Avengers #6 Review/SPOILERS

[Prof. Warren]

With issue #6, Aaron, McGuinness and Medina wrap up their opening Avengers arc in grand fashion.

For an arc that's been purposely over the top from the get-go, Aaron and co. still find a way to kick it up higher for the finale.

If you haven't liked how this has played out so far, I don't know if this issue will sway your opinion at all. But for those who've relished the big time, batshit action that Aaron's been bringing, I think this conclusion will more than satisfy. It's definitely a book that wants its readers to have a giddy good time.

Last issue's conclusion, with a giant sized She-Hulk, Thor, Iron Man and Ghost Rider standing ready to take on the Final Host, promised a glorious battle to come and that's exactly what #6 has - a knock-down, drag-out fight with the Avengers going toe to toe with the Final Host and the Horde with the fate of the world at stake.

The bulk of the issue is comprised of that fight as the gathered Avengers use all their resources to take down the Final Host and the Horde. As action-heavy as it is, Aaron gives the cast plenty of good lines to deliver so the various personalities on hand don't take a back seat.

She-Hulk fans will no doubt not be happy that Jen is still in savage mode but I'm hoping she'll evolve more once the bombastic action of this opening arc is done. Still, savage or no, she still has some entertaining lines here and everyone else has some choice moments as well and it's fun to finally have the entire team working as one.

Aaron pulls all the threads from the previous issues to lead the team to a solution while leaving some questions to be answered past the defeat of the threat at hand.

Aaron has said that this book is going to be the flagship book of the MU, a book that will essentially touch every corner of the MU and this issue really drives that home with narration that references everything from the Nexus of all Realities to Atlantis to Wakanda to the Savage Land to K'un-Lun.

He also makes interesting reference to the Starbrand looking for a new host and a couple of references to the Fist of Khonshu as well - something that leaves me to wonder whether we'll see some Moon Knight action in this book at some point.

Artwise, McGuiness and Medina deliver some robust pages, including a great "Avengers Assemble!" splash towards the end. Yes, it has the "Saturday morning cartoon" vibe that is a turn off to some but I think it's well-suited to the oversized action depicted here and Robbie Reyes' Ghost Rider looks especially impressive in one climatic moment.

I'm definitely digging this book. It continues to be a fun read and I feel like, with the opening arc now wrapped, Aaron is just getting warmed up.

[InformationGeek]

Oh yeah, this comic came out today, didn't it? I did not see anyone start up a topic for it, so I might as well.


Honestly? This was just kind of dull. It all went by a flash, just a lot of visual noise, lots of selling, the story just rapidly jumping all around to tons of characters. If you're a Robbie fan, I suppose you'll like that he kind of saves the day in the end. Otherwise, I just found nothing of interest here. The story just kind of ends and now the Avengers are assembled again. It seems like it suppose to be a big deal, but I just couldn't care.

Thor and She-Hulk kiss again... I guess that's something if it wasn't crammed into bottom corner of a page amongst all the other noise. Honestly, besides that stuff, Jen was completely pointless here. This was pretty much written for a dumber Bruce Banner/fan fiction Hulk with the lines and dialogue here. If you're a fan of Jen, I think you'll be left unimpressed.


Overall, this has to be the worst first arc to an Avengers series that I have ever read. I just could not care less about the characters, the situation, I don't find the prehistoric Avengers compelling, and the artwork just added to the chaotic mess that made everything feel like a blur. I couldn't focus on anything here and with the next issue being about the prehistoric Ghost Rider I guess... I just can't muster the energy for this book. This is the worst comic I've read in a long while and easily the worst comic I've ever read from Jason Aaron.

[InformationGeek]

Oh hey, you finally posted this. Ummmm... mods, care to delete my old thread?



Honestly? This was just kind of dull. It all went by a flash, just a lot of visual noise, lots of selling, the story just rapidly jumping all around to tons of characters. If you're a Robbie fan, I suppose you'll like that he kind of saves the day in the end. Otherwise, I just found nothing of interest here. The story just kind of ends and now the Avengers are assembled again. It seems like it suppose to be a big deal, but I just couldn't care.

