Young Avengers Appreciation - 2021

[Dante Milton]

It was a very cute issue. Oliveira's writing was top notch, as usual. My only nitpick is that I really don't like Bazaldua's art, which sucks because I want to be supportive of queer creators. But she draws almost all the women with identical body types (Frenzy and Brand should not have the same build), there was no attempt to distinguish between flashback B&T and current B&T, and her faces are wonky, there were some really emotional bits here that didn't land as well as they could have because I was distracted by the weird faces.

[Waking Replica]

TLA: W&H was sooooooooooo good!! I mean, first off, having Anthony write them is always awesome, and this was no exception! The art was fine for me, I agree there's could've been more variation in form, but it never really bothered me fully. Now, to the nitty gritty spoiler city:

spoilers:

I freaking love Teddy making their rings out of the nega bands. As much as I wanted Teddy to maybe give Excelsior a Nega upgrade, having the rings be fragments of the Nega bomb is a sweet compromise. Also, them teaming up against their tormentors was A+++. It broke my heart to read Billy going through all that, but I'm so glad Anthony was able to build on Heinberg's foundation now that we're at a place in comics where that can actually be discussed. Also, interesting that Teddy's au version was evil and alone. I've always had the headcanon that Billy and Teddy end up together in every universe, but maybe that's too romantic LMAO. Another thing that caught my eyes was the Demiurge confirmation. I've always guessed it as Billy becomes omnipresent in the timestream bc of his control over magic and that an aspect (much like the aspect of Dormmamu Billy was fighting) was the one that made the elder gods, kinda like a Kang-esque Nate/Immortus/Kang situation. I'm interested in the notion that the Demiurge sort of descended into a human being that would become Billy. I wonder if it's bc of the prophecy surrounding Wanda's potential powerful children and that Billy inherited major power or if the Demiurge hitched a ride when William reincarnated into Billy.

end of spoilers

Final note, but does this officially make Billy not only the Merlin+Guinevere to Teddy's Arthur, but also his Lady of the Lake?

[SonofScarlet]

Everything was a delight in this one-shot! The art may not have been 100% my cup of tea but frankly it wasn't distracting enough to detract in any way from my enjoyment. That said, one moment did sort of stand out as my favorite

spoilers:

Mary-Jo being so supportive with Billy and Teddy's burgeoning feelings just warmed my heart so much I thought I might faint from the cuteness! Loving her special little guy and wanting him to find his special guy! <3<3<3 Mary-Jo truly was the perfect mom!

end of spoilers

[Wiccan]

Just read it, absolutely loved it too. I'm so glad we have the chance of getting those flashbacks. Their first meeting. Their first kiss... The fighting in the present was amazing too. And even a flashback back to the Emperor Hulkling oneshot too. The nega-bands being their wedding rings? Wow. Nice to have Phyla and Teddy finally talking and even bonding a bit, plus Herc and Noh-Varr for some fun.

This really feels like the spiritual successor the Emperor Hulkling and it's amazing. Oliveira just gets them. He's one of the best Wickling writers for sure. And I actually liked the art better than I was expecting from the previews.

[Magnito]

It was really good. I hope it gets bundled in a trade with some of the other recent appearances in Guardians and Sword.

[Digifiend]

Final note, but does this officially make Billy not only the Merlin+Quinevere to Teddy's Arthur, but also his Lady of the Lake?

Guinevere is spelt with a G, not a Q. The BBC Merlin series often called her Gwen.

Everything was a delight in this one-shot! The art may not have been 100% my cup of tea but frankly it wasn't distracting enough to detract in any way from my enjoyment. That said, one moment did sort of stand out as my favorite

spoilers:

Mary-Jo being so supportive with Billy and Teddy's burgeoning feelings just warmed my heart so much I thought I might faint from the cuteness! Loving her special little guy and wanting him to find his special guy! <3<3<3 Mary-Jo truly was the perfect mom!

end of spoilers

spoilers:

Special little guy? So Mary-Jo called Teddy the same thing Marge Simpson calls Bart?

end of spoilers

[Fokken]

My twitter feed is exploding with praise for Anthony's Last Annihilation issue. Couldn't be happier about it. This book is easily my favorite of all the Billy/Teddy content we've had since their inception. The way Anthony connected SO MUCH and answered SO MANY unanswered questions and further fleshed out relationships, past and present, is just incredible. The INTELLGENCE of the Spooky Action and how it became this key component to the story. The deep, DEEP, dives into not only Billy's and Teddy's past but also the Kree and Skrull histories, expanding the Demiurge of it all, pulling from past Avenger stories that are long forgotten (but not to Anthony clearly) and all the remarkable character work is just amazing. And in a ONE SHOT.

A ONE SHOT PEOPLE.

Good grief. I'm absolutely gobsmacked by how lovely this issue is. There are so many brilliant lines and perfect word choices that hold so much weight and meaning when applied to the history of these characters and what they've been through. There are so many nuggets of "Ah-Ha!" moments and genius lore pulls. Its just SO good. And SO intelligent. And RESPECTFUL. You know this man did SO MUCH research and had notes upon notes and spoke to people to ensure what he was including was appropriate, accurate, and applicable.

