The last (assumedly) Avengers relaunch is upon us, starring Nick Spencer and Luke Ross! Or is that Nick Fury? One of the Nicks.
Written by Nick Spencer
Illustrated by Luke Ross“The Most Dangerous Secrets We Have… Are The Ones We Keep From Ourselves.” The new Nick Fury leads a covert Avengers strike team including but not limited to Hawkeye, Black Widow, The Hulk, The Winter Soldier, Maria Hill and Phil Coulson on missions so dangerous, even the team members themselves can’t know about them!
“Secret Avengers” has been many things in the short time it has existed. When Ed Brubaker launched the “Secret Avengers,” they were a clandestine team of random Avengers fighting against a secret society and a greater conspiracy. When Warren Ellis took the helms, it was a series of one-shots exploring whatever corner of the Marvel U Ellis felt like playing in. Last but not least, Rick Remender came to give the book a new focus, wrap up Brubakers lingering stories and tie together a few left-over “Uncanny X-Force” threads of his own for a saga the style of which only a guy like Remender could tell. It was a book about Avengers doing Avenger-y things, whether out in the open or in the dark (or a mix of the two), and because of that it never really stood out amongst the crowd unless you a) had a particular affinity for the creative team and/or b) had a particular affinity for the characters involved.
Now, with Nick Spencer and Luke Ross, “Secret Avengers” goes through yet another transformation, but for the first time since the book began it’s felt like it had a distinct purpose within the greater spectrum of all things Marvel U.
See, not for nothing, but we kinda sorta have enough Avengers book. There is a book for every flavor — regular “Avengers” for the long time fan, “New Avengers” for the Hickman fan, “Avengers Assemble” for the continuity-free movie fan, “Dark Avengers” for the more obscure fan, “Avengers Arena” and “Young Avengers” for the teen fans, etc. — and its been that way for quite some time now. We aren’t lacking for groups of people who like to call themselves Avengers, and we don’t really have any need for a book that’s “just another” assembly of characters who all play in the same sandbox but in a different corner. That’s why Marvel NOW! coming around to refocus the book’s attention, to give it the opportunity to distinctly become something new but with a recognizable title, is such a great opportunity for the creative team and the general Marvel U collection. And that’s exactly what this book accomplishes from the get-go.
Because really, this isn’t an Avengers book. This book is an Avengers book only in name, because the Avengers is a great branding tool. What this really is is a SHIELD book, and that’s something that has been missing from Marvel’s line for some time now despite the huge importance of this omnipotent organization. Hawkeye and Black Widow’s involvement give it a pseudo-Avengers tie-in, yes, but that’s really where it ends. Everything else about this book is a spy thriller, full of covert ops, intel briefings, exotic locations and a thousand daggers in the dark. It’s tricky, mysterious and it actually plays up the secretive namesake of the title. This is a book that doesn’t feel like any other Avengers book, nor any explicit variation on the Avenger theme that we’re used to. It just happens to have a familiar name, but a SHIELD book by any other name can still be just as sweet.
What’s more, “Secret Avengers” capitalizes on that big ol’ movie that Marvel put out called The Avengers and creates a vivid connecting tool in terms of what Marvel is offering. “Avengers Assemble” certainly exists as a book for people who like the movie, at least in the first outing when it featured the movie cast, but this co-opts the movie magic in a more visceral way. Now we’ve got a book with the black Nick Fury, with Coulson, with Maria Hill, with the bad ass non-powered members of the cast who were such scene stealers and we’re given a story tailored for them in a very specific way. People who saw the movie and wondered what Hawkeye was talking about when he told Widow “You and I remember Budapest very differently” now have something to connect to (in quite a fun way, too), and the connections certainly don’t just end there. This is a book that connects the movies to the comics, and it’s done in a way that doesn’t feel as forced or hokey as previous attempts. (It certainly is convenient that there’s that upcoming SHIELD show as well, isn’t there?)
Continued belowIt’s not perfect, mind you. The book does have some flaws. One thing that’s noticeable is that during the briefing sequence, the dialogue tends to convert from something that feels natural into something more representative of an infodump. It’s not out of place (it is a mission briefing after all), but the sequence becomes a bit stuffy due to the amount of information that needs to be absorbed in such a short time frame. This in turn effects the pace of the book. There’s definitely a lot of ground to cover, but the biggest appeal of the book is that it’s a spy thriller featuring Coulson and Nick Fury from the film, and we don’t get nearly enough shots of them in action. It’s nothing that feels particularly detrimental, but you can’t help but wish that the book leans a bit more on their actions out in the world.
Still, the book is rather enjoyable, and for an introductory issue it certainly delivers a solid hook. A lot of the tricks Spencer has become known for is present in the writing here: the misdirects, the political consciousness, the affection for pop culture trivia. The last time Spencer took the book between Brubaker and Ellis, he wrote a rather politically charged title in the midst of “Fear Itself.” This feels a bit more relaxed, still with that self-aware edge but leaning more towards heroism than politics. In that way we get a book that’s somewhat reminiscent of “Thunder AGENTS,” and it’s rather exciting to see the ground floor laid out in a similar fashion considering just how great that book was. Not only that, but just like “Morning Glories,” “Secret Avengers” also benefits from a second read, as the book is so intricately laid out to be enhanced by a second read. Given the different elements at play, it’s rather easy to be excited about whatever other trickery Spencer has in store for the book.
Luke Ross is the real star of the show here, though. Cloaks and daggers are fun and all, but it’s Ross that sells it with wonderfully framed sequences that don’t give too much away at a first glance. A book like this, one that features masters of deception, needs an artist that can be just as deceptive, and that’s exactly what Ross accomplishes throughout. Not only that, but Ross’ likenesses to real figures is pretty great as well; Coulson looks like Clark Gregg, and that connects the reader to the material in a very visceral way as you begin to hear Gregg’s calm voice saying all of Spencer’s lines. Marvel didn’t need to get someone whose work relies on photo-realism to really bring Coulson into the Marvel U, and Ross wonderfully straddles that line of bringing Gregg to the page while also delivering a character that belongs in comics, not just an actor facsimile.
So when all is said and done, this iteration of the “Secret Avengers” feels decidedly different from what came before, and that’s a good thing. If there’s one thing the book could benefit from, it’s a stronger inclination towards the actions of the characters without relying on the reader being aware of mission ops, because half the fun of the book is seeing all the little tricks Spencer and Ross have pulled when they’ve read the ending. If “Secret Avengers” can be just that – secretive – then this is going to be a very exciting run with some great characters.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – Buy
