X-Vengers #3: Technarch Panic

The problem with big linewide events like Age of Revelation is that without a comprehensive plan, things tend to feel a bit disconnected from the whole, and not in a good way. I know it feels like the dead horse is being exhumed and beaten again when I make this criticism, but I feel it bears repeating again as X-Vengers falls into the same trap as a few of it’s contemporaries. 

That’s not to say this issue is bad. It certainly isn’t and there are few glorious moments here for Dani, PRESIDENT Sam Wilson, and a few others but it falls into the same category as other books in the event that seemingly could have been skipped and nothing about the wider world would have been missed. While Omega Kids dives deeper into Revelation’s Mini-Gestapo, Longshots serves as a hilarious commentary on event tie-ins as a whole, Sinister’s Six tells a continued but still moving story, and Rogue Storm just does whatever it wants, X-Vengers straddles that line where the initial premise gets you, but it struggles to find a strong enough point to keep your attention. 

Jason Loo does a good job of making the characters feel real enough, but beyond that there isn’t much to work with. The Avengers find out that the culprit behind the technarch attack is M.O.D.O.K, but in the end it doesn’t really amount to much since we know this story doesn’t really affect the wider world. Though it does lead to a cool moment of Sam donning the wings and shield again. Similar to Sinister’s Six, X-Vengers ending is bittersweet, but mostly because we know we will never see these characters in these roles again once the Age of Revelation concludes, which is a shame because I like the idea of Dani Moonstar leading a high profile super team. 

Sergio Davila’s art is serviceable and there are some really good moments in this final issue (the aforementioned moment of Sam becoming Captain America again, and another moment where Dani shields him from an aerial attack using her own shield notably stand out), but overall it won’t knock your socks off. Rain Beredo’s colors are very nice though.