It has been nearly a year since Timeless teased a new super team that’ll tango with the Avengers, and that story begins this week in The Avengers #7. The Twilight Court has beef with Kang, and given the events of this issue, they have to go through the Avengers to get him. That, and Jed MacKay and C.F. Villa kick off their “Twilight Dreaming” story arc with a big twisty opener.
This issue is as epic as they come, dropping readers into a battle that the Avengers have already lost. But they won’t quit. Dressed in costumes from the past, it’s disorienting. The third page has the Scarlet Witch crying over a dead Vision while most of the team is nearly spent. Most of this issue is a guessing game, from how the heroes got here to who speaks in the captions. It makes for a compelling payoff with the cliffhanger, although it’s a big gamble to hang your story arc on an entire first-issue teaser.
Villa gets to go off on art, with big epic kaiju dropping buildings and the heroes going full tilt with their powers. As seen in previous issues, MacKay has a knack for drawing you into each hero’s attack, giving them a chance to shine. Villa gets to show each hero make their best finishing move, so to speak, and it’s at once exciting and dramatically crushing. The team is losing, and Vill makes you feel it.
The team is in big trouble.
Credit: Marvel
This story arc kicks off in a way that continues to show MacKay is always good at two things. The first is pushing this team to its limits, making readers believe their chances are slim. That makes the stakes quite high and entertaining. The second is introducing new elements. You can’t put down a Villa/MacKay Avengers book and think, “I’ve seen this before.”
The art can look a little unfinished, but once you get to the cliffhanger, there may be a reason. I won’t spoil it, but it does seem like some pages could have used more time adding detail, particularly for a Triple-A series like this one. Still, the scale and epic nature of the battle is pulled off well.
The Avengers #7 comes out of the gate swinging, introducing a new threat while dropping readers in the middle of a battle. This series continues to surprise with elements that make it feel fresh while never losing sight of the dynamic heroes that make up the world’s greatest superhero team.
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