Aaron Thall
Feb 1, 2002, 11:54 pm
<a href="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/covers/mangaverse_avengers1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/covers/mangaverse_avengers1t.jpg" align=left alt="Marvel Mangaverse: Avengers Assemble! #1"></a>Reviewer: Aaron Thall, athall@columbus.rr.com
Quick Rating: Excellent!
Activate Interlocks... Dynotherms Connected... Infracells Up... Megathrusters are GO! LET'S GO... Avengers? Bwuh?
Written by: Ken Sui-Chong
Art by: Alvin Lee, Arnold Tsang, Omar Dogan, and Shane Law
UDON Chief: Erik Ko
Lettered by: Comicraft
Editor: Brian Smith
Co-Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada
President: Bill Jemas
When I first heard about this title, I felt an immediate sense of nostalgia. Some of my best childhood memories involve sitting in front of the television, watching Voltron as those wonderful robot lions flew across the screen and combined into the Defender of the Universe. That nostalgia returned with a fury in the early 90's as Power Rangers hit the airwaves and, late in the decade, the short lived CGI Voltron series aired. My bookshelves and videoracks alone can attest to my undying fanboy nature (it's not easy tracking down Voltron comics!). It was with this mindset that I first heard of Mangaverse, and that one of the preliminary titles was going to be a cross between Fantastic Four and Sentai/Power Rangers. Alas, that title, combining my two favorite things, was not to be, but this is a close second.
Avengers Assemble! takes the Avengers and combines them with some of the best traits of Voltron and Power Rangers, making for a highly enjoyable read. The story revolves around the menace of a giant hulk, one that HAS to be far larger than 20 feet, walking around like a good mix of Godzilla, Robeast, and monster-of-the-day. Naturally, the Avengers can't stand for this kind of antisocial behavior, so the head of Tony Stark (and no, that is NOT a misprint!) sends them to claim the Iron Avengers, four battle machines designed to combat menaces that the Avengers cannot handle as they are. Of course, first they have to keep Apocalypse from stealing their Zords... I mean Voltron lions... I mean mecha.
Granted, there are a great many characters for us to meet in this story, and from the way it's written, it's fairly obvious that this "series" has been going on for a long time. However, it remains easily accessible. The heroes and villains are clearly defined, and the story stands on it's own. The heroes are very different from their counterparts... Vision is a teenager in a robot body, Wanda's an elemental (another Anime cliché), Hawkeye has unnecessary armor on his face and a rocket powered crossbow, and Cap's wearing NFL SuperPro's armor <sic> and his photonic shield. Tony Stark is, of course, a disembodied head, which leads me to believe that he was selected to be that way to serve as a "Zordon" for the Avengers, a role he's surprisingly suited for. I'm almost disappointed he didn't say "Let the Power protect you." My only complaint about the good guys is that Tony's bodyguard never has any lines and is never identified, but she's essentially window dressing, so it doesn't matter.
The villains too are quite different. Apocalypse is some kind of cyborg determined to purify the planet and restore the environment at any cost. ArchAngel has energy wings and less determination - and is far more arrogant, too. The White Queen is your typical evil female sidekick. Juggernaut is a man in a robotic suit of armor that evokes level 2 Onslaught. And Sinister... Oy vey... We never really see his powers in action, but he's wearing a fur boa, evoking the mental image of the psychotic clown Piedmon from Digimon season 1, and that's either a really good thing, or a truly disturbing thing. Sinister in particular seems to think he's someone he's not, as his personality is a mix of the aforementioned Piedmon and Tarantulas from Beast Wars. It worked, but it was jarring.
The characters don't get much time for development within these pages, but the comic does manage to get personalities across. The real reason to buy the title, however, is the battle. Well choreographed, you actually worry when White Queen gets into one of the Iron Avengers. But don't worry... that doesn't last long, and then it's dogpile on Apocalypse, who grows to giant size just in time for the kind of battle Power Rangers is famous (and infamous) for. Of course the four Iron Avengers immediately change colors and combine, supposedly growing in the process too (another Sentai chestnut in which all mecha combinations, no matter how small or large they're supposed to be, end up the same height because of the size of the human inside the suit). They become Ultimate Iron Man and pull a Voltron on Apocalypse, blowing him away while the group yells out attack names. Sadly, it is left unclear as to if Apocalypse survives the battle, so I can only wish that this title will return in the future... mainly to see if they get support mecha and another member or two.
Art is typical UDON, which is to say, pretty spiffy in all regards. The colors are bright and crisp, the art is clear, and the action well conveyed. If you like the X-Men: Evolution style, this art will be pleasing to the eye. My largest complaint about it is that in one panel that reveals the names of the Iron Avengers, the name of the tank component is obscured and never mentioned or shown again.
Yes, this entire story is better than I make it sound. Avengers Assemble!, May the Power Protect You!
