Remember Avengers Arena? The one where C-List villain Arcade managed to trap a bunch of teen heroes on an island and force them to fight each other? The series that was not so loosely based on Hunger Games (or for those of us who saw it, Battle Royale). Well, whether you do or you don’t, the surviving power-teens have returned to deal with the fallout of their experience, and the possible rescue of one of their own.
Writer Dennis Hopeless is bringing us this story via Avengers Undercover, a series that has an interesting premise, but a mighty hill to climb. The surviving heroes – Hazmat, Chase, Nico, Death Locket, Bloodstone, Anachronism, and Cammi – are all handling their experiences on the island differently. Hazmat has withdrawn into herself. Walking aimlessly, trying to handle her guilt, the young woman with radiation at her fingertips is prone to fits of anger, especially when being ridiculed by some local teens.
Meanwhile, Chase Stein is going about his self-help the old fashioned way – by turning a profit. Chase is hitting the talk show circuit, writing a book and creating a reality show. None of it sits well with his fellow survivors, especially Nico, who shows up to call Chase out on betraying a pact they made on the Island. Scientists are studying Death Locket, while Cammi tries to reconnect with her alcoholic mother. Bloodstone is the one who has truly snapped. Creating a shrine to Arcade, the violence-prone teen is out tracking down his kidnapper while blowing things up. One of his attacks has resulted in his disappearance, which brings in Anachronism, who recruits the remaining survivors to try and find their friend.
Hopeless does a great job of refreshing the story of Murderworld in a way that reminds those who read it while clueing in those who have not, but never allowing it to take over the book. The story here is the kids, their issues, their resentments and trying to deal with their pain. Nothing having to do with the direction of the story becomes apparent until the very end. Where Avengers Undercover goes next is a mystery, which is part of its charm.
This is also part of the problem. Marvel has gone out on a limb here on a book filled with heroes few people really know about. If you did not read Avengers Arena, or follow these characters in great detail, Avengers Undercover might seem boring, and the lack of certainty on the direction might have readers hanging it up after this issue. As someone who does not know these characters, I’m on the fence, but Hopeless is a solid enough writer to keep me intrigued.
The art from Kev Walker is an interesting choice. While the spine of this story is dark, Walker’s visuals are bright, even over the top in some panels. The pencils themselves are nothing special, a factory-like comic art style mixed with a dash of manga and a smidge of indie work like Ghost World. The art tells the story, but little else. I also found Walker’s human faces to either be overloaded with expression, or else dead eyed. Overall, it wasn’t awful, but nothing to be excited over.
(3.5 Story, 3 Art)
