All-New All-Different Avengers #1-3

All-New All Different Avengers #1-3

Originally released in 2015

Written by Mark Waid

Art by Adam Kubert

In the aftermath of Secret Wars, a new Avengers team needed to be formed. (By my understanding, the lead-up to the Secret Wars went disastrously for the Avengers as a whole) This line-up is a nice mix of old and new - old standbys in the form of Iron Man (Tony Stark) and the Vision, familiar identities with new wielders with Jane Foster's Thor and Sam Wilson's Captain America, and a group of younger heroes who would later form the core of the Champions - Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man, and Nova. (Kamala Khan, Miles Morales, and Sam Alexander, respectively)

Of the seven members here, I'm least familiar with Nova, which made it a little unfortunate for me when the villain was tied into events from his series.  Warbringer, a member of the Chitauri race, comes to Earth seeking revenge, and is manipulated by Mr. Gryphon, a mysterious businessman who bought the Avengers Tower and who is far more than he appears to be.  There are hints at his true identity, but the Avengers don't interact with him much so we don't get much more than that.

The plot is a standard affair for superhero team-ups - a villain shows up in the area, a bunch of superheroes (some of whom know each other, some of whom are meeting for the first time) work together to defeat him, and in the end, they decide that they should work together for a while.  Where Mark Waid's writing shines is in the character-developing moments.  Early on, there's a moment where Captain America choosing a girl scout to buy cookies from feels like a gut punch because it serves as a reminder that, no matter what Sam Wilson does in the role, every action that he takes (even minor/unimportant ones) will be politicized, twisted, and turned against him, with the colour of his skin seemingly playing a part in that.

Likewise, the first meeting between Nova and Ms. Marvel is entertaining, with Ms. Marvel's hometown hero status and her care for making sure that the fighting is taken away from people and that Jersey City's buildings and history remain intact are contrasted with Nova, who seems to view "using himself as a battering ram" as the solution to most problems without thinking too much about collateral damage.  There's a moment where, to try and diffuse the tension, Nova unmasks and says his real name, causing them both to panic because they're not sure what to do.  Waid does a great job with giving us their baffled, panicked internal monologues as they try to get out of this awkward social situation.

Some Avengers get more focus than others - Thor doesn't arrive until near the end of the second issue - but Kamala is a highlight, and her glee at being asked to be a part of the Avengers and her care for the city that she lives in leaps off of the page.  It's a good start to the team, and it makes for a good jumping-on point for new readers - some elements are borrowed from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (the story culminates in the team trying to stop a villain from using an ancient artifact to create a portal that will send a Chitauri army into New York City), but I'm glad that they didn't take the easy route and have the Avengers team based on the MCU line-up.  They took some risks with the line-up here, and it paid off.