Remember a couple of years ago, when the Red Skull stole Charles Xavier’s brain and grafted it to his own to get telepathic powers?
This is what happens when the heroes spend all their time fighting one another rather than the bad folks. Your Major Spoilers review of Uncanny Avengers #6 awaits!
UNCANNY AVENGERS #6
Writer: Gerry Duggan
Penciler: Carlos Pacheco
Inker: Dave Meikis, Scott Hann & Mariano Taibo
Colorist: Antonio Fabela with Richard Isanove
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 broke into the Bank of Bagalia hoping to find The Red skull, but he deceived them using Charles Xavier’s stolen telepathic powers and slipped away. Meanwhile, Synapse, the team’s Inhuman member, took a leave of absence to cope with her grandfather’s transformation into the villainous Shredded Man…”
I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THAT COVER IS ABOUT
During the eight months of lost time, apparently the Avengers sold Avengers Mansion to a consortium that is now using is as a theme hotel for bored rich folks who want a hero-adjacent adventure. This proves to be a bad idea when the Wrecker, recently released from prison, comes a’callin’ looking for revenge. The alert is met by the team of Deadpool and Quicksilver (pulling a cart full of weapons that Wade has named ‘The Dead-Sled”, an alternative to getting carried around by the speedster) who immediately engage the threat. I have to say, I’m impressed by the teaming of these two heroes, with Quicksilver serving as a perfect sarcastic foil for Wade’s antics, and Deadpool’s solution to the Wrecker issue is ingenious: He pays the villain a huge sum to go scout for information about the missing Red Skull. At the same time, Synapse encounters Medusa, the Inhuman Queen, and helps her to deal with the problem of Hellion, a former X-Man whose powers are now on the fritz, and who intends to take out New Attilan in his dying moments.
THE DEADPOOL/QUICKSILVER TEAM IS A HOOT
Duggan does a good job of balancing humor with action in this issue, and the frightening final pages (which remind us how a terrible, psychopathic monster with massive telepathic powers would be the scariest thing in the world) are a really good comic-book moment. Carlos Pacheco is a very good story-teller, and his excellent facial expressions deepen the character work, making even The Wrecker and the patrons of Avengers Hotel look cool as heck. The only real problem with #6 is that this issue, like the last one, feels a little bit inessential, serving as a ‘Day In The Life’ of part of a very intriguing team. On the one hand, I love the idea of character work and smaller moments to give this team of Avengers some grounding and establish relationships (one of the things missing from many recent Avengers teams), but on the other, it feels like the two issues’ plots could have run simultaneously in the same issue and made for a more streamlined and practical bit of storytelling. Still, in these days of crossovers and writing-for-the-trade, a whole issue of character-building is welcome, even if it feels like having ice cream before we’ve had our dinner.
THE BOTTOM LINE: FUN, IF A BIT INESSENTIAL
In short, this is a more-than-okay issue, with some nice relationship building between the characters (Deadpool pranks Quicksilver to test his speed, leading Pietro to show off a little bit) and revealing some important bits of post-Secret Wars landscape, using the new status quo to good effect. Uncanny Avengers #6 isn’t the full team, but it’s a fun team, with solid art and character work, earning a better than average 3 out of 5 stars overall. I think that, when it’s all collected, this issue will be an important part of the framework of how this title is remembered historically…
[taq_review]Dear Spoilerite,
At Major Spoilers, we strive to create original content that you find interesting and entertaining. Producing, writing, recording, editing, and researching requires significant resources. We pay writers, podcast hosts, and other staff members who work tirelessly to provide you with insights into the comic book, gaming, and pop culture industries. Help us keep MajorSpoilers.com strong. Become a Patron (and our superhero) today.
Once upon a time, there was a young nerd from the Midwest, who loved Matter-Eater Lad and the McKenzie Brothers... If pop culture were a maze, Matthew would be the Minotaur at its center. Were it a mall, he'd be the Food Court. Were it a parking lot, he’d be the distant Cart Corral where the weird kids gather to smoke, but that’s not important right now... Matthew enjoys body surfing (so long as the bodies are fresh), writing in the third person, and dark-eyed women. Amongst his weaponry are such diverse elements as: Fear! Surprise! Ruthless efficiency! An almost fanatical devotion to pop culture! And a nice red uniform.