Super-sized: A Review of The Avengers #6 (Spoilers)

written by Jason Aaron
penciled by Ed McGuinness and Paco Medina
inked by Mark Morales and Juan Vlasco
colored by David Curiel

After stumbling awkwardly through what was supposed to be the triumphant return of "the big three" to the ranks of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Jason Aaron and his tag-team of artists finishes his first six-issue story arc by swapping out the strange but somewhat entertaining Deus Ex Machina he whipped out last issue out for a somewhat more generic one here.

I've made no secret of how I feel about this series in my reviews of the last several issues; what was supposed to be the superstar-creator-driven comic book meant to benefit from the huge boost in awareness generated by the blockbuster Infinity War film feels a lot more like the comic-book version of the decidedly less-than-stellar Justice League film in terms of storytelling quality. Yes, that's how weak I find this story to be.

Aaron, McGuinness and Medina give us some fun moments with the giant-sized Avengers consisting of a magically-embiggened Thor and She-Hulk, a Celestial-wearing Ghost Rider, and a tall-as-a-skyscraper-armor-wearing Iron Man going into battle against the Dark Celestials, but when the battle doesn't quite go the way they hope, they need yet another miracle to beat this potentially world-ending threat, and while Aaron planted the seed for this miracle in the penultimate issue, it feels distinctly forced and somewhat out-of-character. Specifically, it's a super power unique to the Eternals, who have apparently been killed in this series (a bunch of deaths I seriously doubt will stick). Ikaris has apparently bestowed the power of the "uni-mind" on Tony Stark, and using it, he unites the Avengers to ultimately defeat the Dark Celestials. Sure, there's this bit about Black Panther, whom Aaron has almost completely neglected up until this point, figuring something out about the murderous swarm of insects known as the Horde and the human race being some sort of anti-pathogen, but really, it's all about the Uni-Mind. Whoopee.

Here's the thing; over in The Amazing Spider-Man, which I will review next, brand new series writer Nick Spencer is crafting turning in stellar work, giving some of the most entertaining single-issue Spidey stories I've seen in a while. I've also been following, with some diligence, the ongoing series of Ms. Marvel and Spider-Gwen, albeit in collected edition form. I review Daredevil regularly on this site. All of the creators working on those titles, on the whole, produce consistently good stories, stories that effectively plumb the depths of their characters and drop them into interesting situations in which they must use their courage and wits as much as their super powers to win the day. In short, even at a time when Marvel's publishing arm is having a hard time selling books, they still have quite a few gems.

The Avengers, so far, is not one of those gems, and it's extremely disappointing to point this out. I dearly hope things improve with the next story arc. I am grateful, however, that this arc ended quite conclusively, and that I didn't have to endure yet another non-ending. Thank heaven for small mercies.

6/10