Uncanny Avengers #3 Review

In search of the truth about their parentage, Quicksilver and The Scarlet Witch have traveled to Counter-Earth, stronghold of the High Evolutionary…

It has not gone well.  Your Major Spoilers review of Uncanny Avengers #3 awaits!

UNCANNY AVENGERS #3
Writer: Rick Remeend & Gerry Duggan
Artist: Daniel Acuña
Colorist: Daniel Acuña
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Editor: Tom Brevoort with Daniel Ketchum
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99

Previously in Uncanny Avengers:  “The Avengers Unity Squad joined X-Men and Avengers to show the world that mutants and men could work together…  but now the team is falling apart.  After discovering that Magneto may not be their father, the twins Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch traveled to a doppelgänger planet called Counter-Earth to look for answers.  The Unity Squad’s attempt to follow them backfired, and its members were scattered across a world ruled by the High Evolutionary, a ruthless scientific mastermind set on creating genetic perfection at any cost.  Now, Rogue has been captured by a mad scientist fascinated by her powers, a repentant Sabretooth is in the hands of the enemy, and The Vision has met his match.  And worst of all, The High Evolutionary has sent a mysterious woman to kill Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch…  Counter-Earth needs the Avengers more than ever, but can The Avengers even save themselves?”

THE IMPORTANT MATTER OF EXECUTION

Some people say that they prefer the Marvel shared-universe storytelling style because they do fewer/less obvious universal retcons than the revolving Crises On Infinite DC.  While I understand the perspective of that statement, it ignores the fact that the Marvel Universe is in a nigh-universal state of retcon-flux, as shown by recent revelations about the parental of Wanda and Pietro Maximoff.  After Axis revealed that Magneto was NOT their father, the twins have set off on a quest to figure out the truth, leaving some fans angry with the presumption that the movie universe was rewriting X-Men/Avengers canon.  The key for me is, and always has been, will the new story be any good?  This issue makes me feel a little bit better about things, as Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver cross swords with a woman who the High Evolutionary claims is their sister, with both siblings showing more character than they have since Steve Englehart.  Pietro is still bitter, but Remender adds a black humorous streak, while Wanda is still a little overdramatic (she named herself The Scarlet Witch, after all), but she’s regained the steel in her spine that disappeared sometime before Avengers: Disassembled.  The rest of the team is in dire straits, with Captain America turned into a wood golem, Rogue being experimented upon and Sabretooth serving as H.E.’s personal tracker, while The Vision reproduces in a non-symbolic way and Doctor Voodoo is MIA.

I AM NOT SURE ABOUT SABRETOOTH AS A HERO

This book has a very strange lineup, but one that I appreciate, even as I worry that it needs a big “hook” character with the exits of Wolverine, Steve Rogers and Thor.  The balance of personalities feels somehow off, even as I enjoy the renewed fervor of the Maximoff twins, Captain America and Brother Voodoo are cursed with little or nothing to do, and the group seems leaderless.  On the art-side, though, we have a very impressive showing from Acuña, whose designs for Counter-Earth show amazing detail and creativity, and whose facial expressions are showing a new level of clarity.  So far, I’m cautiously optimistic about these retcons, and find the hints that they were created by the H.E. to make perfect sense historically, since the twins hail from Transia, whose Wundagore Mountain was long the headquarters of H.E. on the mainstream Earth.  In short, if the reveals are as strong as the work in this issue, I’m perfectly happy with the changes to the Maximoffs’ history.

THE BOTTOM LINE: ALL SEEMS LOST, BUT A GOOD READ

Given that the previous volume of this book murdered all the members (including Captain America) in the course of its massive time-travel crossover madness, I shouldn’t be surprised that this issue seems so bleak.  The heroes have been beaten down by the forces against them, and things are pretty grim, but there’s still the matter of an absent Doctor Voodoo to consider, and perhaps The Vision has a little something up his sleeve, as well.  Either way, Uncanny Avengers #3 makes seemingly easy work of it’s hard game, introducing the latest truth about the Maximoff twins skillfully, with intriguing writing and wonderful art, earning a very impressive 3.5 out of 5 stars overall.  Don’t let the angry voices deter you, this is a good read…