Empyre: Aftermath Avengers #1
Written by: Al Ewing, Dan Slott
Illustrated by: Valerio Schiti
Cover Art by: Jim Cheung
Marvel Comics
2020
The end of EMPYRE begins a new age for the Marvel Universe! In the aftermath of the cosmic conflict, the forces gather one last time… but why? And at whose bidding? New bonds will be forged, new families will be founded, and there’s a new role waiting for Earth… but new destinies bring new dangers – and new enemies! Welcome to the new Marvel Space Age, true believer – hope you survive the experience!
The war against the Cotati may have been won, but not without its losses, and not without making new enemies. As The Avengers mourn and celebrate, a new threat appears on the horizon. Which is exactly the kind of thing that diminishes these great epics for me. Our heroes survive a clash of empires, and in the very same issue we learn of a bigger and badder enemy just around the corner. It may sell books, but it barely lets the fans breathe, and if everything is an apocalyptic threat, nothing feels like it really is.
As a single issue, or even as an issue wrapping up the latest story mega-arch, Aftermath Avengers is a nice read. It looks good. It’s got some solid writing in it, and some solid ideas for how to treat your ex-enemies. And now that everything is over, of course we need to make plans to move on. But taking as a trend in the Marvel Universe, I really miss the days when I could just pick a favorite hero and read about his adventures this month. Maybe I’m just from a different time, and don’t connect with comics the way I used to, but I’m just exhausted jumping from one disaster to another all the time. I’d like a few memorable stories between universal threats.
I think that’s why I’ll always prefer slice of life comics to superheroes. The bottom line is super heroes will always be about cool fighting, and cool powers. There’s very little room for true emotions. How many millions of citizens must have died as the Cotati poured over the Earth? How many combatants from these three civilizations without super powers? Life would never be the same for anyone involved. But the stories barely even touch that, they just move on to the next fight. This time, in the same issue… It feels a little too thin. The action and adventure is fine, but I wish we got more than that, as a rule.
Empyre is Over, Lets Start Wrapping It Up
The fighting may be over, but there's still endless details in the resolution. As the Avengers mourn the lost, Hulking prepares his empire for the future.
Brian Reed
Brian has been reading comics since January, 1987, when the death of Optimus Prime rocked his young world. Once a regular presenter on The Nerdstravaganza Podcast, Brian now writes for Florida Geek Scene.
