Review: Mighty Avengers Vol.2 #3
Previously, “Issue 2”
When we last left the Mighty Avengers, they had just gotten the upper hand on Proxima Midnight, and she was being put back on task by Thanos. The team didn’t have much to celebrate, though; Spectrum was still writhing in pan from Proxima’s attack, and the Ebony Maw had just forced Doctor Strange to summon Shuma-Gorath. However, prior to all of this happening, Ava Ayala and Victor Alvarez are having a heart to heart; Ava is accepting of her fate as the carrier of the White Tiger, and she wants to make her death actually mean something besides defending crates in a shipping yard. Vic, who can sense the chi of everything and everyone around him, tells her that her brother - the former White Tiger - is proud of the decisions that she has made thus far. Ava pays him a compliment, he gets…”excited,” and we move on to present time.
Shuma-Gorath is proselytizing in Times Square while Superior Spidey is still examining Spectrum; her light form has been corrupted, and she’s dying. Shuma-Gorath grabs Luke Cage while threatening to devour the soul of his infant daughter Danielle when a blue flash screams through the demon’s eye. He introduces himself as Blue Marvel (but Adam is fine, thank you) and asks for a sitrep; Spider Hero says that this is only a portion of Shuma-Gorath’s manifestation, and they have to stop them before he manifests himself on earth permanently. Adam and Spider Hero share a moment of familiarity before Superior Spidey requests Dr. Brashear’s help. After fanboying over Dr. Brashear’s work, he asks him to use his expertise to help Monica. Turns out, that spear attack is eating her alive at the photon level, but he can use his powers to give her more photons and make her stronger in the process.
Now, the Mighty Avengers are back and ready to attack, but the Ebony Maw has more plans for his new foes; still using Doctor Strange as an unwitting puppet, he forces him to protect the demon with a magical shield. Meanwhile, the demon has plans of his own; he is using his powers to infect all of the people around Times Square, turning them into a Japanese hentai fan’s greatest dream. Just when all hope seems lost for the team, Ava and Vic come down to help aid in the fight. Monica then gets the idea to copy the shield surrounding Shuma-Gorath to protect the Mighty Avengers from possession. Spider Hero wonders how to fight a god, and Luke replies with, “a bigger god,” before commissions Power Man and White Tiger to join forces to help take the beast down. Power Man absorbs the chi of New York and channels it into White Tiger, and she lets the Tiger God loose to weaken him enough for Monica to finish the job by entering the demon’s eye and blowing it up from the inside.
The world is saved, and I can’t begin to give what happens next justice, so I’ll let Al Ewing do it for me:
Everything about this issue was badass. From the writing, to the art by Greg Land, to the presentation; there wasn’t a dull moment in the entire book. Even the beginning, where Vic and Ava are having their touching heart-to-heart and Vic is getting all in his feelings, it’s still an enjoyable sight to see.
Those two are so good together; their personalities and powers compliment each other, and it’s given to great effect in the final battle against Shuma-Gorath. This was a great end to the first three chapters of the Mighty Avengers, and as always with stories like this, the adventure continues.
