Written by Allan Heinberg
Illustrated by Jim CheungTHE EPIC AVENGERS EVENT CONTINUES! Determined to rescue the Scarlet Witch from the clutches of Doctor Doom, Magneto, Quicksilver, and the Young Avengers form a covert strike force to infiltrate Doom’s kingdom. But their secret invasion of Latveria threatens to become an all-out war when the Avengers and Wonder Man stand in their way. PLUS: the Scarlet Witch comes face to face with an enemy even deadlier than Doom who won’t rest until Wanda Maximoff is dead.
I need to make one thing clear right at the top: I love the Young Avengers and have for the last five years, so no review I write of anything involving them will be anything less than completely biased. Got it? Good. Now hit the jump
Now, even given my extreme bias towards the teen team that began my love and appreciation of teen teams, the first three issues of this beast were kinda rocky, especially given my high expectations for this mini-series that began even before it was solicited (since a reunion of the original YA creative team had been rumored for literally years before this book was announced.) The original 12 issue (plus a special) run of the Young Avengers might be one of my favorite comic books of all time. However, since it ended in 2006, my scorn and resentment toward the fact that there were no YA stories other than event tie-ins and a few scattered mini-series had long since subsided and I was ready to approach this new story, the first to claim any actual ability to alter the characters and their story since the ongoing ended, with a clean slate. That said, the first three issues seemed a little rushed and not terribly well constructed. While the story was okay and the art was passable, it lacked the charm the former series had and on top of that, it defied modern Marvel continuity in more than a few places. I also let out an audible grunt when Doom was revealed to the big bad of this one, especially given the amount of his exposure as of late.
That said, this issue fixed pretty much every problem I had with the book and gave us a compelling, almost heartbreaking story as well as answered a LOT of questions as to where the story fits in continuity and proved that Heinberg does indeed have method to his madness with this one and is not just pandering to the rabid fans that wanted him and Cheung on a new YA book.
We’re finally given a clear, no-nonsense explanation of Wanda’s current status, courtesy of Doom: her powers are gone, it appears as if her brain kicked into overdrive and repressed not only her ability to use them, but also all memory of her past beyond her youth. Now, whether this means she is fully depowered remains to be seen, but she has both no idea how to use her powers or even that she has them. That said, as a long time reader I feel the need to point out that she wasn’t fully aware of her actions during House of M either.
Another great revelation of the issue is the fact that even Doom himself is skeptical and curious about this “too good to be true, fairy tale story” of his wedding to Wanda, and admits that it is very out of character for him. The idea that Doom was not responsible for his actions and that Wanda came to him turns this into a whole new ballgame, and lends credence to the idea that Wanda’s probability altering powers may not be as gone as we have been lead to believe.
The issue ends with a knock-down brawl between the assembled Avengers, Young Avengers, Reformed Evil Mutants and hundreds of doombots before a surprise return that, as a YA die-hard, I can’t even think to spoil, ends the issue. That said, not only did the issue demystify and redefine its own story, but with one line between Iron Man and Wonder Man, managed to rectify all former continuity flubs perpetrated by the dialogue in the previous three issues.
Continued belowThat said, one serious continuity issue remains, and the fault lands square on Cheung’s shoulders. While I’m sure most readers won’t care that Steve Rogers is wearing the wrong costume, it actually stands out as a serious issue for me. Yeah, I know, the first issue had that “we know the costumes are wrong, we started working on the book before the new ones were rolled out, just roll with it” disclaimer, we’re now four issues and 7 months into the game, its about time Cheung started drawing Steve correctly. Then again, changing his costume mid-story would create a possibly bigger continuity error within the confines of the epic…but still!
Overall, this issue really redeemed this story for me and as a Young Avengers, Avengers and X-Men fan, I am really looking forward to seeing where it goes next.
Final Verdict: 9.2 – Buy
