Mighty Avengers #1

By Al Ewing and Greg Land

It’s nice to see diversity in comics. DC and Marvel are littered with white, straight dudes flying around and saving the day. Whenever a minority becomes the focus of a title, The Big Two should be commended. Unfortunately everybody says that they want their comics to be diverse, but they don’t always put their money where their mouth is. This is another Avengers book, so this title has a leg up on the rest, but now the ultimate question, is it any good? Nothing else matters if the content is crap.

Being an Infinity tie-in, Luke Cage, Spider-Man, Power Man, White Tiger and Spectrum (Monica Rambeau) find themselves as the (seemingly) lone defenders of New York City, against Thanos’ Black Order. Luke Cage is already at a crossroads, he has put together a new Heroes For Hire group, but he definitely is having some doubts about his life decisions. Is he doing enough? He quit being an Avenger to be with his family, and while that’s a very noble choice, he owes it to the world to protect it. It’s ironic that Spidey is in the mix because Luke Cage ponders whether he is using his “great power” responsibly enough. This title goes out of its way to make Luke Cage as deep and interesting as possible, with wonderful results.

This team is incredibly intriguing. For some reason Spidey just fits on a team full of mostly minorities. Marvel probably forced him on the team to increase sales, but Spider-Man has always been kicked around by life, so he can relate (to a certain extent) to the other member’s problems in society. As the team expands and becomes more official, the dynamics will be interesting to see play out.

Ewing’s characterization is great and the plot works, but his dialogue needs a little work. It doesn’t always flow well and sometimes characters just sound goofy. Not to mention a few humorous lines fall a little flat. Give it some time, though. These problems are sure to be corrected as Ewing gets a proper hold of this series.

Greg Land can be hit or miss, but his art is mostly hit here. A few facial expressions look stiff and off-putting, though. Frank D’Armanta’s colors help as they make the issue really pop. This is a bright and colorful book, which helps the story and the action. While the situation is dire, this is not a book full of gloom and doom. All in all, this is a decent looking issue.

Mighty Avengers sets up an interesting premise. Future issues are looking very enticing, as the story is enough to keep you interested and ready for more. Luke Cage is a great character and should be leading a team book if he’s not going to get a solo series. With Spider-Man on board and “Avengers” in the title, this book should be a high seller too.