All-New All-Different Avengers #3 Review

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!

Of course, things have changed since then…  Your Major Spoilers review of All-New All-Different Avengers #3 awaits!

ALL-NEW ALL-DIFFERENT AVENGERS #3
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Adam Kubert
Colorist: Sonia Oback
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: Warbringer is on the warpath, trying to assemble pieces of an ancient artifact that could wreak untold havoc on the world.  A slapdash team consisting of Captain America, Iron Man, The Vision, Spider-Man, Nova, Ms. Marvel and Thor followed him to a train tunnel and tried to stop him from getting the second piece.  But Mr. Gryphon, the mysterious buyer of Avengers Tower, flooded the tunnel with them inside.

Warbringer escaped, and now he only needs one more piece to complete his sinister scheme…”

NEW AND AWKWARD DYNAMICS…

We open with Nova being attacked by the adult Avengers, each lambasting him for his role in Warbringer arriving on Earth, with Iron Man particularly hard on the young hero.  He is moments away from having his lights punched out forever by the Goddess of Thunder, when…

…he awakens, having successfully been given mouth-to-mouth by Thor after nearly drowning last ish.  The heroes are off-guard, off-balance and off their game, and things quickly come to a boil between Ms. Marvel and Nova after their unpleasant interactions in the previous issues.  Iron Man tries to send the kid heroes home, but none of them are having it, and Spider-Man makes the case that a bigger team will be more useful against Warbringer’s forces.  The back and forth between all the heroes is wonderful (Captain America and Spider-Man’s interaction is particularly nicely handled) and they move to stop the alien overlord from gaining his third mystic whatsit to open the portal to the beyond, where Chitauri warriors are waiting to sweep in and destroy the world.

…BUT A GREAT CHARACTER BALANCE

I don’t want to give away too much of the last third of the book, save to say that Mr. Gryphon has something up his sleeve, the threat is neutralized in a natural, logical way, and the speed with which Nova, Marvel and Spidey respond to Iron Man’s offer of membership brought a smile to my face.  Of all the Avengers teams extant, this one has the most fascinating cast for me, and the experienced Avengers teaching the powerful new kids hearkens back to the earliest days of the team, which makes me very happy.  Adam Kubert’s art is excellent throughout the issue, delivering the goods on both giant fight sequences and interpersonal shouting matches, with his rendition of Nova being one of my favorite versions of the hero.  As always, Waid’s script is rock-solid, with a couple of very clever twists and truly inspired use of all the personalities in the book.  (The final page interaction between Nova and The Vision is particularly well-done, and has to be seen to be believed.)

THE BOTTOM LINE: A VERY SOLID ISSUE

The genesis of an Avengers team is a tale told quite often of late, what with four or five teams running concurrently, and the frequent restarts, relaunches and whatnot, but this team feels like it is the real deal on every page.  All-New All-Different Avengers #3 truly feels like Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and features well-rendered art, excellent dialogue and seemingly effortless storytelling, earning a very impressive 4 out of 5 stars overall.  With the potential inherent in these seven heroes and their interactions, this should be a very entertaining volume of Avengers….