Superior Avengers #3 – Avengers vs. Superior Avengers

“Tales of a Scorched Earth” by Steve Foxe, Kyle Hotz, Luca Maresca, Rachelle Rosenberg, Mattia Iacono & Cory Petit from Marvel Comics

PREVIOUSLY

Previously, the story revealed two major plot points. First, the real motivations of these “Superior Avengers”. Turns out, the future of this time line with Doctor Doom as emperor and ruler of the world is doomed. Pun intended. After being in power so long, Doom isolated himself from the world. Abandoning the people of earth to its own devices.

The Superior Avengers planned and executed a coup on their emperor. Their plan was to retreat any and all magic artifacts Doom had collected over the years. Doing this would undo his entire time as ruler. But there was a problem, Doctor Doom wasn’t just brooding on his throne in Doomstadt.

WITHERED FUTURE

Doctor Doom had made all magic one with him. So if Doom were ever to perish, so would have magic. Even in defeat, Doctor Doom had the last laugh. Filled with rage, Killmonger executed their emperor. Killmonger and the others were stranded. With no way out of their withered world. But their problems just got worse. By killing Doctor Doom they unleashed a worse fate.

However, they lucked out. Kristoff Vernard was searching through time looking for proof of Doom’s success in the future, but he found them instead.

PLAYING THE PART

Since their arrival, they have been playing their part. Of course Doom dubbed them the Superior Avengers. As such, they’ve been deployed to conduct heroic acts that have served as propaganda for Doom’s new empire. The Second is the Superior Avengers’ true intentions. Which took them to prison 42 inside the Negative Zone.

GRIMM HISTORY

Prison 42 is a landmark for Marvel Comics (And not for the best of reasons). If you don’t know, Prison 42 was built by Tony Stark and Reed Richards during the Civil War event. It was designed to house any and all super folks who refused to register with the US Government. What were the Superior Avengers looking for inside Prison 42?

*SPOILERS FOR ISSUE #3*

DOOMED FUTURE

Issue #3 begins with Killmonger’s story 116 years in the future with Doctor Doom in power. The world is visibly in ruins. Killmonger was seeking asylum within Wakanda’s borders. Apparently, the rumors were that Wakanda was the last free city in the entire world. But unfortunately, that was just not the case.

From an entire group of Asylum seekers, Killmonger was the only one to survive the trip. All hope for a better life for Killmonger was gone once she made it inside Wakanda. If you have read the Thunderbolt: Doomstrike series, you would know that Wakanda had already allowed Doom’s regime to take hold resources. So the fact that Wakanda eventually fell to Doom wasn’t a surprise for me. 

COMPETING AVENGERS

The climax of this issue is, without a doubt, the confrontation between the two Avenger teams. The Superior Avengers were deployed to stop a villain named Graviton. On the way there, they became aware that THE Avengers were also on their way. Tensions were high even before everyone landed. After just a few words, the focus shifted from catching Graviton, the bad guy, to fighting each other.

Even though technically speaking, it was the Superior Avengers who held some claim to authority. Since they worked directly for Doctor Doom. Captain Marvel and the rest of the team soon realized they were not walking over their opponents. Also,the Superior Avengers had personal grievances they wanted to address right there and then.

HOW ABOUT THE ART?

Without a doubt the best feature of this series is the contrasting art styles. The art by Luca Maresca and Mattia Iacono depicts the present timeline very bright and sharp. It represents hope from the people that believe in Doctor Doom’s Regime. Or perhaps the fact that the heroes have not surrendered the world to Doctor Doom yet.

However, the art by Kyle Hotz and Rachelle Rosenberg depicts the future timeline as gnarly, violent and dire. Which depicts that world as hopeless and forsaken.

OVERALL GRADE: 9/10

Steve Foxe continues to put out an incredibly underappreciated story. With the future of the entire planet at stake, the Superior Avengers need to be watched a lot more closely. It is unclear what their intentions are as of yet.

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