With various members of the Young Avengers making their way to Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, now seemed as good a time as any to read Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung’s 2005-06 series, where most of the team debuted. But, historical curiosity aside, were these twelve issues worth checking out now? My colleagues thought so, so I decided to take the plunge via Marvel Unlimited.
'Young Avengers:
The Complete
Collection' (2019)Written by Allan Heinberg
Art by Jim Cheung, Andrea Di Vito
Inked by John Dell, Dave Meikis & More
Colored by Justin Ponsor & More
Lettered by Cory PetitWhen the original Avengers disband, a team of teenage heroes comes together to fill the gap. Their first order of business: surviving the wrath of Kang the Conqueror and weathering the disapproval of the adult Avengers! Next, the newly formed Young Avengers take on super-powered sadist Mister Hyde, the extraterrestrial Super-Skrull and a full-scale alien invasion, juggling their parents and their private lives at the same time!
‘Sidekicks’ (#1-6): The first arc takes place during the brief period after Brian Michael Bendis and David Finch had destroyed the original group in ‘Avengers Disassembled,’ before reassembling them in “New Avengers.” It sees Iron Man, Captain America, and Jessica Jones investigate four mysterious boys, who are in the headlines for seemingly taking up Thor, Cap, Hulk and Tony’s mantles: it was fascinating to see how mysterious the “Young Avengers” were when they were introduced, in addition to the two premier Avengers teaming up with the protagonist of Bendis and Michael Gaydos’s considerably more adult comic “Alias.”
Thanks to the set-up, as well as Jim Cheung’s pencils, John Dell’s inks, and Justin Ponsor’s colors, it’s an incredibly atmospheric and grounded debut for the title characters, with the action taking place largely in and around the gravel, cobwebs, and wooden beams of the ruined Avengers Mansion. (The first major action sequence, where the boys encounter Kate Bishop for the first time, similarly takes place in the beautiful yet approachable setting of St. Patrick’s Cathedral.) The slowburn mystery escalates dramatically, as it’s revealed Iron Lad is Nathaniel Richards, aka the time-traveling warlord Kang the Conqueror, who’s not pleased about his younger self’s attempts to rewrite his destiny.
While the action remains constrained to the grounds of the mansion, it feels as momentous as any linewide company event, thanks to the cinematic artwork, which lights up the surroundings with an apocalyptic glow. Kang isn’t depicted as leading an army, but he’s never been rendered as tangibly threatening as he is here. The stakes are as personal as they are epic, with Nathaniel realizing his desire to change history is fundamentally selfish, and that he must accept that it cannot be changed for the sake of his new friends. All in all, ‘Sidekicks’ is a great “pilot” for the characters, perfect for any newcomer.
‘Secret Identities’ (#7-8): Artist Andrea Di Vito and inker Drew Hennessy filled in for the second, and shortest arc, which consequently has a much more traditional superhero art style, with lean, muscular, and wide-eyed characters reminiscent of Alan Davis. Whereas Cheung always carefully composes his panels, no matter how chaotic events become, Di Vito will draw the action first, and then the frames around then, often bending the boxes around characters to suit his purposes: the pages seem to be flexing and gyrating with the heroes and villains.
The story, which involves Steve, Tony and Jessica trying to speak to the Young Avengers’ parents/guardians, reveals Elijah Bradley (Patriot) lied about inheriting his grandfather Isaiah’s abilities from a blood transfusion, and that he’d been using Mutant Growth Hormone to empower himself. It’s a shocking turn that strongly evokes Dennis O’Neil and Neal Adams’s “Green Lantern/Green Arrow” story ‘Snowbirds Don’t Fly’ (where Oliver Queen’s sidekick Roy Harper was discovered to be a drug addict), but having the team’s only Black member struggle with addiction feels like an incredibly tonedeaf and stereotypical decision, as if it was only done to justify Captain America’s antagonism towards the young vigilante — I can’t imagine editorial approving the idea today.
On a more positive note, the arc makes it clear that Billy and Teddy (Wiccan and Hulkling) are an item (something only implied in the first six issues): Billy’s parents overhear the boys talking about telling them something, but before Billy can come out, they tell him they already know. Nothing outright is still said, but this probable reflection of the time means the scene has aged much less than it would’ve if it had wrung more drama out of it, and of course it would’ve meant as much — if not more so — to LGBT readers during the Bush administration as it would now.
Continued belowTangentially, it is very strange how the book has some quite off-color gags about Billy abandoning his initial name (Asgardian) because of the double entendre it carries, or later on, when he can’t help but make a dumb aside about the name of Teddy’s biological mother (Anelle). I won’t presume to declare whether Heinberg felt these were appropriately juvenile thoughts for his teenage heroes, or if these were attempts to pander to the largely straight, male readership.
‘Family Matters’ (#9-12): The last arc basically throws in everything before ‘Civil War’ could disrupt Heinberg’s plans: Kl’rt (the Super-Skrull) kidnaps Teddy after revealing he’s a Skrull prince, the rebooted Vision joins the team, and the delinquent Tommy (Speed) — whom everyone comments could pass for Billy’s twin — is recruited after a jailbreak. The true parents of Teddy, Billy and Tommy are revealed; Elijah reconciles with his grandparents and Steve after nearly dying; and the Avengers, Young and New, assemble for the mother of all battles with the Kree and Skrulls.
Nothing demonstrates how much this feels like a six or eight-issue story crammed into four parts than the portrayal of Kl’rt: now, it is a joy to see the infamous bruiser be portrayed as a noble antagonist, desperately trying to persuade Teddy to abandon everyone he knows, and take up the Skrull throne for the sake of their people. At the same time, Kl’rt’s manslaughter of Teddy’s adoptive mother feels glossed over by the end: the two come across as far too chummy after the final battle, despite him killing the woman who raised Teddy since birth — there should have been a far more resentment (and remorse) in their dialogue.
Still, it’s an enjoyable pit stop before the follow-up series “Avengers: The Children’s Crusade,” a rollicking ride that ends with an unexpectedly enormous final battle, where Cheung really shows off why Marvel and DC love putting him on these ensemble books: the repeated sight of dozens of bodies and costumes in motion, is simply an awe-inspiring reminder of what an incredible undertaking sequential art can be. (I was not surprised to learn about the delays that transpired during the arc’s publication.)
Ultimately, 15 years after its conclusion, “Young Avengers” is an enjoyable introduction to these characters, but despite its length, it feels like the adventure got barely underway for our heroes: it comes across as an extended prologue for greater stories. Fortunately, those would come along in the shape of series like Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie’s zany 2013-14 run, strengthening the original book considerably, and ensuring it will be an evergreen read for Marvel fans, old and young alike, for years to come. I enjoyed this journey back to the mid-noughties, and like the best superhero ongoings, it’s left me with the desire to revisit the subsequent decade’s books.
