Avengers from across the multiverse have assembled to fight the Masters of Evil, but the survivors must stand against an even more terrible threat! Your Major Spoilers review of Avengers #66 from Marvel Comics awaits!
AVENGERS #66
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Javier Garron
Colorist: David Curiel/Morry Hollowell/Erick Arciniega/Rachelle Rosenberg
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: March 8, 2023
Previously in Avengers: In the dark heart of all that is, the battle to save the entire Multiverse is raging, featuring a cast of Avengers that staggers the imagination. Surely no foe from any universe would dare stand against such a force? Mephisto dares, as the full extent of his plan finally comes into shocking focus.
THE LITERAL DEVIL
We pick up where we left off, with the Avengers in the heat of battle in the God Quarry, Avenger Prime facing down Doom Supreme with all his godly powers, and Mephisto watching impassively as his plan unfolds around them. Young Thanos, one of the last surviving Universal Masters of Evil, taunts him as the Titan flees the battlefield with the bodies of his dead (and not quite dead) teammates. Mephisto takes the counsel of the baby Eternal quite literally stepping across realities to fight The Avengers himself, but before he does that, he has to deal with his infernal brothers in the Council of Red. The other Mephistos aren’t happy with our 616 Mephy, as he has lied to them. They’re even less pleased when he begins killing them all, drawing upon the power of each murdered alternate self to enhance his own power. By the time he reaches the God Quarry, he’s the size of a Celestial, but that’s slightly less of an issue as the team calls in the last remaining reinforcements. Gorilla-Man arrives, piloting the dead Celestial that is Avengers Headquarters, now empowered as the ultimate Deathlok.
Oh, and there’s a brand new honorary Avenger, Faithful Spoilerites. They call him… GALACTUS.
“THE COUNCIL OF RED IS MOST DISPLEASED.”
It’s always hard with these sorts of stories to provide anything like a surprise, but this issue manages to pull off not one, but three different swervish moments, ending with one of the most impressive and powerful group shouts of “AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!” since Avengers: Endgame. Mephisto’s monologue to “anyone who can hear him” is a goosebump-inducing moment for me as a reader, especially his final promise that, “you are all going to DIE.” It leads to a couple of wonderful moments that I’m not going to spoil here, but also to the return of Ka-Zar The Herald and the newest colossal purple Avenger. The visuals are also up to the task here, moving from mystical war to Thorsdottir’s cracking skulls to the bizarre sight of Deathlok The Celestial, conveying the sheer cosmic scope of what is happening. The nature of comics is to one-up the previous stories, and this one pulls off that task, though I honestly worry about what comes next.
BOTTOM LINE: A TOUGH SELL, DONE WELL
As Avengers Assemble and Jason Aaron’s run on Earth’s Mightiest Heroes come to an end, Avengers #66 sets the stage for the final chapter in ways expected and unexpected, with the only real weaknesses being that a number of characters are completely out of focus in this issue and the fact that at least one of the surprises herein contained is a little TOO unheralded, leaving the issue with a well-deserved 4 out of 5 stars overall. Whichever creators take up the reins of The Avengers next is going to have some big shoes to fill.
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AVENGERS #66
Story threads dating back to 2018's Avengers #1 and before all come together for Mephisto's most audacious plot yet, and the ante is upped for the last time before all hell (literally) breaks loose.
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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.