The cover to Avengers #27 is one of those covers that tells you exactly what to expect: Black Panther joins Captain America in the fight against the Masters of Evil. That’s not necessarily a bad thing – “Black Panther and Captain America vs. The Masters of Evil” is an idea that can definitely fill a comic. And it’s a storyline that Jed MacKay and Andrea Broccardo manage to make the most of.
It’s also a fitting storyline to explore; when he began his Avengers run, MacKay floated the idea that there was tension between T’Challa and Sam over events that happened in John Ridley’s Black Panther run. But throughout Avengers #27, some moments show that even if Panther and Cap don’t see eye to eye, they’ll still work together to kick evil’s ass. They take down Mr. Hyde together. They manage to overpower Oubliette Midas using sleight of hand. It’s basically a superhero take on Lethal Weapon, and it’s as badass as that sounds.
The one thing I wish Avengers #27 would have done more of is showcase Black Panther’s time in the Meridian Diadem. He worked to free a planet that was an entire prison; surely that deserved more than three pages? But for what it’s worth, Farid Karami draws the hell out of those three pages. The sheer level of detail in Karami’s work is incredible; you can see the creases in the rocky plains of the Diadem, and all of the intricate pieces that make up the Black Panther’s costume. It makes the shift to the Impossible City work that much more, as it represents T’Challa moving between worlds.
Marvel
Broccardo is no slouch, either. He draws some pretty damn epic moments – in fact, his very first page of art features the Black Panther descending on Mr. Hyde as the musclebound madman threatens to kill Captain America, effectively picking up where Avengers #26 left off. Another splash page features Cap soaring straight at the reader, fists held out straight and face locked in determination (not to mention MacKay writing a killer line that resonates far harder than expected, especially in this day and age.). The piece de resistance is the moment where Panther and Cap take on Midas’ army of Plastoid robots. Cap’s shield tears through Plastoid bodies. Panther’s claws shred them into metal. And Midas’ bullets, true to her name, transform their targets into goal. It’s a hell of a two page spread that’s packed full of comic book goodness.
The end of the issue hints that Panther and Cap – and potentially the rest of the Avengers, once they finish battling Doctor Dom – will have to contend with the Mad Thinker. True to his name, the Thinker has cooked up something that’ll potentially give him the advantage over Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. I’m not sure how MacKay and Broccardo will top what happened in this issue, but Avengers #27 more than lives up to the promise that its cover offers. I’d genuinely love to see more of Panther and Cap working together in future issues; these two are a dream team.
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