Classic Review: Marvel Masterworks- Avengers Vol. 16
Quick Summary
Pros: Vision’s story is interesting, especially in how it relates to the ongoing question regarding his humanity. Some of the challenges facing the Avengers are compelling. The artwork is mostly positive.
Cons: The entire book’s structure is frustrating, as it interrupts the larger narrative with intrusive subplots and fails to properly cultivate interest. Most story arcs play out in a similar, predictable fashion. Flashbacks and explanations appear far too often and become annoying after a while.
Overall: This collection is one of the more disappointing entries in this era of this series. Though it contains a few solid character arcs, these positive aspects are mostly covered up by negative ones. Problems with structure, exposition, and general storytelling make it hard to really get on board with what is happening here. The only major benefit is that a heavy reliance on flashbacks might make it a worthwhile entry point for newer readers but, other than this, the volume is pretty lackluster.
Story
Avengers Vol. 16 is plagued with problems that make it pretty hard to enjoy. The stories here are far too predictable, flashbacks dominate the narrative, and the entire volume has structural problems that make it hard to become deeply invested in the narrative. There are a few redeeming qualities found throughout the book, specifically those focused on the Vision and a few other characters, but these are not present often enough. All in all, this volume’s dedication to flashbacks might make it a good entry point for newer readers, but its problems make it hard to recommend.
(spoilers start here)
Starting with the positive, Avengers Vol. 16 contains a number of stories that read well and a few that really manage to stand out. The return of Wonder Man creates a tension that is felt in many heroes and villains. Specifically, Wonder Man’s entrance led to my favorite chapter in this volume: Vision’s battle against the stone facsimile of the Black Knight, an emotional fight that perfectly highlights all the complex problems that are running through Vision’s mind at this juncture. In addition, Ultron’s return is handled well and the expansion of Hank Pym’s mental instability presents interesting possibilities for the future.
Unfortunately, these positive attributes are hampered by a number of negative ones. The largest of these is that the structure of nearly every story throughout this book feels incredibly erratic. The mystery behind Wonder Man’s reintroduction is pushed off for far too long, which makes his contributions to the team feel frustrating rather than exciting up until the very end. There are also chapters that just don’t fit into the narrative of this series at all, like the team’s bizarre trip to Louisiana or the far too sudden appearance of Graviton.
What’s more, almost all of these stories play out in a far too predictable fashion far too many times. The story will open with the Avengers working out personal problems, then a villain will appear and easily defeat the team, then the Avengers will recover somehow and manage to save the day. Having the entire team almost completely defeated multiple times over the course of a few chapters makes the “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” seem like a bunch of pushovers, which makes their adventures less interesting to watch. It also removes all tension from the story, as readers are well aware exactly how it will all play out.
Avengers Vol. 16 is also even more difficult to enjoy from the perspective of a long-time reader. The book opens up with two chapters that almost completely focus on rehashing the history of the Avengers; they even reuse old pages in a few places. From here, just about every other chapter contains some sort of flashback or narration designed to explain plot points from previous story arcs. There are even places where the same explanation is given in multiple different places. This might be nice for newer readers but even they will find the numerous explanations regarding Wonder Man’s origin repetitive. I enjoy reading stories that enhance elements from a comic’s past but relying so heavily on the past so many times in a row is a bit frustrating.
(spoilers end here)
Art
The artwork in Avengers Vol. 16 is positive, if a bit inconsistent. Each of the individual artists working on this book provides solid work on an individual basis. George Perez continues the work he started in the previous volume, providing great character depictions and compelling page structures. In addition, Sal Buscema’s return to the series marks a couple impressive pages that certainly help the visuals in this book. There are places where the textures and styles shifts as the collection rotates between artists but these flaws are not significant enough to take away from the collection’s visual positives. All in all, the artwork in Avengers Vol. 16 is pleasant and helps make up for some of the mistakes made in the storytelling.
Continuity
Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 16 continues the story from Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 15 (Review).
The story here continues in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 17 (Review).
This volume also makes references to other comic books, detailed below:
- The “Lady Liberators” made their first appearance in Avengers #83, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 9 (Review).
- Iron Man’s armor was updated in Iron Man #85, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Iron Man Vol. 4.
- The founding of the Avengers is mentioned a few times throughout this collection. This took pace in Avengers #1, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 1 (Review).
- Captain America joined the Avengers in Avengers #4, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 1 (Review).
- Wonder Man joined in Avengers #9, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 1 (Review).
- A new Avengers team was chosen in Avengers #16, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 2 (Review). This same issue saw Captain America’s return from the jungle.
- Hawkeye’s activities in Tales of Suspense #57, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Iron Man Vol. 2, are mentioned.
- Wanda and Pietro left Magneto in X-Men #11, collected in Marvel Masterworks: The X-Men Vol. 2.
- Avengers #151 shows a flashback to the Avenger’s battle against the Lava Men from Avengers #5, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 1 (Review).
- The Thing’s appearance in Avengers #151 can be explained by Fantastic Four #170, collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Fantastic Four Vol. 16.
- In Avengers #151, many of the Fantastic Four’s lineup changes are mentioned. These include:
- Medusa joining to replace Sue Storm in Fantastic Four #132, collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Fantastic Four Vol. 13.
