REVIEW: ‘Avengers Forever’, Issue #3

Avengers Forever #3 is written by Jason Aaron, penciled by Aaron Kuder, inked by Cam Smith & Scott Hanna, colored by guru-eFX, and lettered by VC’s Cory Petit. It’s published by Marvel Comics. Part three of “The Lords of Earthly Vengeance” has Tony Stark, the Invincible Ant-Man, forming a rescue team to save Robbie Reyes and Deathlok from the Black Skull’s fortress. That team includes the Vision, an android that Stark built; Simon Williams, the warrior known as Wonder Man; Mariama Spector, this universe’s version of the Moon Knight; and Ben Grimm, who has become the Infinity Thing after traveling to space and encountering the power of the Infinity Gems.

Once again, Aaron lets his imagination run wild when creating an alternate universe; it worked wonders in Heroes Reborn and it does so here. Only in a story with alternate realities could a writer get away with crazy ideas such as “an ant encased in Iron Man armor” or “the Thing becoming a living version of the Infinity Gauntlet.” And after the unceasing torture for shock of the previous issue, it’s rather uplifting to see the heroes take the fight to the Black Skull and his War Machines. Aaron also finally reveals what it means for Robbie to be the “All-Rider” – and it leads to the most satisfying ass-kicking I’ve seen in a while in the pages of a comic book.

Kuder gets to design a new set of characters, giving them features unique to their mainstream counterparts while also applying a post-apocalyptic vibe to their costumes. Smith and Hanna also add texture to the characters and the environments with their inks. The Vision is missing his trademark costume and cape, looking more like a green-and-yellow version of C-3PO from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Mariama boasts a sleeker, more militarized version of the Moon Knight costume, complete with a visor and rapier. Wonder Man has chalk-grey skin and glowing red eyes, which brings memories of Superman’s clone Bizarro to mind.  And finally, the Thing is a shining golem, with each of his rocky plates the different color of an Infinity Gem.

In fact, color plays a large role in the issue thanks to guru-eFX. Wonder Man’s powers take the form of a dark violet glow of energy, the Black Skull emerges from the shadows, the only source of light coming from the blood red emblem on his chest and within his bloodshot eyes, and bright yellow flames shoot out of the Ghost Rider’s Hellcharger. The standout has to be the Infinity Thing; whenever he uses his powers, a different effect occurs—War Machines are teleported in a flash of bright blue light or turned into wisps of greyish smoke. The color effect even spreads to Petit’s word balloons, including the Vision’s green-and-yellow speech bubbles and the Infinity Thing’s glowing gold words.

Avengers Forever #3 introduces a wild new team of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes as they launch a rescue mission for Robbie Reyes and Deathlok. With the end of the story upping the stakes, it’s a good thing that the next issue will reintroduce a trio of characters from another comic Aaron wrote.

Avengers Forever #3 is available wherever comics are sold.