Avengers World #3 – Review

by Jonathan Hickman, Nick Spencer (Writers), Stefano Caselli (Artist), Frank Martin, Antonio Fabela, Edgar Delgado (Colorists)

The Story: It’s Shang-Chi versus Gorgon atop a flying dragon. How much more kung-fu can you get?

The Review: I love martial arts. To be a bit more precise, I love martial arts as depicted in fiction, with their choreography, their effects, the slow-motions and all the hyperbole related to the genre. It might be unrealistic, it might even be a bit of an insult to true masters of physical prowess and perfection, but there’s no denying the fact that as far as visuals go, it can be very entertaining.

Few comics these days actually try to represent the genre at its very core. Even some titles published years before like The Immortal Iron Fist did not solely focus on this particular element, yet shone when they did present it at its best. However, this issue seems like a homage to older Bruce Lee movies, yet one that possess a definite super heroic vibe that makes things even bigger. However, does all this kung-fu action manage to make this issue enjoyable or does it end up only as a mess?

For what it tries to bring to readers, this issue is definitely one of the more enjoyable in the short tenure of this series. Focusing solely on Shang-Chi and his battle against Gorgon, the leader of the Hand and its many deadly ninjas, this issue brings a boatload of action in the best of ways. There is an inherent exaggeration of some regular tropes, yet played in a very serious light that makes this definitely entertaining as far as depiction of violence is done.

Avengers World #2 – Review

by Jonathan Hickman, Nick Spencer (Writers), Stefano Caselli (Artist), Frank Martin (Colorist)

The Story: Smasher gets a lesson in what the world will soon turn into, courtesy of A.I.M.

The Review: Beware what you desire, for you may get it.

I am pretty sure I am quoting this incorrectly, but the message behind this is abundantly clear, as expectations and desires should always be kept balanced and in check. One of the main problem I had with Avengers by Hickman was that I though there could be a better emphasis on characters instead of just big concepts and ideas, which made the title a bit frustrating at times. With Avengers World being released with Nick Spencer at the helm, I had high hope that this title could reverse the trend and give readers a title which could focus a bit more on the characters instead of the general huge ideas that Jonathan is rather good at writing.

It seems that this is what both Spencer and Hickman delivered with this issue, with a certain emphasis on Smasher, the new character created by Hickman during his first issues on the franchise, combining certain elements of the whole Marvel universe for his team. With an issue explaining a bit the character and giving us an insight on her philosophy and approach, there is unfortunately a certain oversight that makes this generally less enjoyable that it could be. Simply put, there is close to no progress to this story that is exciting and enticing enough to provide plenty for readers to latch unto.

For sure, the manner in which Spencer and Hickman are able to connect some of A.I.M.’s manifesto to Smasher to her vision and her past with her grandfather makes for some rather touching moment, as the philosophy of her beloved elder and how he says the world is does help in setting the character more for readers potentially interested in who she is and what she does. The manner in which the tale of Captain Terror and how she does her stuff in the Avengers makes for a good exploration of the character, which is something that extrapolate in the issue that focused on her in Avengers.

Avengers World #1 – Review

by Jonathan Hickman, Nick Spencer (Writers), Stefano Caselli (Artist), Frank Martin (Colorist)

The Story: Problems arise in a lot of areas on Earth, as the collaboration between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers start now.

The Review: I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect when I first opened this issue. With this being a clear spin-off of the larger Avengers narrative of Jonathan Hickman, it’s a bit unclear what makes this book different. While it is detached from the structure that Hickman developed and it does try to connect with some of the A.I.M. threads that Nick Spencer has installed with his Secret Avengers run so far, there is a certain problem that doesn’t make the book what it could very well be.

That problem is a lack of a certain angle. It’s not particularly humorous, it’s not something that displays more character work or even something that tries to implement big new ideas. It might seem like a boring book, but it isn’t at all, despite this particular flaw.

One of the actual strength here is the use of the large roster, with both Spencer and Hickman using many characters aptly as the story is divided in multiple areas in the book. While Captain America and Bruce Banner are on a S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier, many teams with characters like Hyperion, Smasher, Cannonball, Hawkeye and plenty more are put on display, with most of them actually contributing through their voice or action for the story. It’s not the entire team, but it is a bit different from the regular title in the respect that not all of them are window-dressing, which is nice.