Classic Review: Avengers- The Legacy of Thanos

Quick Summary

Pros: The main storyline is fun and exciting. The transition into space allows new characters and concepts to be explored. The artwork looks great and does a wonderful job in making the entire adventure better.

Cons: The opening few chapters are lackluster and not that exciting.

Overall: This collection details an awesome cosmic adventure that is, unfortunately, preceded by a less exciting prelude. This prelude isn’t terrible but is distinctly lackluster. However, after these opening chapters, the story jets off to space, where a compelling battle unfolds. This portion of the story is exciting, interesting, and comes paired with some great artwork. Readers looking for a solid “cosmic” Avengers story from this era can find it within this collection.

Story

Avengers: The Legacy of Thanos, by Roger Stern, starts out a bit slow but turns into a real contender once it gets going. The volume opens with a few chapters that focus on changes within the Avengers and less exciting threats to the team. Then, the excitement and drama ramp up significantly when the Avengers respond to a threat deep in outer space. There, new characters are introduced, unlikely alliances are created, action is everywhere, and twists and turns keep the entire story interesting. Readers who make it through the collection’s lackluster beginning will be rewarded with a fun, cosmic epic spanning the rest of the collection.

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The Legacy of Thanos starts out pretty weak. The first couple of chapters mostly concern the Avengers dealing with the fallout from the previous story arc and slowly setting up the next one. This involves the structure of the team shifting around, Wasp being reappointed as leader, and Captain Marvel discovering villains on Thanos’ old ship. They do face a few threats during these chapters, in the form of Terminus and Fire Lord, but these threats never feel that significant or exciting. In previous volumes, the decompressed nature of the storytelling was a bonus but here it feels like the decompression has gone a bit too far.

However, once it gets going, the storyline in The Legacy of Thanos gets really good. The volume rockets the Avengers into space, where they are forced to team up with some Skrulls in order to defeat the villainous Nebula and other, more nefarious Skrulls. All of the conflict in space is fun and creative, as it removes the Avengers from their typical environment. I particularly enjoyed a moment where they discovered that the Thor they were working with was actually a Skrull in disguise. In addition, the arc’s conclusion has a great ending, one that promotes peace among a typically warlike people.

It also helps that the events in this story have a bit of historical weight to them. Within this collection, a temporary change is inflicted upon the entire Skrull race, elements of Secret Wars II are teased, the Avenger’s relationship with the government is further strained, and the character Nebula is introduced. The volume also addresses a question regarding whether the Avengers are just the defenders of Earth or if they are more forces for good in general. All of this helps advance the Avengers-mythos and add to the Marvel universe.

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Art

The majority of The Legacy of Thanos features the return of John Buscema to the Avengers series. This return brings Buscema’s always gorgeous artwork to nearly every page of this collection. Characters look great and their actions give the story the excitement it needs. The locations where these actions play out also look good and have great levels of creativity, whether they are found in the depths of space, populated areas of New York City, or remote places on Earth. It even appears as if Buscema’s talent has advanced since his last work on the series, as the pages here look more detailed and refined than before.

The Legacy of Thanos also contains two annual issues from John Byrne. The change in artwork for these two annuals works out well, as it helps signal a slight shift in the tone of the story. Byrne’s artwork also does a fantastic job in bringing the cosmos to life, making these space-bound chapters feel as otherworldly as they should be. 

Continuity

Avengers: The Legacy of Thanos continues the story from Avengers: Absolute Vision Book Two (Review).

The story here continues in Avengers: The Once and Future Kang.

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

• Thanos’ ship was last seen during the “Thanos War”. For more information, see our “Thanos War Reading Order“.
• Thor encountered and befriended the Rigellians over the course of Thor #132-134, collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor Vol. 5 (Review).
• The Avenger’s role in the Kree-Skrull War is mentioned. This role is detailed in Avengers: Kree-Skrull War (Review) or in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 10 (Review). See our “Avengers: Kree-Skrull War Reading Order” for more details.
• Terminus was encountered by the Fantastic Four in Fantastic Four #278-279, collected in Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne Vol. 6. 
• Recent events in Ka-Zar’s life are mentioned. These events are detailed across Ka-Zar The Savage #1-15.
• Avengers #258 shows the end of a fight. The full fight is shown in Amazing Spider-Man #269-270.
• Avengers #259 references something that recently happened at the Baxter Building. This is shown in Fantastic Four #279, collected in Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne Vol. 6.
• The Atomic Steed was recovered back in Avengers #187, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 18 (Review).
• The conflict between Galactus and the Skrull Homeworld is shown in Fantastic Four #257, collected in Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne Vol. 3. 
• The Beyonder and his role in Secret Wars (Review) (Reading Order) is mentioned a number of times.
• Avengers Annual #14 mentions Raksor’s recent mission from X-Men #137, collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men Vol. 5, and Fantastic Four Annual #18, collected in Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne Vol. 5. 
• Captain Marvel’s origin is referenced. This origin is shown in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16, collected in Avengers: Absolute Vision Book One (Review). 
• Fantastic Four Annual #19 mentions the events of Fantastic Four #285, collected in Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne Vol. 7.
• The Fantastic Four’s encounter with the Infant Terrible occurred in Fantastic Four #24, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Vol. 3 (Review).
• The Fantastic Four’s first-ever encounter with a Skrull occurred in Fantastic Four #2, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 1 (Review). 
• Avengers #261 references the events of Secret Wars II #3, part of the Secret Wars II event.
• The Beyonder encountered Captain America in Captain America #308, collected in Captain America Epic Collection: Society of Serpents.
• The Avengers recently helped Project Pegasus in Avengers #237, collected in Avengers: Absolute Vision Book One (Review).