I have been rereading Uncanny Avengers #1-2 several times now and while it is well written and visually impactful, I have mixed feelings about it. Perhaps the best way is to go through its cast of characters:
- Captain America-with his own series taking place "somewhere else", it will be in the various Avengers titles that we will see him interact with the MU NOW! Here he is the leader, the peacemaker and the planner. He wants Alex Summers on the team to bolster mutant intergration back into "normal" society. He wants the American Dream for everyone. Wolverine disagrees with his approach.
- Thor--his situation in his own book mimics Cap's. But he has clearly had enough of waiting for peace between humanity and mutants. He declares war on those who ignite the conflict and he will avenge those killed in the conflict. Bold comments but a little dangerous.
- Wolverine--now the (reluctant) leader of the peaceful mutant community and the steward of Professor Xavier's dream. He is torn with wanting to achieve that dream, the guilt that he failed Professor X, the belief that he is not worthy to continue Xavier's mission and his rage at those responsible for the coming conflict. He feels that Cap's plan to get the public to trust Havok will end badly and he believes that he should be approve of any mutant issues. He will get angrier.
- The Scarlet Witch-- once more sane yet still comdemned by those three devastating words, the daughter of Magneto mourns Xavier's death. She has had the least contact with the X-Men, prefering the Avengers. In fact, she is the only major mutant NOT to be part of any X-team. She never subscribed to the isolationist and/or seperatist mutant movements. She seeks redemption yet has once more become a very dangerous pawn.
- Rogue--as of yet, she is not an Avenger but she is involved. Her anger at Wanda is understandable yet still surprising, given her past and her second chances. Professor X believed in her when no one else did. Now she must step up among Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
- Havok--Another hero forced out of the background to combat the horrific plot. As the brother of Cyclops, he is both a symbol of pain and Xavier's vision. But he must become the standard bearer for all mutants, a role he was never prepared and never wanted. He worked for the government before when he led X-Factor and wears a modified version of his original outfit to link him to the X-Men's more innocent past.
As for the other characters:
- Cyclops--visited by Alex in his ruby quartz prison, his demeanor is shocking. Scott regrets Professor X's death, accepts responsibilty for it but shows no remorse over it or the events of AVX. In fact, he seems prepared to continue his new calling. In the AVX: Consequences mini-series, he is glad that Wolverine has become the leader, the teacher, the moral center thus becoming the "better man". Now he doesn't have to be that anymore.
- Avalanche--when this new series begins or a new direction takes place, an established character is often killed off to show that the stakes have been raised. This time, it was a Claremont/Bryne creation. He had reformed and had also worked for the government but now he was the weapon that killed many people by creating an earthquake in New York, driving home how much he held back even as part of Mystique's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. But the devil that pulled the trigger was......
- The Red Skull--the Eternal Nazi, who never fought the Avengers en masse, has found something more powerful that the Cosmic Cube. He once more uses mind-control and an assumed identity to goad and manipulate Americans into following him. He wants mutants as puppets and has twisted designs on the Scarlet Witch, ironic given her Gypsy background. He has committed a most profane act of depravity because he has gained his new domination power by stealing the brain of.....
- Professor X--his body desecrated, his dream perverted and his power corrupted, it was difficult to see his remains mutilated. I'm very surprised that Marvel/Disney has allowed this to happen and to have it shown. Perhaps the Red Skull will be defeated because it's not really Charles Xavier's brain and he's back hiding in his basement but it is very disconcerting. What if it was Jean Grey's brain that the Skull stolen? Poor treatment for a cornerstone of the Marvel Universe.
It is a dark book, filled with murder, massacre, prejudice, accusations and body snatching. Do I recommend it? Actually yes but while I respect it, I'm not enjoying it...yet. I recall a couple of years back that Marvel was proclaiming a new Heroic Age. Apparently Marvel NOW has superceded it because Marvel is a whole lot grimmer now.
Agree or disagree?
Replies
There was supposed to be an Heroic Age at Marvel? Really? Let's see how that's going:
* Spider-Man is dead and his body has been taken over by his arch-nemesis.
* The Fantastic Four are off-planet and unavailable.
* The Hulk is working for S.H.I.E.L.D. supposedly.
* The Red She-Hulk is running from S.H.I.E.L.D.
* The X-Men--are there any X-Men anymore?
* There are two so-called heroic mutant teams dedicated to killing other beings.
* Deadpool is working for S.H.I.E.L.D.
* The Avengers trainees are getting killed off in a pointless death duel.
* Sif is busy beating up her friends.
* The Avengers are too busy forming a group to fight evil.
* Cyclops killed off Charles Xavier and is now running around being evil.
Honestly, I'm struck by this whole thing and wondering if there are any Marvel heroes actually being, you know, heroic.
I'm sorry, there's no one to take your call at the moment. You can leave a message and maybe one of the assistant editor's will return your call if they aren't being promoted to be the next fill-in for Bendis or Brubaker.
That's one of my points. After Siege, the grittiness was supposed to give way to the true heroes returning (Cap, Thor, Iron Man, etc.) But now it's argueably worse than when Norman Osborn was running SHIELD HAMMER!
Somewhere along the line they decided that 'heroic' means whatever their 'superheroes' (TM) happen to be doing. If Spider-man or Captain America is doing something then we don't have to question the ethics of it. QED.
Thus Spider-man has taken to torturing his opponents while quoting from Rumsfeld and Cheney's book of justifications and Captain America presides over some weird paramilitary elite who don't seem to be answerable to anyone for what they do and don't even spend any time amongst the dumb masses they are supposed to be protecting.
So everything in your first post relates to Uncanny Avengers, or is that across the line? Lots going on there.
Randy Jackson said:
I'm REALLY behind on current books right now but I liked Captain America #1 and Thor-God of Thunder #1-2 but those aren't "superhero (TM)" adventures. I get All-New X-Men and despite that there are two versions of four mutants walking around at the same time, it seems intriguing, though the Beast has to "dying" for it to happen. Same for Fantastic Four, Reed is losing his powers/dying. It's been done before but I'll give it a chance. As for Iron Man, meh. No reaction either way.
But I'm sorry. I'm not getting Avengers Arena. The premise is too much for me, I'm afraid.
But yes, my statements concern the events in Uncanny Avengers, though anyone can add their opinions about the other NOW titles here too, if they like. I'm easy!
How can he be 'somewhere else' and still eating pizza and watching TV with Wolverine in NY?
He's in another dimension. I'm sure when he gets back he'll just slip right in wherever he left off or something like that.
Figserello said:
But Philip seemed to imply that Cap will be around in the other titles, so unless they take place before he goes to the other dimension, or after he comes back...?
Looking at the various Avengers titles coming out in February, it seems that Cap is NOT in them except for Uncanny Avengers and A+X. Then again if Cap is stuck in another dimension, why aren't the Avengers trying to help him?
And I still can't believe Cap walked into that trap with his eyes wide open!
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