Avengers #15 tells you everything you need to know from the cover alone. Said cover features the makeshift team of Steve Rogers, Kate Bishop, Hercules, Hazmat and Quicksilver against a legion of Nazi vampires. As if that wasn’t crazy enough, the entire fight takes place on a Helicarrier! And unlike other covers that promise a fight that never comes or uses shock imagery to get a reader to pick up an issue, the promise of superheroes kicking Nazi vampire ass is fulfilled.
The seeds for this battle were set up in Avengers #14, where Rogers and his team, well, assembled to combat the vampire hordes that had risen up in the main Blood Hunt series. Now they find themselves face to face with one of Rogers’ oldest foes: Baron Blood. While Rogers and Blood square off, the rest of the Avengers have to fight Blood’s army while also figuring out how to save a Helicarrier full of captive people.
Marvel Comics
That’s a lot for one issue, but Jed MacKay and C.F. Villa are more than up to the task. MacKay’s script keeps the action moving at an engaging clip, but never feels like it’s going too fast. It also doesn’t skimp on the character dynamics; Rogers tells his team that he has faith in them to get the job done, and they rise to the challenge – in fact, Quicksilver even prods Kate to come up with a motivational speech because he freely admits he isn’t the right guy to do so. The fact that MacKay brings the same sense of character work and action to Avengers that he does to the main Blood Hunt series is commendable.
I also love how dynamic Villa’s artwork is; it’s constantly in motion, especially when it comes to the action sequences. Rogers and Blood are constantly at each other’s throats; from the punishing blows they deliver, it’s clear that time hasn’t dulled the enmity between them. The same goes for scenes where Hercules is bursting through walls or the other Avengers are racing through the Helicarrier; Federico Blee’s color work continues to make their costumes stand out in a darkly lit ship.
Avengers #15 is a prime example of how to do a tie-in: it’s got plenty of action, it ties into the main story, and it still stands on its own. Though the next issue will end this story arc, I can’t wait to see how it sets up the upcoming Avengers Assemble series.
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