Reassembled In Blood And Darkness: Reviewing ‘Uncanny Avengers’ #1

Krakoa has fallen. Mutants have been murdered, framed, imprisoned, displaced, and harassed. They might be in need of some Avenging. Good thing a brand-new Unity Squad has risen from the ashes with just that mission in mind.

One of the biggest strikes against the Avengers that many X-Fans have had for years is how little they did to help mutants. We’ve seen the Unity Team, or Uncanny Avengers as we know them, three times before (current writer Gerry Duggan having written one of those). Often the Avengers being blasé about what’s happening to mutants was of course mandated by the confines of whatever stories Marvel was telling at the time.

Over the past few years though the writers on the X-Line have made great strides to bring the groups closer together. So, it’s only natural that when fascists rise to stomp down mutants and others, Captain America sends out the call and gets them fascist punching fists ready.

Having been the one to kick off the Fall Of X in the Hellfire Gala special issue, Duggan naturally has a solid grasp on the fallout and where to take things next. As noted above, this is Duggan’s second go around with a team of this nature and clearly, it’s like slipping on a comfortable piece of clothing.

We get pieces of his former squad with Steve, Deadpool, Quicksilver, and Rogue who are in far different places now. Every bit of that is felt on the page in their interactions. For a different flavor, and a sound tactical reason, we get Psylocke and Penance/Monet added to the mix for this series. It’s a bloodier and more violent affair than some of the previous stories, but it works for where things currently stand.

On Krakoa there was a paramount law that stated that mutants could “Kill No Man.” That was before said “Man” came to their island and murdered people before doing all their shady fascist crap. With Krakoa effectively gone for the time being, so too are its laws. Therefore, it’s no-holds-barred for this team as they do what Captain America proposes and begin to avenge those that have fallen.

To make such a pairing of heroics and bloody avenging work, you need the right art team. Javier Garrón and Morry Hollowell are a good team to hit this vibe. Slick is a good way to describe the art that we find on the page here. It’s smooth but also rough around the edges to fit the very dark nature of this story.

Garrón has a naturally kinetic style that lends itself to these action-packed stories. When Captain America throws that shield, we can feel it slicing through the air. Same thing as Quicksilver zips around or Psylocke unleashes her steel upon a deserving Orchis agent. Each and every blow or moment has true impact. Nothing about this is characters just posing and doing their thing.

Even as the emotions are heavier and not particularly happy, they are still captured so well. Overall, I would say that Garrón’s work is just highly expressive. Because of the emotions but also all those other elements mentioned in the previous paragraph. Essentially this really feels like a place, they feel like real people, and we the readers are right there in the middle of everything. Just the way it should be really.

Things in this story are overall dark because of the events of Fall Of X, but not just totally dark either. Like they are legit very dark cause much of this story happens at night. Hollowell mixes in plenty of light and bright vivid superhero colors that break up the darkness. It gives a slightly hopeful glow to everything even as the characters face some of the worst moments in their lives (their lists are long). It’s not just used on every panel with all the hero characters either.

Hollowell decisively uses it where it works best. Like Captain America bursting in or Rogue doing her thing. Other times Psylocke and Penance or others are lacking in that brightness and are closer to the darkness. It fits the idea that this is a Unity Team that is not the top heroes of the land and is splashing in the dark deep end of a mucky pool. Sometimes their actions aren’t going to fit into the box of what many would deem heroic, but they are fighting against fascism. When fighting fascists, your hands are going to have to get a bit dirty.

Orchis has been orchestrating much behind the scenes. That’s why their attack on Krakoa was so effective, they spent months (maybe years, the timeline is muddy) gathering their forces. This includes some unseen character with a bone to pick against mutants that has been disguised as Captain Krakoa. Using this person to pretend to be Cyclops and go on a “terrorism” spree sadly works in the universe because of Cyclops’ revolutionary period. It’s a way to pay respect to former stories without needing to actually call them out and worry about all the continuity threads.

Having mysterious characters running around doing things is always a dangerous affair in comics these days. Mostly because of how long it can take to reveal, and the anticipation can lead to disappointment at the reveal. Or other times the reveal just is not handled in a way that pays off for the audience. With Duggan though, I’m not concerned because so far, the way he’s presenting this mystery is very engaging and feels like one that will solidly pay off.

Briefly, I like how the manipulated team of Captain Krakoa has co-opted various names. They can’t seem to decide if they are the new Brotherhood or the new Mutant Liberation Front, even as they bring on two actual Nazis to the team. It speaks to the idea of how the wrong people try to take the words and tools of others, warping them. In this case, taking names from the mutants and smearing them to help Orchis with their evil goals.

Bringing everything together is Travis Lanham on the letters. Just like the rest of the artwork, there is a heaviness present within these words. Lanham leans into that darkness and heaviness with the choices in font, bubble presentation, and even the way the captions are laid out. This isn’t a story full of big bright fun hero things and the lettering reflects that. Sure, there is humor to be found and the SFX are varied and unique (some even super colorful/fun), but the vibe remains one of people fighting back against the darkness.

Uncanny Avengers #1 is now available from Marvel Comics.