Earth's Mightiest Heroes - The Avengers Appreciation 2023

[Frontier]

Saw this on YouTube today:



To be fair, I haven't seen the clip yet because I'm in the middle of reading the Kree/Skrull War now. So far I'm digging it.

Still, I rewatch it again when I complete the story.

In any case, what are your thoughts on the Kree/Skrull War story?

I thought it was solid and a little crazy myself.

[Digifiend]

It’s Jan’s new nightclub that she opened in her current mini by Ewing.

Yeah (though I'd call it a bar). The preview for Avengers #1 shows Tony and Carol there when it's revealed Carol has been elected as the new chairperson.

[Steroid]

Thanks bro. Apologies if I came off as heated. Yes, I'm positive about Aaron's run. However, there were issues of execution. In terms of Namor (and other characters for that matter) there were character moments. But at times, there were a lot of things that happened in an issue that overshadowed the moment. Aaron's pacing wasn't "crazy crap" pacing. It wasn't crazy crap, crazy crap, and then boom more crazy crap, one after the other. Still, it could feel bloated. I acknowledge that. Also, in order for Aaron's story to work, certain characters had to have changes. Thor's mom as Phoenix, Tony's dad selling him out to Mephisto, Namor taking a harder stance on the surface world, all of those actions bent the characters from their normal status quos. Overall though, I liked Aaron's run. That's my final say on that.

Still, next month will be McKay's run. A new team with familiar faces will come into opposition against an intimidating foe. In one sense, how can the Avengers cope with this new threat:



The ad says "Fear the Ashen Combine." They definitely seem scary and mysterious. How can a group of misfits (a term that I'm reading now from "The Kree/Skrull War") cope against that?

But then I remember.

Who has taken on the Kree, Skrull, and Shi'ar?
Who took on monumental threats like Korvac, Thanos, and Onslaught?
Who has fought against a nation of Ultrons?
Who took on Celestials, Builders, and Beyonders?
Who just saved all of reality against an army of Mephistos, a Multiversal Masters of Evil, and an army of Dooms?

Okay, for a lot of these instances, there was a little bit of outside help, a little set back, and a lot of luck. But in the end, who won out?

Earth's Mightiest Heroes baby .

Fear the Ashen Combine? Maybe this Ashen Combine should fear the Avengers.

I really love the designs for the Ashen Combine and I can't wait to learn more about them.

[Gaastra]

Saw this on YouTube today:



To be fair, I haven't seen the clip yet because I'm in the middle of reading the Kree/Skrull War now. So far I'm digging it.

Still, I rewatch it again when I complete the story.

In any case, what are your thoughts on the Kree/Skrull War story?

Isn't the first crossover the submariner vs torch story that crossed over in three books followed by the all winners story followed by the patsy walker and miss america crossover?

[Tony Stark]

I really love the designs for the Ashen Combine and I can't wait to learn more about them.

Me too. It’s setting up to be something epic.

[Shadowcat]

Saw this on YouTube today:



To be fair, I haven't seen the clip yet because I'm in the middle of reading the Kree/Skrull War now. So far I'm digging it.

Still, I rewatch it again when I complete the story.

In any case, what are your thoughts on the Kree/Skrull War story?

I’m sad to say it’s one classic that I haven’t read yet. But thanks to Unlimited I’ll be fixing that shortly.

[Thundershot]

The Ashen Combine look like some crazy ass stuff that Hickman would come up with. Don’t get me wrong, I love Hickman, but a lot of the characters he creates are a bit funky looking with weird forgettable names.

[Raz]

The Ashen Combine are giving me mad Locus Vile vibes and I loved those guys!

[Triniking1234]

The Ashen Combine look like some crazy ass stuff that Hickman would come up with. Don’t get me wrong, I love Hickman, but a lot of the characters he creates are a bit funky looking with weird forgettable names.

I mean a lot of Hickman's characters are definitely one use only but Marvel decides to keep them around cuz they have 10 fans. Like why the hell are they bringing Pogg Ur Pogg back in X-Men?

[Nomads1]

So by the end of it, how do you regard the Avengers BC as a concept and execution?

Needs to be forgotten and completely ignored. The concept doesn't work for a multitude of reasons and the execution was even worse than the concept.

Totally unnecessary and probably not something I foresee being brought up again any time soon.

