Planet-sized Iron Man Armor, giant-sized She-Hulk and Thor, a dead Celestial possessed by Ghost Rider, and a cure that needed to age for millions of years like a fine wine all in this week’s AVENGERS #6 by Jason Aaron. Let’s take a look inside and see how the first arc wraps up!
STORY BY: Jason Aaron, Ed McGuinness, and Paco Medina
INKS: Juan Vlasco, Mark Morales, and Karl Story
COLORS: David Curiel
LETTERS: Cory Petit
WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
AVENGER #6 SPOILERS TOO!
To see what happened the last issue, click on the writer’s name below.
“We are Earth’s infection,” said Black Panther.
“Like herpes, only cuter,” said Iron Man.
Summary
The Power Ranger Megazord battle between the Dark Celestials and Earth’s Enlarged Mightiest Heroes ranged on over Siberia, but it just wasn’t good enough. Finally, the Avengers pieced together a solution by looking back at history itself. Our heroes simply asked, ”why haven’t the locust destroyed the human race?”
After realizing that the Avengers was like the antidote to this virus infecting the Celestials and turning them evil, they used what Tony Stark learned from before Marvel Legacy. Stark somehow mind melted their abilities with the Uni-Mind and cleansed the Celestials. With only the Final Host remaining, the Avengers along with the ”healthy” Celestials battled back the Final Host and captured Loki.
Accidentally on Purpose
Aaron did a tremendous job pulling this first arc together while pointing this ship in the direction of a true ”Fresh Start.” Aaron answers questions that have been dangling since Marvel Legacy albeit doing so with his own unique and creative spin.
The human race is literally the vomit from a dying Celestial. Now, to the uber-religious, this may come off as disgusting, repugnant, and extremely disappointing. The nature of humanity is to have a purpose and to think that we were some cosmic accident may seem trite and appalling. However, I view it as refreshing, and I feel I’m a reasonably religious man. Accidents can still breed purpose, and ultimately that’s one of Aaron’s point made throughout this first arc.
The Mathematician
Aaron gives depth to his stories. He calculates, organizes, and maps out answers as well as solutions. Aaron’s thoroughly understands the Transitive Property of Mathematics. For example, readers now know the name of the Celestials because Ghost Rider took control of a dead one and connected with his leftover thoughts and memories. Eventually, the Marvel Universe has a way of accessing deeper galactic stories thanks to Aaron and the Ghost Rider.
Severity and Importance
In addition to Aaron’s mastery of mathematical concepts, he also put the seriousness of this story into context. Sure, fans know this was bad, and the world was in big trouble in little China, but if readers see one apocalypse, then they’ve seen them all. Well, Aaron takes ”this” apocalypse up to eleven.
He narrates that the Hand stabbed themselves in the gut and gave up living. Odin threw in the towel as well as the Hellfire Club. The dinosaurs in the Savage Land hid remembering the last extinction while Dracula was shown with true fear for what’s to come. Aaron went deep into explaining that some of the scariest villains and species alive felt hopeless. He paints a spectacular picture for readers that many fans may quickly overlook. This first arc by Aaron was huge, it set the tone, and showed fans that this team deserves to be Avengers.
Simply Humorous
The humor and witty banter between the characters were perfect and helped this group of heroes feel more like a team. Situational humor like She-Hulk kissing Thor again, Tony offering to kiss and make up with Captain Marvel after events from Civil War 2, She-Hulk throwing up after seeing inside Tony’s mind, or Stark comparing the human race to herpes is just a view of the hilarious displays of dialogue from Aaron. The comedic conversations made by the Avengers helped promote a familiar environment to the readers and make them appear like family. Aaron dug deep to make sure this issue, as well as this series, had the history and weight it merited.
The Art
Ed McGuinness and Paco Medina’s art can be an acquired taste for many fans. However, I thoroughly enjoy McGuinness’ prodigious style. Every hero looks like they just got done with a 3-hour Crossfit circuit. Sure, it’s not overly realistic, but I also want my superheroes to look super.
In this issue, McGuiness and Medina draw very loud, large, and fun. That said, sometimes the pages were too colossal. I often found myself scanning the page to find everything that was going on in each grand battle. The pages were extremely busy and crammed with detail. This also made it difficult to judge the proportions of the giant-sized Celestials since so much was happening. Plus, the focus was more on the detail of the individuals battling and less on the background. Therefore, this hindered my perspective of the gargantuan size of the Avengers and Celestials.
Juan Vlasco, Mark Morales, and Karl Story’s colors were energizing and often intoxicating. These three chose such bright and vibrant colors that I found myself staring at the page longer than I needed too. The colors jumped off the page and really added depth to each panel. Together, this art team did a pretty good job showing the magnitude of the event unfolding. However, the often crowded pages made it too much for my brain to process in one read.
Should you buy this issue and/ or add it to your pull list?
Absolutely! Aaron gave us answers, connected elements throughout Marvel’s past, and created a ”Fresh Start” for the universe. Some fans may be disappointed with the human race being an ”anti-virus.” Other readers may view Aaron’s ending as a scapegoat as well as an unjustified conclusion to the story. However, I would challenge someone else to think of a better way to stop Dark Celestials hovering over your planet without overpowering any of our current superheroes, using a magical wishing machine, or creating a new power metal that also has magical abilities at the last minute.
Aaron progressed the story well and guided fans to the solution gradually. The heroes weren’t backed into a corner until the last panel and didn’t magically win at the last minute. The victory was earned. The Avengers got the upper hand numerous times throughout, lost it, regained it, and still found themselves down and out. Deep down, I can stand behind this issue, as well as Aaron’s first arc, and say the Avengers are going in the right direction. Put this on your pull list and pick this issue up!
What did you guys think of AVENGERS #6? Comment below or hit me up on Twitter @dispatchdcu. If you would like to read more of my reviews, click HERE!
