Assembling still required.
By Jeff Lake
No Marvel relaunch/rebrand/renumbering would be complete without an Avengers title, and we get our first look at the newest incarnation of Marvel’s premier super team with All-New All-Different Avengers #1. Headlined by writer Mark Waid and artists Adam Kubert and Mahmud Asrar, All-New All-Different Avengers hits a lot of the requisite team-up boxes, even if the actual execution of the debut feels a bit uneven.
Right out of the gate Waid acknowledges the fluidity of his Avengers lineup, as Sam Wilson’s Cap notes the lack of a true Avengers team despite the many ragtag bands (and books) bearing the name. In that same vein, Wade also leans into the seeming perception/reception of this new MCU. Civilians challenge the current roster as not being comprised of “their” heroes, and Sam is forced into a needless racial quandary involving a box of cookies and a sea of electronic devices. Its pointed stuff, and Waid uses it to really inform what it is that makes this team different from what has come before.
Beyond that, the first issue is a pretty standard affair, almost disappointingly so. Waid essentially spends the issue laying the groundwork for bigger things, utilizing threads from across other books as a way of further fleshing out his own. It’s a solid move, but seeing as how we’re still in the infancy of this post Secret Wars world, not all of these threads line up quite as easily as others. The issue is also split into a main story and an extended back-up – the back-up reads great, but its inclusion leaves the main story as feeling surprisingly brisk for such a marquee launch. Such structure makes it tough for any real momentum to get going, especially so seeing as how most of the team has yet to cross paths or even appear.
Setup quibbles aside, the issue benefits from having two great artists on hand. Kubert tackles the main story, his sleek pencils and fluid paneling appropriately big and bombastic. Minus one late burst there isn’t a ton of action to this first issue, but he’s able to maintain investment through some uniquely sprawling layout designs and subtle physical nuance. His characters are wonderfully expressive as everyone, including the side-eyeing Redwing, is gifted with detail. Asrar brings a similar eye to the book’s backup tale. The more character driven of Waid’s two chapters, Asrar’s pitch perfect facial cues align wonderfully with Waid’s increasingly awkward introspection. Just try and read the last interaction between Kamala and Sam without cringing –its social awkwardness at its finest.
All-New All-Different Avengers #1 offers much of the same, but its few differences are both welcome and well articulated. This new roster may not be full of the same first tier talents we’ve come to expect, but it’s those new faces, and the interactions spun from them, that make this first issue so inviting. It’s not the most exciting of installments, but with a solid dose of well-realized character and a one-two punch of great art, it feels safe to say that this title is in good hands.
All-New All-Different Avengers #1 takes the tried and true route to start, and the result is a solid and engaging issue that never quite gets going. Mark Waid shows a clear understanding of his characters and the universe they inhabit, but doesn’t give them much to do at the onset. Thus far it’s more same-old same-old than all-new all-different, but there’s enough here to expect even better yet to come.
