If you ever looked at an action figure and invented a story from it when you were a kid, you’ll probably relate to the absolute fun to be had with Mech Strike: Monster Hunters. There’s no mistaking that Marvel’s Mech Strike experiment is for the young and the young at heart. The original concept launched in 2021, featuring each Avenger with its own giant mech-suit. If you missed out on the single issues, fear not, as Marvel is releasing the Mech Strike: Monster Hunters trade paperback featuring Marvel’s most popular heroes wearing magical mech suits.
This spiritual successor series to Avengers Mech Strike is by Christos Gage and Paco Diaz and continues to bring the mech fun that deserves a toy line. (Naturally, there’s a full line of toys you can buy now.) It’s also new-reader-friendly, dropping readers into the action and introducing each hero with helpful bios quickly and efficiently. There’s also a nice recap as to why there are Avenger mech suits at all, and some well-timed callbacks to the original series.
Essentially what you get with this series is your favorite heroes and villains talking and acting as they should within the premise of magical suits being the only way to meet their goals. On one side we have Doctor Doom, Loki, Venom, and a few others powering up magical mechs, and the heroes follow suit. It all kicks off as a threat takes place on the Latveria border, and while that’s Dr. Doom’s land to rule, the threat is affecting people in Transylvania. It’s a threat that’s a level-up for our Avengers, who only have metallic (albeit large) suits.
Diaz’s designs are pretty fun, leaning into the weirdness associated with the threats Doctor Strange usually faces. They’re chaotic and all over the place, sure, but you know kids will love them. The mech suits look a little flat by comparison to the original series, but they look super fun, as if they are toys. The visuals will back up the imaginations of the kiddos who will like this series. If you grew up watching Power Rangers expect similar vibes, right down to a big heroic turn in the final act involving a giant Groot.
Venom looks hungry.
Credit: Marvel
Your age is a factor in how much you’ll like this series. This isn’t some complex diatribe on Dr. Doom’s ego or some thought experiment about superheroes taking on too much power. It’s just bonkers, blockbuster-style action fun. It accomplishes that and then some, but if you’re looking for something more thought provoking, you’ve come to the wrong place.
If you’re wondering if this series is in canon, it’s not – although it does use characterizations that are in canon. That means the characters think and talk like they would from the current timeline, making it easier to enjoy knowing this is a wacky side adventure. Throw in a surprise turn with Ghost-Spider joining the team–a relatively new character–and you can see some of the choices made are meant to attract younger readers.
Like the original series, Mech Strike: Monster Hunters is bubblegum blockbuster fun. It’s not trying to be anything more than that, so if you’re up for some outlandish non-canon ideas involving Avengers in crazy mechs, you’ll dig this. The kids will love it.
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