Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: James Towe
Cover Artists: Aaron Kuder & Alex Sinclair
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: StoryBabbler
The Avengers are at war with Mephisto and what remains of the Multiversal Masters of Evil, or rather the forces of Doom Supreme. Avengers from all across the Multiverse are fighting to keep these villains at bay from attaining untold power, but it’s all of them against an army of Dr. Dooms from across the Multiverse. See how the epic battle between Avengers and Dooms unfolds in Avengers Forever #14!
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Review:
Now that Jason Aaron’s Avengers Assemble storyline is nearing its end, the story is shifting gears to a more action-packed direction. As such, you won’t get to see all of your favorite Avengers in this lineup have meaningful interactions with their counterparts from across the Multiverse. There’s not much going for this comic other than utter pandemonium in terms of the battle and the comic itself. And there’s not too much great action that really lives up to its own self-made hype, but there area few nuggets of enjoyment in this comic. Fair warning: there will be SPOILERS throughout this review.
The comic opens up with the arrival of the army of Dooms led by Doom Supreme as they assault the Avengers Tower at the God Quarry. It’s utter pandemonium as Avengers fight Dooms. The only stable through-line that readers have to follow throughout this chaotic comic is the narration of events by a random alternate version of Steve Rogers Captain America, a small skinny version of Steve Rogers, let’s call him Lil’ Steve. Think Steve Rogers before he got the super-soldier serum but he can still fight and even wield Mjolnir too. The irony is that Lil’ Steve is the best part of this entire comic, at least for this reviewer.
See, the big issue is that this comic really tries to live up to its own hype when it comes to five things: Doom Supreme, the armies of Avengers vs. Dooms, the threat of Doom The Living Planet, Jason Aaron’s favorite characters, and the threat of Mephisto. Unfortunately, the comic fails to deliver on any of them. The armies of Avengers and Dooms lack diverse designs that really make them stand out, which is admittedly a herculean task to do. Doom The Living Planet doesn’t really get to do much except have one panel of action shooting a generic energy blast at the ground (no impressive panels, shots, close ups, etc.) before he gets curbstomped in the rest of the comic.
Speaking of Doom, Doom Supreme gets in on the action, but his fights aren’t all that great and, aside from one moment, they’re not that engaging or spectacular either. And of course, Jason Aaron can’t resist having his favorite characters and creations get epic shots and look cool but their achievements are superficial. Then there’s Mephisto, the other big bad of this whole storyline who’s been absent since the Council of Red got totaled. Until now, where we get a preview of what he’s been cooking with the remaining Council of Red, and I wish he stopped. The big reveal is that our Mephisto has absorbed the other remaining members to form a giant version of himself. That’s it.
Despite all of this disappointment, the one good thing in all of this is Lil’ Steve. The reason why is that Lil’ Steve is written with care and like what any good version of Steve Rogers should be: empathetic, humble, loyal, a brave soldier, and ready to help others. His narration is actually a letter he writes to whomever finds it, and Lil’ Steve gets to show his stuff by doing what Captain America does best: fighting bad guys, protecting others, and standing his ground to the bitter end to save others. The irony is that Jason Aaron failed to make the other elements he clearly wanted to be seen as cool and great either of those things yet he pulled off making a random alt. version of Steve Rogers like Lil’ Steve a compelling character and the best part of this comic.
Final Thoughts:
Avengers Forever #14 shows the big clash between the armies of Avengers and Dooms. The artwork is good and the comic goes for a more chaotic battle but the comic fails to deliver on some of the things it brings to the table, like Doom The Living Planet who doesn’t do much in the comic. However, it does make one character, an alt. version of Steve Rogers feel like a compelling character to follow throughout all of the pandemonium. Judging by the ending of this issue, the next chapter of this story will be taking things up a notch.