Review: New Avengers Vol. 3- Other Worlds

Quick Summary

Pros: This collection gives readers plenty of information about the threats facing the Illuminati. The book’s second half is interesting and has some fun, new characters. The conclusion is well done and ends with a wonderful twist.

Cons: The stories here are not nearly as exciting as previous collections. The artwork has a few small problems here and there.

Overall: This is a book that trades off a bit of excitement for a lot of exposition. Readers learn about various entities in the Multiverse and get to peek into a number of alternate realities. This, when combined with the collection’s well-executed conclusion, generates a lot of excitement for the future of this series. However, the tradeoff of excitement causes this collection to read slower than other comics. Those who have been keeping up with this saga will get a lot out of this collection, even if it isn’t quite as exciting as previous works.

Story

New Avengers Vol. 3: Other Worlds, by Jonathan Hickman, is a slower volume where the main draw is building excitement for the future. In this way, this volume ends up being less tense and exciting than its predecessors, though this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The reduced tension gives readers a moment to breath in between larger and more significant events. This is particularly worthwhile here, since the conclusion of this collection ends on a rather exciting cliffhanger. This might not be the best volume to jump into and read on its own, but it does significantly contribute to the overall appeal of the entire New Avengers series.

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Other Worlds starts out a little slow but gives readers a chance to witness a lot. The first three chapters of this collection primarily serve as a way for Hickman to disseminate information about the mechanisms that surround the collapse of the Multiverse. Readers get to see the incredible destructive power of the Black Priests, learn more about the tactics of the Mapmakers, and peer into Black Swan’s relatively unknown past. Meanwhile, Doctor Strange’s desperate attempt to gather more power is also intriguing, as it appears to have essentially given him the power of a god. Each of these chapters offers more information about the threat facing all of reality and are sure to be important in the coming volumes.

However, outside of exposition, these stories are not nearly as interesting as the stories from previous collections. Getting a brief peek into another reality is fun at first but starts to get old after it happens three times in a row. This heavy level of exposition is still worthwhile, as it adds to the series as a whole, but it simply isn’t quite as entertaining to see play out as the events of other collections.

Luckily, the second half of the collection is a bit of an improvement. It primarily focuses on a single reality inhabited by the Great Society, an alluring pastiche of DC’s Justice League. Having more time with this alternate reality allows for some character development and a bit of worldbuilding. This allows readers to connect with a new group of heroes in a rather satisfying way.

Other Worlds continues to improve as it reaches its conclusion. For the majority of the volume, Hickman lures readers into a false sense of security. They become accustomed to seeing mayhem and disaster on other worlds, while a state of relative peace exists in the primary Marvel Universe. Then, as the volume wraps up, these faraway threats become immediately relevant once readers learn that the Great Society is about to come into direct confrontation with the Illuminati. In this way, Hickman exploits the connection readers previously formed with these faraway heroes and turns the reader’s relationship with them on its head. It is an unexpected but very satisfying twist that caps off the collection with a wonderful cliffhanger.

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Art

The artwork in Other Worlds is good but isn’t quite as spectacular as it was in previous volumes. The first few chapters, drawn by Simone Bianchi, feature dark inks that match the story’s pessimistic tone. On pages that highlight the contrast between black and white, these depictions look wonderful and help characters jump right off the page. However, on pages with more muted colors, things tend to blend together more and the result is more lackluster.

The visuals in the second half of the book maintain a similar tone and level of quality. Rags Morales does a great job in depicting the events of these chapters and bringing in plenty of creativity to the character designs of the Great Society. However, backgrounds were minimalist in a way that ends up being a bit frustrating; at times, I had trouble telling which Earth the Great Society was on. Plus, there are a few moments where facial expressions are pretty vacant. Overall though, the visual appeal of these chapters is still positive, even if a few problems exist.

Continuity

New Avengers Vol. 3: Other Worlds continues the story from New Avengers Vol. 2: Infinity (Review) and the Infinity (Review) crossover event.

The story here continues in New Avengers Volume 4: A Perfect World.

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

• The first chapter of this collection is a tie-in to the Inhumanity (Review) event. However, readers do not need to read Inhumanity (Review) in order to understand this chapter.
• Mr. Fantastic mentions that he built something called the “Bridge” in the past. He build this device at the beginning of Dark Reign: Fantastic Four.
• The Great Society from Earth-4290001 is meant to be an homage to the Justice League from DC Comics.
  • Sun God represents Superman
  • The Norn represents Doctor Fate
  • The Jovian represents Martian Manhunter
  • The Rider (Wayne) represents Batman
  • Doctor Spectrum represents Green Lantern
  • Boundless represents the Flash