We open with the red planet, Mars, being terraformed and genetic bombs being lobbed at Earth by a creature called Ex Nihilo. Red alert! This is a cosmic level threat, so Earth’s Mightiest Heroes go and do what they do best… assemble! They head right into the fray only to fail, fall but no one dies trying.
It’s a new day and a new beginning for the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, with a brand new team that’s bigger and better than ever before! And they won’t just be ‘Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’, either – when the galaxy is in danger, the Avengers will answer the call!
Jonathan Hickman sets the framework for a multi-year arc with a backbone formed under a convo. Iron Man and Captain America are having chit chat about what to do with escalation. For our Avengers World the answer to that big question feels simple enough: roster expansion! But there’s weight and grand ideas, you feel that from the first page to the final panel, as Hickman breathed life into his concept but don’t worry if you’re a bit out of sorts thinking maybe you missed previous tie-ins or mini-series this is the starting point of a grand design. So grab a seat and a cold drink as we head into the thick of it.
Beyond the written word the art by Jerome Opeña makes it all, high concepts about “racing towards the light”, gel. Strong details and competent characterizations that feel familiar but slightly modernized work more often than they don’t. The battle scenes in the second half alone were superb. Pencil and inks evoked the right atmosphere and with colors by Dean White this felt like a proper flagship title for the House of Ideas. And I especially loved each and every scene with Ex Nihilo, Abyss and Aleph.
I loved this book in 2012, I love it now! Avengers (Vol 5) #1 is a chef’s kiss of an intro that can be hard to process but what it leads to, what it starts… oh boy! And 14 years later this one is still recommended.
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READ IT DIGITALLY: Marvel Unlimited
