Uncanny Avengers #2: Once more into the breach…

The Unity Squad is back, and better than ever! With this all star crew, Uncanny Avengers, and X-Men scribe Gerry Duggan, and former Avengers artist Javier Garron are back with this motley crew, as they attempt to stop this new Captain Krakoa and his Mutant Liberation Front! Will they be enough to stop the sham Captain, and his unwitting crew? Or will they fall to ORCHIS? 

The issue picks right up where we left off, and that’s with the Captain Krakoa breaks Captain America’s arm in front of the MLF, and the new Uncanny Avengers roster, before getting away with an atomic warhead, all in the guise of the mutants declaring war with the rest of the world. I can’t say that I’m surprised at the tactic, because that’s something that we’ve seen several times before over the years. In fact, it’s something that Magneto’s done multiple times over the course of his on again/off again run as a supervillain in the last 60 years (yes, the X-Men are in fact 60 years old! They can finally use AARP!) We also get another hint of who this fake Captain Krakoa is, and while the clues have been pretty consistent, today’s issue left some other clues as to who is behind this facade.

There were a couple things that jumped out at me upon my first read through, and the biggest was Duggan heavily implying that Andreas is either gay, or in love with his sister, both of which could be a very interesting tale to take about these genetically modified mutant Nazis. The other was Andrea’s surprise when she finally saw the new Captain Krakoa’s face. She’s definitely aware of who he is, so that leads one to think that one of the big possible reveals isn’t who we’ve been led to believe it is. Regardless, Duggan’s handling of the groups of characters are full of personality, and have a decent chemistry between the motley crew that’s been assembled. 

Unfortunately not all that glitters is cold here. The meat and potatoes of the issue, but something stood out to me for all of the wrong reasons. While yes, the development of who is behind the mask is doing its job, the rest of the issue felt like it wouldn’t have warranted. Duggan and Garron seems to have a strong handle on the crew, but the issue lacked that creative something jump out you, as if you’re reading a tale like the never ending story.

Javier Garron’s on art duties here, and he continues to grow with every new project. His character work really captures the essence of the cast, giving us some of the better renditions of some of these characters we’ve seen in years. Especially his Quicksilver. He’s smug, he’s arrogant, yet the character I’m constantly drawn to. I love the way he’s drawn while he’s using his speed, or the way his body language is while he’s not running fast. Hopefully we’ll see Garron on another one of their flagship titles.