Classic Review: Avengers- Absolute Vision Book 1

Quick Summary

Pros: Most of the stories are exciting. The character-driven drama and interactions are great. The volume concludes with an intriguing change to the status quo. Most of the artwork is positive.

Cons: Some chapters aren’t as exciting as others and take the spotlight away from the Avengers.

Overall: This is another positive entry and positive development in the Avengers comic series. This volume combines fun characters, exciting action, and interesting premises to create a book that is entertaining to read. There are a few places where the story stumbles but none are significant enough to distract from the volume’s overall appeal. Readers who enjoy seeing the Avengers interact as real people will find a lot of enjoyment through this volume.

Story

In our review of the previous volume, we talked about a change taking place in the Avengers series. This team of heroes used to mostly function as coworkers and acquaintances, distancing their personal lives from their heroic adventures. However, more recently, personal drama has become more of a focus and the relationships on the team have become more important than ever.

Avengers: Absolute Vision Book One, by Roger Stern, continues that satisfying trend. It tells stories that have heroes laughing and growing together. However, it still finds time to detail several heroic exploits. Then, the entire volume closes with a premise that sets up some interesting developments for the future. There are some adventures that are less exciting or that shift the focus in odd ways but, as a whole, the collection has a lot of appeal.

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As mentioned above, the main positive in Absolute Vision Book One is the characters. There are some wonderful moments here that show these characters have interesting stories to tell all on their own. She-Hulk’s struggle to find her place in the world, Spider-Man’s attempt to join the team, and multiple Avengers’ concern with Tony Stark’s present situation make them all seem like real people with real problems. These developments and interactions are fascinating to watch and only appear to be getting better as time goes on.

Fun moments between characters aren’t all Absolute Vision Book One has to offer. The volume also details a number of exciting adventures that pit the team against deadly villains. The Avenger’s fight against the Wizard, their battle against the Lava Men, and their humorous experience on David Letterman all make for compelling reads.

Absolute Vision Book One also closes with an interesting change to the status quo. In this book, Vision’s mind essentially evolves and becomes one with the Avenger’s computer system. This puts him in an odd position of power, one that has clearly become more and more unstable as the narrative progresses. It will be interesting to read how this situation develops in the future, especially since the next volume’s title seems to indicate that this will have a large role in the story.

The only downside to this shift is that it, occasionally, leaves the heroic stories feeling a bit lacking. The crossover with the Fantastic Four helps start plotlines with Vision but doesn’t feature many great scenes from the Avengers. In a similar way, Jessica Drew’s rebirth is great for her character and the characters around her but isn’t that exciting of a story. A similar pattern can also be observed, to a lesser extent, in stories about the new Captain Marvel and the Inhumans. Even readers mostly interested in this volume for its character-driven stories may be frustrated by the fact that many of these character-driven stories do not revolve around members of the Avengers.

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Art

The artwork in Absolute Vision Book One is mostly positive. The bulk of the artwork comes from Al Milgrom, who’s work looks better than ever. His depictions of the events taking place are consistently charged with energy and his creativity is more pronounced than before. This is noticeable right from the volume’s beginning, which has some awesome space creatures, and right to the volume’s end, which handles magic well. Other positive chapters come from artists like John Byrne, who’s work on the characters makes the individual heroes look excellent. The only downside, in this collection, is that there are some places where the inks do not complement the pencils and lead to pages that look heavier than they should. Overall though, the artwork here looks good and leads to an enjoyable reading experience.

Continuity

Avengers: Absolute Vision Book One continues the story from Avengers: The Trial of Yellowjacket (Review).

The story here continues in Avengers: Absolute Vision Book Two (Review).

This volume also makes references to other comic books, detailed below:

