The Avengers #4 kicks off this week as the Ashen Combine wreaks havoc on large cities across the globe. The newly minted lineup of Avengers, led by Captain Marvel, spread out to divide and conquer, but was that the right choice? As we saw set up in Avengers #3, probably not!
Jed MacKay is a writer best described as a giver of an embarrassment of riches. His stories tend to have an abundance of ideas, be it character design, psychology, or both. In the case of Avengers #4, there’s plenty to dig into regarding these new villains. MacKay reveals the abilities of two of the members of this supervillain team, not even factoring in the rad design of these characters. Both have powersets that could rock an entire team of Avengers, let alone solo battles, as we see here.
Avengers #4 opens in the Impossible City, hovering in low Earth orbit. As teased in the last issue, the city is alive, but Falcon and Black Panther don’t know it yet. They’ve spread out to attack it and ensure nobody is in the city. Falcon is on civilian duty while Black Panther is setting up a weapon. This scene builds towards the cliffhanger, but note that Black Panther has strong Batman vibes and is pretty awesome.
Idol Alabaster is a bad momma.
Credit: Marvel
Meanwhile, at the Vatican City, Thor is fighting Idol Alabaster. They purport to be a god, or at least godlike, which is pretty much an insult to Thor. Their powers are unique and formidable. They weaponize the energy of bystanders, but I won’t say how. It’s a clever concept, and MacKay and C.F. Villa make you believe the villain could topple Thor easily.
At the same time, Scarlet Witch is facing The Dead, a necromancer with impressive abilities. This battle is more of a psychological one, and MacKay presses Scarlet Witch in a way that’ll make you doubt she can win the fight.
Then there’s Iron Man, who faces Citysmith, a self-professed artist. Things go from bad to worse as this villain can twist and meld cities into monsters. If you haven’t guessed yet, this supervillain team is heavy on horror, as is proven by Citysmith’s battle with Iron Man and how it turns out.
Villa crushes on art in this issue, with some impressive use of perspective to create intense moments. There’s at least one shocker moment in each scene for Thor, Scarlet Witch, and Iron Man that is showstopping. The inventiveness of each supervillain’s power is as good as their attacks. For a book like Avengers, which has lasted decades, it’s exciting to see new villains put the heroes to the test.
A similar problem I had with Avengers #3 rears its head in this issue, and that’s the pace of the plot. Due to the story breaking up each battle and separating the team, the plot progression is slower. Each battle in this issue satisfies greatly, though, improving how the plot plays out compared to the last issue.
Brace yourselves, Avengers fans: this is the real deal, especially for anyone who likes new villains and big ideas. The Avengers have met a new match and it’s heavy on the horror in an action-packed issue.
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