Avengers Academy 39 review

Avengers Academy has achieved what should have been impossible. It lasted 40 issues, even though it starred five completely original teenage characters ( Reptil was created for the Super Hero Squad TV show, but this was his first comic appearance as far as I know). It’s a series about superpowered teenagers who are just as likely to become villains as they are to become heroes. It’s been great, and this was the perfect way to end it.

Each of the five teenage characters has their moment in the spotlight, closing any remaining plot threads. These moments range from happy endings to dealing with the consequences of their actions, and they’re all very well written. The highlight of the issue is Finesse shedding a tear after realizing her actions have pushed away all her friends. Even though there’s plenty of closure, Christos Gage makes it perfectly clear that there’s still plenty of story left to tell for all of these characters. Hopefully the ones who survive the Arena will get that opportunity.

While White Tiger and Lightspeed don’t have quite as much panel time, they still get a satisfactory ending that screams of their future potential.

The series ends the same way it began, with Veil in high school. The first issue began with her suffering humiliation from bullies, while here she humiliates the bullies. It’s a fun scene, and the perfect bookend for the series.

For the most part, the art is good. Facial expressions are done very well here, especially Finesse’s subtle expressions as she struggles to hold her pain in. Lighting effects are also well done. On the down side, there are a few inconsistencies. While talking to Striker, Veil spontaneously spawns an earring in one panel while she doesn’t have any during the rest of the scene. Also while it doesn’t bother me much, some X-23 fans will be annoyed that her eyes still aren’t green. Otherwise, I can’t think of any art related complaints.

The entire series is worth checking out. While the first few issues had too many blatant pop culture references, it’s otherwise a great introduction to these characters and the concept of the series. As the Academy goes on, you can feel the five teenagers evolve towards the heroes they become by the end (with the possible exception of Finesse). While the Fear Itself tie-ins weren’t as good as the previous issues, and the AVX tie-ins have been somewhat polarizing, they were still better than the average tie-in for both events. This series truly shines when it does its own thing though.

While the book had dark, pessimistic undertones, it still had an overly optimistic attitude, and that’s no more obvious than it is in this issue. If you’ve been reading this series for a while, you’ll definitely have to pick this issue up. If a series about troubled teenagers with superpowers interests you, you should check this series out.

Thanks Christos Gage, for not only creating these great new characters, but for writing a good X-23 and creating a series that I’ll remember fondly for a long time.

As for my thoughts on the upcoming Avengers Arena, I made an entire post about the upcoming series – my thoughts haven’t changed much since.

About healed1337

I am a relatively new comic book fan writing this blog for other new comic book fans and/or people who are interested in comics but don't know where to start. I've always been interested in writing, to the point where I have a college Creative Writing Certificate and I'm currently a year 2 Journalism student. I also have another blog where I mostly make fun of bad movies - www.healed1337.blogspot.com As for how I got into comics, I've always had a passing interest in superheroes: most notably Batman, Spider-man and the X-Men. Until February of 2011 (I think,) my only experience with any of these franchises came from the movies and video games. Shortly after I bought Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 however, I decided to check out X-23, Wolverine's female clone. I ended up reading her Innocence Lost origin story and enjoyed it. From there, I started reading various X-Men comics and it quickly exploded into my newest hobby. My other interests/hobbies include video games, movies, music, playing sports, my dogs and weird news.
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2 Responses to Avengers Academy 39 review

  1. Pingback: Comics of November 7, 2012 | healed1337

  2. xmenxpert says:

    Reptil actually did appear in an Avengers: The Initiative one-shot. So Academy wasn’t quite his debut.

    There were a lot of plot points that Gage never got to handle. How the kids got their powers (they’re not mutants), what happened to Reptil’s parents, what’s going on with their future selves. Sadly, a lot of those will probably never end up being answered.

    However, I loved this entire series, and it was a great finale. Finesse finally showing real emotion was a great moment. Though I am a little disappointed that Laura and Finesse aren’t friends any more. I thought that was a really fun relationship they had. And the panel of the pair of them in the Savage Land together, surrounded by dinosaurs under the control of Brainchild, was one of my favourite single panels of the year.

    The fact that this issue had two same-sex kisses, one for each gender, is also really neat.

    Anyway, I’m really sad this series was canceled. And even sadder that half the cast is going to a book where death is part of the premise. And sadder still that the others – Finesse, Striker, Julie (and Karolina, I guess, even if she wasn’t really part of the cast; but she and Julie just make such a cute, squee-worthy couple) – are being dropped into limbo. I especially hope to see Finesse land somewhere. She’s such an awesome character. Maybe she could be the one that shuts down Arcade’s Arena, eventually. But probably not.

    Like

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