2012 Book 15: Avengers: The Children's Crusade
Book 15: THE AVENGERS: THE CHILDRENS' CRUSADE by Allan Heinberg & Jim Cheung, isbn 978078513685, 248 pages, Marvel Comics, $34.99
The Premise: The Young Avengers return in an epic saga by series creators Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung. When Wiccan's reality-altering powers begin to rival those of the Scarlet Witch, the young hero sets out on a quest to find her that spans the Marvel Universe and pits Wiccan against both the Avengers and the Young Avengers. But will Wiccan's desire to solve the mystery of his parentage be his salvation or his undoing? With three words, the Scarlet Witch changed the world forever...and now with her return, nothing will ever be the same for the Marvel Universe. This self-contained Marvel event reintroduces and redefines the Young Avengers and the Scarlet Witch for the Heroic Age, and is essential reading for any Avengers fan. COLLECTING: UNCANNY X-MEN (1963) 526 (B STORY); AVENGERS: THE CHILDREN'S CRUSADE 1-9; AVENGERS: THE CHILDREN'S CRUSADE - YOUNG AVENGERS 1
My Rating: 3 stars
My Thoughts: I love the characters Allan Heinberg created for The Young Avengers, and the way their personalities have come together over the years since the characters were first introduced. Even the most infuriating member of the team, Patriot, still interests me, and of course I think the Wiccan-Hulking duo is a much-needed fairly visible pairing for gay teens (they're committed to each other, they're not ashamed to show their love for each other, and they're not promiscuous. They're also not stereotypes).
And as a long-time Avengers fan, I should have enjoyed the fact that this storyline not only enhances the background for Wiccan, Hulking and Speed but also ties up a lot of lingering storyline knots from years of creators reversing the work of previous creators. John Byrne didn't like the fact that Steve Englehart had given Scarlet Witch and Vision kids, so he found a way to get rid of them; Brian Bendis decided to use that as the impetus to dismantle the Avengers and kill Ant-Man. Heinberg uses this storyline to bring back the kids and Ant-Man and redeem The Scarlet Witch ... but then he goes ahead and kills another character.
And I think that's ultimately why I didn't enjoy the story as much as I thought I should have: there's too much "let's fix this mistake, and that one, but then we need more drama so we'll do this..." for me. One of these days, I'd like to see a simple straight-forward adventure of The Young Avengers that isn't contingent on being a part of a massive company-wide crossover or an attempt to "fix" what previous creators have done.
(For the record: I am one of those who was pissed at John Byrne for getting rid of Wanda & Vizh's kids; I also thought it was silly for Bendis to use that as the motivating factor for Wanda going insane several decades (reader time) later.)
The Premise: The Young Avengers return in an epic saga by series creators Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung. When Wiccan's reality-altering powers begin to rival those of the Scarlet Witch, the young hero sets out on a quest to find her that spans the Marvel Universe and pits Wiccan against both the Avengers and the Young Avengers. But will Wiccan's desire to solve the mystery of his parentage be his salvation or his undoing? With three words, the Scarlet Witch changed the world forever...and now with her return, nothing will ever be the same for the Marvel Universe. This self-contained Marvel event reintroduces and redefines the Young Avengers and the Scarlet Witch for the Heroic Age, and is essential reading for any Avengers fan. COLLECTING: UNCANNY X-MEN (1963) 526 (B STORY); AVENGERS: THE CHILDREN'S CRUSADE 1-9; AVENGERS: THE CHILDREN'S CRUSADE - YOUNG AVENGERS 1
My Rating: 3 stars
My Thoughts: I love the characters Allan Heinberg created for The Young Avengers, and the way their personalities have come together over the years since the characters were first introduced. Even the most infuriating member of the team, Patriot, still interests me, and of course I think the Wiccan-Hulking duo is a much-needed fairly visible pairing for gay teens (they're committed to each other, they're not ashamed to show their love for each other, and they're not promiscuous. They're also not stereotypes).
And as a long-time Avengers fan, I should have enjoyed the fact that this storyline not only enhances the background for Wiccan, Hulking and Speed but also ties up a lot of lingering storyline knots from years of creators reversing the work of previous creators. John Byrne didn't like the fact that Steve Englehart had given Scarlet Witch and Vision kids, so he found a way to get rid of them; Brian Bendis decided to use that as the impetus to dismantle the Avengers and kill Ant-Man. Heinberg uses this storyline to bring back the kids and Ant-Man and redeem The Scarlet Witch ... but then he goes ahead and kills another character.
And I think that's ultimately why I didn't enjoy the story as much as I thought I should have: there's too much "let's fix this mistake, and that one, but then we need more drama so we'll do this..." for me. One of these days, I'd like to see a simple straight-forward adventure of The Young Avengers that isn't contingent on being a part of a massive company-wide crossover or an attempt to "fix" what previous creators have done.
(For the record: I am one of those who was pissed at John Byrne for getting rid of Wanda & Vizh's kids; I also thought it was silly for Bendis to use that as the motivating factor for Wanda going insane several decades (reader time) later.)