Avengers A.I. #1, by Marc Alan Fishman – Snarky Synopsis | @MDWorld

July 14, 2013 Marc Fishman 1 Comment

 

Written by Sam Humphries, Art by Andre Lima Araujo

I’m a sucker for a new #1. Because the world certainly needs another Avengers book, I figured it’d behoove me to give a gander at the House of Mouse’s newest belle of the ball. Sam Humphries, also off a run of the Ultimates, knows his way around team adventure books. Avengers A.I. is a follow up to the recently completed ‘Age of Ultron’ crossover / mega-event. Given that I didn’t read a single page of it, I was pleased to see that the book catches me (and those of you who similarly agree that crossovers are boring, predictable, and excuses to sell books, not celebrate our medium of comics at large…) up without fail. But the real query is as simple as BASIC programming; Is Avengers A.I. any good? It’s a middling ‘meh’ for me. Let me explore the coding and show you why.

For those uninitiated with the aforementioned Age O’ Ultron, here is the skinny: Ultron went nuts (again). Heroes decide to go back in time to stop Hank Pym from making Ultron. It backfires. A little ‘Back to the Future 2’ Biff Land crisis, and they decide to double back on the plan. Long story short? Hank of the past helps Pym of the present to destroy Ultron by way of an ‘Independence Day’ virus. And now, in the present, said virus has become a sentient terrorist ready to possibly ‘Terminator 2’ all of humanity.

 

 

 

Avengers A.I. brings together Hank ‘Present Day’ Pym with a gaggle of robot-ish heroes (and one not so heroic) and a token S.H.I.E.L.D. lackey—who apparently might have seen ‘I, Robot’ a few times—all in an effort to save the world from the growing computer menace. Humphries team seems a bit hilarious on paper. The Vision, Victor ‘Hey, remember Runaways?’ Mancha, and a Doombot join Hank and Agent HatesMacs. She had a name. I didn’t care to remember it. The issue itself unfolds in typical modern era mayhem. A big attack, some quant flashbacks, and then an action sequence to cap things off. It’s as by-the-book as Windows 3.1. It’s functional, if a bit flat.

The biggest concern I have after reading through the book stems right from the same issues I’ve had with Humphries when I was still reading the Ultimate Ultimates. He teeters on the line between cliché and pastiche so tepidly, it’s hard to tell if the story he’s queuing up is really tongue-in-cheek or he truly believes he’s doing something original. Take these off-the-shelf beats we’re treated to here in A.I. #1: The bad-cop interrogation of a too-cocky dude put in his place the second he tries to be a bad-ass. The kooky rag-tag team with the member who cries and moans during the entire operation. And of course my personal favorite… The genius leader more excited about the implications of his work than the potential life-ending attacks tied to it.

With that being said, the book is not without its charm. Vision comes across like the suitable bad-ass he should be. Pym is a new man, and plays the ‘dick-scientist’ a la Bruce Banner in the Indestructible Hulk (which I’d be remiss to note is leaps and bounds better…). He’s witty enough to carry the book. Victor is always nice to rejoin with—and here where he’s playfully ribbed with Vision as his ‘older brother’ (since both are Ultron derivatives) is a hoot to see on page. Combine this with the robotic sensibility of the action sequence, and you do get something that is unique. Who’da thunk that robots leading robots fighting robots could be so entertaining? Given Humphries upgrading of Vision—who can now unleash nano-bot attacks, and go supernova—there’s plenty to enjoy when things start going kaboom.

Art chores are handled by Andre Lima Araujo. The book is well rendered, and I applaud the choice not to go with a more obvious choice like Greg Land. Araujo’s figures are full of emotion and are well rendered. Backgrounds are chock full of detail, and there’s plenty of well-moving parts when things start getting bumpy. If there’s a gripe or two to be had it’s with Andre’s cherubic faces. A few times, I felt a misplaced Greg Capullo head and face combo with Hank Pym. It was a but jarring. With a style that lends itself a bit towards Frank Quitely, or a lesser Geoff Darrow, combined with a looseness neither of those men have… Avengers A.I. is certainly well rendered and kinetic. The color palate is equally bright. I will denote though that the lettering choices for the onomonopia were odd and distracting. With a scratchy quality that counters the otherwise tight rendering used in the book, I often found myself lingering on the KA-BWAMs and KRAKA-DOOMs more than I should have.

Avengers A.I. has the potential to be a decent romp. If it’s to be an ongoing series though, I’d be remiss to bet the farm on it lasting more than a year or two. When much better team books (The Order and the the Defenders, pre-NOW! come to mind) come and gone, A.I. reeks still of novelty. One more Avengers title on the shelf doesn’t help either. When you can choose between the prime team, the new team, the dark team, the uncanny team, or any of the others I’m forgetting… it’d hard to put this up against them. As a quick read that will no doubt end with some slick fights, I’d recommend checking it out—so long as you loved playing Minesweeper on advanced mode.