If you were to look at the last 20 years of Marvel Comics, the Avengers have been at the center of every major paradigm shift. Brian Michael Bendis blew up the team and then reformed them in New Avengers, and in the process cemented himself as one of Marvel’s most iconic writers. Civil War saw two of their most iconic members, Captain America and Iron Man, clash over ideology. Jed MacKay thrust them into a horror-fueled battle with Blood Hunt, which ended up setting the stage for One World Under Doom. Now, Chip Zdarsky is about to change the game once more with Avengers: Armageddon #1.
Armageddon begins with a truly dire set of events: Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, aka the Red Hulk, has laid siege to the nation of Latveria and renamed it “New America” in the wake of Doctor Doom’s disappearance. Now Ross aims to use Doom’s weaponry, alongside his squadron of Hulk soldiers, to bring the same “justice” to nations around the world. The Avengers aim to stop Ross’ rampage, but soon find their hands tied by international law…yet some heroes aren’t willing to stand by and let Ross get away with wounding Steve Rogers.
Reading through Armageddon, it’s pretty impressive to see how it spins out of Zdarsky’s work on Captain America, not to mention the events of Wolverine: Weapons of Armageddon. Ross’s takeover of Latveria and Steve’s critical condition, not to mention former super-soldier David Colton becoming a literal superpower, were seeded in those books, yet Zdarsky scripts Armageddon #1 in such a way that you don’t have to have read those books to enjoy it. Zdarsky also has a great handle on every character, as Spider-Man uses jokes to mask his anxiety, Iron Man reveals his fears for the future, and Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson both express their concern about Steve yet still find strength to lead the other heroes.
Zdarsky also doesn’t shy away from the geopolitical elements within Armageddon‘s narrative, especially with how the U.N. bluntly denies Reed Richards’ request to help fight Ross. It’s a reasonable approach: after years of superheroes being involved in extremely destructive conflicts, involving them in a fight of this scale is sure to tip the balance of world power, and probably not in a way that some people would like. This also extends to those getting involved in the battle against Ross; Rogue refuses to draw the X-Men into the fight, not wanting to paint a target on mutantkind’s back, while the Black Panther has his own nation to run. Zdarsky’s last big event, Devil’s Reign, tackled similar themes and led to some pretty big shifts, so this is extremely promising.
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Avengers: Armageddon #1 also boasts some impressive artwork courtesy of Delio Diaz and Frank Alpizar. The duo gets to draw nearly every Marvel hero, and they excel at it: whether it’s Iron Man summoning his armor, Sam gliding through the air, or Colton walking through a hail of gunfire as bullets bounce off of his body, Diaz & Alpizar display an incredible amount of detail in every page. The standout moments belong to the Red Hulk, whom the duo depicts as a literal force of nature; a splash page shows him and his Hulk troops descending through the air as they strike an opposing army with earth-shaking force. I never thought anyone could make the Red Hulk into a credible threat, but this creative team is more than up to the task.
Jesus Aburtov also deserves plenty of credit, as his color art makes each character feel unique. You can tell the Red Hulk apart from his soldiers thanks to his crimson-colored skin, which crackles with gamma energy. You can tell that Colton is a soldier, even though he’s wearing a new uniform; the dark green screams former Army. You can even tell which hero is which, from the Fantastic Four’s blue uniforms to Captain Marvel’s red, blue, and gold outfit. Such detail helps make this feel like a truly big deal.
Avengers: Armageddon #1 gets off to a great start, expertly juggling geopolitical conflict with superheroic dynamics and blockbuster-level visuals. It’s also an event that feels less like an event and more like an extension of the story Chip Zdarsky is telling, which more events should strive to be like.
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