Writer: Allan Heinberg
Artists: Jim Cheung (p), John Dell (i)
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Plot: Following the dramatic disbanding of the Avengers, four teenage Avengers-inspired superheroes mysteriously appear in New York City. But who are the adolescent do-gooders and just what does their sudden appearance mean for the former members of the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes?
Comments: Sometimes in life there are things that we just can’t turn away from: Car crashes, shark attacks, your drunken uncle projectile vomiting on the family dog during Christmas dinner. We know these things are probably going to be horrible, but deep down a part of us can’t help but watch. Maybe a part of us even WANTS to watch. This inexplicable feeling of dread and curiosity is what many comic book readers are likely experiencing having learned of Marvel’s latest spandex clad extravaganza, Young Avengers #1. It’s a comic book that looks like it’s going to be a grizzly train wreck, but one just can’t turn away from it. Young Avengers is after all a concept that at first glance appears so utterly contrived, lame, cheesy and a variety of other pessimistic adjectives, that it seems almost certain to fail. The basic premise is simple enough: four unknown teenage superheroes appear in New York, dressed in Avenger knock-off’s and quickly set out kicking the crap out of criminals and rescuing innocent by-standers. The problem: no one, including former Avenger’s Iron Man and Captain America, knows who the hell they are.
But while such an idea may seem about as original as an episode of Murphy Brown, Young Avengers #1 is not the creative train wreck that many readers were anticipating. Instead, Young Avengers manages to find itself somewhere in the middle, straddling the line between cheesy fluff and brainless entertainment. What might have been a complete crap fest of a comic book however, is saved thanks to the fine scripting of writer Allan Heinberg. Indeed, Heinberg (who is no stranger to adolescent angst as a scribe for televisions hormone laden The O.C.) manages to pull together a surprisingly tight story, a feat made all the more admirable by the fact that Young Avengers is a damn tough sell. Indeed, by Heinberg’s own admission in the issue’s letters page, comic book fans are going to be scratching their heads, wondering why the hell they should give two tugs of a dead dogs dick about a group of second rate adolescent teenage Avengers knock offs that no one (including the reader) has ever heard of; and admittedly it’s hard to take an issue seriously where one of the main protagonists is named “Hulkling”. And yet as cheesy as Young Avengers is, there is something, on some subliminal level, that one can’t help but find entertaining. Mindless fluff it may be, but it’s at least marginally entertaining mindless fluff if one is willing to turn off their brain for a few minutes.
Indeed, Allan Heinberg is a pleasant surprise and shows a real sense of understanding the comic book medium. More importantly with a premise as contrived and cheesy as a group of “Young Avengers”, he doesn’t bother to take himself seriously. If Heinberg had approached Young Avengers with even a modicum of seriousness the entire issue would have devolved into a simmering pile of comic book feces. Instead, Heinberg realizes that he is dealing with an essentially cheesy concept and runs with it, peppering the issue with self-deprecating humor, witty banter, and over the top action.
In terms of the story itself, the issue opens with typical irate DAILY BUGLE Publisher J. Jonah Jameson wanting coverage of a mysterious group of teenage superheroes who have recently appeared and been dubbed “The Young Avengers” by the media given their obvious parallel to the recently disbanded group of heroes. The team of newcomers is comprised of Iron Lad, the Asgardian, Patriot, and Hulkling (who any self respecting comic book geek will tell you are obviously homage’s to Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and the Hulk). Jameson quickly gives the assignment to Jessica Jones, the former Avenger and superhero who is now a reporter. Shortly after, Jones has a run in with Captain America and Iron Man who have naturally taken an interest in tracking down their pubescent alter-egos. The issue continues when the Young Avengers end up crashing a wedding turned hostage situation and almost end up bungling up the attempt. By the end of the issue there is a surprisingly clever cliff-hanger and the reader is left a little curious as to where the hell Heinberg is going (if anywhere) with all of this.
What is clear however, is that Heinberg is really a fairly talented writer. You’d have to be to take a concept as god-awful as the Young Avengers and turn it into something that is this palatable. His dialogue is sharp with plenty of self-mockery, humor and action, and his pacing and narrative style is original. Jim Cheung also does an admiral job of illustrating the issue with some fairly dynamic panels and character concepts. Is the entire issue cheesy? Hell, yeah. But it’s an entertaining kind of cheesiness in the same vein as 1950’s Science Fiction movies, old Super Nintendo video games, and issues of Power Pack.
Of course, in terms of adolescent superhero comics Young Avengers lacks the wit and creativity of Robert Kirkman’s Invincible (which manages to balance drama whilst still poking fun at the superhero genre) and it is nowhere close to being in the same league as DC’s Teen Titans. But in the end Young Avengers still manages to hold itself together. Is it a great comic book? Well…no, but it could be a hell of a lot worse if one wants to get optimistic about the whole thing. No, in the end Young Avengers #1 is the comic book equivalent of a New York style chili dog. It’s cheesy, made of god only knows what, will probably rot your brain and give you a coronary, but hey once you get through the first few bites, it’s really not that bad.
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