When Kraven The Hunter nabs his biggest prey yet, it’s up to a special team of heroes, of the furry and feathered variety. Your Major Spoilers review of Marvel Unleashed #1, awaits!

MARVEL UNLEASHED #1

Writer: Kyle Starks
Artist: Jesus Hervas
Colorist: Yen Nitro
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Editor: Alanna Smith
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: August 23rd, 2023

Previously in Marvel Unleashed: When Kraven abducts Lockjaw at the same time a local scientist mixed up with A.I.M. goes missing, it’s up to Throg the Frog of Thunder, Redwing the Falcon, Chewie the Cat Flerken, Lucky the Pizza Dog, Bats the Ghost Dog and their scrappy new ally D-Dog to save the day.

TURNS OUT JARVIS CAN’T TALK TO ANIMALS

Marvel Unleashed #1 opens in Central Park, with Kraven arriving on the scene. He spots Lockjaw taking a nap and goes in to capture the giant dog. After a quick tussle, he’s able to bring the Inhuman down and escape. Later on, Lucky The Pizza Dog, Hawkeye’s dog, is approached by another pair of dogs, one calling herself D-Dog and the other Juniper. They inform Lucky that Juniper’s human has gone missing and they need help. They go to Juniper’s house and Lucky discovers that her human is actually an A.I.M. scientist. He takes his new friends to Avengers Mansion where they attempt to tell their plight to Jarvis, who fails to understand. Thankfully Redwing and Chewie are there and agree to help. Lucky takes Juniper home and D-Dog then tracks down the scent of Juniper’s human to an A.I.M. base by mistake. After causing a bit of a commotion at the base, the pets escape and continue tracking the scent to a cave, where they discover something far more dangerous than they ever could’ve expected.

WHO NEEDS SUBTLETY?

Marvel Unleashed #1 is a downright fun comic to read. Seeing the pets take on some of their human’s characteristics and then pair those with animal sensibilities, especially towards those of other species, is enjoyable and done with a good dose of humor that doesn’t get too silly. That being said, after establishing those parameters, it doesn’t really stray even a hair away from those. Redwing is an insufferable blowhard, Chewie is the sarcastic one, and Lucky is sort of just there. The one character that seems to have a bit more depth to them is D-Dog. In case you didn’t guess, D-Dog is a German Shepherd that wears a discarded D-Man mask she found in the dump. Like any good hero she has a tragic backstory, but rather than be sad about it she seems to take the approach that if she can be a good enough hero, she’ll find a home, which leads her to be characterized with a sort of unwavering optimism, nearing the point of mania. There are some moments here that feel a bit heavy-handed in their attempts to make D-Dog a sympathetic character, but for the most part, her interactions with the rest of the team are positive and lay the foundation for (hopefully) a nice character arc.

WASN’T EXPECTING THE ART

When you read a solicitation for a comic that features a group of superhero pets, I think it’s fair to expect something a bit cartoon-y in terms of art. But, Hervas and Nitro take a different approach by including plenty of hair strands and shading to give this book a more realistic look. While it’s very pretty to look at for the most part, this does lead to some moments that are a little unsettling, in particular how D-Dog looks with the dirty mask hanging off her face and how an unconscious Lockjaw looks with his jowls pouring off his face as Kraven’s tranq darts take effect.

BOTTOM LINE: NOT PERFECT, BUT WORTH A READ

Marvel Unleashed #1 is a book that delivers on its promise of being an adventure starring some of the pets of the Marvel U. The characters play off of each other well, and the story covers a lot of ground without feeling rushed. Some of the characters do feel one-note and there are some pretty blunt attempts to generate emotions in the reader that don’t completely land. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

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