CREDIT: Marvel
Rating: 3.5/5 – Axis Fallout Brings Together an All New Uncanny Avengers.
by ComicSpectrum senior reviewer Shawn Hoklas
When Marvel’s Axis event ended, some of the heroes and villains had their roles reversed/inverted. Sabertooth is a prime example of the effects Axis had on certain characters. Sabertooth has come to feel remorse about all the atrocities he’s committed in the past, and is now looking for a new start and a chance to redeem himself. This quest for redemption has led him to surrender himself into the Avengers’ care, becoming just one of the newest team members on an all new Uncanny Avengers lineup. Axis and previous Uncanny Avengers writer Rick Remender, along with artist Daniel Acuna launch a brand new number one issue with a new team that didn’t have the same level of excitement for me that the previous first issue had, but still delivers strong art and a unique cast with plenty of potential.
Daniel Acuna has worked on the Uncanny Avengers title before, but this time he has the opportunity to draw characters like the Vision and Doctor Voodoo and his portrayal of Voodoo left me wanting more. Acuna’s art in this first issue definitely makes up for a somewhat underwhelming story. His opening six pages alone are worth the price of the price of admission as Quicksilver searches for answers after what he and the Scarlet Witch learned in the Axis event. Acuna draws an opening scene with Quicksilver racing against a cheetah-like New man on Counter-Earth, an earth full of humanoid animals that was first introduced way back in the 1970s series Marvel Premiere. His colors are exquisite throughout, and the blur lines Quicksilver and the new man Ja’Rou leave behind gave me a definite sense of velocity and effects that come from Scarlet Witch and Doctor Voodoo’s magic look exactly how I’d expect them to.
Unfortunately the quick pace of the opening eventually slows down and loses its momentum. Remender jumps to a new Avengers team discussing Scarlet Witch’s fragile state of mind and the potential threat she can become after hearing news of her and her brother’s origin. As they look to find her in order to bring her back home, we learn a bit more about each character’s mindset through their own internal monologue and external dialogue. The Vision unfortunately came off to me as an unlikeable character, and we never really see just how this team came together. The action scenes mentioned above are exciting, but the slow parts read slow without any feeling of the history of this team being together.
The potential of a team with a cast of characters like this is exciting and new, but ultimately the writing in this first issue diminished that excitement a bit. It is only the first issue though, and this seems as though it may be the start of another big story that Remender is known for writing since his time on Uncanny X-Force. So with that I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. Although his Axis event fell short for me, I was a big fan of his previous Uncanny Avengers run and I’m hoping this story given time, can match or better it.
Reviewed by: Shawn Hoklas
(shawn@comicspectrum.com)
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