Avengers #3

Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Mike Del Mundo
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Some Civil War II spoilers coming up. You probably shouldn't worry about it. Civil War II wasn’t that good anyway.

The Marvel Universe is in complete disarray. Some mandate came down from Disney, or maybe Quesada, or someone up high, that the universe needed an overhaul. Instead of updating the heroes we’ve known, the classic Marvel characters are incrementally being retired into legacy positions.

Marvel has decided that their old and reliable heroes are no longer the proper vehicles to power their fables. Instead, they are becoming the tapestry of Marvel’s lore. They will be the rich history to serve as inspiration to a new generation of heroes. It is a slow and sometimes painful process, but we can now see the direction we’re headed.

It’s beyond a bold move to be honest. To intentionally sideline heavy-hitters to make room for untested commodities is an inspiring gamble. Although, when you have Disney money, gambling is a relative concept.

So, here we are in a more diverse Marvel world. Most of the classic white male Avengers--Steve Rogers, Thor (son of Odin), Iron Man, Ant-Man, and Hulk-- have been killed or sidelined (or turned into villains) recently.

The new and more diverse Avengers roster includes Sam Wilson as Captain America, teenager Nadia Pym as Wasp, Hercules, Vision, Jane Foster as Thor, and Spider-Man (Peter, not Miles).

After the fall of Tony Stark and his empire, the Avengers are in need of a benefactor and, as fate would have it, Peter Parker, AKA the Amazing Spider-Man, is in a position to be one. Spidey got rich because Dock Ock took over Peter’s body for a while and sold a bunch of patents. In something of a reversal for Peter Parker in the past few years, his everyday life is great, but Spider-Man’s reputation has been tarnished by Ock’s ruthlessness while he controlled Peter’s actions. That’s probably why Nadia Pym isn’t too fond of him. Peter calls a meeting with the Avengers to sell them on the idea of a new Avengers tower, owned by Peter.

But before Spidey can seduce the Avengers with invisible jets, adamantium-laced glass and swank living quarters, Kang attacks. Vision finally got sick of getting screwed over by Kang in their long history, so he traveled into the future and kidnapped little baby Kang. Kang retaliated. It opens a series of events that cause the Avengers to be hurled through space and time, tangled in incomprehensible Morrisonian plot threads.

In the previous two issues, the Avengers endure some brawling, world-threatening paradoxes and inexplicable occurrences before Vision decides that Wasp should return the baby to his rightful place in time to become the conqueror he was always meant to be.

Does this comic make any sense? No. There’s a part where characters walk through fire and reset the timestream that would be hard enough to understand if it wasn’t glossed over.

Is this comic hella fun? Yes. Writer Mark Waid ensures that each character has a distinct personality and keeps the banter fresh. Spider-Man is funny without being annoying, which is a balance not every writer can weigh. Sam Wilson’s unique motivational style is not lost on Spidey. Thor’s weaknesses are briefly exploited and it gives her an interesting moment with Vision. Hercules has a man bun.

People have complained about Mike Del Mundo’s artwork in this series. It’s an untraditional painting style that includes no strong black lines, cross-hatching or black and white framework for the coloring. Some people find it distracting or bad. Don’t listen to those people. They’re bad people with bad taste who should feel bad about their bad taste. Avengers is gorgeous and Del Mundo’s artwork should hang on museum walls. He adds a flourish of neon splotchiness to his panels that give them a kinship to New York street art.

Between the excellent artwork by Del Mundo and expert characterization by Waid, this is an enjoyable comic book, even with the trippy time-travelling stuff that usually accompanies Kang. The Kang craziness might not be for everyone, and, yeah, it did get slightly cumbersome, but the foundation for the future of this roster is rock solid. Maybe this is the comic to bring more balance to the current upheaval in the Marvel world. Remember, Waid is the guy who wrote Kingdom Come.