Avengers #31

By Jonathan Hickman, Leinil Francis Yu, Gerry Alanguilan, Sunny Gho

It’s nice to see that Hickman’s Original Sin tie-ins are less about Original Sin and more about his overall vision for Avengers/New Avengers. There’s no hiccup in the story at all, it’s just more Hickman greatness. This run is still tops.

Once again, The Avengers have jumped ahead in time. Now, they’re in a terrible future where Ultron has created a world ruled by machines, complete with android Avengers (and a regular Thor). Hey, that old Hawkeye warned them, didn’t he? Naturally, our heroes are captured and exposed to the evils of this Earth gone wrong.

The best moments are the personal looks into the characters. Cap’s dream of The Illuminati is a wonderful insight into what the character is currently going through. Up to this point, Cap had yet to take a step back and process this information, since he went from punching Tony Stark in a blind rage to travelling through time. It’s always fascinating to see chinks in Cap’s armor, especially when it involves any sort of self-doubt. He’s clearly in pain from being betrayed and what The Illuminati has done in his absence. Heck, he doesn’t even know the half of it.

Although his work can occasionally look rushed, Leinil Francis Yu’s work is still top-notch. This issue is mostly great, although there are a few rough spots. Together with inker Alanguilan and colorist Gho, certain pages that should have an epic presentation appear fuzzy to the point where you’ll question your eyeglass prescription. It’s annoying, but it’s not the worst artwork in the world.

Thanks to Hickman, the Avengers epic continues despite a forced tie-in. Cap’s moments are intense and a fierce look into the character, which is just what the series needed. Let’s get more of that, please.