Review: AVENGERS #25

AVENGERS #25
Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Salvador Larocca
Published by Marvel Comics
Release Date: January 22nd, 2014

AVEN2012025_DC11_LRAn Avenger lies dead, as A.I.M. Starts to explore the multiverse as the next phase of Jonathan Hickman’s run on Avengers begins in earnest.

Jonathan Hickman has always been a meticulous writer who lies out plans for his books for what feels like years in advance. There is no doubt that Hickman knows exactly where this story is headed, and probably the story after that, but sometimes planning as broad as he seems to do leaves some of the individual issues lacking a little bit of substance. Unfortunately Avengers #25 is one of those issues, as the issue primarily serves as setup to the story with little character involved. While there are plenty of great ideas teased, and the promise of the events of New Avengers coming into play fairly soon, the issue will assuredly read better in the collected edition, but it falters on its own.

The issue begins with Maria Hill and S.H.I.E.L.D. arriving on the scene to find a dead Avenger only to quickly flash back to four hours previously as A.I.M. scientists  experimenting with a piece of machinery called The Auger. We quickly learn that it is their way to explore the multiverse, and an unexpected surprise is brought through the portal that makes the first part of the issue appear different than it did on the surface, and took away much of the shock. It appears that the visitors are stranded on our Earth, and will come face to face with the Avengers, if they haven’t already. The problem with this issue is that for an Avengers title there is way too much time spent on A.I.M Island setting up the concept of The Auger and what it can do. We spend a grand total of one page with The Avengers we know and love while more time is spent with to the characters that came through the portal. The issue may falter, but it is by no means bad, as we are presented with a multitude of ideas that will most certaintly payoff later on. First off The Auger allowing A.I.M. to explore the multiverse can have huge repercussions not only in this book but also in New Avengers. In fact, we even get a glimpse of an incursion happening on another Earth in another sign that the two core Avengers titles may be headed towards a head on collision. We do get to spend sometime with the visitors from another universe, and while their conflict with the Avengers will be a huge confrontation that will have ramifications, I just didn’t care much about these characters by issue’s end.

Salvador Larocca steps in on pencils for this issue, and as always he does a great job. A.I.M. scientists look as good as they possibly can in their yellow bee keeeper suits, the splash page featuring the dead Avenger looks great, and the design work on the transplants from another universe is great. There is an old school charm to the design, but with a modern gleam. I also must commend Larocca for always being adaptable and switching up his style to fit the comic he is working on. This looks very little like his X-Men work and nothing like his work on Invincible Iron Man, but it still looks great. He has been one of Marvel’s most dependable artists over the years, and it will be fun to see what he brings to this arc of Avengers.

Overall, we are left with an issue that has is full of great ideas, is well executed on both sides, but ultimately falls short of what it should be. The big hook of the issue are visitors from another universe, but that has been done so many times in the past that it doesn’t feel special. What this issue does a good job of is establishing excitement for the future. When will the Avengers and the Illuminati come face to face? What role will The Auger and A.I.M. Explorers play in the future of the incursions throughout the multiverse? Who killed the dead Avenger? All of these questions will be answered in future issues, but I was more excited about what will happen than what was happening on the pages in front of me. Luckily, these ideas and the art were enough to elevate what would normally be a bland issue into an okay read, but it wasn’t on par with the quality that I’ve come to expect from Jonathan Hickman.

The Verdict: 7.0/10

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