After the universe spanning events of ‘Infinity’, Marvel’s mightiest heroes come back down to Earth in the first issue of “Avengers World”.
Written by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Spencer
Illustrated by Stefano CaselliEarth’s Mightiest Heroes have returned from the stars– but on the world they left behind, new threats have emerged, and The Avengers will be tested like never before. In one cataclysmic day, the face of the Marvel Universe will change forever– and the fight for Earth’s future will begin. A globe-spanning epic of empires and armies, and the brave few who stand between them and us.
After a years worth of buildup across at least three issues of “The Avengers” and “New Avengers” every month, the “Infinity’ event brought Jonathan Hickman’s cosmic tale to its conclusion. Now that the Inhumans are spreading across the world and the threat of Thanos has dissipated until the tie in for the third Avengers film, it’s time for these heroes to place their focus on more terrestrial matters.
Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, has come to the S.H.E.I.L.D. hellicarrier to meet with Director Maria Hill. She desires more unity between the Avengers and S.H.E.I.L.D. but Cap is wary of any large scale oversight. As they talk, however, hot spots start to erupt around the world for the Avengers to investigate. Teams are dispatched to New England, italy, Madripoor, and the A.I.M. island, immediacy streaching the Avengers across continents. And then things start to go really wrong. There’s something bigger going on, and just because the Avengers have returned from the stars, it doesn’t mean that the Earth is in any less danger.
This is the is 7th or 8th title being published under the “Avengers” title, and the third written by Jonathan Hickman, essentially creating a franchise within a franchise. After the massive build-up to ‘Infinity’, the main “Avengers” title has returned to a classic monthly publishing schedule, “Avengers World” fills the new hole in the schedule. Avengers-scribe Hickman is joined by Nick Spencer, the currant writer of “The Superior Foe’s of Spider-Man”, to help share storytelling duties. Together they make an excellent team, with Hickman providing the grand scope needed for heroes of such magnitude, while Spencer brings his skills at creating charming character moments and instances of humor.
With a cast of a dozen heroes squeezed into thirty-odd pages, there’s always the chance for characters to become ill-defined or one note, but Hickman and Spencer are sure to give everyone their own moment, no matter how brief. The dialog, likely the work of Spencer, is a great fit for each characters, giving a glimpse of their personalities. Even if it appears that Bruce Banner, one of the five most intelligent people in the Marvel Universe, doesn’t seem to know the correct definition of irony. The issue is bookended with ominous narration from an unknown source, avoids any messy exposition, and makes the most of Hickman’s skill for conveying large stories one tiny piece at time. There’s not a lot of information to go on, the it immediately intrigues the reader and sets up the tone for the whole story.
Stefano Caselli’s profile at Marvel as been growing steadily for the past couple years, performing art duties on various Spider-Man titles and other one shot titles. He had a big break last year when he penciled several issues of the Hickman-penned “Avengers” and now they have re-teamed for “World”. In less than half the issue, it’s apparent that Caselli was a perfect choice for the series. His makes all the Avengers look unique, right down to posture and expression. It’s easy when there are characters whose primary emotion could be characterized as grim determination to find a sea of steely eyed faces, but in “World” everyone looks like a real individual. The environments are very nice to look at as well, and it is a nice change of pace to see Marvel characters in real world locations other than New York City, with Italy looking particularly appealing. Even as things drift towards the fantastical, as a dragon emerges from the sea (yeah that happens here), it still feels like a real world with a keen attention to detail.
Continued belowIf there’s one drawback to the issue, it’s that there aren’t any really huge action pieces for Caselli to really sink his teeth into. The story is mostly set up, and while it is entertaining, it does make one anticipate the moment when Casually can just let loose and have superheroes flying across the page. A special mention should also be made of colorist Frank Martin, who strikes a great balance between cartoonish brightness and grim darkness. Wolverine’s costume is still just as yellow as every, but Martin makes it work in this more realistic setting. The pages are all vibrant and energetic.
With the onslaught of “Avengers” related books, there was every chance to that this series could be an also-ran or just come off as completely unnecessary right out of the gate. Instead, Hickman and Spencer have made the book feel like a natural part of the larger “Avengers” story, while infusing a level of charm that helps bring this cosmic characters back down to earth. “Avengers World” is the perfect jumping on point for new readers, and, as long as it doesn’t become inseparable from the other titles, should remain that way for the foreseeable future.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – Buy. If the constant overlapping of the ‘Infinity’ event and it’s tie-ins made your head spin, than “Avengers World” is great place to come back to Earth Mightiest Heroes.
