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Classic Review: Marvel Masterworks- Avengers Vol. 11

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Quick Summary

Pros: Most of the stories here are entertaining. The story arc surrounding Vision and Scarlett Witch is well crafted and highly enjoyable. The artwork here looks good and assists the story.

Cons: Many of the stories feel mediocre in places. There are a number of moments where women and romance are written poorly.

Overall: This volume isn’t quite as successful as its predecessor but still manages to pull its own weigh. The primary draw here is the general levels of action and adventure one can expect from the Avengers, further enhanced by a great performance by Vision. However, these positives are slightly balanced out by some outdated writing regarding women and romance that makes characters seem downright ridiculous at times. This volume ends up being just alright but will really appeal to anyone interested in Vision’s development throughout this era.

Story

After the explosively positive stories detailed across Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 10 (Review), Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 11 feels a bit more average and subdued. This volume, written by Roy Thomas and Steve Englehart, contains stories that have the action and adventure readers have come to expect from this series. It also goes on to elaborate on Vision’s personal growth even more than before, in a way that is highly entertaining all the way through. However, some stories in this volume also end up being slightly more mediocre than before and there are a number of places where romance and women are handled very poorly. In the end, this collection is still worthwhile for the decent Avenger’s heroics and Vision’s character arc but contains problems that readers should know about before diving into.

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Most of the individual storylines across Avengers Vol. 11 land somewhere in the middle when it comes to quality. The Avenger’s fight against the Sentinels shows that they are capable of some great improvisation, their battle against the Space Phantom is a testament to their skill as a team, and the confrontation with Magneto works as a way to bring X-Men topics into the Avengers narrative. There are portions where each of these story arcs falter but, as a whole, they are still enjoyable.

The biggest exception to the average quality levels in Avengers Vol. 11 comes from the entertaining and well-crafted narrative surrounding Vision and Scarlett Witch’s romance. Both Roy Thomas and Steve Englehart do a great job in blending the science fiction behind whether or not an android is capable of love into a series that is mostly about heroes fighting bad guys. The entire topic is satisfyingly developed across a series of chapters and even has a few red herrings to keep things interesting. Toward the end of the collection, after Vision and Scarlett Witch officially enter a romantic relationship, the narrative then goes on to hint at the potential problems a human/android romance could have when seen by society, promising additional intrigue in the future. All in all, this relationship and its related issues has become one of the most interesting plotlines in this series and left me looking forward to reading future volumes to see how it progresses.

However, holding all of this back are problems with how romance and female characters are handled throughout the collection. This book has men react in outlandishly angry ways when dealing with rejection and depicts women in a way that makes them seem stereotypically incapable of making decisions. Hawkeye, in particular, shows a ridiculous level of male chauvinism that somewhat contradicts the character growth he has undergone since joining the Avengers; as he is shown sexually assaulting Scarlett Witch and then fighting Daredevil in an attempt to force Black Widow back into a relationship. Whether or not these social roles were appropriate at the time, they come across as extremely backward and dated from a modern perspective and really damage the appeal of this volume as a whole.

(spoilers end here)

Art

The artwork in Avengers Vol. 11 is positive all the way through. The first few chapters see visuals from Rich Buckler, a newcomer to the series. Buckler’s work is instantly impressive as he brings a great level of energy and detail into the series. The characters here look great and their actions properly reflect the emotions and physical challenges they come up against.

Later issues in this volume aren’t as dramatically positive but still manage to look good. A few chapters bounce between a series of great artists but the subtle shifts in art styles between each chapter diminish the overall appeal of this portion of the book. Then, later on, Don Heck takes over artwork once more. Heck’s work here still looks good but doesn’t quite contain the same level of dynamic energy that made the first half of this collection look so pleasing. All in all though, the visuals in this book are positive and help make for a better reading experience.

Continuity

Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 11 continues the story from Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 10 (Review).

The main story here continues in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 12 (Review). Captain Marvel/Rick Jones’s story continues in Captain Marvel #22, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Captain Marvel Vol. 3 (Review).

This volume also makes references to other comic books, detailed below:

Previous Volume Review

All Avengers Reviews

Next Volume Review

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