The most recent issues of Avengers have been a solid action-adventure romp, touching on the explosive events of One World Under Doom while also pitting Captain America (and later, Black Panther) against the Masters of Evil. Now the somewhat dynamic duo has to deal with the Mad Thinker, who’s sporting a Super-Adaptoid armor loaded with his allies’ powers. Can Panther and Cap defeat a literal one-man army?
The answer comes fast and furious, as the creative team of Jed MacKay, Andrea Broccardo and Federico Blee don’t waste any time in getting to the fight between Panther, Cap and the Thinker. Broccardo gets the chance to stretch his artistic muscles, especially where the Thinker is concerned; his armor is able to shape shift into a variety of weapons that include Dreadknight’s swords, Madcap’s paralyzing gaze, and the golden bullets of Oubliette Midas. The colors by Blee also work well; Cap’s cobalt blue suit and the Panther’s jet-black uniform are a sharp contrast to the bright green of the Tinkerer’s armor.
But Panther and Cap give as good as they get, even managing to out-think the Mad Thinker. I won’t lie – I do love that MacKay shows how well the Avengers work together. Cap and Panther are strategists, so thematically it makes sense for them to be pitted against a bad guy whose powers are intellect based – and even more satisfying when they manage to pull one over on him. As Panther so eloquently puts it, “Out-thought is not the same as outsmarted.”
Marvel
Less impressive is the ending, which seems to speed run through the Mad Tinkerer’s defeat and the rest of the Avengers making their return to the Impossible City. It feels like MacKay either ran out of space or was trying to hurry up, when he’s given previous stories the room they need to breathe. The One World Under Doom tie-ins feel tenuous at best; what should be an epic battle against Doom feels regulated to a side quest. While I don’t mind other titles tying into the event, I do feel that they need to have a very strong tie in like Runaways or Thunderbolts: Doomstrike.
But where the ending excels is in its emotional moments. Black Panther and Storm reconcile, as he officially welcomes her to the Avengers. So do Captains America and Marvel, which leads to a pretty awesome final page (if nothing else this has been a great arc for Sam Wilson to shine.) It’s these bonds that have made MacKay’s Avengers run worth reading; he understands that the Avengers are a team, and that each of the members has a different relationship with each other. No matter the artist or the event, I hope that continues to be the case for as long as Mackay remains on the title.
Avengers #28 is a solid, if short, ending to the “Masters of Evil” arc, making up with action and character moments what it lacks in story. It also caps off a great story for Sam Wilson, pun completely unintended.
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