- ISBN13: 9780785125167
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
The Civil War is over and from now on, this is the new face of the Marvel Universe – The Initiative! Whose side were you on? If you were pro-registration, then there’s one hell of a price to pay. You’re in the army now. Every last one of you. Fall in with Yellowjacket, War Machine, She-Hulk, Justice and The Gauntlet as they train the heroes of tomorrow for the super-powered conflicts of today! Marvel’s army of super heroes has just become a super hero army! Also featuring The Mighty Avengers and a new generation of Marvels. Collects The Initiative #1-6…. More >>
Avengers: The Initiative, Vol. 1: Basic Training
The Avengers leader(Tony Stark a.ka.Iron Man) has lowered the recruitment and initiation standards, just like the Army. Nevertheless, this book is spectacularly and captivatingly colorful. Rating: 5 / 5
I’ve been a long X-Men fan, and read many of those series for a decade, and thought I’d see what was going on in the Avengers world. I picked this one up at the book store because I liked Caselli’s art. The final section features art by Uy which is pretty horrible, but for the most part, the book has great art. The story is good, and introduces a bunch of new (at least they seem new to me) characters such as Cloud 9, Trauma, MVP, Armory, Komodo, and Hardball. Sadly, these interesting characters are eclipsed by the huge numbers of lame 50s-era creatively-bankrupt characters in spandex body suits: Bengal, The Shocker, Boomerang, Constrictor, She-Hulk, Triathlon, and Hydroman. Then there are the stupid characters from the 50-state initiative which are all themed on the state they’re from. For example, in Texas, we have the obvious things like Armadillo, Texas Twister, Free Bird, and Shooting Star, all dressed in cowboy hats and chaps. The most horrible of the new characters are a clown-hero named Slapstick, complete with white gloves and bozo hair, and the wonderfully creative “Thor Girl”. It’s just embarrassing. Yet all these super hero rejects aside, the story ended up being good. If you’re not bothered by heroes ideas that make you cringe, I’d pick it up. Rating: 3 / 5
I didn’t expect much from this spin-off, but it really is one of the better books to come out of “Civil War.” While the main Avengers books (“Mighty” and “New”) have been somewhat disappointing (is Bendis being stretched too thin?), Dan Slott’s “Initiative” is everything that you could look for in a comic book. Action, drama, and–most noticeably–a little humor to temper the seriousness. Having said that, this is a book about training young super-heroes to go to war, so it’s not all fun and games: There are casualties. Rating: 5 / 5
I bought this one because of the ending of Iron Man, the movie, and Nick Fury’s mentioning of the Avenger Initiative and I wanted a little insight about it before the movie comes out in a couple of years. While the artistry was exactly as to be expected, the story line left me a little cold. The one thing I really liked about this comic was that Captain America is no longer a wimp and definitely not a cheerleader anymore. I would recommend it for die-hard comic fans just to have it, but for occassional readers (especially those who have not yet read “Civil War”) I’m sure you can find better. Rating: 4 / 5
I thought that a lot of the Civil War ties have been weak, but not The Initiative. This series is off to a strong start.
From the first issue, you’re introduced to some promising new characters. You think you know where the series is headed and – bam! – Slott throws you a very unexpected, even brilliant curve. I wish I could tell you what makes it so great without giving anything away, but I don’t want to spoil any surprises for you. Just trust me – this book goes into some very unexpected places and that’s a good thing.
Another good thing is the way Slott uses some of the Marvel U’s existing characters to bring depth and tension to the series. Hank Pym, the former Marvel Boy and War Machine all have pivotal roles. Slott is respectful of their histories, but gives them some new twists and conflicts that really flesh these characters out. I also enjoyed seeing old favorite Danielle Moonstar.
The last few years have brought us at least two five-star series about younger heroes – Young Avengers and Runaways, Vol. 1. I wouldn’t put The Initiative quite up there with those books, but it comes pretty close. As the series progresses into it’s later issues, it gets more tied into other Marvel U events – particularly World War Hulk.
Some of the emphasis that could have gone into developing the new characters of The Initiative goes into catching the reader up on Dreaded Crossover Backstory. None of which is Slott’s fault, of course, it’s what happens when a series is too closely tied into these big Universe-wide events. They make for great marketing ploys but rarely great single issues.
Still, I strongly recommend Avengers: The Initiative Vol. 1: Basic Training. It’s a solid book that you’ll really enjoy. There’s a lot of potential here; you might as well get on for the start.
Rating: 4 / 5