I'm floored. I love it so much.
With peace and love, there were moments -- not many-- but there were moments when the art pulled me out briefly. My issues are the same as my fellow posters. The cherub faces reflected in the past and present wasn't ideal. And specifically the moment where they stood face to face, when Teddy was about to re-propose and they looked VERY little. Again, the book was beautiful but there were just some aesthetic preferences that shook me out of it briefly.

But honestly, wow what a great book.

[jwatson]

This was a great issue. Nothing much more to say. The weaving of the past and the present. One thing i could understand billy but i couldn't connect with his younger self in the beginning as it felt foreign and i didn't really understand everyone in the class seemingly being okay with the bullying or just not saying anything but i know it happens so the scene felt real, just foreign which in of itself shows a great level of skill. Really excellent issue. Funnily i didn't know it wasn't written by Ewing until after i read it so funnily some of the voices were throwing me off but not in a bad way it was more like. "ohhh Ewing REALLY likes billy." and then the Herc and Marvel boy i remember thinking i don't think i've ever seen Ewing write them so close. Then i saw the writer and all was perfect and i was like "damn he good." Ramble over. lol

[Aeon]

The only thing that bothered me with this issue was the eyes. I can’t look at it when eyes are drawn like golf balls..

[Sutekh]

The only cover they had available was the one where they were drawn like children, and I was skeered that the art inside would look like that, after a hop, skip and a jump (to avoid spoilers) through this thread, so it was a relief to see that the art was actually pretty decent. Slightly different than Cheung's, but about the same quality (I love Cheung's art, but his faces get a little same-y, IMO...), and they definitely looked like young men, not little kids, which I definitely prefer.

I liked how the story didn't just focus on Teddy and Billy (and their relationship), but went out of it's way to contrast it with Herc and Noh's, and Heather and Phyla's (even if Heather wasn't actually present, Phyla did talk about her and their relationship to Teddy). All three couples were at very different places. Heather and Phyla, going through a bit of a complicated messy phase, Herc and Noh, all about how 'hot' each other are, rather than anything serious (and both mature enough in their own ways not to be expecting / demanding more of each other at this time). Just as you can more easily identify the individual characteristics of a person if they are in a line up with a few other people, than in a vacuum, defining them by what they are not, as much as by what they are, it's a neat shorthand to their relationship to see a few others in the same book to compare and contrast them to.

Who all showed up with Brand on page 4? I saw Hisako/Armor, Frenzy, Thumbelina (!), Brand, Paibok (I think?) and one of the Xorns, but I did not recognize the jacket-wearing girl below and behind Brand's extended leg. Huh, on page 5, Frenzy seems to be offering a supportive hand to Paibok. That would be a funky couple!

[Fokken]

The only cover they had available was the one where they were drawn like children, and I was skeered that the art inside would look like that, after a hop, skip and a jump (to avoid spoilers) through this thread, so it was a relief to see that the art was actually pretty decent. Slightly different than Cheung's, but about the same quality (I love Cheung's art, but his faces get a little same-y, IMO...), and they definitely looked like young men, not little kids, which I definitely prefer.

I liked how the story didn't just focus on Teddy and Billy (and their relationship), but went out of it's way to contrast it with Herc and Noh's, and Heather and Phyla's (even if Heather wasn't actually present, Phyla did talk about her and their relationship to Teddy). All three couples were at very different places. Heather and Phyla, going through a bit of a complicated messy phase, Herc and Noh, all about how 'hot' each other are, rather than anything serious (and both mature enough in their own ways not to be expecting / demanding more of each other at this time). Just as you can more easily identify the individual characteristics of a person if they are in a line up with a few other people, than in a vacuum, defining them by what they are not, as much as by what they are, it's a neat shorthand to their relationship to see a few others in the same book to compare and contrast them to.

Who all showed up with Brand on page 4? I saw Hisako/Armor, Frenzy, Thumbelina (!), Brand, Paibok (I think?) and one of the Xorns, but I did not recognize the jacket-wearing girl below and behind Brand's extended leg. Huh, on page 5, Frenzy seems to be offering a supportive hand to Paibok. That would be a funky couple!

The mutant behind Brand you're unsure of is Ruckus, from the Nasty Boys.

[Will Evans]

I was just thinking about the original Young Avengers storyline from way back when. And I remember The Original Vision had more kids than just the original cast under the protocol. The team used Jonas to look for more and that’s how they found Tommy. But there were more kids we never got to see on the list.

With more Avengers children turning up in the last few years like Pym’s daughter, Swordman’s daughter and Black Knight’s daughter. I guess Marvel could retcon, and say it was meant to be them. Luna too.

[Drops Of Venus]

So I finally got to read TLA:W&H (God, I had to get busy this week of all weeks).

No offense to Tini Howard, but after how disappointing her Wickling one-shot was, this is just the content that I needed. Can Marvel just hand over the Wickling keys to Anthony Oliveira already? He should be writing them in an ongoing. Yeah, even over Ewing, I'd say. This one issue gave me so much more than anything they've done in GOTG so far. I actually thought this was better than Emperor Hulkling, which just goes to show how Anthony outdid himself.

