Written by Jonathan Hickman.
Art by Dustin Weaver; Mike Deodato; Justin Ponsor; Frank Martin; & VC’s Cory Petit.
Cover Art by Dustin Weaver & Justin Ponsor.
SUMMARY:
Released in 2013 by Marvel Comics, this 161-page hardcover compiles Avengers (2012) # 7-11. Each issue’s participating Avengers are identified prior to its beginning. The roster for this five-issue stint includes: Captain America (Steve Rogers); Iron Man (Tony Stark); Thor; Hawkeye; Black Widow; Hulk; Wolverine; Spider-Man; Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers); Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew); Falcon; Shang-Chi; Sunspot; Captain Universe (Tamara Devoux); Cannonball; Manifold Smasher; and Hyperion.
Team (Issues # 7-9): Captain America; Thor, Iron Man; Captain Universe; Hulk; Captain Marvel; Hawkeye; Black Widow; Spider-Man; Shang-Chi; & Hyperion.
The initial three-issue arc consists of: “The Last White Event;” “Starbranded;” and “Starbound.” After a single-page prologue (from the prior issue), events re-imagined from Marvel’s 1986-89 ‘New Universe’ imprint set up the multiverse’s ongoing catastrophic ‘White Event.’ With help from the enigmatic Nightmask, the Avengers must prevent the rapid cosmic destruction of one universe after another from spreading to their Earth.
A horrific mass tragedy soon puts the team into contact with a bewildered college student, Kevin Conner, who discovers that he has been designated the Marvel Universe’s ‘Starbrand.’ Reluctantly accompanying Nightmask, the new Starbrand helps locate the culprit behind the chaotic transformations now plaguing Earth. Considering Kevin’s lack of control of his vast firepower (as well as Nightmask’s own capabilities), the Avengers have no choice but try to contain them.
Team (Issue # 10): Captain America; Wolverine; Hulk; Falcon; & Manifold Smasher.
In fallout from ‘The Last White Event,’ the team is summoned by SHIELD to Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Entitled “Validator,” Canada’s Department H and SHIELD send in an Avengers strike team to breach an impregnable dome caused by an ominous organic threat infesting the city. It’s revealed that four Omega Flight super-agents previously deployed to investigate have now been missing for a month.
Once inside the dome, the team and Department H’s Robert Michaud are overwhelmed by a horrific and mind-bending secret. Note: The issue’s title refers to the missing Omega Flight member known as ‘Validator,’ who is secretly linked to a member of the rescue party.
Team (Issue # 11): Black Widow; Spider-Woman; Captain Marvel; Shang-Chi; Cannonball; & Sunspot.
Entitled “Waking the Dragon,” Captain Marvel commands an undercover six-person surveillance operation infiltrating a glamorous Macau casino to thwart A.I.M.’s underworld auction of a devastating new bio-weapon.
Little, if anything, goes according to their SHIELD-mandated strategy, as Shang-Chi faces a formidable army alone. Captain Marvel confronts the weapon’s suspected inventor at the gaming tables. Meanwhile, the team is startled by Black Widow’s cold-blooded attitude towards their adversaries.
Note: This title is also available as a trade paperback. It hasn’t been released separately in a digital format (yet).
REVIEW:
This art squad has definitely brought its A-game, as their visuals are top-caliber. Unfortunately, the same doesn’t apply to writer Jonathan Hickman’s incomplete plotting, which adds virtually no character depth to the Avengers themselves. The sole exception is discussing Black Widow’s chilling preference for torture and even homicide to expedite covert interrogations versus bothering with time-consuming spy games in their A.I.M. sting operation.
Some great concepts are lurking within these pages, but their stories come off as little more than glorified teasers. For instance, given the supposedly epic magnitude of “The Last White Event” (as it echoes DC’s Crisis on Infinite Earths), three issues don’t accomplish much beyond re-establishing Marvel’s ‘Starbrand.’ Still, fans of Marvel’s long-scuttled ‘New Universe’ may be intrigued by how Hickman re-packages concepts from nearly thirty years before.
“Validator” grimly suffers a similar scripting weakness, as Hickman sets up another earthbound cosmic threat that is abandoned at the issue’s end. As for “Waking The Dragon,” this undercover Avengers caper suggests a good read is coming, but readers are left yet again with a ‘stayed tuned’ finish. It’s odd that Marvel doesn’t bother to indicate what issues (or subsequent collections) readers can find follow-ups tothese storylines, assuming there are any.
Ultimately, The Avengers: The Last White Event delivers a superb visual package. The glaring disappointment is that Hickman’s storytelling is strictly a half-baked library read. This compilation’s underwhelming page count is the best clue of a letdown for Marvel fans.
ADDITIONAL CONTENT:
The cover gallery presents the five covers in a slick, full-page format. Their artists are Dustin Weaver and Justin Ponsor. Immediately following are artist Daniel Acuña’s full-page variants. For Issue # 9, he presents a Silver Age to the original Avengers. For Issues # 8 & # 10, it is his Avengers 50th Anniversary two-page spread. Concluding the book is a single page of Weaver’s character designs followed by four inked pages of Weaver and inker Jay Leisten’s black-and-white scene layouts.
Though the promotion has long since expired, the book once offered free access to the book’s digital copy. Additional directions are given on how to access on-line content via the Avengers’ ‘AR Index.’
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 5½ Stars