• Avengers Annual #11 starts by referencing Nebulon’s actions in Defenders #14, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Defenders Vol. 2; Defenders #92; and Defenders Annual #1, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Defenders Vol. 5.
• Notes indicate that Avengers Annual #11 takes place shortly after Defenders #109.
• One scene shows a devastated Baxter Building. This is explained by Fantastic Four #242, collected in Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne Vol. 2. 
• The death of the original Captain Marvel is mentioned. This took place in Marvel: Graphic Novel #1, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Captain Marvel Vol. 6 (Review).
• A death from the beginning of Avengers #231 is mentioned. This took place in Marvel Two-In-One #93.
• Iron Man’s life has been extra chaotic since the events of Iron Man #167.
• The fight against Thanos is mentioned. The Avenger’s part in this took place in Captain Marvel #33, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Captain Marvel Vol. 3 (Review).
• The Plant-Man almost leveled London back in Sub-Mariner #3, collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Sub-Mariner Vol. 3. 
• Avengers Annual #12 brings up a number of storylines from the history of the Inhumans. These include:
  • The time they were trapped in an impenetrable dome. This began in Fantastic Four #48, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Vol. 5 (Review), and ended in Fantastic Four #56, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Vol. 6 (Review).
  • Their fight against the Enclave, which took place in Fantastic Four #240, collected in Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne Vol. 2. 
  • Their move to the Moon in Fantastic Four #240, collected in Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne Vol. 2.  
  • The birth of Luna in Fantastic Four #240, collected in Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne Vol. 2.  
  • Mass hallucination on the Moon in Fantastic Four #248, collected in Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne Vol. 2.
• Avengers Annual #12 also brings up the time when Magneto revealed he is Wanda and Pietro’s father. This happened in Vision and the Scarlet Witch #4, collected in Avengers: Vision and the Scarlet Witch.   
• Avengers #233 is part of a tie-in with Fantastic Four #256, which is also collected in this volume. The events of Fantastic Four #256 immediately follow the events of Fantastic Four #251-255, collected in Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne Vol. 3.
• Annihilus lost his immortality in Marvel Two-In-One #75.
• Bruce Banner rejected Avengers membership back in Incredible Hulk #285.
• Fantastic Four #256 references a new herald of Galactus. This is explained by Fantastic Four #244, collected in Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne Vol. 2.  
• Avengers #234 mentions that Captain America tries to help Tony Stark with personal issues. This is shown in Iron Man #172.
• Avengers #234 flashes back to a number of moments from Scarlet Witch’s past. These include:
  • The story of her birth, which was refined in Avengers #186-187, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 18 (Review). 
  • Her time with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, detailed in X-Men #4-7, collected in Marvel Masterworks: The X-Men Vol. 1. 
  • Her entrance to the Avengers in Avengers #16, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 2 (Review). 
  • The beginning of her relationship with Vision in Avengers #108, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 12 (Review). 
  • Her learning witchcraft. This started in Avengers #128, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 13 (Review).
  • Her marriage to Vision in Giant-Size Avengers #4, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 14 (Review). 
  • The time she was possessed by a demon. This happened in Avengers #186-187, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 18 (Review). 
  • Her solo adventures with Vision. These adventures are told throughout the Vision and the Scarlet Witch series, collected in Avengers: Vision and the Scarlet Witch.
• Dracula fought Thor in Thor #332-333, collected in Thor Epic Collection: Runequest.  
• Avengers #235 opens with a scene showing the aftermath of a battle from Fantastic Four #257, collected in Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne Vol. 3. 
• Avengers #235 states that Thor took himself off active duty to work on a personal mission. This is explained by Thor #334, collected in Thor Epic Collection: Runequest. 
• She-Hulk and Spider-Man previously teamed up in Spider-Man Annual #16.
• Black Cat’s injury is explained in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #75. 
• Spider-Man quit grad school in Amazing Spider-Man #243.
• In Avengers #235, Captain America mentions working to organize a security force for a research facility. This is detailed in Marvel Two-In-One #42.
  • It also mentions a security breach at that facility. This took place in Captain America Annual #7.
  • Spider-Man visited this facility in Marvel Team-Up Annual #5.
• The Guardsman was last seen in Iron Man #109, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Iron Man Vol. 12. 
• The Avengers fought the Lava Men way back in Avengers #5, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 1 (Review).
• Blackout was last seen in Nova #19, collected in Nova Classic: Volume 1. 
• Avengers #238 starts by stating Thor and Captain America are on personal missions. Thor’s mission is detailed in Thor #334-335, collected in Thor Epic Collection: Runequest. Captain America’s mission is detailed in Captain America #286-289.
• Wanda and Vision’s trip to New Orleans, from Avengers #152, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 16 (Review), is mentioned in Avengers #238.
• Spider-Woman’s role in this volume’s final story arc is essentially a continuation of the story from her solo series, which ended with Spider-Woman #50.
• Spider-Woman’s assistance in the events of Avengers Annual #10, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Ms. Marvel Vol. 2 (Review), is mentioned in Avengers #240.
• Magnus’s role in Spider-Woman #13 is specifically referenced.