Review: UNCANNY AVENGERS #22
Writer: Rick Remender
Artist: Daniel Acuna
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Publisher: Marvel Comics
The last 10+ issues of Uncanny Avengers have been building to this moment. The conclusion of “Avenge the Earth”. We have seen Avengers die, time travel, and Celestials. Speaking of Celestials, Kang the Conquerer has double-crossed the Avengers and stolen the cosmic energy of the Celestial Executioner. Can the Unity Squad finally work together to stop Kang’s madness?
What I Liked
I love how Rick Remender has built up Havok to be an A-level player. Havok is not only leading this team, but he’s standing toe-to-toe with Kang himself. This is also Kang with the power of a Celestial.
Sunfire underwent an interesting transformation as a result of the battle with Kang. I wonder how it will be followed-up with in future issues.
I mentioned the Celestials a few times earlier. While the Executioner ultimately does not play a factor in the outcome against Kang, it is teased that this may not be the last we hear from them. Plus, there are a few missing Avengers that we are left to wonder what has happened to them.
One of the highlights for me was Daniel Acuna’s art. He has illustrated the majority of this long-form story arc. This has brought consistency that a lot of comics do not have nowadays. The attention to detail in his backgrounds, like showing destruction in the city or out in space, is a joy to view. Especially since he does his own coloring.
What I Didn’t Like
As much as I enjoyed “Avenge the Earth” and “Ragnarok Now” that led up to it, the overall conclusion didn’t sit well with me. After waiting this long for a final boss-level fight between Kang and the Avengers, it didn’t live up to expectations. See Immortus and his Infinity Watch show up was a nice surprise, but they didn’t bring anything to the table. Their only purpose was to introduce a variable into the equation that Kang hadn’t accounted for. The didn’t factor into stopping Kang.
Also, what was the point of Kang assembling his Chronos Corps? Supposedly all the members were specifically selected by Kang. We never found out what those reasons were.
Summary
I am still loving Uncanny Avengers but #22 was not as epic as I had hoped it’d be. With the conclusion, some lingering questions were answered and new questions arose. The Unity Squad will not have time to rest on their laurels, because Red Skull and the march to AXIS is upon us.
Rating: 3 out of 5
This review is written in partnership with Pop Culture Network. They can be found at their website http://www.popculturenetwork.com/
Timdogg
#ComicBookChronicles @CBChron founder. Editor-in-Chief of @thekliqnation. Comic book reviewer, podcaster #RABBLERABBLE
