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New Avengers #18: Review

May 2014
Jonathan Hickman, Valerio Schiti

Story Name:

Into the breach


Synopsis

New Avengers #18 Synopsis by Rob Johnson
The previously page reminds us of scattering of events from earlier issues plus something from Avengers #28. We have of course the usual potted summary of the incursion problem - pairs of parallel universes meet at their Earths, and 1 Earth must be destroyed in each case to save both timelines. We are also reminded that Wakanda went to war with Atlantis, that Black Bolt lost half his power when he set off the Terrigen Bomb, and that Dr Strange sold his soul to get power to end the incursions. Plus that Mr Fantastic built a device for viewing other incursions, and last issue Black Panther and Sub-Mariner saw the Illuminati facing the heroes of another Earth 2 hours in the future. And from Av#28 Bruce Banner joined the team.

Now Maximus and Lockjaw watch Black Bolt continuing his healing process. The world thinks he died when the Terrigen Bomb started activating the latent Inhuman-ness in much of the world's population (at the end of Infinity and continuing into the Inhumanity event). The Inhuman king doesn't intend to reveal himself until he's fully healed, and the incursion crisis is out of the way.

Elsewhere in Wakanda's Necropolis T'Challa is communing with the spirits of previous Black Panthers, including his father T'Chaka and the Panther God. So far this timeline has survived incursions without the team having to personally destroy another Earth. But he has seen the Great Society heroes of the Earth they will soon face. They won't let their Earth die easily, and T'Challa has to face the fact that he will have to conspire to kill them and destroy their world.

The Panthers remind him that it is his duty to protect Wakanda at all costs - and they have all had to do questionable things in that cause. Including just remaining hidden and aloof from the world when they could have alleviated much suffering. They convince him to live up to his responsibility. And as a parting shot T'Chaka asks him why he hasn't killed Namor yet, for his drowning of Wakanda in  Avengers vs X-Men.

In yet another part of the Necropolis Sub-Mariner is sharpening his trident in preparation for the fight. When Dr Strange manifests himself, speaking in an eldritch tongue.

Elsewhere again Beast has shown Bruce Banner the collection of planet-busting antimatter bombs the team has stockpiled but never used. But Beast is now arming 1. Hank McCoy injects Bruce's palm with the device which warns them that an incursion is imminent. Which now will also teleport you to the small incursion site. The device is flashing, indicating that the predicted incursion has started.

Tony Stark is interrogating Black Swan in her prison in the Necropolis. He's convinced that she knows ways of stopping incursions without destroying worlds. After this next 1 he's going to get a telepath to dig in her mind. But she says he's just denying what he knows has to be done. And then Reed Richards comes to say that they're ready to go to the incursion site.

The site this time is near the Great Pyramids in Egypt, where the other Earth is visible in a pink sky. Banner Hulks-out as they rise to meet the onrushing Great Society heroes.


 

Review / Commentaries

Rating:
4 stars

New Avengers #18 Review by (May 18, 2014)
Valerio Schiti takes over as artist for at least the next 4 issues. There was an editorial error in Avengers #28. Dr Strange was shown as present when Bruce Banner was introduced to the Illuminati. But here he only returns from his extra-dimensional voyage (#14) to get extra mystic power *after* Banner joins the team. We briefly saw a different version of the Panther spirits in Fantastic Four #608 where T'Challa became king of the Necropolis. That issue, by current scribe Jonathan Hickman, also featured a prediction of events in Avengers vs X-Men and that Panther and Mr Fantastic would be involved together in even more dire events that threatened Wakanda later. Tony Stark has several bandages here. I don't know where he acquired the injuries. He didn't have them when last seen here in #15, and didn't get them off Banner in Av#28. Maybe he sustains them in the as-yet-unfinished adventure in his own mag (currently #25) against Malekith and the Mandarin Rings. I didn't mention in my comments on #17 that the Great Society's civilisation is a Greater Egyptian Empire with a statue of Apocalypse. as the Sphinx. At the end of this issue the Great Society heroes are standing on that statue. In this issue the incursion points on both Earths are the Pyramid/Sphinx site at Giza. In #4 they were both Ellis Island. In other cases we haven't known where the incursion point was on the other Earth, but presumably the incursions always share location.


> New Avengers comic book info and issue index

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Valerio Schiti
Valerio Schiti
Frank Martin
Dustin Weaver (Cover Penciler)
Dustin Weaver (Cover Inker)
Jason Keith (Cover Colorist)
Additional Credits
Letterer: Joe Caramagna.
Editor: Tom Brevoort.

Characters

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

Beast
Beast

(Henry Phillip McCoy)
Black Panther
Black Panther

(T'Challa)
Black Swan
Black Swan

(Yabbat Ummon Tarru)
Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange

(Stephen Strange)
Hulk
Hulk

(Robert Bruce Banner)
Iron Man
Iron Man

(Anthony Stark)
Maximus
Maximus

(Maximus Boltagon)
Mr. Fantastic
Mr. Fantastic

(Reed Richards)
Sub-Mariner
Sub-Mariner

(Namor McKenzie)

Plus: Great Society.