Kurt Busiek and an Avengers-worthy squad of artists crafted an epic of a story with the Kang Dynasty. Now back in print, most likely due to the rising interest in Kang, we return to a story that was huge in scope and issues. To give you a glimpse of where our world was, we go back to April 2001 when Avengers Vol. 3 #41, was released. It would take fifteen months for this story to be told in its original comic book format, but today’s readers can get it all in one trade paperback.
Something that I like about this story is how character-driven it is. Avengers share unique moments at all levels, whether popular, new, or “D-listers.” Fans of Warbird (Carol Danvers), Hank Pym, Wonder Man, Kang, and even Triathlon will get issues that enrich their favorites. Overall, Avengers Vol. 3 was a fantastic run and era born from the Heroes Return story. The return to basics and embracing legacy helped to grow the team and bring them back to the forefront of Marvel’s publishing. This massive story arc was Kurt Busiek’s final with the team and volume.
Busiek delivers an arduous task to the Avengers via Kang. It is enjoyable to see how confident Kang is in his offer to take over the world to prevent it from suffering worse fates. What is fun about one of those fates is a world attacked by Martians, and a rag-tag team of Avengers is doing their best; that world first appeared in Avengers Forever #4. This story is a great companion to Avengers Forever, as that was another Kang classic by Busiek.
The title gives more insight into another goal of Kang’s, presented at the end of the story in quite a shock. This is a story of Kang as a father and a leader; while most characters don’t have children as it seems to age them, it was great to see Kang in the role of father. His son, Marcus, took on the alias of the Scarlet Centurion, and he is a tragic character in the story of Kang’s life. His moments with Carol Danvers were tremendous, and exploring their relationship in issue #47 was interesting.
Another issue that sticks out is issue #49, as that was the ‘NUFF SAID issue, which was a tribute to those who suffered through the attacks on 9/11. A fantastic job of crafting an issue with no words but packed with the ability to capture the reader and honor the survivors and fallen. Beautiful art by Kieron Dwyer, who conveyed the images perfectly. The trade paperback gives the script as a bonus, so you can use that as a guide to see if you interpreted everything as Busiek intended. Alan Davis, Ivan Reis, Manuel Garcia, Brent Anderson, and Patch Zircher were the other artists who contributed to this trade, and they all had moments to showcase the Avengers at war on all fronts, bringing to life the pain and heartache, along with the fierce battles to stop an incredible villain.
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