Across the planet, new threats have arrived leaving The Avengers with only one option. Take the fight to each villain, one on one. Your Major Spoilers review of The Avengers #3 from Marvel Comics, awaits!
THE AVENGERS #3
Writer: Jed MacKay
Artist: C.F. Villa
Colorist: Federico Blee
Letterer: VC’S Cory Petit
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: July 25th, 2023
Previously in The Avengers: Kang The Conqueror is in a coma, but before he slipped under he has warned The Avengers of a series of catastrophes heading their way, the first of which already hovering above Earth.
LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE
The Avengers #3 opens up with a focus on a structure in orbit around Earth called The Impossible City. Inside, a group of beings prepare to descend and wreak havoc. The issue then jumps from city to city introducing the new threats one by one. There’s Idol Alabaster who demands worship, The Citysmith who wants to warp cities into his own image, Lord Ennui who wishes to silence places that are particularly lively, The Dead who wants to raise corpses to take revenge against the living, and Meridian Diadem who desires to consume intelligent life. Things then shift to The Avengers as they prepare to meet the dangers head-on. After some strategizing, they work out a plan and jump into action. The issue then wraps up with each hero appearing to face their assigned opponent.
EXCITING WITHOUT A FIGHT
The Avengers #3 is a perfect example of how to utilize the format of an ongoing series to amazing effect. This issue does not feature a single fight, but manages to still create a ton of excitement and energy that is enjoyable on its own but also generates promise for the upcoming issues. For those of you who might be familiar with video games like Dark Souls or Elden Ring, this issue feels very much like the opening cinematics that introduces all the bad guys. Each one is given its share of page real estate and each one is given equal attention to laying out their motivations and the differences between them. Then, on the flip side, this tension is amped up when each Avenger is then introduced as their opponent. Seeing these heroes rise to the challenge over and over again just makes you feel good. If there’s one complaint to be had is that it would have been nice to have some sort of visual depiction of these bad guys; capabilities as opposed to just narration. But the hope is that some of that will come later.
EXCELLENT DESIGN
The art in The Avengers #3 really only had one thing it really needed to do here and that was to have good character designs for the citybreakers. And, I’m happy to say that it accomplishes this well. Their designs are unique, interesting, evocative, and appropriate for each character. It will be interesting to see these characters in action, as in this issue they are mostly stationary. But, when it comes to presenting visually appealing foes for The Avengers to face, this is a successful issue for sure.
BOTTOM LINE: HOW YOU DO A BUILD-UP
The Avengers #3 is honestly not much more than a prelude to future issues and normally that would be something to sneer at. But, here there is so much attention given to effectively establishing the threat while also giving each hero their moment to be heroic, it’s hard not to feel excited about what’s coming. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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The Avengers #3
The Avengers #3 knows that its job is to generate excitement, tension, and anticipation for the upcoming issues and it does so expertly.
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Writing8
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Art10
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Coloring10
At a young age, Jonathan was dragged to a small town in Wisconsin. A small town in Wisconsin that just so happened to have a comic book shop. Faced with a decision to either spend the humid summers and bitter winters traipsing through the pine trees or in climate controlled comfort with tales of adventure, horror, and romance, he chose the latter. Jonathan can often be found playing video games, board games, reading comics and wincing as his “to watch” list grows wildly out of control.