Avengers (2013) #8 Review

“SYSTEM FAILURE”

The Avengers face off against the World Breaker.

Discover the imminent threat to the Avengers World.

Watch as we get our first hints as the hidden connections between the events of Avengers and New Avengers.

The Good

Cover- Another great cover for Avengers (2013) as we have our assemblage of Thor, Ms. Marvel, Iron Man, Captain America, Hyperion and Captain Universe all in the background while the hand of this new super being Starbrand glows ominously in the foreground.

Say what- So I expected there to be a fight of some kind in this issue and what we got was something straight out of Dragon Ball Z. Our Starbrand blasts hulk clear into the outer atmosphere…..with a single blow. We also have said character barely feeling a hit from Thor and his hammer….me thinks we should all be very afraid if this kid turns to villainy.

Action- This issue delivers big time with the thrills as we get explosions, crashes, hammers etc

The Big Picture– Nightmask makes mention of something going wrong on an omniversal level which activated both Nightmask and now Starbrand. Others will also be activated but the selection process itself is off and there are older conflicting systems which may also be active causing even further problems.

Captain Universe- The omni power is highly unstable and this issue if the art is to be believed it literally goes dormant after Starbrand is taken away by Nightmask leaving its amnesiac host dominant. This also shows that despite being the most powerful member of the team just like the infinity gems themselves she could lose power or simply disappear at the worst possible time.

Art- Dustin Weaver is on art duty and does an adequate job though his style is not as good as what came before.

Human- It was a very humane and connecting moment when the new Starbrand realizes that he had accidentally killed a great many people to receive hi powers. His freak out is what one would expect and strengthened the fact that he’s way out of his depth  and is just a normal human now thrust into this great power.

Black Heroes- Adam/Nightmask and Captain Universe are here and literally drive the entire story along with all of the more famous faces being window dressing. Hickman you sly dog 😉

Conflict- So Nightmask mentions that after being created by Ex Nihilo in Avengers (2013) #2 he has been made a part of a new system which puts him and Starbrand into conflict with his creator….what exactly does that mean?

The Bad

Cover- The alternate cover looks crappy.

The Ugly

Hickman continues to ramp things up as his tale of universal and trans-dimensional intrigue and action unfold. I cannot tell you how much I’m enjoying this book and all comic fans black and otherwise deserve to treat them to Hickman’s superb work! 4.5/5