Separated and cornered, Sunspot’s team must regroup or face destruction at the hands of Hydra in U.S. Avengers #7. Is it good?
U.S. Avengers #7 crackles with energy. Al Ewing’s script is polished, making good use of the relationship between Toni and Aikku to further develop the latter’s powers. Despite the tense scenario, Ewing never loses the comedic touch that has made his run of Avengers books such fun to read. In U.S. Avengers #7, he pokes fun at the abundant death fakeouts and resurrections in comic books while actively engaging in them. The issue never takes itself too seriously, and that tongue-in-cheek tone makes the characters more endearing. You want to see them come out of the issue so that they can have further adventures.
The issue opens with a rocking battle between Toni Ho’s Iron Patriot armor and Red Hulk, who is under Hydra control. Paco Medina’s pencils are energetic throughout this sequence, and his staging is dynamic which keeps the action well paced. Toni has continuously worked towards making her armor less of a war machine and more of a deterrent, but now she finds herself face-to-face with an opponent that can match her, and Medina’s artwork captures the stakes perfectly. Jesus Aburtov’s colors throughout the issue are fantastic, but they shine especially well in the battle between Iron Patriot and Red Hulk. The two primary colors that dominate their designs make each character pop off the page and that adds real visual power to their battle.
The second portion of the issue focuses on Squirrel Girl and Enigma. The pairing proves to be great fun as Ewing plays Doreen’s energetic and outgoing personality against the more reserved Aikku. In combat, both prove quite impressive, and Medina gives each of them their own fighting style. Aikku moves like a ninja with added pop to her punches while Doreen is more brute strength and unorthodox strategy.
As the cover suggests, U.S. Avengers #7 sees the arrival of several other heroes to the battle in France. Ewing is having great fun with the Secret Empire premise by bringing more underutilized characters to the forefront. The return of Ares, in particular, is quite a moment.
Is It Good?
With a fun script that encourages readers to relax and enjoy the ride, U.S. Avengers #7 has great fun with the current event’s premise. While there isn’t a lot of thematic depth to the issue, Al Ewing is able to pair these characters up in entertaining ways thanks to the time he has invested in developing them. The artwork by Paco Medina is simply fantastic for this type of story, expressive and high-octane, it gives the fight scenes a level of frenetic chaos for the heroes to overcome.
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