Uncanny Avengers #2

By Rick Remender & Daniel Acuna

Uncanny Avengers relaunched last month with an excellent first issue that, aside from a few problems, really hit the ground running. This second issue kept up the pace and tension that the first gave us, with Rick Remender and Daniel Acuna once again bringing some very interesting stuff to the table with the unconventional but interesting mix of characters that continued to impress.

As you will probably be aware of by now, Marvel is linking up the origins of Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver with their movie counterparts for more synergy, and that means changing their origins in the comics. Further tantalising hints are dropped and it demonstrates that whilst not answering the question outright, Remender is exploring it in greater detail. There’s a definite link to the High-Evolutionary and the Counter-Earth here and Remender is making it accessible to newcomers like this reviewer who isn’t exactly familiar with either. The cast spends most of the book doing different things, with Sabretooth’s storyline continuing to build momentum on his own as one of the other main plots. There’s no Rogue in this issue and she’s not the only member of the Unity Squad that is absent, making it frustrating to see them separated this early in their run. However, we got to see some good character development on Sabretooth, who got perhaps the most well-focused arc this issue, with an interesting look at what makes this character tick in a world after the AXIS event.

Daniel Acuna is killing it on the art, with his pencils and colours once again doing a very impressive and consistent job that makes this book one of the stronger looking Marvel titles on shelves right now. The sci-fi element that comes with Counter-Earth is really fleshed out and expanded upon and we get some really good work here. The book, like Remender’s All New Captain America, manages to keep to a pulp feel whilst at the same time remaining slightly different from your average superhero ’24 hours to save the world’ plots that you’re more likely to find on other titles. So far it’s turning out to be a different beast, and despite the fact that it may not be perfect, nor will it appeal to everybody, it’s good to see.

With its slow build and focus on certain characters, Uncanny Avengers #2 may put off those who are looking to read about their favourite characters that aren’t featured, but still this issue was good enough for that not to matter. The groundwork continues to be laid here and you really get the feeling that everything will come together eventually, and when it does, it will be an issue that you won’t want to miss.