For today’s comic book review, I checked out Avengers #2, where they do battle against  The Space Phantom!  But who is this space phantom, and how can he alone threaten the avengers?

The space phantom has the power to become anyone he chooses, and in doing so, vanquish them to limbo, taking their place and powers among men.  Where he is from, we do not know, but his goal is to test himself against the avengers and pave the way for the conquest of Earth by his people.

Can the avengers defeat the space phantom? or can he defeat them by playing on their own fears and mistrust? 

Story

In the first issue of avengers, they come together for the first time by the unintended doing of Loki, and now in this issue, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby show us how unlike the Fantastic Four this team of hero’s can be. The best thing of all, they do this, without stating the differences, but just letting us observe.

The avengers each have functioned on their own as hero’s and continue to do so,  but have joined together for when the need arises,  but in this issue we see just how difficult it is for them just to have a meeting, with the conflicting of strong personalities occurring throughout the meeting, plus a level of mistrust for how each other handle things, in particular the hulk, whom seems a little to wild for the taste of the other members.

In this we see the avengers tackled and tricked throughout the story in a way that the Fantastic Four would never have been fooled, and see just how much this team seems to accept the need to fight with each other, as with a true advisory. The conflict between the members of the avengers is much unlike The Thing and the human torch as it can be, no sign of playfulness or banter is shown., just raw hostility.

I feel though this,  we get a look at the troubles the team will face with each other in the issues to come, and the beginning of a great ongoing inner conflict. it was well written, and easily leaves the reader to wonder where this will lead.

Artwork

There is no question that Jack Kirby  and Paul Reinman in this issue is good, and well detailed.  But what I must ask myself is if it is above average or great.

As I looked though the issue, for even a second, and third time thinking about this very issue, I found that I was unable to find the work  to meet any such high standards.

But I must say this, for those who have read the  review of giant-Man’s first appearance, I feel his appearance here offered a better and to scale look.

Originality & Continuity

I feel that, while the space phantom may barrow some elements from stories seem before, he is by all means an original idea, and the thought of him challenging the new great team, a great concept for the second issue.

I also feel that Marvel did a great job working in  Giant Man into this issue with a cover date of the same month and the best available evidence saying that this was printed only about a month later.

There is one error that I do feel that they made in this issue, by  having Rick Jones calling the hulk’s secret identity Don Blake (who is the secret identity of Thor, not The Hulk)

Character & Development

while the avengers as a team do get the chance to develop some, I feel conformable in saying that the Hulk seen the most development.  This, to me is also of little surprise, given he is the only character on the team without a magazine of his own at this time, and thus developing on him, won’t risk leaving readers of that magazine in the dark at this early stage.

character development is indeed something that they would have to figure out in the months to come, as almost everyone in this comic star in their own features elsewhere.