New Avengers by Hickman vol. 3: Other Worlds

Now that the threat to the universe from “Infinity” is over, the Illuminati can get back to addressing the ongoing collapse of the multiverse.  Though the second volume of this series was deeply tied to that crossover, it still managed to advance the ongoing threat of the incursions of other Earths into the 616 Marvel Universe.  The main story is similarly furthered here, though the means by which it is done are more expository than anything else.

Things kick off with Reed Richards giving his now-famous “Everything Dies” speech that we saw at the beginning of Hickman’s “New Avengers” run.  Only, instead of it being given to our Illuminati, it’s being given to a different brain trust on an alternate Earth.  Numbered 23099 for our reference, it has the likes of Richards, Magneto, Professor X, Captain Marvel, Iron Man, Black Bolt and both Black Panthers fighting the Black Priests, one of the new threats to emerge in the wake of the collapsing multiverse.  The results of this conflict are… not encouraging for the superheroes watching from Earth 616.

Now, this is how things play out for the rest of the volume.  We see Richards, Stark, Beast, T’Challa, Maximus, and Namor observing how these other worlds face the incursions and trying to learn from them in the process.  What’s good about this process is that we get a good deal more insight into the various threats and factions facing the multiverse.  The Black Priests are creepy mystics and the Mapmakers appropriately ruthless as machine intelligences out to plunder the universe’s resources.  There’s also an issue dedicated to the Illuminati observing the history of the Black Swan they’ve imprisoned, which does a good job of validating their fears yet also foreshadows her inevitable escape.

Then there’s the two-parter which closes out this volume, “A Perfect World.”  In it, Namor and T’Challa observe the history of a group of heroes that has managed to protect its world from two incursions.  What makes them special?  It’s that they’re essentially the Justice League with the serial numbers filed off.  We get representations of Superman (Sun God/Hyperion), Batman (The Rider), Green Lantern (Dr. Spectrum), Flash (Boundless), Martian Manhunter (The Jovian), and Dr. Fate (The Norn) working together to save their world from certain destruction.

None of these characters are fleshed out in any great detail, but Hickman gets around that issue by playing up the distinctions between the Great Society and the Illuminati.  The most important is that the members of the Society are optimists.  Sun God gives us an inversion of Richards’ speech here which celebrates life rather than embraces death while the members of the team actually work well together as a unified front.  They’re also portrayed as the kind of heroes who are willing to fight on no matter how dire the odds until they have nothing more to give.  It’s hard not to like them and it plays into the less-complicated but still appealing brand of heroism that DC used to traffic in.  Given that the next volume is going to be all about them taking on the Illuminati, it’ll be hard to see how the Society’s inevitable defeat won’t make the protagonists of this series less likeable as a result.

That’s not to say that our guys don’t have their own issues here.  For the majority of the book they wind up serving as mouthpieces for the advancement of the plot and passive observers to the horrors of other worlds.  Only Namor and T’Challa get to seem like real characters during the sequences set on Earth 616 during “A Perfect World.”  Their relationship has always been the most interesting one in this series, given how they’ve been at each other’s throats since the beginning and cost each other their kingdoms in the process.  Here we find them on equal footing and maybe enjoying a little reconciliation in the face of the potential destruction of their universe.  You could argue that it’s probably “too soon” for them to enjoy something like this, but it actually feels plausible given the circumstances.

The only other member of the cast to get such attention is Dr. Strange.  Frustrated at the limits of his power in this crisis, he embarks on personal quest to expand them.  What he does here is drastic and will certainly not be without consequences to the character in the long run.  I appreciate the fact that Strange is willing to go to such extremes and it sets him apart from his comrades who are still trying to figure out how to solve things while still holding onto their souls.  However, whether this turns out to be a meaningful development for the character will depend on whether or not the power he gets actually changes the course of the series.  If it turns out to be for nothing then he’s just going to look dumb.  All in all, what happens to Strange here is potentially interesting, but it’ll be a while before we see if it turns out to be something worthwhile.

Getting back to the “characters serving as mouthpieces for exposition,” that winds up being the fate of the rest of the cast for much of the volume.  The most Beast, Richards, Maximus and Stark do here is stand around and discuss the nature of the threat at hand.  Well, Richards does bring in a plot point from Hickman’s “Fantastic Four” run in a clever manner, but that’s it.  I do like the ideas being thrown around here, but the execution feels like more of the “tell” than “show” variety.

Furthermore, while it’s good that we’re seeing actual examples of what the Black Priests and Mapmakers can do, they still don’t feel fully fleshed out as threats.  I can understand the danger they represent, yet they come off as one-dimensional ideas on the page so far.  I’m concerned about this because if the upcoming “Time Runs Out” event is the finale for Hickman’s run on this title and “Avengers,” there’s not much more room to give any further development for these creatures.  If this is all we’re going to be finding out about the Black Priests and Mapmakers, then that’s disappointing.

If nothing else, at least artist Simone Bianchi makes them suitably threatening and creepy on the page.  Bianchi handles the first three issues here and he’s great at imagining these alternate worlds and the horrific demises awaiting their defenders.  The man’s storytelling can be a bit hard to follow at times, yet it’s worth the effort for sights such as Strange’s journey through the Sinners Market.  Rags Morales handles the last two, and part of me thinks that his involvement is a bit of an in-joke given that he’s had a long history with DC up to this point and is now being called upon to draw ersatz versions of their characters for “A Perfect World.”  In-joking aside, he pulls it off well with more clarity than the earlier issues in this volume.  Frank D’Armata’s coloring does feel way too dark for the story, but Morales’ art manages to survive that particular issue.

“Other Worlds” has lots of good ideas and ultimately provides a greater understanding of the threats facing the multiverse in the face of its ongoing collapse.  However, the way it does this usually involves having its cast stand around and talk about things rather than digging in and fleshing out the ideas they discuss and face.  If you’re like me and have bought into what Hickman is doing with this series so far, then you’ll still get a decent amount of enjoyment from what this volume has to offer.  Anyone who is still on the fence, or unimpressed about it won’t find a reason to change their minds based on the stories told here.