Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Avengers/Invaders

Avengers/Invaders is a 12-issue crossover that's oddly being joint-published by Marvel and Dynamite Entertainment. I say oddly because every character in the book is a Marvel character, and a far as I can tell, the only reason Dynamite is involved at all is because the idea was pitched by Alex Ross, who has been over at Dynamite working on his “Project: Superpowers” book.

Avengers/Invaders, though only two issues in, has come out to be pretty cool thus far. Set in a post “Civil War” Marvel Universe, the Mighty Avengers (made up of Iron Man, Ms. Marvel, Wasp, Wonder Man, The Sentry and Ares) are living their lives as usual when a portal opens up in the middle of Manhatttan and the World War II heroes, the Invaders, tumble out, disoriented and lost. Captain America and Bucky, the original Human Torch and his sidekick Toro and a younger, brasher Namor he Sub-mariner believe this to be a Nazi trick and take on (and take down) the Mighty Avengers, who are just as confused as well as being shocked to see their fallen comrade Cap alive and kicking.

Two big twists at the end of issue two really sold me on the series. The first is the New Avengers being informed by Spider-Man that the Invaders are in town, and they then decide that they will rescue and recruit their former leader. I like the idea of a three-way super-brawl. The second was the terribly hard-core portrayal of Bucky Barnes in escaping the custody of his prison cell onboard the SHEILD heli-carrier. He actually cuts open his arm and removes sticks of plastique he had stored there in order to blow his door open. Bucky shows some of the grit that writer Ed Brubaker would highlight in making him into the “Winter Soldier” over in the pages of Captain America a few years ago.

All in all, the book is good, and still a little under the radar. I recommend it.

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