Hi folks, thanks for making it to the last issue of Geek Culture of the term. It has been an absolute pleasure reviewing comics and geek related content this past term. I would like to take this time to specially thank everyone who has supported me, especially our esteemed Editor-in-Chief, Nancy, for all her support and fantastic passion for the newspaper. So this week’s edition will be a comic review of one of my personal favourite comic book series from the Marvel NOW re-launch era, Uncanny Avengers, written by Rick Remender and illustrated by John Cassaday and Daniel Acuna. Uncanny Avengers follows the adventures of a new Avengers division comprised of only X-men and Avengers members known as the Avenger Unity Squad.
The Uncanny Avengers storyline takes place after the events of 2012’s crossover event Avengers vs. X-men (AvX) that saw Marvel’s two juggernaut teams go head-to-head over the future of mutant-kind and Earth after the arrival of the Phoenix Force. (Spoiler Alert for anyone who hasn’t read AvX). In the aftermath of the event, Professor Xavier is killed by a Phoenix possessed Scott Summers and so mutant-kind loses its leader. In an attempt to honor Charles Xavier’s dream of human and mutant peaceful co-existence, Steve Rogers (aka Captain America) forms a new Avengers unity comprising of both mutants and Avengers to show the world that mutants and humans can coexist. This new Avengers team is made up of Avenger members – Captain America, Thor, Scarlet Witch, Wasp, Wonder-Man – as well as X-men members – Havok, Wolverine, Sunfire and Rogue – under the leadership of Havok (Alex Summers). Rick Remender’s interpretation of the group’s dynamics is nothing short of exciting as each character’s history and interactions with their teammates is intertwined gracefully in the new story.
Uncanny Avengers incorporates elements from Avengers and X-men stories alike with various big Avengers villains, such as the Red Skull and Kang the Conqueror, as well as X-men superbaddies, like Apocalypse, appearing in the comic. In addition to the Avengers and X-men themed storyline, Rick Remender beautifully integrates his story from the Uncanny X-Force, which ran from 2010 to 2012, into the new Avengers story. Coming a little bit on a tangent, the Uncanny X-Force was an X-men themed story which featured the X-men members Wolverine, Deadpool, Fantomex, and Psylocke going on missionary missions to stop evil plots the X-men can’t. It is, in my opinion, one of the best and creatively dynamic X-men themed stories written by Rick Remender and drawn by Daniel Acuna. Back to Uncanny Avengers, several elements from Rick’s Uncanny X-Force run form the cornerstone of one of the main plots in the Uncanny Avengers story. Believe me, it will leave you in awe once you figure out how the Uncanny X-Force is linked to the Uncanny Avengers. He also takes some material from Jason Aaron’s Thor: God of Thunder story to weave an amazing Apocalypse and young Thor confrontation story in Uncanny Avengers. Really cool stuff.
Let’s talk about the major story arcs of the Uncanny Avengers Vol. 1. The first volume features 5 interconnected story arcs spanning over 25 issues. The first story arc is The Red Shadow, which sees the Red Skull gain Prof. Xavier’s telepathic powers, and uses it to eradicate the mutants. The second story arc is The Apocalypse Twins, one of my personal favourites. In the Apocalypse Twins arc, the team deals with the raise of the Apocalypse Twins and Kang the Conqueror. The twins plan on killing all humans and making a mutant utopia but first they have to divide the Unity Squad. The third arc is Ragnarok Now. It continues to follow the Apocalypse as they are on the verge of succeeding with their plan. The forth story arc is Avenge the Earth, another one of my favorites, featuring Kang the Conqueror and the Apocalypse Twins. Finally, the fifth and final story arc, Prelude to AXIS: AXIS was a major Marvel crossover event where the Red Skull uses Prof. Xavier’s telepathic powers to start a war between mutants and humans. In the aftermath of AXIS some of the Marvel heroes and villains become “inverted” – the good guys become bad and bad guys become good. In the wake of AXIS, several major revelations are uncovered by some of the team members of the Avenger Unity Squad and some members are lost. A sad end to the original roster of heroes but a new team has been formed to succeed the old one. Catch the new team in Uncanny Avengers Vol. 2.
In terms of creative freedom and writing style of the comic, it is pretty good. The way the storylines and characters are integrated is amazing. The struggles and hopes of each team member/villain are brought to light, and there is a real sense of fragility and morality. It is not as creatively dynamic and visually appealing as Rick’s run on the Uncanny X-Force, but given the amount of creative restrictions that are placed on a writer working on a big Marvel comic such as the Avengers, Rick has been very resourceful in making new characters with familiar X-men and Avengers pedigrees, as well as using multiple classic Marvel characters in creative ways to add flavour to the Uncanny Avengers story.
Finally, if you are a die-hard X-men/Avengers fan you have to read Uncanny Avengers. It is a must read for anyone looking for a creative and bold superhero comic. If you enjoy Uncanny Avengers, then you would definitely love Uncanny X-Force, also by Rick Remender. Thanks so much for reading this article and supporting Geek Culture and the Iron Warrior. Good luck and catch you next term.
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