Issue Four Point One of “Avengers” though is just how utterly illogical Cressida’s secret plan to “break the Avengers” actually appears. Considering that the Southeast Asian has already succeeded in manipulating the Ox to snap both of Pietro’s legs, and thereby reduced the super-team’s effectiveness by a quarter, why does she then almost immediately heal the mutant speedster’s useless limbs and permit him to potentially participate in “the most indescribably impossible battle in the history of the panelgraphic literature”? In addition, it would surely have made far more sense for Avenger X to just boost the Frightful Four’s powers and let them crush Captain America’s party, than her mystifyingly boost those of the heroes, and only then ‘work her power’ upon the Sandman once things were looking bad for Medusa, the Trapster and Wizard?

The regular cover art of "AVENGERS" No. 4.1 by Barry Kitson & Jordan Boyd

Avengers [2016] #3.1 - Marvel Comics

AVENGERS No. 3.1, March 2017

Selling a disappointing 29,833 copies in January 2017, a drop of almost eight thousand readers according to “Diamond Comic Distributors”, Issue Three Point One of “Avengers” must have caused quite a bit of consternation amongst its dwindling audience because of Mark Waid’s assertion that the super-group’s Silver Age line-up only managed to win over an unsupportive Manhattan public, by relying solely upon “Cressida’s dark secret” to “enhance the team’s powers.” Indeed, the book’s presumptuous plot, supposedly “never revealed… until now”, is arguably so disrespectful to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s original vision of the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes that it’s hard to take any of the Eisner Award-winner’s preposterous twenty-page narrative seriously post Captain America’s early victory over both the Thinker and his Awesome Android; “Their power levels have increased by a factor of at least 10.7 -- Thanks to an x-factor I’d not accounted for!”

Admittedly, such a disconcerting enhancement to the foursome’s special abilities does provide British artist Barry Kitson the chance to pencil Quicksilver bedazzling Daredevil with a demonstration of the mutant’s “near-invisible super-speed” and Hawkeye astonishing the amazing Spider-Man by firing “nine arrows in four seconds.” Yet such sequences are seemingly far better suited to the stage of a Vaudeville act than a supposedly sincere re-imagining of the Avengers Mid-Sixties metamorphosis, and it’s certainly doubtful that any of this publication’s followers thought the sequences were the “impeccable paragon of perfection” which reader Jimmy Morton felt the title’s original publication contained way back in June 1965.

Equally as unnerving is the Alabama-born author’s handling of Cap’s Kooky Quartet and their latest addition, Avenger X. Cressida clearly has an incredible super-power which if used wisely can be of enormous benefit to the titular characters and their fight against "the foes no single superhero can withstand." However, rather than treat such a game-changing ability with the reservation and respect it deserves, or at the very least question how the Southeast Asian came to wield such a formidable force, Waid would instead have this comic’s bibliophiles believe that the likes of Steve Rogers would simply accept them as a mysterious blessing and just go about his daily business as if nothing out of the ordinary was taking place?

Writer: Mark Waid, Penciler: Barry Kitson, and Inker: Mark Farmer

Avengers [2016] #2.1 - Marvel Comics

AVENGERS No. 2.1, February 2017

On paper there’s probably a good dozen or so reasons as to why “Marvel Worldwide” believed that a mini-series focusing upon Captain America’s untold task of “turning the members of this ragtag team into Avengers” would prove to be a good seller. For starters “Cap's Kooky Quartet” would appear to hold a special nostalgic place within the hearts of those who can remember the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes during the mid-Sixties, whilst those too young to have lived through the Silver Age of Comics arguably might enjoy an opportunity to experience ‘first-hand’ the super-group (once again) going “through their first major membership change”.