Thor and She-Hulk kiss again... I guess that's something if it wasn't crammed into bottom corner of a page amongst all the other noise. Honestly, besides that stuff, Jen was completely pointless here. This was pretty much written for a dumber Bruce Banner/fan fiction Hulk with the lines and dialogue here. If you're a fan of Jen, I think you'll be left unimpressed.

Overall, this has to be the worst first arc to an Avengers series that I have ever read. I just could not care less about the characters, the situation, I don't find the prehistoric Avengers compelling, and the artwork just added to the chaotic mess that made everything feel like a blur. I couldn't focus on anything here and with the next issue being about the prehistoric Ghost Rider I guess... I just can't muster the energy for this book. This is the worst comic I've read in a long while and easily the worst comic I've ever read from Jason Aaron.

She-Hulk fans will no doubt not be happy that Jen is still in savage mode but I'm hoping she'll evolve more once the bombastic action of this opening arc is done. Still, savage or no, she still has some entertaining lines here and everyone else has some choice moments as well and it's fun to finally have the entire team working as one.

I dunno, she just feels so flat and generic. The lines aren't entertaining, but read more like a bad fan fiction/parody of the Hulk. Hell, she doesn't even feel important. You might as well replace her with another hulk and nothing would be different... oh wait, Marvel decided to get rid of the Hulk family. That's right.

[theoneandonly]

celestial vomit is off-putting term to describe the superhumans and the other crowd but then Aaron always has a fetish for weird imagery anytime ghost Rider is involved what with the weird sharks and whatnot from his run on gr. the avengers using celestial bodies and their creations tech uni mind to beat back the infection was more of a pleasing conceit. the portrayal of Carol and she hulk was not at all the best of their showings. Arron also seems to have paid homage to the hulk Loki smash scene from avengers when he had she hulk stomping him like a bug mid speech. overall I enjoyed the issue despite some of its issues and it was the best of the lot which I read including the DC offerings. most issues were not all able to interest me.

[Prof. Warren]

Oh hey, you finally posted this.

Hey, I'm moving as fast as I can, man!

Honestly? This was just kind of dull. It all went by a flash, just a lot of visual noise, lots of selling, the story just rapidly jumping all around to tons of characters. If you're a Robbie fan, I suppose you'll like that he kind of saves the day in the end. Otherwise, I just found nothing of interest here. The story just kind of ends and now the Avengers are assembled again. It seems like it suppose to be a big deal, but I just couldn't care.

I don't quite know how anyone gets "dull" out of this!

But then again, there's people who watched Infinity War and say "Meh, just seemed like a lot of CGI to me. Was I supposed to care about any of it?"

If it didn't grab you, it didn't grab you.

Everyone's mileage varies.

Overall, this has to be the worst first arc to an Avengers series that I have ever read. I just could not care less about the characters, the situation, I don't find the prehistoric Avengers compelling, and the artwork just added to the chaotic mess that made everything feel like a blur. I couldn't focus on anything here and with the next issue being about the prehistoric Ghost Rider I guess... I just can't muster the energy for this book. This is the worst comic I've read in a long while and easily the worst comic I've ever read from Jason Aaron.

Well, you've now read six issues of a book that you find nothing interesting in.

I think you can stop reading going forward, feeling satisfied that you've given it a fair sampling.

If you keep on with it now, I would say either you're a masochist or you're actually more into it than you want to admit!

For myself, this was nowhere near being a bad comic (it was my favorite of the opening arc) nor anywhere near the worst that Aaron has written (some of Wolverine and the X-Men or his Doctor Strange would fit that bill for me). Sorry you're not digging it but every reaction is valid.

[lordozone]

edit. Moved to the other Avenger thread.

[lordozone]

I'm not a DC fan, but when you compare with the actual Justice league book, this issue is a boring mess. There is no depth, characters act strangely (She-Hulk is now just a copy of his cousin, and Loki act like a one dimensional super-vilain, in total opposition with his other appearances) the vilains are boring, the victory was too easy (Celestials were totally under-powered) and yes, it was fun but totally forgettable, like a more mature saturday morning cartoon from Marvel.
It was not bad, but it was dull.
I'm a big fan of Jason Aaron, but he's not seem suited for the Avengers. Time to let Donny Coates taking the series.

