Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Javier Garron
Color Artist: David Curiel
Cover Artists: Javier Garron & David Curiel
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: StoryBabbler
The Avengers have just endured an attack by the newly formed Multiversal Masters of Evil, the first strike in a grand war to come. However, before that begins, there are supervillains for the heroes to face as the Serpent Society rears its head once again. To top it off, there’s the vigilante Nighthawk, former member of the Squadron Supreme of America, to deal with. It’s one thing after another for the Avengers in Avengers #55!
Review:
So, you’d think after everything that went down between the Avengers and the Multiversal Masters of Evil. At first, this comic would seem like a cool-down issue for the Avengers to collect themselves and get their bearings in order to attend to the wounded, restore their HQ, call in some extra help, and figure out what to do next. Instead, Jason Aaron is going full-steam with the next big thing in his run and isn’t stopping yet.
So, the comic has the Avengers kind of deal with Nighthawk but not in the way you’d expect, especially after coming off how he’s been written by Jason Aaron. As the premise says, the Serpent Society has struck once again, but this time things are a little different for them. The comic uses the Serpent Society in a way that makes some sense to the group and contributes to the long overarching multiverse storyline Aaron’s been building up in the last few dozens of issues.
The writing and dialogue oddly enough isn’t as bad as many of Aaron’s previous stories, and the pacing is actually fine here. It’s written with a beginning, middle, and ending to close out the book. Mind you, not everything is great as certain events surrounding Nighthawk and the Avengers unfold in a rushed manner. This is most likely due to events in other comic series interfering with Aaron’s storyline and possibly forcing him to pick up the pace with quick changes and developments. On the plus side, that means he has to finally kick his overarching story into overdrive.
The art by Javier Garron is great as always, he makes each and every character stand out. He gives the Avengers, Nighthawk, and the Serpent Society cool shots and dynamic poses, they have clear facial expressions, and he makes good use of the panels to deliver a good flow of momentum and sequential art in the comic. Plus, the colors by David Curiel continue to make Garron’s art a delight to see with all of the various bright colors that can convey either a calm, mysterious, moody, and menacing atmosphere in the comic.
SPOILERS:
Nighthawk takes center stage in this comic, it’s his narration that directs the flow of the events in the story, and it’s his point of view readers gets. However, this once again sidelines the Avengers in their own series for a weird new addition to the team. If you’re not a fan of the character as depicted by Jason Aaron, it’s understandable why you might have misgivings with this issue. Especially since Aaron has Nighthawk join the Avengers in this comic, despite how he’s written him in past story arcs, particularly the Phoenix tournament and Heroes Reborn.
I will say this, his admission into the Avengers feels very rushed, and he comes off like Aaron’s attempt to write a Batman in the Marvel universe, and it goes a little extreme with the overly verbose and angsty narration. However, mileage will vary if people like the end result, to me it feels like it’s all just one step to get things going for Aaron’s bigger storyline.
Final Thoughts:
Avengers #55 delivers a solid story with quick action and story developments that add up to moving the bigger storyline forward. The Serpent Society are used in a way that makes sense to the story being told, but their presence is very short-lived. Nighthawk is the main star of this comic, and mileage will vary if readers like the direction the story is taking him and the Avengers in.