Totally agree with Steroid and Frontier.

As for my take on Aaron's run, it had a lot of things that peaked my intrest, such as Ed McGuiness's art, the Squadron Supreme, the Winter Guard, the Brood, etc... however, the payoff inevitably was weak (except for McGuiness' art, which, indepedent of the story itself, was as good as always) and left a bad taste in my mouth. The whole Avengers BC concept is, IMHO, idiotic, to say the least. The infinitely derivative characters always serve solely to dilute the original characters (or, in the Avengers BC case, the Avengers itself as a team) and to make them more generic and less intresting. And I like my heroes, and my favorite team, to be special and intresting. If I'm going to spend my hard earned money, it better be on something special. It's the same problem I have with the whole "everybody can be an Avenger" outlook. I don't agree. Not everybody can nor should be an Avenger. It should be a special honor that not everybody should have, no matter how popular they may be in real live.

Have to disagree. The Avengers first gathering is special, rather than just a rehash of a retconned in concept. Writers need to quit trying to rewrite Marvels well established history, and make their own damn history, with new stories that propel the team forward.

Excatly.

And I am a sucker for heroes throughout time being interconnected throughout time.

Let's agree to disagree on this.

I wish I could erase AvX entirely. That story broke so many characters, imo.

Agreed.

Peace

[Riv86672]

…the Squadron Supreme, the Winter Guard…

Peace

^^^Totally forgot these when I listed things I enjoyed in Aaron’s run.

I’ve been waiting for an ongoing Winter Guard book for YEARS.

[Shadowcat]

^^^Totally forgot these when I listed things I enjoyed in Aaron’s run.

I’ve been waiting for an ongoing Winter Guard book for YEARS.

Exactly. There were lots of ideas I loved, but it’s the execution that fumbled it too much. Plus the role of the Star Brand, after only being introduced to the modern 616 a decade ago? This is one plug that lasted far longer than it needed to.

Off topic, but I hope you’re all reading Ewing’s Wasp mini, because that finale is killer. Plus there’s more to come.

[Frontier]

Oh, that weird baby Starbrand storyline...

[Shadowcat]

Oh, that weird baby Starbrand storyline...

It was so awful. Just like his handling of the Brood. The race in Hell via the Ghost Riders. That horrible battle for the Phoenix. My favorite storyline, where She-Hulk returns to her regular form, ended on a whimper.

[Sutekh]

The infinitely derivative characters always serve solely to dilute the original characters (or, in the Avengers BC case, the Avengers itself as a team) and to make them more generic and less intresting. And I like my heroes, and my favorite team, to be special and intresting. If I'm going to spend my hard earned money, it better be on something special. It's the same problem I have with the whole "everybody can be an Avenger" outlook. I don't agree. Not everybody can nor should be an Avenger. It should be a special honor that not everybody should have, no matter how popular they may be in real live.

My number one pet peeve with this prehistoric versions of Black Panthers, Iron Fists, Ghost Riders, Sorcerers Supreme, Star Brands, etc. is that it detracts from the current holders of the title. I want to know how *T'Challa* is cool, not how cool various other Black Panthers might have been, that I'll probably never get to read about anyway, because they're long dead. I want to hear how Jean Grey is special, not how there've been other Phoenixes past from Earth, and they were even more special. I want Ghost Rider to be cool, not to find out there was one that rode a flaming mammoth, which is a whiz-bang visual, to be sure, but makes me kind of feel like the one with the car is 'eh, I've seen better.'

'Cause, really, if we're gonna use older versions of legacy characters, I demand a book about the first female Iron Fist, Wu Ao-Shi, the Pirate Queen of Pinghai Bay, or about Kushala the Demon Rider / Sorcerer Supreme / Vengeance Demon!

And yeah, I am fine with lots of people being Avengers, including less-used members lights like Black Knight and Stingray and (Living) Lightning, but there's also room for various other teams, like the Heroes for Hire, Thunderbolts, Champions, Defenders, Fantastic Four, X-franchises, etc. and there's no need for *everyone* to become an Avenger at some point. Spread it out, have a few 'farm teams' and maybe even have some of the Avengers not currently on the 'main team' like Hawkeye or Black Widow lead the other teams (like when Hawkeye more or less led the Thunderbolts).