On Sale Date: July 2018
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Paco Medina & Ed McGuiness
Inker: Juan Vlasco w/ Mark Morales & Jay Leisten
Letterer: VC's Cory Petit
Colorist: David Curiel
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Associate Editor: Alanna Smith
Editor-in-Chief: C.B. Cebulski
Cover Artist: Ed McGuiness
Loki recovered the mad Celestial from South Africa in Marvel Legacy (2017) # 1, which was reanimated and used to threaten Odin in Free Comic Book Day 2018: Avengers/Captain America # 1.
The Prehistoric Avengers' battle with the Mad Celestial was shown in Marvel Legacy (2017) # 1. The start of their battle with the rest of the First Host was shown in Avengers (2018) # 1.
CHAIN REACTION
In the ruins of Old Asgard, Odin tells Thor and She-Hulk about the Prehistoric Avengers and their battles against the Celestials a million years ago. Odin takes them to a room that may contain a weapon to aid them, but the item is protected by layers of ice that the two Avengers must smash their way through. Meanwhile, in Olympia, Iron Man and Doctor Strange discover that the Eternals have all killed themselves, driven mad by the dying Celestials. They find one of the Eternals, Ikaris, barely clinging to life, and before he dies he implants knowledge of the Uni-Mind in Iron Man's brain. On the Alpha Flight space station, Captain Marvel and Black Panther study one of the alien insects, identifying it as part of the Horde, a race of cosmic locusts that devour solar systems and are longtime enemies of the Celestials. They've started emerging on Earth, burrowing out of the bodies of the fallen Celestials.
At the North Pole, Loki continues telling Captain America about the Progenitor, the first Celestial who fell to Earth 4 billion years ago and was buried in ice. The Final Host have come to Earth to stop the cycle of disease billions of years in the making. Ghost Rider, having driven his Hell-Charger across the ocean, comes up on the Final Host and breaks his way through the ice to travel underwater. Back in Asgard, Thor and She-Hulk make their way through the cold to find an egg containing the blood of Ymir, fist of the Frost Giants. Thor succumbs to the cold and She-Hulk gives him warmth with a kiss, which revives him. As they emerge from the chamber, Odin reminisces about his battle with the First Host alongside his allies, and how it ended with all of them defeated and at the space giants' mercy.
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| Fire Water Burn |
THE ROADMAP
The Prehistoric Avengers' battle with the Mad Celestial was shown in Marvel Legacy (2017) # 1. The start of their battle with the rest of the First Host was shown in Avengers (2018) # 1.
CHAIN REACTION
The Avengers go off on their fetch quests, Odin and Loki talk in circles, and I'm so tired of reviewing this story.
If there was ever a perfect example of stretching out a story with exercises in futility, this comic is it. Don't get me wrong, I think Jason Aaron is an incredibly gifted comic writer. His run on Ghost Rider, not to mention his Thor, Wolverine, and Doctor Strange runs have all proved that fact a hundred times over. This, though, this just isn't working and I think it's all down to the way he's pacing the story. You have two semi-omniscient narrators at work here, Loki and Odin, and just like last issue (and next issue) they spend so much time talking about the mystery plot without actually saying anything necessary to understanding what's happening. The flashbacks combined with the pages of info-dumping from Loki just sink this issue like a stone, and that villain in particular is an albatross around this story's neck.
So while it's typical second act padding of the story, the various missions being undertaken by the Avengers in their 2-men teams just feels like filler and nothing else. There are big flashing neon signs around each team's discovery, saying "THIS IS IMPORTANT TO THE CLIMAX", but the journey to get to those points just feels unimportant. There are a few glimmering moments that shine, such as the She-Hulk/Thor make-out session, but they're few and far between. Too much time is given over to Loki and Odin being vague when the plot-building devices with the Avengers over issues 3, 4 and 5 could have easily been squeezed together into one issue, two at most.
The artwork is still telling the story adequately, with the pages again split between Medina and McGuiness. The line blurs a little in this issue where I can't quite tell which artist did which pages, at least not for sure, but it absolutely gives the comic a coherent artistic cohesion that I appreciated. It may be two different artists, but at least their styles are simpatico enough to present a united front. The opening splash of the prehistoric Avengers is quite nice, as is the final page with the aftermath of their defeat. This is solid, bright superhero comic art, and it totally works for the series.
If I'm being honest, I was very excited to read Jason Aaron's Avengers before it began. Now, however, I'm only reading this for Robbie Reyes, and if he wasn't in the cast this would have been my last issue.
If there was ever a perfect example of stretching out a story with exercises in futility, this comic is it. Don't get me wrong, I think Jason Aaron is an incredibly gifted comic writer. His run on Ghost Rider, not to mention his Thor, Wolverine, and Doctor Strange runs have all proved that fact a hundred times over. This, though, this just isn't working and I think it's all down to the way he's pacing the story. You have two semi-omniscient narrators at work here, Loki and Odin, and just like last issue (and next issue) they spend so much time talking about the mystery plot without actually saying anything necessary to understanding what's happening. The flashbacks combined with the pages of info-dumping from Loki just sink this issue like a stone, and that villain in particular is an albatross around this story's neck.
So while it's typical second act padding of the story, the various missions being undertaken by the Avengers in their 2-men teams just feels like filler and nothing else. There are big flashing neon signs around each team's discovery, saying "THIS IS IMPORTANT TO THE CLIMAX", but the journey to get to those points just feels unimportant. There are a few glimmering moments that shine, such as the She-Hulk/Thor make-out session, but they're few and far between. Too much time is given over to Loki and Odin being vague when the plot-building devices with the Avengers over issues 3, 4 and 5 could have easily been squeezed together into one issue, two at most.
The artwork is still telling the story adequately, with the pages again split between Medina and McGuiness. The line blurs a little in this issue where I can't quite tell which artist did which pages, at least not for sure, but it absolutely gives the comic a coherent artistic cohesion that I appreciated. It may be two different artists, but at least their styles are simpatico enough to present a united front. The opening splash of the prehistoric Avengers is quite nice, as is the final page with the aftermath of their defeat. This is solid, bright superhero comic art, and it totally works for the series.
If I'm being honest, I was very excited to read Jason Aaron's Avengers before it began. Now, however, I'm only reading this for Robbie Reyes, and if he wasn't in the cast this would have been my last issue.
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| Just like Dante in Clerks. |
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