Avengers Academy #25 Review

It’s Avengers Academy vs. Hybrid!

Avengers Academy #25

Hybrid is running amok against the students of Avengers Academy.  Hank Pym tries to wrangle Reptil to help him break the mental control the mutant/Dire Wraith monster has over him.  They are able to interrupt the mental control Hybrid has over most of the students by tossing White Tiger into him and having the magical amulet she wears touch, and subsequently harm, the creature.  In the future, the younger Reptil is freed and he sees the world that has been created and what his older psyche is trying to protect.  After learning how to to defeat Hybrid, Pym and the rest of the students are able to force it back into Limbo where he’s apparently destroyed.  That’s when the previously “deceased” Jocasta and the Academy defect Veil reveal themselves and their ultimate goal – to shut down Avengers Academy.

This issue is mostly a gigantic battle against a school full of up and coming heroes against one of the most powerful beings ever created in the Marvel Universe.  While it’s full of action and is an extremely quick read, Christos Gage still weaves in some very interesting character ideas that will continue in this series for the next arc and beyond.  The future versions of the students are not gone yet.  There’s still a mystery of exactly what they are trying to keep from happening and how they got to where we see them.  There’s a new element to Finesse’s character as she evaluates feelings on a more heartfelt level than her usual cold, logical way.  Of course, there’s the ending with Jocasta’s return and the plan she and Veil has for the school.

On top of all that, those who know me well knows exactly how much I love the old Marvel series ROM.  As soon as I saw Jimmy Marks, I knew exactly who he was.  To see Hybrid in all his glory was just awesome.  I cannot say how much I enjoy how Gage uses ideas like this.  Old, and sometimes new, tossed away characters have been the bread and butter of both this series and Avengers: The Initiative.  The core group of this series has mostly been his creations but his ability to bring in characters like Korvac and Hybrid to face off against the young heroes is exactly why I’ve loved this series from the beginning and is exactly why I’m giddy every time I get a new issue.

Tom Grummett gets to cut loose a bit in this issue.  He’s got alient/mutant hybrids and dinosaurs, burnt up chicks, and a sentinel to play with in this big, fat battle and it’s nothing short of fun.  While this series has often passed from one artist to another and back again, this is a series that just feels like a comic book.  It often enjoys big, bold shots and splash pages.  I mean, after all, the headmaster of the Academy often uses size as his super power and the leader of the students can turn into dinosaurs – how can it not enjoy this type of art?

I’ll go ahead and say it…  Teen hero books are often well thought of.  It’s safe to say both Avengers: The Initiative and Avengers Academy can be seen as Marvel’s version of DC’s Teen Titans.  Thanks to Christos Gage and his stable of artists, Avengers Academy is every bit as enjoyable as some of the most highly regarded runs of Teen Titans.  You’ll have a hard time convincing me otherwise.

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