Uncanny Avengers 2 review

It’s been two months since Uncanny Avengers 1 graced us with its presence. I can’t say I’m overly surprised that a John Cassaday drawn comic was delayed, but the wait was worth it. A lot happened in the last issue. The X-Men held a private funeral for Charles Xavier, a brainwashed Avalanche attacked New York, Rogue and the Scarlet Witch were kidnapped after a brief argument, and Red Skull performed brain surgery on Xavier’s body. Can this comic possibly match that?

Issue 2 of Marvel’s new flagship title takes its time more than the first one. It feels more as a result, and there’s more room for character development. There are only three major scenes in this issue. The first deals with the aftermath of Avalanche’s attack. The second is a brief montage that shows the rising panic and violence against mutants. The third, and longest, focuses on the captured Rogue and Scarlet Witch. All three of these scenes are brilliantly done.

While Havok doesn’t say much in this issue, the first scene primarily focuses on his potential as the leader of the Uncanny Avengers and how he can connect with regular people. The third scene is perhaps the highlight though. Red Skull’s plan is revealed in full, and he unleashes his new Telepathy via. Xavier’s brain. Red Skull is simply awesome here, and his conversation with the Scarlet Witch shows how charismatic and cunning he really is – he almost doesn’t need telepathy to manipulate her. This comic is fun, dark, and shows plenty of promise for this series.

The art is great too. Character faces and expressions are expertly drawn, and the environmental detail is impressive. Various power effects look good, from Scarlet Witch’s chaos magic to Dancing Water’s liquid body. Visually, this book is pretty much flawless.

The first two issues of Uncanny Avengers have been great. The only thing worth complaining about is the delay between the two issues – hopefully that won’t happen for every issue. If you like either the X-Men or the Avengers, you should definitely be reading this book.