BY CHRISTINA RIVERO
Let’s face it, a comic with younger heroes, a substantial plot, and elaborate character development that doesn’t downgrade teen heroes to being “just kids” is a rarity. However, on January 23rd, 2013, this fantasy changed when Marvel put together unlikely heroes to work together in the teen featuring comic Young Avengers written by Kieron Gillen.
The comic introduces each “Young Avenger” in pairs. The first two are Miss America, a girl from another world with superhuman powers, and Kid Loki. The next tandem is Hulking, a shape shifter, and Wiccan, a conjuror of magical abilities similar to the Scarlet Witch. The other two characters introduced in the first volume are Kate Bishop, the female Hawkeye, and Noh-Varr, formerly known as Marvel Boy.
The comic revolves around the character’s developments very closely, giving clear and concise explanations as to what the plot is and the goal of the storyline. This approach is successful because it helps to fill in gaps the readers may have, especially if they are unfamiliar with some aspects of the Marvel Universe and a character’s history.
When compared to the New 52 Teen Titans, there are a lot of elements within Young Avengers that DC’s teen heroes seem to be lacking. For example, Marvel’s team is more connected and their past is better explained.
Despite the fact that I have been reading DC Comics for more than two and a half years now, with all of DC’s slip ups and “mishaps” it became very easy for me to gravitate towards Marvel Comics as an alternative. Diving into this new universe I needed to start with something that was not too complicated, very straightforward, and had an introduction to the comic series that helped gain knowledge easily. Young Avengers does all of this for me and more.
Overall, these comics are very well written, keep you entertained, and encourage further reading in the future. As for me, I plan on looking into even more Marvel Comics. If Young Avengers can have someone change from one comic company to the next, it is definitely worth reading.
