Daniel Dearlove reviews Avengers Assemble #20

AVENGERS ASSEMBLE #20 

[(Writer) Al Ewing (Art by) Pepe Larraz (Cover art by) Jorge Molina]

 

I'm a Wasp fan. I don't know if it's necessary for me to explain any further, but: She fights crime in miniskirts and cute little pixie cuts, and she's girly and vulnerable in a way that comic book heroines aren't supposed to be. She's a real person, going through things in her personal life that are a lot more relatable than clones or mind control. She gets so many costumes that if you don't love the current one, you can wait for the next (now that the merch-friendly embossed catsuit has finally been retired). And she's a classic Lee/Kirby creation that should be recognised as the heart of the Marvel Universe, instead just managing to survive horrific writer abuse and a seeming determination to sideline her in favour of nonentities without a speck of her charm.

We finally got through the wilderness years, waiting for Jan's return. Yet even with her new role in a supposed flagship book, she barely gets to be a presence. The Uncanny Avengers team make guest appearances in every book, with Janet always absent. On covers she's a tiny blot, a half-arsed squiggle that can't even be called woman-shaped.

So with cautious optimism we gazed on the Jorge Molina cover for Avengers Assemble #20, with Jan front and centre and actually allowed to take up a few inches. It was too much to hope she'd get a big role, and the preview pages made it seem more of a Wonder Man story. Never could I have dreamed that we'd get what's essentially a Wasp solo adventure. And it comes from Al Ewing, whose Mighty Avengers I slated in a previous review, which might have had as much to do with my dislike for the Infinity crossover as the comic itself.

I never thought we'd see Lord Gouzar again. It seemed more likely that Marvel would be allowed to use the actual Baron Karza before his non-union equivalent would make another appearance. Ewing's reuse of the villain from Janet's return arc is an inspired move. It gives her a recurring nemesis who isn't Whirlwind (or the Magician, no don't Google him). And it's a big step towards some closure on her long exile. She was apparently battling Gouzar for a period of time that spanned Dark Reign, Siege, Fear Itself, Avengers vs. X-Men and everything in between, and with only her limited appearances since we've barely scratched the surface of what went on during that time and how it affected her. (Back when Marvel was willing to publish limited series that weren't Deadpool or zombies, this would have been an ideal subject.)

For all that, it's a little problematic and strange that Janet never gets to directly defeat Gouzar. His appearance in Avengers climaxed in a battle scene where everyone except Jan was allowed to assault him, and here she's put in the role of pep-talking someone else into dealing with him. I'm not sure if it's intentional that Jan is repeatedly shoehorned into the cheerleader role rather than acting on her own agency; in a way it doesn't go against her established character, yet it's frustrating that even in the spotlight she's not allowed to kick ass.

The art by Pepe Larraz is fluid and easy on the eyes if unremarkable. His Janet isn't as attractive as I'd like, and he gives the new costume too much of a New 52-style armoured look. To be fair, it seems to be a tricky one to get right, looking very ugly in the hands of the wrong artist. (Cassaday's depiction is utterly, utterly horrible.)

Rabid fan bias aside, this is a fun, amusing issue if not a perfect one. It's built on the old "structure the story around a loose metaphor, providing a tidy little point to end on without really going anywhere". It's by far the best thing to come out of Infinity, as much as that isn't a major accomplishment. (There's still no reason the non-Hickman Avengers teams have been completely ignored in the core issues, and Wanda - the woman who could end the invasion with three words? Her entire role in this crossover is to land a Quinjet, no really.) Ewing's characterisation of Janet seems to contain a little of her chirpier Earth's Mightiest Heroes animated iteration; it's not necessarily a bad thing in moderation, but clashes with the more mature and experienced canon depiction.

Avengers Assemble #20 is an antidote both to the joyless death march of Infinity and the seemingly endless mega-plot in which the Uncanny Avengers cast are embroiled. If there's an upside to Marvel's eternal cycle of crossover events, it's that the occasional character-focused issue like this is allowed to slip out.    

Daniel Dearlove