Written by: Rick Remender
Illustrations: John Cassaday
Coloring: Laura Martin
Publisher: Standaard Uitgeverij
Uncanny Avengers #001 – Comic Book Review
We’ve all experienced the image building of Marvel over the past several years. Old heroes are getting the attention they so desperately deserved and certain hero groups are winning over the hearts of young and old. Old fans of the different Marvel series will immediately recognize what the coming series will be about, namely the cooperation of The Avengers and The Uncanny X-Men. We were wondering how this alliance would work but at the same time we were quite ecstatic to see two of these loved franchises fight crime hand in hand.
As mentioned in our review of the All New X-Men #001, the world is in a state of chaos after the death of Charles Xavier, by one of his beloved students Scott Summers, a.k.a. Cyclops. Mutants have once again become the center of attention, due to the fact that more and more of them have suddenly began surfacing and that some mutants, such as Scott, were pressing for a mutant revolution. This did not only make the mutants a bigger outsider but also a target for the government to prosecute. Seeing the Avengers had a lot of good partnerships with the X-Men in the past, Captain America decides to bring in Alex Summers (Havok) and Wolverine, in order to forge an alliance, to serve as an example to the world. He even goes further and decides to make Havok the leader of the pack, showing that Scott’s brother is a man the world can look up to. Of course, this plan does not prove to be that simple.
Red Skull, the Nazi villain, who still hopes to make his own new ‘Reich’, is plotting to use the mutant outrage to his own benefit. He will make sure to pit enough humans against the mutants in order to start his very own revolution. Nonetheless, even though Red Skull on his own is already a very fearsome character, he will call upon a very dangerous weapon, a weapon that has to do with the sad passing of professor X. Another two famous mutants also sadly get in Red Skull’s sights, namely Rogue and Scarlet Witch, who already had some arguments amongst themselves as well.
Overall the flow is quite rapid, as in this first issue, which is actually a collection of three albums, everything goes from one situation to another. All of these events will probably fall together even more clearly in the next issue, but for now things are being kept action packed, in order to get into the story a bit more. Nonetheless, you’ll get enough information to get things going, although perhaps some events still lack the necessary information, if you’re not all too familiar with both franchises.
Rick Remender opted for a reasonably action oriented plot, especially seeing it builds up from the same events that the All New X-Men series started out with, albeit somewhere further along the line. Nonetheless, things get slightly more clear toward the end of this bundle of three albums.
John Cassaday made sure the illustrations are very detailed, even though things are not always that consistent over the course of this album. Despite some things getting a bit ‘sketchy’ at times, the quality is still superb. It’s a fun touch that the coloring by Laura Martin actually feels a bit more ‘old school’, which suits as the perfect homage to the older series of both franchises.
Conclusion
Uncanny Avengers #001 is a rowdy start for the combination of two great franchises. You’ll be thrown into the action right from the start, which has both a lot of merits but a few disadvantages for those who are new to either series. Nonetheless, this series has a lot of potential if it keeps steering in the direction it is heading.
Uncanny Avengers #001 - Comic Book Review,
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