Avengers by Jason Aaron vol. 6: Starbrand Reborn

The main arc of this volume feels like Aaron had a lot of cosmic stuff he wanted to put his characters through and decided to cram it all in here.  Which is why you get to see:  Thor infected by the Brood; Ghost Rider, She-Hulk, and Captain Marvel vs. The Silver Surfer, Terrax, and Firelord; what happens to Blade when he’s in space; and the Shi’Ar’s prison galaxy.  It’s that last bit that’s most relevant to the main plot as Ravenstarr is currently holding eight quadrillion inmates and the Avengers have just found out that one of them is the new wielder of the planetary-level defense force known as the Starbrand.  It’s just a matter of finding this individual and bringing them back to Earth where they belong.

Standing between Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are Shi’Ar Majestor Gladiator, three characters who have “Herald of Galactus” on their resumes, and a whole lot of Brood.  It’s a recipe for a lot of action and conflict, which is what this arc is mostly fixated on.  Granted, Aaron knows how to write this stuff and Ed McGuinness returns to draw (most of) it.  So it looks great and it’s usually moving too fast for you to stop and think about how frivolous it all is.  That said, when the wielder of the Starbrand is revealed (and clever readers will likely be able to suss out the twist hidden inside it) it doesn’t quite have the punch you’re expecting.  Mainly because the wielder is more of an idea wrapped in sci-fi migrant worker analogy than an actual character.

Better is the opening story which tells us all about the Starbrand of One Million B.C.  Before he was the team’s “Hulk” he was just a small caveman named Vnn who wanted to live with his handsome lover Brrkk in this sweet garden they found.  Unfortunately, the Deviants want this garden and the power lurking under it for themselves.  Even if it’s obvious that Vnn and Brrkk are the caveman-naming equivalent of Adam and Steve, it’s still a sweet story of love, loss, and a superpowered T-Rex.  Dale Keown’s burly and detailed art (with two pages of Andrea Sorrentino doing his best Frank Quitely) help to sell it all, and make me wish we’d see more of these Avengers of One Million B.C.  Being the best part of this volume tends to provoke a response like that.