The Creators – Jason Aaron – Writer, David Marquez – Artist, Justin Ponsor – Colours, Cory Petit – Letters

The Players – Ghost Rider, Captain America, Iron Man, Captain Marvel, Black Panther, She-Hulk, Thor, Doctor Strange, Namor, Loki

The Story – The battle against the Celestials is at an end and the team who was not a team, settles down and decide to become a team – officially.

The Take – While the story might sound a little unexciting at first, there is quite a good time to be had as the issue features a number of character developments, a new team leader is elected and the Avengers gain a new headquarters which has to be seen to be believed. The book begins on a lighthearted note as Robbie Reyes shows up at the newly-crowned Avengers Mountain, a base now located at the North Pole serving as their global base of operations and one that is made from the body of the dead Celestial from the First Host – The Progenitor. It is to say the least, a wonder to behold within and without and thanks to King T’Challa, becoming more and more inhabitable by the day. Jason Aaron who continues to chronicle this tale does so with a good balance of humour and family drama, for the Avengers are nothing but a family, albeit a little dysfunctional at times. To that effect, Tony decides to bury the hatchet with Carol and officially asks her to join the team on a permanent basis. Even better, at least in one sense, is that the team elects T’Challa to be the man to lead them going forward, something that has been coming for a long time and with his experience running both a country and The Ultimates at one point, the man is more than qualified. Putting the Black Panther in such a role definitely raises his profile in the Marvel Universe at large, not that he really needed it and it is a nice change of pace to see someone other than the ‘Big Three’ at the helm. As for the others, Cap just wants to serve and do what he does best while Thor is content to swing his hammer where asked and to continue whatever it is that he and Jennifer Walters have going on. Though the Avengers have always been about saving the world, they have also been about the camaraderie between its members, the interpersonal relationships that were fostered over time lending to the book’s humanity and the emotional connections between reader and character of which this issue continues to foster. That being said, there is a bit of action as there is an incident involving the killing of some Atlanteans and where there are dead Atlanteans, Namor cannot be far behind. Overall, a very strong issue with some truly great characterisation and some innovations that strengthen the title going forward.

Worth It? – Definitely.