Duck Fox

If a superhero's job is to ensure the safety of the world, then can he ever really be doing the wrong thing so long as the end goal is to save the lives under his protection? New Avengers, Jonathan Hickman's companion piece to Avengers, asks just such a question... Along with about a dozen others. I gave a shoutout to New Avengers in my Avengers review but that little blurb was hardly worthy of describing this masterpiece of a comic. In Avengers, Jonathan Hickman created an epic, larger-than-life atmosphere for his heroes. But rest assured, the heroic characters were still occupying a very black and white moral space; it's clear who the villains are and it's clear who the heroes are. This did create a couple of problems in some early issues, as a matter of fact, as the Avengers went overboard with their heroism to the point of threatening to kill Star Brand in his first appearance. New Avengers, illustrated by Steve Epting, takes the opposite approach. It puts together several of the Marvel Universe's best and brightest minds and has them tackle the impending destruction of the Omniverse.

At first this sounds like an eyerolling "been there, done that" storyline, but rest assured that the threat to end all of reality is far more compelling than, say, Marvel: The End. Things begin when T'challa (the Black Panther) intercepts a mysterious woman who has arrived on Wakanda from another Earth. It's soon revealed that she plans to destroy the other Earth, and that is not something T'Challa's cool with. He manages to subdue her, but not stop her from destroying the alternate planet. After capturing her, he calls together the group of geniuses who secretly ensure the safety of the planet. You've probably heard of them from conspiracy theorists-- The Illuminati. Only this group is made up of Marvel superheroes. In addition to T'Challa, there's Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic), Black Bolt, Steve Rogers (Captain America), Stephen Strange (Doctor Strange), Namor the Submariner, and Tony Stark (Iron Man).

The group interrogates their prisoner, who is still known only as Black Swan, and discover that there is an Omniversal threat weeding itself through Universes, destroying the entirety of Universes by starting with Earths. I highly suggest reading the full explanation, but the image below should cover the basics of what you need to know about these cosmological events.

im in ur universez, killin ur earthz

Spacetime is contracting across the Omniverse, with all the many alternate Earths being the incursion point where Universes explode. Simple? Simple. Only now that the Illuminati know about it, they have limited options as far as saving their own planet goes. They could destroy the alternate Earth (or their Earth, theoretically, but come on, that's not going to be top of the list) and spare both Universes, or let the Earths collide and watch as both Universes go up in smoke. Of course, destroying another planet from an alternate Universe is hardly heroic. Which is why Hickman is so brilliant.

Make no mistake, the idea that these characters aren't 100% noble and moral does not mean they are suddenly despicable. Behind closed doors they are still generally decent guys, but much more realistically decent. Tony and Reed have the best interests for their own planet at heart, and so strive to make sure they save it, but they also understand the huge error in not properly preparing themselves. T'Challa, meanwhile, carries over objections from his first encounter with the Illuminati, and is very aware of how much of his soul he's losing to protect himself and his people. Indeed, there's an imbroglio between Wakanda and Atlantis that really adds depth and complexity to conversations between T'Challa and Namor as respective Kings of the two nations. With Professor Xavier's spot vacated, Beast becomes the successor and his lighthearted personality is quickly swallowed up by the darkness of the book. Really, the only character that refuses to compromise morals is Captain America, who is quickly jettisoned with a mindwipe courtesy of Doctor Strange. This particular action seems like it's likely to come back to bite the Illuminati in the ass soon.

Oh, and did I mention that the art is amazing?! The shadowed faces of all the main characters during dialogue. The sleek, cold vibrance of the armors and costumes. Every single panel is perfectly colored, with tons of blacks, grays and browns giving the book a somber mood throughout most of its run. Really, the only issue that's lacking is Simone Bianchi's muddier, less complete illustrations, which just don't fit the grim tone well enough to be worthwhile.

It's rather unfortunate that Bianchi stepped in for this latest issue too, because things are really ramping up with the destruction of Earths storyline. We've been treated to glimpses of alternate Earths before, but Universe 23099 is more fully explored in New Avengers' 13th issue. Well, as fully as it'll ever be, considering it's destroyed by mysterious beings previously mentioned by Black Swan, the Black Priests. In the main Universe, the bulk of the Illuminati are trying to come up with a way to build a machine the Black Swan insists will be necessary. After going over it for a while, Reed realizes he's actually built just such a machine before-- in Hickman's earlier run on Fantastic Four, he constructed The Bridge that would allow him to see into other realities. While they're pulling Reed's device out of the attic, Doctor Strange is up to no good, accessing something called the "Blood Bible," and seeking answers from it. While he's possibly turning himself insane, the Illuminati finally get a glimpse of some of the other players in this Omniversal conspiracy as they see the Black Priests slaughter their alternate selves by... talking. Or, at least, the Black Priests mention that all that matters are "the words," and from there alternate Illuminati turn to skeletons.

By the issue's end, Hickman has forced the Illuminati through the door he opened last issue, bringing the Black Priests to the fore and doling out some more hints of the other enemies (Ivory Kings, the Mapmakers) that will hopefully coalesce into more epicness for the Illuminati and the Avengers.

If you've learned anything from this and my Avengers review, you should realize that Jonathan Hickman has plans within plans and wheels spinning within wheels. But when it comes to New Avengers, the sheer scale of his ambitions does not muddle the character development. Just be sure to pick this up with Avengers if you decide to jump in. It's not confusing without the sister story, but it looks like things are going to collide sooner rather than later. Either way, definitely pick up these issues if you've got the scratch.

9.5/10

Enjoy It Like a Fox If:

• You're want the morals of your heroes tested
• You're into epic sagas with tons of allusions to prior in-Universe history
• You're a fan of the Illuminati

Duck It:

• You want lots of action
• You don't need moral ambiguity
• You kinda wish the Illuminati were more diverse