AVENGERS #7
Written by Jason Aaron
Art by Sara Pichelli, Elisabetta D’Amico, Justin Ponsor, Cory Petit
Edited by Alanna Smith, Tom Brevoort
Published by Marvel Comics
Release Date: September 5, 2018

Aaron, Pichelli, D’Amico, Ponsor and Petit take readers back to the “original” Avengers and tell the tale of the first Ghost Rider with this one shot Avengers issue.

Full disclosure: I’m a sucker for Ghost Rider stories. I’m a sucker for unknown secret historical origin stories. I’m a sucker for hellfire mammoths bringing the pain. So….this was pretty much my jam.

Sara Pichelli, Elisabetta D’Amico, Justin Ponsor and Cory Petit bring the visual thunder in this issue. The Rider has always been a dynamic character to work with and this art team knows it, bringing the blazing hellfire in a way that is totally effective once it comes into play in the issue. Pichelli’s pencils are lively, D’Amico’s inkwork is the perfect finishing touch and Justin Ponsor knows how to make fire leap from the page. You can’t half ass the debut of the first Ghost Rider, a character that is often times image over substance, and this team did not let the original Rider down.

No stranger to the Spirit of Vengeance, Jason Aaron knows how to let a Rider tale unfold for maximum impact. The slow burn wait for the Rider to be unleashed is amazing in this issue, and also opens up the doors for some other interesting tales. This one-off obviously isn’t just to kill time in the publishing schedule, and Aaron opens up some paths for exploration that are really interesting for this character. The naivete of this first host adds an extra element of tragedy to this story, and I liked how Aaron maintained the time period at play here. It’s long been a plot beat that no one is ready to be the Rider, but I can see this character in particular being at odds with the “gift” in a different way than others and I found that really interesting.

Avengers #7 makes me happy as a reader for a few reasons. 1) I like the constant thread through this volume of these “original” Avengers that Odin assembled. They are dynamic and interesting. B) Fire. Hellfire + Mammoth. 3) This creative team knows how to make plot beats drop at the right time with the maximum impact, and it shows throughout this issue.

The Verdict: 8.5/10