The Avengers #34: The Definition of A Hero

In celebration of the Avengers’ 800th adventure, fans are treated to not one, but two stories this week: a delightful stroll down memory lane from veteran creative duo Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley, and a bold trek into an uncertain future from current team Jed MacKay and Farid Karami. Starting with the latter as the issue’s main event, MacKay quickly reestablishes how fast the doomsday clock is ticking towards zero, as Kang the Conqueror creeps closer towards godhood with every passing second.

The Twilight Court, once adversaries of the Avengers, have sought redemption by turning the tide of the battle against the Marvel Zombie horde. Their combined might, paired with the incredible strength of Hyperion, is enough to hold back all enemies while Earth’s mightiest go to confront Kang face-to-face. But rather than the run-of-the mill battle between hero and villain one would expect, the comic takes a unique direction that will undoubtedly divide opinions.

Yes, the bulk of Avengers #34 is a clip show-style recap of the runs highest and most memorable points, the type of storytelling format more frequently seen in television. One by one, the Avengers recollect their recent achievements, like their victory against the Ashen Combine, their quelling of the vampire invasion, and their tremendous assist during the X-Men’s war against Orchis. The sequence has an old-school charm to the way it is framed as the team’s attempt to educate Kang, who is at his most mustache-twirlingly evil here, on the error of his ways, when their philosophical lecture on heroism is actually the key to stealing the grail away from him.

But still, in the same way that a clip show episode is a crafty way of stretching a tv program’s thinning budget, it can’t help but seem that this issue is buying time for a true climax to kick in. At least the tense final page drops the characters into a moral quandary unlike what they are used to dealing with, as the avengers may have to decided who will live and die.

Bendis and Bagley’s back-up story contrasts all the drama with a straight-forward and light-hearted character piece set in some anachronistic period of Marvel’s past. One by one, the avengers coincidentally assemble on their anniversary to snuff out a Hydra uprising in Madripoor. There is no true threat here, just the opportunity for the heroes to reminisce and embrace comradery. One would never think Bendis has been absent from Marvel for nearly a decade by how quickly he falls back into rhythm; penning a script that is incredibly funny yet true to the voices of Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, and all others. It’s almost ironically saccharine coming from the writer who tore down this team’s friendlier status quo in Disassembled. But the sweetness shines with pure intentions here, plucking at the reader’s heartstrings in all the ways it should.