Avengers Academy #24:
Summary: Reptil(who is actually an older version of Reptil in the body of his younger self) goes about assisting Hybrid, who is, you guessed it, a Dire Wraith/human hybrid, in capturing members of the Avengers Academy student body and staff. Older Reptil's reasons for doing this are to make certain that his future occurs, a future where he has a daughter with Finesse. As such, Reptil sends the staff and students that aren't needed to make his future occur into Hybrid's trap. After luring several members of the Academy into Hybrid's room(at times rather humorously), Reptil approaches White Tiger. The two talk for a while and Reptil leads her into Hybrid's room as he did the rest. However, Hybrid isn't able to drain White Tiger's power due to her magic amulet, and as such tells Reptil to kill her himself. Reptil is prepared to do just that, until the glimmer of the hero he used to be shines through and he decides to rebel against Hybrid by setting off the alarms. Unfortunately for Reptil, Hybrid has been gorging himself with energy and easily defeats both Reptil and White Tiger, possessing several of the Academy staff and students and then sending the possessed heroes after the Avengers who were responding to the alarms.
More Summary!There were a few other little things in this issue that I didn't mention in the summary since I couldn't find a place for them, so I'll add them here... Tigra revealed that she sent her son to spend some time with the Cat People, so he'd better control his duel cat/human(/Skrull?) impulses. We also had Pym telling Hawkeye that while he had repaired the physical damage to Jocasta's body, he was unable to find any back-up personalities for her, meaning the person/thing responsible for the attack on Jocasta not only destroyed her body, but also destroyed her memory banks. Hawkeye immediately figures it was Ultron, while Pym ponders that maybe it could have been himself...
Thoughts: Absolutely no complaints here. Well, I guess I had a few MINOR complaints, but they were, as I stated, minor. First, there should have been a bit more Hawkeye in this issue. Second, it was odd after the big revelation with Striker that he wasn't showcased more here. Third, the Hybrid story is moving along at a REALLY brisk pace... Seriously, I figure it'll be over in two issues tops, which is kind of surprising because it seemed like the type of storyline that could have been dragged out for quite some time(6-12 issues). Other than those two minor quibbles though? This issue was all good. It basically dealt with older Reptil tricking people into going to Hybrid's room, and had a horror movie-esque feel to it. You know the kind, where you're yelling at the screen for the character NOT to enter the dark barn where the murderer is hiding, but they do anyway... This issue brought the Hybrid story to a head already, which should bring the future Reptil story to a head next. On top of that, there's still the mystery of who attacked Jocasta, especially since the attack was so thorough. It's nice to see a series where the stories are all laid out so plainly and logically. Um, I don't really know what more to say. I'll be eagerly awaiting the next issue of this series(as usual). 2012 has started off well.
Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.
Blasted evil hybrid alien monsters!
Gage made a mild reference to the (IIRC) Annihilators storyline. I think Gage is one of the few writers that knows what is going on in everybody else's comics.
ReplyDeleteThe last issue of X-23 explains how she joined the Avengers Academy. Black Widow invites her after X and Jubilee stopped some girl trafficking/prostitution ring that was related to her old pimp.
i'm completely unfamiliar with this Avengers Academy series other then having read issue #23 a couple weeks ago. i like how that one dude has a pet sentinel that's pretty funny. the only thing i was disappointed with in this issue is that they have yet to reveal how Hybrid has managed to be "resurrected" from having had his atoms psi blasted by Nate Grey back in X-Man 31. that's really gonna tick me off if the whole Hybrid schtick in this title comes and goes with out that being explained.
ReplyDelete"Gage made a mild reference to the (IIRC) Annihilators storyline. I think Gage is one of the few writers that knows what is going on in everybody else's comics." See, there's yet another reason Gage was my favorite writer of '11! :P Huh, I'd have expected Wolverine to have been the one to have X-23 go to the Academy... It's strange that it was BW...
ReplyDeleteThe kid with the Sentinel was actually from a mini-series CALLED Sentinel from a few years back, Dave. The only reason I even know that is because the first of the two Sentinel minis came out JUST when I was starting to get back into comics and as such was picking up EVERY new Marvel book I could get my hands on! But Sentinel(as well as a lot of the other kids in this one) are new to this series as of like issue #22 or 23 or so.
The Hybrid return thing a good question... Right now it kind of looks like they probably WON'T be explaining how Hybrid came back, especially if the next issue is the conclusion to the Hybrid story(which seems kind of likely). To be honest, I don't think the lack of an explanation will bug me much at all, but for a huge ROM/Wraiths fan such as yourself, I can totally understand the annoyance there.
in part it's because i'm a Rom fan but also there's the matter of general principle. it would be like if in Star Trek 3 Spock is back at his station on the bridge as if nothing happened right after he died in Star Trek 2. even within the realm of sci-fi/comic book fantasy we still deserve some kind of plausible explanations. especially when we're paying between 3-4 bucks an issue. in each case when Hybrid returned after having been defeated it was clear how he returned. that includes X-Man 31 which is one of the things that made that issue such a good story. not to mention the rather innovative way Nate was able to exploit Hybrid's Achilles heel in what was other wise a superior opponent. Nate's sense of compassion (by finding "Jimmy Marks") would no doubt be seen as a weakness by Hybrid but Nate showed how it can be a source of strength and used to win battles. there's no substitute for good writing.
ReplyDeleteI hear you, Dave. The only thing is the fact that so many people probably have no clue a) who Hybrid is, b) who Nate Grey is, and c) that Nate even HAD a solo series! If Hybrid(or the X-Man series) was a more mainstream or well known character(or if he was a hero), then sure, I'd definitely expect an explanation as to how he came back/where he was, but since he isn't that well known(and is a villain), I can overlook the lack of backstory. I mean it would def be nice if it DOES get explained(and who knows, it may), but I wouldn't be that bothered if we don't find out. Villains die/vanish all the time and then are suddenly back with no explanation. I'm almost immune to it by this point!
ReplyDeletewell there is gonna be at least one more issue with this story arc as you said so let's see what happens. you've heard enough of my fan boy belly aching for one weekend :)
ReplyDeleteNot at all! Let's face it, this whole blog is dedicated to fanboy complaining! I mean look at all the complaining I do over the course of the week! :D
ReplyDeleteNice return to form for this book. I really liked how Gage showed Reptil's character as he decided between sending good people to their death vs ensuring his specific future. It will be particularly interesting to see how Tigra and Reptil interact in the future, hard to believe she (or the new kids) would ever trust him again, possession or not.
ReplyDeleteMy enjoyment of this book seems to turn largely on who the stories center on. I really like Mettle and Finesse (and the instructors, of course), and have been interested in Reptil lately because of this story. On the other hand, I can't stand Veil, Hazmat, or Striker, and most of the new kids are meh.
Yeah, older Reptil's decision making here, and the fact that in the end he couldn't just lead White Tiger to the slaughter was good to see. It shows that he still had some of that optimism his younger self is so full of.
ReplyDeleteFor me it's more Finesse, Striker, Reptil who are my favorite three(with the faculty of course). I'm fine with Mettle and Hazmat, but I'm not much of a fan of Veil. As for the new kids, I'm not keen on the addition of X-23, White Tiger may have some potential(especially with Reptil), and I've never been a fan of Power Pack, which would include Lightspeed. I'd love to see some other characters(Sentinel, Ricochet, Machine Teen) get some more page time, but I'm not sure how that could happen unless we get an annual or something down the road.