Comics / Comic Reviews / Marvel Comics

Review: The Avengers #1

By Andy Frisk
May 7, 2018 - 19:48

"The Final Host," which refers to the final visit and judgement of The Celestials (a star spanning/spawning race of Space Gods), brings Earth's Mightiest Heroes together...again.

The details of The Earth threatening "Final Host" of Celestials that are about to attempt to destroy Earth (again) are pretty much irrelevant to this review. All you need to know is that The Celestials are virtually unstoppable, and so are The Avengers so there's going to be a battle of cosmic proportions, as usual. What's more important is 1) how will this latest volume of The Avengers measure up to its predecessors, and 2) should we be excited about yet another The Avengers #1 and the relaunch of a legendary franchise?

Well, The Avengers (2018) is written by Jason Aaron, so we know two things immediately: the story will be character defining while simultaneously redefining of certain concepts and fundamentals of the franchise. I don't know if the term is applicable anymore, but Jason Aaron really has established himself as an "Architect of The Marvel Universe" over the past decade. He's redefined, and re-invigorated, Thor, not only as a character, but as a franchise, and now is given the opportunity to write and guide the direction of what should be Marvel Comics' flagship title. Anyone who's followed Aaron's time with Marvel Comics, especially his attention grabbing stint on Ghost Rider, knows that the sometimes irreverent, but always brilliant, storyteller often leaves a mark on the characters he writes that define them long after he's departed the character's story. I suspect he has big plans for the big franchise that is The Avengers and that those plans will be worth sticking around for. So, this new incarnation of The Avengers should measure up very well with its previous incarnations.



With Ed McGuinness drawing The Avengers, we know that it will look unlike any previous incarnation of the book and franchise. McGuinness is great at drawing iconic looking anatomy, often super hulked out anatomy (notice the "caveman" Starbrand in this issue), as well as more normal looking heroes (both male and female). It's his characters' facial expressions that often give me pause as they look more akin to a Cartoon Network version of our heroes than a printed Marvel Comics version. It's not a huge detraction though, as McGuinness does the super sci-fi (Celestials, powers cosmic, etc) better than just about anybody this side of the late Jack Kirby.

So, yes, it's safe to say that this newest incarnation of The Avengers will definitely measure up, and in some ways exceed, previous volumes of the book, and yes, there's definitely enough here, story and art wise, to be excited about. As Cap says at the end of The Avengers #1, and as he's said many a time before, "Avengers Assemble!"

Rating: 9 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12