When there’s a murder in the afterlife, who can a Valkyrie get to investigate? How about a founding Avenger and her technically dead partner? Your Major Spoilers review of Avengers Inc. #3 from Marvel Comics awaits!
AVENGERS INC. #3
Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Leonard Kirk
Colorist: Alex Sinclair
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: November 22, 2023
Previously in Avengers Inc.: Her name is Janet Van Dyne. She’s got a personal invite from Jane Foster. His name is Victor Shade. He’s a dead warrior – on a technicality, at least. So together, they’re on vacation in Valhalla – to solve the mystery of how a dead man can die again…
AN UNPLEASANT HALLUCINATION
In the raucous halls of Valhalla, the heroes of Asgard are given an endless feast, endless battle, and the experiences a warrior craves. Unfortunately for the hero known as Scourge, the god who held the bridge as Gjallerbru, that doesn’t mean you can’t be killed. When Brunnhilde and Jane Foster call on The Wasp and Vic Shade, they find a number of unusual clues. None of the honored dead in Valhalla can kill another, which means that the murderer had to be more than just a fallen hero. And the only person who knows why Skurge was outside of the eternal mead hall is a man everyone calls Greybeard… a man nobody can seem to find. The situation is complicated by the late Grim Reaper, who has been trapped in the afterlife by Valkyrie Jane…
…and who HATES Victor Shade with a passion that transcends death itself.
The issue features several important moments in the ongoing saga of Victor Shade, including the realization that he knows The Grim Reaper’s real name (something The Vision knows, but Whirlwind does not), a vision of what looks like The Ultron matrix, and a warning from a god of Asgard to The Wasp, about who ELSE might have been resurrected with David/Vic Shade. The art in this issue is once again excellent, especially Janet’s choice of clothing, which is both stylish and reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes, underlining her new role as the detective of the superheroes. The tying together of Marvel’s various canon events continues, including the first team-up of Valkyrie and Valkyrie that I can remember, with Ewing and Kirk combining forces with the rest of the creative team to give us an Avengers book that breaks from tradition in wonderful ways.
BOTTOM LINE: YOU SHOULD BE READING THIS
As a fan of Ewing’s work, I’ll tell you the same thing here that I told you about Immortal Hulk and Defenders Beyond: Avengers Inc. #3 is proof that he’s the real deal, but the entire team is working overtime to make this one a winner, earning 4 out of 5 stars overall. I can’t wait to see where it’s all going, and I hope that journey takes a good long while.
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AVENGERS INC. #3
I love the interplay of the two Valkyries, and the mysteries of Victor Shade deepen in fascinating ways, with really well-done art. First rate comics.
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Writing8
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Art8
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Coloring7
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.