Avengers: The Enemy Within 1 review

The crossover between Captain Marvel and Avengers Assemble (both written by Kelly Sue DeConnick) has been teased in Carol Danvers’ series for months now. Beyond her brain lesion, someone has been specifically targeting the Captain in what appears to be some sort of grudge match. This issue kicks off the 5-part crossover.

This issue focuses mostly on Captain Marvel as she searches for an old friend of hers, who is apparently missing. She interacts a lot with Spider Woman and Thor, and several minor characters from her solo series also make an appearance. This is a great way to ease new readers into what’s going on in her life, and it’s all tightly written. The banter between Carol and Spider Woman in the first half of this issue is hilarious, and their fight scene against … former wrestlers from the 90’s is entertaining. It’s a great start to the crossover, and everything you need to know is explain inside the comic itself.

The art is simple, yet it works. Carol’s facial expressions perfectly capture her current mindset. She looks worried when she’s wondering about her friend, she looks angry when appropriate, and there are times when she appears both angry and in pain. Other characters’ expressions are also very well done. The backgrounds are often fuzzy or one giant motion blur, but every scene is established in at least one panel, and there’s the occasional smart use of foreground.  While it’s nothing really special, the art is good enough to help carry the storytelling.

I haven’t yet decided which was the most entertaining comic I read this week, but this is easily among them. So far, it feels more like a Captain Marvel comic than an Avengers comic, but the ending makes it clear that the other Avengers Assemble cast members will be joining soon. Either way, this is an easy recommendation for Avengers fans and Carol Danvers fans alike.