The throwback to the early YA days just made me so freaking nostalgic. Not only he brought back John Kesler, but also Greg Norris from Teddy's backstory! And all the flashback were just perfect. Like, PERFECT. It filled in all the blanks that needed to be filled. As much as I want Anthony writing present Young Avengers, I think a prequel series focusing on the earlier, unseen days of the characters would also be pretty good. He has so many good ideas!

Like I said on the previous page, I am so glad Anthony got to explicitly write that the nature of the bullying Billy suffered was homophobic. It's kinda weird how we knew this since forever, but it wasn't until now that it was directly addressed on page. I'm glad we're past the ''I'm bullied because I'm... different'' kind of speech and can call it what it is. My heart sank seeing those homophobic words written on his desk, but it's the kind of story that needs to be told.

MARY-JO ALTMAN QUEEN!!!!!!!! The fact that it's implied she knew about Billy and Teddy having feelings for each other and kinda nudged them to be together is truly a blessing. This queen might as well have thrown the first brick at Stonewall, because what she did for gay rights in this book alone was legendary. WE'LL NEVER FORGET YOU, MARY-JO!

The fact that they bonded over being Avengers fanboys and had their first kiss in front of Avengers mansion, y'all.... I can't. Name a more iconic Avengers couple!

That Iron Lad cameo at the end made me emotional, not gonna lie.... the beginning of the Young Avengers right in front of our eyes!!!

I'm so glad we had a flashback to the Emperor Hulkling night too. I felt like we were robbed of seeing an actual proposal scene, so I'm super glad Anthony gave that to us. Wasn't even expecting it and he didn't have to, but he REALLY checked all of the boxes to the fans. We don't deserve him.

The little Noh/Herc moments were cute. Of course Anthony would make Teddy get stuck with his fellow queer Guardians. As he should!

PHYLA AND TEDDY INTERACTING... I cannot stress how much I've been wanting this. Now I wonder if the reason why Ewing didn't do it in the GOTG book was because they were waiting to give us this special first encounter in this one-shot instead? It makes sense. When Teddy briefly mentioned his mother to her and said ''after she died, I...'' he didn't finish that sentence, but I feel like he was probably going to say he felt alone, without a family? I mean, yeah, he had the Kaplans. But I think it's different when it's you boyfriend's family vs having a family of your own, you know? So him being able to be this close to a family member from his father side after all those years is actually a huge deal. I just hope he gets to meet 616 Phyla at some point, because this AU Phyla's talk about her Dorrek being evil really threw me off and reminded me that yeah... this is not ''our'' Phyla. Also, Teddy knows about Genis! Boy did his homework on his family tree! Good to know. Hopefully they get to meet too now that Genis is seemingly coming back.

The Nega-Bands thing..... wow. I was confused for a second because I thought the bands were still lost in the Darkforce Dimension after Genis died on Thunderbolts... but honestly, I don't even care if Anthony just skipped a huge part of canon here, because what he did was AMAZING! What a great way to reinforce the connection between them while also connecting it to Marvel lore and Teddy's Captain Marvel legacy. It was truly special. Spooky action at a distance! Can ''spooky action'' become like a catchphrase for our fandom now? 'Cause I love it.

And Anthony not only gave us confirmation that the Demiurge is still canon (thank GOD the MAC mini did not take that away from us), but seemingly confirmed Billy is supposed to be THE Demiurge. It's interesting how Dormammu instantly recognized him and thought of him being ''human'' as something strange, below of the Demiurge. It's very interesting and it raises several questions about how exactly Billy becomes the Demiurge, and how exactly that transformation connects to the Demiurge in the past (who created the elder gods) and the Demiurge in the future (who created the ''Utopian Parallel'' and other worlds). I really hope someone tells that story someday.

One minor nitpick... It's kinda funny how the sword was destroyed by a Mindless One laser, but then was powerful enough to take down a whole projection of Dormammu, who's obviously way more powerful than a Mindless One? Like.... ???? I feel like they really didn't think this through and only destroyed the sword so they would have a reason to restore it in this one-shot, haha. But that's ok, the whole sequence was cool so we'll let it slide.

[Fokken]

Real quick just wanted to pop in to say that with all the MaryJo content Anthony's providing -- my GAWD the Mother plotline during Gillen's run hits on a dramatically harder level, ammirite?

[Drops Of Venus]

Real quick just wanted to pop in to say that with all the MaryJo content Anthony's providing -- my GAWD the Mother plotline during Gillen's run hits on a dramatically harder level, ammirite?

EVERYTHING HITS DIFFERENT, even going back to Heinberg. When you remember she died right in front of Billy and he tried so hard to save her and couldn't............... this boy must've felt so terribly guilty for that, which yeah, does explain his reckless action in Gillen's run.

Which is why I'm an advocate for locking Kl'rt up and throwing the key away. Him being able to walk somewhat free and work for Teddy does not sit right with me. He shouldn't be allowed to even breathe next to Billy and Teddy. Get that restraining order!