Review: Avengers- Endless Wartime
Quick Summary
Pros: The main storyline gives an interesting examination into multiple members of the Avengers. This storyline is also moderately exciting.
Cons: The bulk of the narrative ends up being mediocre. The artwork is lackluster. Overall, the book feels generic and does not offer anything that special.
Overall: This is a disappointingly average Avengers adventure. The book offers some quick thrills and some interesting peeks into a few members of the Avengers. However, lackluster artwork and a generic storyline prevent it from standing out as anything noteworthy. This is a volume for newer readers who just want to dip their toes into the world of comics, not readers looking for an example of a great read to get into.
Story
Avengers: Endless Wartime, by Warren Ellis, is a moderately entertaining but slightly generic Avengers story. The main narrative has the Avengers facing off against a threat from their past. This allows the story to dive into the members of the Avengers as individuals, showcasing their personal struggles. However, outside this interesting character examination, the bulk of the book feels pretty generic. Nothing stands out as something anyone must read and the fact that this story does not go on to impact future stories makes it even less compelling. Newer readers looking for an isolated story may like this book but longtime readers should probably continue their Avengers reading elsewhere.
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The main positive in Endless Wartime is the brief but interesting examination into each member of the Avengers. Endless Wartime looks into Thor’s past misdeeds, Wolverine’s often violent approach to heroics, Iron Man’s history with weapons, Bruce Banner’s love/hate relationship with the Hulk, and Captain America’s ongoing struggle to adapt to the present. These are interesting points and seeing them contrasted against one another helps showcase the fallibility of the individual members of the Avengers, a point that was present way back when Lee and Kirby originally created the team.
However, the rest of Endless Wartime ends up feeling pretty generic. The Avengers are called together to face off against a threat, they have a little trouble at first, then they are able to rally together and save the day. The story is moderately exciting but doesn’t end up doing anything that sets it apart from any other Avengers story. Plus, the isolated nature of this graphic novel ensures that the entire adventure feels even more inconsequential, giving longtime fans even less reason to read it.
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Art
Unfortunately, the artwork in Endless Wartime tends to be pretty mediocre and, thus, ends up being a bit disappointing. Artist Mike McKone creates pages that flow well and, occasionally, allow the characters to look nice. However, the lack of detail in background visuals and in character design makes the entire book a little less appealing. There are also places where this lack of detail makes character’s faces look strained and weird, which disrupts the impact of emotions in some places. Overall, the visuals here aren’t terrible but they also are not doing the book many favors.
Continuity
Avengers: Endless Wartime is a standalone volume that does not have origins in any other comic.
The story here is not continued in any specific comic.
This volume also makes references to other comic books, detailed below:
- Captain America’s mention of Captain Marvel’s health may be a reference to the injuries she sustained at the conclusion of Avengers: The Enemy Within (Reading Order).
- Hulk’s close association with S.H.I.E.L.D. began at the beginning of The Indestructible Hulk Vol. 1: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Review).