Anghus Houvouras reviews the latest issue of Marvel NOW!’s Avengers…
“As Shang-Chi battles an ancient enemy, the Avengers hang out in Hong Kong’s swankiest casino.
Captain Marvel, Black Widow and Spider-Woman find out it doesn’t pay to gamble in the spy business. Cannonball and Sunspot play craps with a bunch of Aim Agents. And Win!“
One of the things that has been in the back of my mind since starting to read the newest Avengers series courtesy of the Marvel NOW! relaunch has been the expanded roster of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Within the first three issues it was very clear that this version of Marvel’s super-team was going to be packed with all sorts of interesting characters.
With the success of the film, you had the obvious candidates: Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, Hawkeye, Thor, and Black Widow. Then you had some familiar back ups that have been tied to the team in recent years: Spider-Man, Wolverine, Captain Marvel, Spider Woman, and Falcon among them. Then you had a tier of familiar faces who usually weren’t associated with the group: Mutants Sunspot and Cannonball. Shang-Chi – The Master of Kung Fu. Then they threw in the kitchen sink: Otherworldly characters like Smasher, Hyperion, and Captain Universe bringing an entire new dynamic to the recruitment process. And so far, it’s worked. Avengers has been thoroughly enjoyable read and has never skimped on the characterization.
Issue #11 gives us some time with some of the underused members of the team. Shang-Chi takes the lead in an issue that sends the team to Japan to try their hand at subterfuge. Spoiler Alert: They’re not very good at it.
It seems A.I.M. is interested in causing a ruckus and aims to sell a rather nasty weapon. A small group of Avengers goes undercover at a casino and tries to sort out the details. The issue is a great little Ocean’s Eleven style caper with the right blend of chaos and comedy. The breakaway star of this issue is the Black Widow who doesn’t see the logic in her teammates convoluted plan and suggests a course of action befitting of a super spy: seduction, torture, and murder. This does not go over well with the other Avengers.
It’s also a great issue for fans of Carol Danvers, who takes the drivers seat in a card game with extremely high takes. But for me, the best moments were reserved for Shang-Chi, a character I loved back in the Silver Age of Marvel. His presence in Avengers feels like a gift, and he’s given ample opportunity to kick ass and take names.
Avengers continues to be the flagship Marvel NOW! title. The writing is solid, the characters are well realized, and it’s all wonderfully self contained. Avengers #11 is a great palette cleanser of an issue. A nice break from the intergalactic crisis that has been gripping the book since its launch.
Anghus Houvouras is a North Carolina based writer and filmmaker. His latest work, the graphic novel EXE: Executable File, is available from Lulu.com.
Originally published May 9, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