Unfortunately for this particular issue of “Avengers” 37,746-strong audience though, Mark Waid’s script predominantly emphasizes the foursome’s lack of team-work and perturbing personality issues, rather than their desire to prove themselves as suitable replacements for Thor, Iron Man and the rest of the Old Order. In fact, two of this twenty-page periodical’s most aggravating elements is its constant obsession to dwell upon the heroes evident dislike for one another, and a disconcerting desire to belittle almost everything which they do; “Will you people shut up about Thor?”

Worse, predominantly because of this pervading thread of ill-placed humour, there’s never any real sense of “the mighty pretenders” being in danger, even when the Alabama-born author has Hawkeye, Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch and Captain America face the all-power Stranger. This “composite being who possessed the combined strength and intellect of the billions of humanoid beings who once lived on the planet Gigantus” is a far cry from the “Atlantean refugee” this book provides as an early adversary, and is so terrifying that even Professor Xavier refuses to have his X-Men overtly antagonise him for fear of repercussions. Yet, despite “the enormity of the danger he poses” Steve Rogers boastfully baits the cosmic being and rather cowardly has Clint Barton fire an explosive arrow into his back?

What “Death Is A Stranger” does do well however, is provide Barry Kitson with ample opportunity to show off both his admirable pencilling and engaging story-boarding. The British comics artist does a superb job of imbuing the Avengers battle against a deep-sea monster with plenty of pacey panache, such as Pietro’s mesmerizing speed-blur, and proves similarly successful in capturing the likenesses of the original X-Men, Angel, Cyclops, Beast, Marvel Girl and Ice Man.

Writer: Mark Waid, Penciler: Barry Kitson, and Inker: Mark Farmer

Avengers [2016] #1.1 - Marvel Comics

AVENGERS No. 1.1, January 2017

Featuring an infinitely more dynamic re-imagining of the classic Silver Age storyline “The Old Order Changeth!”, this opening instalment of “a new five-part story running alongside the highly anticipated Avengers ongoing series” must have garnered a few quizzical looks from its 41,258-strong audience. For whilst Mark Waid’s narrative somewhat follows the events established way back in May 1965 by having the “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” defeat the Masters of Evil in Midtown Manhattan, it subsequently ‘skips’ over Hawkeye’s abduction of the butler Jarvis by forty-eight hours and instead conjures up an all-too quick confrontation with The Frightful Four.

Admittedly, the appearance of the Fantastic Four’s arch-nemeses, fresh from annihilating “Doctor Richards’ team in the middle of the Pacific”, is wonderfully nostalgic as the “evil counterparts” understandably consist of their original roster: The Wizard, The Sandman, Paste-Pot Pete and Madame Medusa. But even Bentley Wittman imperiously commanding his team-mates “To the Grav-Sphere! You have three minutes!” can’t completely overshadow the appallingly contrived reasoning behind their unprecedented surprise attack upon the “dollar store Avengers”. It’s certainly hard to agree that, having just ‘secretly’ killed Mister Fantastic, The Human Torch, The Thing and Invisible Girl, the villains’ next logical step would be to murder the Avengers’ new line-up in front of numerous media cameras “for publicity”..?

Just as disconcerting is the Eisner Award-winner’s dubious motivation as to just why the likes of reformed criminal Hawkeye actually want to be an Avenger. Stan Lee’s “dazzling script” portrayed the “carny life” archer as someone determined to make amends for the death of his beloved Black Widow at the hands of the Communists. Yet Waid would rather have his readers believe that Clint Barton actually did it simply because Steve Rogers pointed out to him that he would have a butler if he resides within the mansion; “Jarvis, I feel like lobster tonight.”

Perhaps this comic’s strongest selling point is therefore the incredibly vibrant breakdowns of Barry Kitson. Whilst the British penciler is arguably no Jack “King” Kirby, his lively depictions of Iron Man blasting his way through the Masters of Evil, and Flint Marko later pulverising Captain America with his trademark sledgehammer fists is undoubtedly alone worth the cover price of this twenty-page periodical.

Writer: Mark Waid, Penciler: Barry Kitson, and Inker: Mark Farmer