Saturday 19 October 2013

Avengers #21 Review

Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Leinil Francis Yu

Infinity has been an amazing event so far, and one of the best that Marvel has produced in a while. Although the main series itself has been the stand out part of this event, as it should be, the Avengers and New Avengers tie-ins have also been simply outstanding.

Plot


Following the surprising death of a Builder at the hands of Thor, Captain America and his army take the fight to straight to the Builders.

Review


This was yet another brilliant issue in the Infinity event, and one of the best from the Avengers series. Jonathan Hickman followed on from the amazing events of Infinity #4 perfectly, keeping the story flowing smoothly. The issue did however fall down in quality for the same reason every other Avengers issue in Infinity has, and that's due to Hickman not wanting to take too much of the development away from Infinity itself, using this to work in some extra development. In saying that this was still a very exciting and dramatic issue, as although there wasn't as much suspense in the action as there is in the Infinity issues, they were still very entertaining sequences, having a fantastic tone.

The artwork was also amazing, as although like last issue it wasn't Leinil Francis Yu's best work, it was still outstanding. It was however not to the level of quality that Yu usually produces, with the artwork lacking in detail at times, and having a few imperfections. It was however overall wonderful, and for most of the issue it was simply beautiful. The layout of Yu's artwork was also once again outstanding, being extremely dynamic, adding a lot of tone and depth to the issue, showing why Yu's style's perfect for this tie-in. The action sequences were also very exciting and explosive, and it showed exactly why cosmic battles can be some of the best that comics produce visual wise.

This issue would start by showing that Captain Universe is still in a coma following her time as one of the Builders prisoners. Now there would be more development to this later in the issue, and although I won't go into any details about that I will say what I thought of her addition in this issue. Although I'm not the biggest Captain Universe fan I was very happy that she was brought back into this story with this issue, as due to her having a lot to do with the build-up to Infinity it was natural for her to have some impact. After reading this issue however I do see why Hickman has kept her back, as it has made this appearance much more exciting, and I hope she continues to appear throughout the rest of the event.

Following the death of a Builder the Kree work on repairing the power, and preventing the demise of the Supreme Intelligence. Now it would be the interaction between the Supreme Intelligence, and one Kree member in particular that interested me most about this sequence, with the Supreme Intelligence believing that the death of a Builder at Thor's hands was nothing but luck, and that it doesn't change anything. What I enjoyed about that was that it showed disbelieve in the Avengers, as following the boost in morale this kind of criticism from such an intelligent being makes you look at the bigger picture, showing that whether he's right or wrong that there's still a lot of work to be done.

Captain America and his army would continue on from their victory in Infinity #4 by taking the fight to the Builders, allowing Ronan to lead them into battle. Now this was easily one of the best parts of this issue, as although the development near the end would probably be my favourite part of the issue, this was probably the next, being very exciting. What I liked most however was the tone, as it managed to be rather sombre and elegant, feeling like an action scene from a film that's quite. I also loved seeing all the Avengers that were involved in this fight, and especially the likes of Hulk and Hyperion, who looked like the powerhouses they are.

Final Verdict


This was yet another amazing addition to the Infinity event, and although much like the other Avengers tie-ins it didn't come close the the outstanding developments that the main Infinity series has been producing, it has still been very interesting, working of the main series perfectly. The issue would also have a lot of drama and excitement, having some rather intriguing developments of itself. Due to this I'd highly recommend this issue, as well as both the Infinity series itself, and the New Avengers tie-ins, as they three series give the best reading experience for this event.

Rating: 8/10

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