ART:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg
STORY:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg
OVERALL:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg
Buy this issue online now from X-World Comics (http://www.x-worldcomics.com/x/bstore/newbooksmain.html) and save!
Quick Rating: Excellent!
Activate Interlocks... Dynotherms Connected... Infracells Up... Megathrusters are GO! LET'S GO... Avengers? Bwuh?
Written by: Ken Sui-Chong
Art by: Alvin Lee, Arnold Tsang, Omar Dogan, and Shane Law
UDON Chief: Erik Ko
Lettered by: Comicraft
Editor: Brian Smith
Co-Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada
President: Bill Jemas
When I first heard about this title, I felt an immediate sense of nostalgia. Some of my best childhood memories involve sitting in front of the television, watching Voltron as those wonderful robot lions flew across the screen and combined into the Defender of the Universe. That nostalgia returned with a fury in the early 90's as Power Rangers hit the airwaves and, late in the decade, the short lived CGI Voltron series aired. My bookshelves and videoracks alone can attest to my undying fanboy nature (it's not easy tracking down Voltron comics!). It was with this mindset that I first heard of Mangaverse, and that one of the preliminary titles was going to be a cross between Fantastic Four and Sentai/Power Rangers. Alas, that title, combining my two favorite things, was not to be, but this is a close second.
Avengers Assemble! takes the Avengers and combines them with some of the best traits of Voltron and Power Rangers, making for a highly enjoyable read. The story revolves around the menace of a giant hulk, one that HAS to be far larger than 20 feet, walking around like a good mix of Godzilla, Robeast, and monster-of-the-day. Naturally, the Avengers can't stand for this kind of antisocial behavior, so the head of Tony Stark (and no, that is NOT a misprint!) sends them to claim the Iron Avengers, four battle machines designed to combat menaces that the Avengers cannot handle as they are. Of course, first they have to keep Apocalypse from stealing their Zords... I mean Voltron lions... I mean mecha.
Granted, there are a great many characters for us to meet in this story, and from the way it's written, it's fairly obvious that this "series" has been going on for a long time. However, it remains easily accessible. The heroes and villains are clearly defined, and the story stands on it's own. The heroes are very different from their counterparts... Vision is a teenager in a robot body, Wanda's an elemental (another Anime cliché), Hawkeye has unnecessary armor on his face and a rocket powered crossbow, and Cap's wearing NFL SuperPro's armor <sic> and his photonic shield. Tony Stark is, of course, a disembodied head, which leads me to believe that he was selected to be that way to serve as a "Zordon" for the Avengers, a role he's surprisingly suited for. I'm almost disappointed he didn't say "Let the Power protect you." My only complaint about the good guys is that Tony's bodyguard never has any lines and is never identified, but she's essentially window dressing, so it doesn't matter.
The villains too are quite different. Apocalypse is some kind of cyborg determined to purify the planet and restore the environment at any cost. ArchAngel has energy wings and less determination - and is far more arrogant, too. The White Queen is your typical evil female sidekick. Juggernaut is a man in a robotic suit of armor that evokes level 2 Onslaught. And Sinister... Oy vey... We never really see his powers in action, but he's wearing a fur boa, evoking the mental image of the psychotic clown Piedmon from Digimon season 1, and that's either a really good thing, or a truly disturbing thing. Sinister in particular seems to think he's someone he's not, as his personality is a mix of the aforementioned Piedmon and Tarantulas from Beast Wars. It worked, but it was jarring.
The characters don't get much time for development within these pages, but the comic does manage to get personalities across. The real reason to buy the title, however, is the battle. Well choreographed, you actually worry when White Queen gets into one of the Iron Avengers. But don't worry... that doesn't last long, and then it's dogpile on Apocalypse, who grows to giant size just in time for the kind of battle Power Rangers is famous (and infamous) for. Of course the four Iron Avengers immediately change colors and combine, supposedly growing in the process too (another Sentai chestnut in which all mecha combinations, no matter how small or large they're supposed to be, end up the same height because of the size of the human inside the suit). They become Ultimate Iron Man and pull a Voltron on Apocalypse, blowing him away while the group yells out attack names. Sadly, it is left unclear as to if Apocalypse survives the battle, so I can only wish that this title will return in the future... mainly to see if they get support mecha and another member or two.
Art is typical UDON, which is to say, pretty spiffy in all regards. The colors are bright and crisp, the art is clear, and the action well conveyed. If you like the X-Men: Evolution style, this art will be pleasing to the eye. My largest complaint about it is that in one panel that reveals the names of the Iron Avengers, the name of the tank component is obscured and never mentioned or shown again.
Yes, this entire story is better than I make it sound. Avengers Assemble!, May the Power Protect You!
ART:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg
STORY:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg
OVERALL:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg
Buy this issue online now from X-World Comics (http://www.x-worldcomics.com/x/bstore/newbooksmain.html) and save!