Broken Frontier

Hey, look. It’s writer Christos Gage writing yet another one-shot following jobs penning the Iron Man Annual and Thunderbolts: Breaking Point special. But don’t fret true believers, for just hours after this issue’s release, Marvel announced that Gage would be joining series architect Dan Slott as permanent co-writer. So if you’re one of the many fans who’ve been patiently waiting for Gage to get a shot at a Marvel monthly, this issue marks the jumping on point.

The traditional annual format consisting of a handful of stories serves The Initiative’s concept more so than, say, Wolverine or Spider-Man. Slott’s made it clear from day one that this Avengers book is concentrated more on the general layout of the Marvel Universe post-Civil War than any individual character or group, and the seven preceding issues have reflected that. While the series mostly focuses on a group of rag tag teen recruits, the plot also hints at larger conspiracies and hits on everything from World War Hulk to Secret Invasion to One More Day. With such a broad playing field, plot points are bound to get lost along the way, and here Slott and Gage wisely use a series of five vignettes to further explore the back stories of a select few characters.

The opening short, the until-now untold origin of Gauntlet the drill sergeant, doesn’t fare particularly well. The Gauntlet’s power is having a really large robot hand grafted onto his arm and the vignette boils down to the war veteran tracking down the weapon in a desert while fighting off some Hydra soldiers. Not too exciting when compared to a cannister of nuclear waste accidentally blinding you ala Daredevil or the various other intriguing origins of yesteryear.

Despite that misstep, the other shorts are of much higher quality, especially one centered on Hardball’s ties to a mysterious senator and another story that introduces readers to Pennsylvania’s official superhero squad, the Liberteens. The pages devoted to these zany misfits hum with a wacky sensibility straight out of the Silver Age. However it shockingly ends with yet another reveal tied into Secret Invasion. For those keeping score, that places the serious revelations at New Avengers #31, New Avengers: Illuminati #5, and this annual. Although this plot twist lacks a big name Skrull reveal –don’t expect an Elektra or Black Bolt here- we are clued into the next step of the Skrulls’ plans that will undoubtedly spell trouble for Earth’s Mightiest over the next several months.

The artwork here is fairly impressive, especially Steve Uy’s work on the Hardball segment. His art is obviously influenced by Japanese animation, and while that doesn’t necessarily sound like it would make a good mix for Avengers: The Initiative, it ends up being the strongest display of art in the entire issue, not so much because the other pieces are poor but because Uy’s work is so distinctive. Expect to hear more from him in the future.

If you’re looking for a landscape view of the Marvel Universe, look no further than The Avengers: The Initiative. Now that Christos Gage is joining Dan Slott at the helm of the series, this is the perfect jumping on point to catch up with some of the older characters before the start of a new arc that introduces a new cast, including fan favorite Eric O’Grady, the Irredeemable Ant-Man. Expect things to quickly heat up as many of the series’ mysteries – Mutant Zero, the Scarlet Spiders, and now the Skrulls’ involvement- come to the forefront with an arc ominously titled "Killed in Action."