[REVIEW] SUPERIOR AVENGERS #1

Earth’s Mightiest Heroes get a Doom-tastic upgrade in Superior Avengers #1, but are they who they seem…?

The latest One World Under Doom tie-in, Superior Avengers #1 introduces a new roster of reformed villains from various futures wherein Doom’s reign prospered, all hand-picked by Kristoff Vernard —his adopted son— to defend United Latveria (AKA, Earth) in the present, proving that it’s good, actually, to have a global dictator who is beyond reproach. But are these “heroes” what they claim to be, and are they really loyal to Doom…?

As a fan of team books with unexpected characters, as well as the general concept of the multiverse (which increasingly makes me a pariah in nerd world), Superior Avengers #1 is right up my alley. It helps that the roster of this specific team leans more towards characters more traditionally known as villains acting as heroes (think original flavor Thunderbolts, or Dark Avengers) which gives it an additional narrative edge over, say, yet another Avengers team filled with the same five or six characters you usually see. As for who is on the team, we’ve got: a female Killmonger, a female Doctor Octopus, a female Ghost (one apparently styled after the MCU’s Ghost, still yet to appear in Earth-616), a new version of Onslaught, a golden Malekith variant, and a Doom-spangled Captain America-alike who answers to Abomination. Some of these characters get more focus than others, but we’ve got four or five issues to flesh them out… hopefully.

Luckily, I have faith in writer Steve Foxe to stick the landing here, as I’ve enjoyed his previous Marvel titles, namely Dead X-Men and X-Men ‘92: House of XCII. The implication of these characters all having a secret vendetta against Doom isn’t super surprising, because otherwise there would be no dramatic tension involved, but I am interested to see where it goes. Plus, main artist Luca Maresca and color artist Mattia Iacono deliver some appealingly clean visuals that go down easily. Every page and panel of this book looks great; the opening battle against Annihilus especially works well, giving each character a moment to shine before they’re formally introduced later.

Obviously this book may have limited appeal to those who aren’t following One World Under Doom, but if you’re in the mood for a well-delivered team book that plays with familiar concepts, then you could do much worse than Superior Avengers #1.

Superior Avenger $1

4.99

6.3

Premise

6.0/10

Execution

6.5/10

Script

6.0/10

Art

6.5/10

Credits

• Writer: Steve Foxe
• Artists: Luca Maresca w/ Kyle Hotz
• Color Artist: Mattia Iacono
• Letterer: VC's Joe Sabino
• Cover Artists: R.B. SIlva & Jesus Aburtov

Credits (cont)

• Editor: Danny Khazem
• Publisher: Marvel Entertainment