As the Fall of X continues, things heat up in Uncanny Avengers this week as Captain Krakoa’s identity becomes more focused, and Orchis appears to be losing control of the narrative. Captain America runs the Avengers Unity Squad, while Captain Krakoa leads Orchis’ shadow team. After the last issue, Cap is a natural-born leader for all people, but if there’s a nuke ready to go off, will that even matter?
Uncanny Avengers #4 is a very tightly paced and plotted issue. It brings in a few looser threads, putting the fire to Orchis leader Dr. Stasis while establishing what the nuke was for. The issue opens with Dr. Stasis giving a speech at Empire State University before quickly being confronted by Ben Urich. He’s on Cap’s side and is ready to fire off a story that could severely hurt Orchis’ public standing.
The core arc of this issue revolves around the Avengers Unity Squad infiltrating Captain Krakoa’s base. His team is comprised of Blob, Wildside, Andrea, and Andreas Strucker. Damn, do they get a beatdown? Javier Garron brings the heat to each of them with spectacular art and great visual ideas. Black Widow, for instance, is forced to see all the terrible things she’s done. That doesn’t end well for Wildside. Psylocke goes full violence on two of these villains in a shocking act. We’ve seen the Avengers Unity Squad go hard since they’re at war, and boy, do they ever go hard on this supervillain team.
The very next page is deeply satisfying.
Credit: Marvel
Thanks to Gerry Duggan’s scripting, superhero fans get plenty of red meat to nibble on. Want to see Cap face off against Blob? You get it. Want to see a Quicksilver quip about this speed? You get that. Want to see a shocking twist as Captain Krakoa reveals himself? Yep, that is shown as well. The latter is something I guess at earlier on, but I’m sure some will be shocked. Duggan also smartly connects Cap’s Krakoan resurrection during “Judgment Day” to this villain reveal. Even Deadpool gets a moment to reflect on his identity.
One downside of Captain Krakoa becoming the main villain in this arc is not knowing where Orchis stands. So far, Dr. Stasis and M.O.D.O.K. were seemingly more prominent players, but the events of this issue put Orchis in a vague place. Do they have a massive army, or are they a few hideouts away from being knocked off? The surprise of Captain Krakoa does add a nice pep in the step for the finale, but it also makes the big bad of the Fall of X rather limp and unfocused.
Uncanny Avengers #4 is a deeply satisfying superhero comic. There’s action, big reveals, and plenty of character beats to enjoy.
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