In the wake of the Secret Wars, The Avengers are no more…
We all know that state of affairs ain’t gonna last. Your Major Spoilers review of All-New All-Different Avengers #1 awaits!
ALL-NEW ALL-DIFFERENT AVENGERS #1
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Adam Kubert/Mahmud Asrar
Colorist: Sonia Oback/Dave McCaig
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
Editor: Tom Brevoort with Wil Moss
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Previously in All-New All-Different Avengers: “And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth’s mightiest heroes found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, The Avengers were born, to fight the foes no single super-hero could withstand.
But that day was… a while ago. There are plenty of hero teams active in the world, but none currently hold the legendary mantle of The Avengers. Not yet, anyway…”
THE REBUILDING PERIOD
As our story opens, Captain America is in action in New York City, dealing with a pile-up (and saving a family from certain death when their van is tossed over the side) in his usual heroic fashion, before being forced to deal with his own public relations issues in the form of two little girls selling Girl Cadet cookies. Fortunately, he is able to defuse the situation with the help of Tony Stark, who can’t loan him any money, but distracts from the questions of whether he would have chosen the African-American or Caucasian scout and exacerbating the race issues around his tenure as Cap. Mark Waid’s script is well-constructed, and hews close to the characterization of Sam Wilson and Tony Stark in their own All-New Marvel books, an admittedly difficult proposition. The two heroes encounter a threat in the form of former Nova villain The Warmaker, and with the assistance of Spider-Man Miles Morales, they are forced to fight a battle in Stark’s own former property, the building formerly known as Avengers Tower. Adam Kubert’s art is excellent throughout this chapter (though I still don’t care for his rendition of Captain America’s goggles), especially in the reveal of Iron Man’s new armor and the surprising cliff-hanger ending of the battle.
THE MEET-CUTE
The real star of the issue for me is the backup story, featuring the first interactions of Kamala Khan, the new Ms. Marvel and Sam Alexander, the new Nova. Things quickly get awkward, as Nova tries to impress her with his super-skills, only to have Ms. Marvel chide him both for unnecessary violence and for damaging a local business. It gets more and more awkward as they continue to battle a sudden dinosaur, and both heroes voices are pitch-perfect and genuine (as well as faithful to their solo books) as their interaction spirals out of control. By the time he reveals his secret identity, the situation is unsalvageable, and the tension is made even more awkward by Mahmud Asrar’s expressive art, which is especially effective in showing Kamala’s doubt and Sam’s nerves. As the story ends, both heroes are glad that, given their different heroic operations radii, they’ll probably never have to meet again, which should make their eventual Avengers membership that much more entertaining and painfully awkward…
THE BOTTOM LINE: THE SLOW BUILD
This issue features no trace of Thor or The Vision, whom the cover makes clear will be joining the team, but that’s okay based on the strength of what we get in the issue. Captain America and Iron Man’s interactions are lovely, Nova and Ms. Marvel’s are entertaining, and the fact that Iron Man calls out Spider-Man on his “trademark infringement” is both clever and perfectly in-character. Though we don’t get a lot of information on the impending threat, we get a lot of great character work and two different talented artists in play, meaning that All-New All-Different Avengers #1 makes for a very satisfying read, earning 4 out of 5 stars overall. I can’t wait to see more of this group interacting, and also maybe fighting crime…
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