We covered them, folks. All twelve issues of the original 1998-1999 series, “A-Next”, starting here. I thought I had left no stone unturned. It turns out, that there was a sequel series waiting in the wings all along! That’s right, dear readers, we will be skipping ahead from the late nineties to the *checks notes* glorious mid-aughties? Yes, dear readers, take my hand as we venture into the twilight years of Marvel’s MC2 timeline with the 2006 miniseries, “Avengers Next”. Will it hold a candle to the original? Let’s find out together!
Written by Tom DeFalco and Ron Lim
Illustrated by Ron Lim
Inked by Scott Koblish
Colored by Rob Ro
Lettered by Dave Sharpe
One thing I like about this series so far is that it really feels like it’s soaking in continuity. There’s no exposition or unnatural dialogue thrown at you to explain why things are, things simply are. It’s the sandbox idea of Marvel realized at its ultimate potential. I don’t need to know why Nova and Captain Marvel patrol together in space, nor do I need to know how Thor came to have an adult daughter named Thena who has a special hammer of her own(albeit briefly). Shared superhero universe narratives excel when these pieces are left for the reader to fit together as background material that makes the world feel more authentic.
Before we get too ahead of things, let’s check where we left the team last week. Ulik the Troll had stolen Kevin Masterson (the now-depowered Thunderstrike) and a mysterious object from the Avengers’ vault. The team also welcomes new members in Sabreclaw and Spider-Girl. I find these new additions to the team quite interesting. Sabreclaw makes sense as a rogue element to keep readers on their toes, a former villain that doesn’t have completely clear motives that could switch at any moment. Lim and Koblish also do a great job bringing him to life in action. He’s got decent upper torso bulk yet the rest of his body is lithe and quick, making his fighting feel razor-sharp and deadly. Spider-Girl is a less compelling addition, however. Having just finished a 100-issue record-setting run and relaunched into a new series, it makes sense to include her on the team to ride that long-term popularity. Her need to prove herself as a hero once again in the wake of her retirement makes sense narratively too. She just feels too tied up in her own book to have any meaningful developments here, and her visual downgrade, whilst evoking the best of the proto-Sam Raimi movie suit, doesn’t look as good next to her sleek peers.
The villains don’t get too much spotlight in this issue, but there’s some interesting light shone upon them. Ulik spends most of his time interrogating Kevin and getting angry when Kevin holds up his heroic bravado. Lim and Koblish do their best Jack Kirby impression drawing Ulik, making him fun to watch as he smashes up the room around him. The floating debris caused by Ulik’s sheer power is a great touch to make the action feel kinetic. Sylene comes off as a little more fun but only because she gets to play the cackling Shakespearian villain, explaining their plans to the reader and chewing scenery. Rob Ro does a great job coloring her powers here, giving them a sickly green glow that evokes Asgardian magic but is tinged with just enough yellow to make it feel a little off. Warp is the most interesting of the bunch even though he only gets a minor role. DeFalco writes him like a henchman in way over his head, which Kevin tries to exploit. His stubbornness to subject to the good guys makes him all the more interesting, as he simply tells Kevin to “Shut up!”.
Getting through all of this, we finally get to the cover guest appearance: Thena! DeFalco’s take on Thor’s daughter is a fun one, full of as much piss and vinegar as her father was in his youth. She crashes onto Earth and immediately causes a scene, starting fights with not just Nova and Captain Marvel, but the Avengers, too. It’s a trite Marvel trope to have all the heroes fight before talking, even to the point that Bluestreak comments saying “I never thought I’d actually see one of those big misunderstanding battles in person!”. However, Thena is so overconfident and genuinely handles most heroes with ease that it’s a tonne of fun to watch. Lim and Koblish are having as much fun as her rendering the scene. Her opening shot has a real sense of momentum as her hammer spins around with hefty speed lines. Even the point where she breaks her hammer on J2’s head still feels like a win for her because Lim and Koblish have her swing it with such ferocity. Ro colors the scene exceptionally, using sharp reds in opposition to the blues on the rest of the page to convey the shock at her hammer breaking.
The issue wraps up with two big revelations which do leave me with some excitement as to what the final three issues of the series hold. The Thena battle is dispersed by the now-adult Katherine Power (you may know her as Katie Power of the Power Pack) who was waiting in the wings for most of the issue only to solve this conflict with a massive display. Lim and Koblish have a lot of fun with these cosmically-powerful women as they stand fists-clenched and stare each other down like they were in a classic Western flick. DeFalco also gives her a great fed-up personality, as she urges Thena to pretty much grow up and march forward in the wake of disaster. The other revelation comes from the final-page cliffhanger, as it’s revealed that the item stolen from the vaults was none-other than Ultron’s severed head! Lim and Koblish go for broke here as Sylene transforms the head into the deliciously-extra “Ultron Extreme”, decking him out with a bulked-up form and tonnes of armor spikes. Pop back here next week, readers, and let’s see what makes this bad boy so… extreme!
