Avengers Academy

Avengers Academy
« on: Jan 14, 2012, 05:15 PM »

Avengers Academy is a recent title in Marvel's stable which features a team of superpowered teenagers as they are selected to participate in a program featured by the Avengers to train and educate them to be superheroes for the next generation.  Yet there is a twist.  These young kids weren't chosen because they were particularly heroic or noble but because they recieved their powers through the manipulations of criminal mastermind Norman Osborn and suffer from mental and physical trauma as a result.  The true purpose of the program is to make sure these kids don't turn out to be the next supervillain menace.  And the kids aren't too happy with the revelation...

Under Christos Gage, Avengers Academy has been one of my favorite titles (along with Uncanny XForce, Thunderbolts and Wolverine and the Xmen) that's easily accessible and features a fair bit of character development.  One of the things that makes this title great is that these characters are fairly new and don't carry much of the continuity baggage that their cohorts in the Marvel U do.  So it's a great playground for Gage to explore and play with the characters.  Each character has their own share of problems and aspirations like the glory seeking Striker, or Hazmat, the girl who can't live without a radiation suit on or even Veil who is destined to dissolve away and die at any moment.  What makes Gage's storytelling so striking is that each story arc leaves a lasting impact on the characters that continues to resonate for each of them and the status quo is not reset after each adventure. 

The supporting cast is made of lesser known but older characters who were at some point part of the main Avengers team such as Giant Man and Tigra.  What is also great about the book is that you really don't have to know anything about the characters beforehand to enjoy the title.  These characters are not the focus but they too also have their own character development and changes as the title goes on.  So if you were a fan of those characters it's an extra treat, and if not, then it's business as usual and business is good.

At it's core Avengers Academy is everything people originally enjoyed about titles like X-Men and Teen Titans before they became bogged down with continuity minutiae and constant revisions.  In fact, I once spoke to a friend and considered that the title could have been X-Men Academy and it'd still be just as strong (though for Marvel X-Men and Avengers are their two buzzwords and unfortunately each of those teams has six unnecessary books or so running concurrently).


Gage's true test as a writer however was when Fear Itself reared it's ugly head and hijacked several titles.  Of all the books that tied into the event, the only two titles that swam through that stinking pile of garbage and came out smelling like roses were Avengers Academy and Thunderbolts.  The company wide event had real lasting reprecussions for the team, their dynamic and the direction they are now in.  This is the kind of strong writing I respect and can get behind.

As for the art however, while it's not terrible in any immediate way, Mike McKone's style feels very standard and 'in-house' for Marvel as opposed to some of their other titles who feature stylish and acclaimed artists such as Leinil Yu and Chris Bachalo.  I would like to see some stronger art in the future, but Marvel could certainly do worse and at the very least it's very consistent.

I highly recommend this title as it's got a wider demographic than what most comics are offering and it's always interesting and engaging.  Of course if you're not into the masked and capes books it might not be for you, but if you've ever enjoyed the early incarnations of X-Men whether comic or animated then you'll certainly enjoy this. 

Quality 6
Creativity 8
Entertainment 8
« Last Edit: Feb 12, 2012, 07:50 PM by Kevin Birtcher »

 


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