- Thundra helped out the team in Fantastic Four #149, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Vol. 14.
- Power Man joining for a while starting in Fantastic Four #168, collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Fantastic Four Vol. 16.
- “Cap’s Kooky Quartet” fought Doctor Doom in Avengers #25, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 3 (Review) , and the Swordsman in Avengers #19, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 2 (Review).
- Hank Pym’s history is shown in Avengers #151.
- He rejoined the Avengers in Avengers #28, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 3 (Review) .
- He began working as Ant-Man again in Avengers #46, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 5 (Review) .
- He started wearing a new costume in Avengers #46, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 5 (Review) .
- He took on the Yellowjacket identity in Avengers #59, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 7 (Review).
- He married Janet in Avengers #60, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 7 (Review). He also suffered a mental breakdown during this same time period.
- Hawkeye took on the Goliath name and powers in Avengers #63, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 7 (Review), but went back to being Hawkeye in Avengers #98, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 10 (Review).
- Spider-Man almost became an Avenger but declined in The Amazing Spider-Man #3, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 5.
- Namor recently teamed up with Dr. Doom in Super Villain Team-Up #16.
- Many previous Avengers members are shown in Avengers #151.
- Daredevil temporarily served as an Avenger in Daredevil #99-Avengers #111, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 11 (Review).
- Hercules started spending time with the Avengers in Avengers #38, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 4 (Review). He officially joined them in Avengers #45, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 5 (Review). He left them in Avengers #50, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 5 (Review).
- He joined the Champions in Champions #1, collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Champions Vol. 1.
- The Black Knight started spending time with the Avengers in Avengers #47, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 4 (Review). He officially joined the team in Avengers #71, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 7 (Review). He then disappeared in Defenders #11, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Defenders Vol. 2.
- Black Panther joined the team in Avengers #52, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 6 (Review), and left in Avengers #126, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 13 (Review) .
- Black Widow started associating with the Avengers in Avengers #29, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 3 (Review), and separated herself from them in Avengers #76, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 8 (Review). She officially became a member of the team in Avengers #111, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 11 (Review).
- She joined the Champions in Champions #1, collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Champions Vol. 1.
- Captain America mentions fighting a Nazi Vampire in Invaders #6, collected in Invaders Classic: The Complete Collection Vol. 1.
- Iron Man mentions battling a werewolf in Werewolf by Night #42, collected in Werewolf by Night: The Complete Collection Vol. 3.
- A note in Avengers #152 mentions that the original Black Talon appeared in Strange Tales #173.
- The Living Laser fought the Avengers back in Avengers #79, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 8 (Review), and fought Captain Marvel back in Captain Marvel #35, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Captain Marvel Vol. 4.
- Vision mentions Quicksilver’s wedding. This took place in Fantastic Four #150, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 13 (Review).
- The Wizzer’s participation in WWII and his role on the All Winners Squad starts in All-Winners #19 and ends in All-Winners #21, both of which are collected in Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age All-Winners Vol. 4.
- The Living Laser asked Scarlet Witch to join him back in Avengers #44, Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 5 (Review).
- The Serpent Crown seemed to have been destroyed back in Captain America #181, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Captain America Vol. 9.
- Attuma’s most recent fight with Namor was in Super-Villain Team-Up #3. Their animosity started back in Fantastic Four #33, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Vol. 4 (Review).
- The story in Super-Villain Team-Up #9 continues from Super-Villain Team-Up #8.
- Super-Villain Team-Up #9 shows an altered flashback to the events of Astonishing Tales #1-3.
- Dr. Doom mentions a non-aggression pact that was created in Super-Villain Team-Up #6.
- Tamara’s race was destroyed in Sub-Mariner #56, collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Sub-Mariner Vol. 7.
- Namor mentions Quicksilver joining the Avengers. He joined in Avengers #16, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 2 (Review).
- Namor is familiar with the Whizzer from Marvel Premiere #27-28.
- A note in Avengers #156 states that Captain America’s actions continue in Super-Villain Team-Up #11. His actions actually continue in Super-Villain Team-Up #10 and then in Super-Villain Team-Up #11.
- Avengers #157 mentions a number of details regarding the history of the Black Knight. These include:
- Him being turned into stone in Defenders #4, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Defenders Vol. 1.
- The Avengers and Defenders attempting to save him in the Avengers/Defenders War, stretching across Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 12 (Review).
- Avengers #158 mentions a number of details regarding the history of the Grim Reaper. These include:
- His first fight against the Avengers in Avengers #52, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 6 (Review).
- His attempt to get the Vision to team-up with him in Avengers #107-108, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 11 (Review).
- Avengers #161 references the recent destruction of Attilan from Inhumans #6, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Inhumans Vol. 2.
- Ultron’s most recent defeat is mentioned. He was defeated in Fantastic Four #150, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 13 (Review).
- In Avengers #161, a subtle reference is made to Jack Kirby’s work on the Rawhide Kid series. His work stretched across Rawhide Kid #17-25, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Rawhide Kid Vol. 1.
- A recent team-up between Hercules and Iron Man is mentioned. This team-up took place in Iron Man Annual #4, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Iron Man Vol. 11.
- Typhon’s last appearance was in Avengers #50, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 5 (Review).