[MyriVerse]

I don't quite know how anyone gets "dull" out of this!

Every panel.
Every word.
Every concept.

Mostly because it's blindingly obvious that there absolutely nothing good, here, just vomit. It's obvious that Aaron said, "Hmm. Let me come up with a plot that makes zero sense and does pretty much nothing and vomit it on the fans."

[MindofShadow]

i said in the BP thread but

this book has no heart. It is really really really missing an "it" factor.

It's just there.

It isn't bad enough to hate and isn't good enough to like. The stakes should have been huge and were huge but never felt huge. Everythign moved too fast, too chaotic. It was narrated to be an epic event but never felt epic. Felt no different than fighting AIM goons or something.

[lordozone]

Oh that's it, I know what it reminded me ! The Ultimates 3 by Loeb: a lot of energy, lot of fun visuals, but zero substance. It's hollow.

[Johnrevenge]

A mediocre end for a mediocre run. Licukily we have West Coast Avengers to enjoy an Avengers book, despite it has Quentin Quire lmao.

[InformationGeek]

Oh that's it, I know what it reminded me ! The Ultimates 3 by Loeb: a lot of energy, lot of fun visuals, but zero substance. It's hollow.

You're almost right, but I would scratch out "fun visuals". Ultimates 3 is an ugly as a s**t book. I read not that long ago and yeesh, it's pretty bad. Avengers here is more fun... but much more chaotic and hard to focus in on anything.



Thinking back on Hickman's Avengers stuff and looking at this, I think this book is almost trying to be similar to Hickman's stuff. Aaron's trying for some grand ideas, epic stakes, and huge scope, but more condensed and with more personality to a degree. Now I hate Hickman's Avengers work for many reasons, but I think the idea of trying to make an epic Avengers run similar, but different to that and more brought down to an upbeat, energetic level is not a bad way to go. But Aaron's stuff is not remotely compelling, his foot is almost always on the gas pedal, things don't feel focused, characters don't feel right, the humor is awkward at best, and the artwork only fits half of the story and even then makes it hard to read or focus on.

Like someone mentioned, it lacks heart. Hickman's run lacked heart as well, but we're focusing on this. I just don't find anyone particularly interesting. There's not enough time spent with people to really flesh them out since Aaron is just rushing through things. We go back to that brief, almost tacked-on Thor and She-Hulk kiss and I ask, where did that come from? It just happened. It's even worse than Cannonball and Smasher's abrupt romance.

[UltimateTy]

i said in the BP thread but

this book has no heart. It is really really really missing an "it" factor.

It's just there.

It isn't bad enough to hate and isn't good enough to like. The stakes should have been huge and were huge but never felt huge. Everythign moved too fast, too chaotic. It was narrated to be an epic event but never felt epic. Felt no different than fighting AIM goons or something.

I blame it on the art tbh

It's a bad fit for the story being told. It's too cartoony

[Tycon]

How is Aaron consistently killing it on Thor yet this exists?

[Prof. Warren]

Every panel.
Every word.
Every concept.

Mostly because it's blindingly obvious that there absolutely nothing good, here, just vomit. It's obvious that Aaron said, "Hmm. Let me come up with a plot that makes zero sense and does pretty much nothing and vomit it on the fans."

Well, if you think that literally every single element of this comic is bad, you should probably spare yourself the agony and just give it a pass.

Also, it's not "blindingly obvious that there is absolutely nothing good here." That is, of course, a subjective opinion.

A perfectly fair one, but it's also fair for others to say it's just as obvious that this is a fun, high energy book, indulging in pure superhero bombast with sharp art and writing that is both straight-faced and winking at the same time. When I read a line like T'Challa saying "The Horde are frightened. You can see it in the way their mandibles twitch," to me that's just perfect comic book writing - a line that would be at home no place else other than in a comic book panel.

Aaron's idea of fun might not be everyone's idea of fun but personally, I'm liking it and I look forward to seeing how much bigger and crazier this run is going to get.