By Zack Quaintance — I have to be honest with you all: I was a bit disappointed with this week’s Avengers Mech Strike #1. This is partially on me, for having expectations for the book that didn’t gel with what it was trying to do on a pretty deep level. Let’s look at the basics of this book: it’s written by Jed MacKay, who has been doing a phenomenal job making B-list Marvel characters like Black Cat and Taskmaster fun as all get out in their small-but-entertaining titles. Avengers Mech Strike #1, meanwhile, is illustrated by artist Carlos Magno, whose work on The Invaders revival that concluded in late 2019 was rich with intricate set-piece splash panels.

What I expected from this comic was fast-pacing, goofy self-awareness (the Avengers are back, in mech form), and giant borderline nonsensical mech action from page one. This comic is none of that. What it feels more like is a new reader primer aimed at folks who know the characters from the movies (the book shoehorns in Spider-Man, to get more MCU-friendly), that culminates in mechs. It’s a pretty rote Avengers story for like 90 percent of this first issue, and it feels like it’s boxing both MacKay and Magno in.

In this comic, the team uses comm links to continuously identify themselves by name as they go through the motions of a standard battle against a big threat. It’s maybe a little rougher than usual — Black Panther ends up with his arm in a sling after saving the day — but not noticeably so to anyone with familiarity with Avengers comic book stories. And then at the end, Iron Man is just kind of like, hey new threats need new technology, let’s get in mechs.

And that ending is all well and good. I just wish it had been page one. I wish this comic hadn’t felt like the wonky kind of non-comics-reader friendly book these big corporate publishers put out now-and-again, and I wish it had been afforded a higher level of self-awareness. Basically, I wish it would have deployed the tone MacKay has used to great effect when writing lesser-heralded properties, while giving Magno the chance to draw giant splashy mech battles all throughout, rather than paint-by-numbers superheroics that promises said mech battles in subsequent issues. I should also note here that I vastly preferred Alex Giumaraes coloring Magno, as opposed to Guru-eFX’s work here. It’s a bit muddy, not playing to the detailed nature of the lines.

Those subsequent issues, it should be noted, may ultimately deliver the comic I was looking for In Avengers Mech Strike #1, but after this book, I’m not sure I’ll be reading them.

Overall: Avengers Mech Strike #1 is a predictable and dull Avengers story that finally gets to the mechs promised by its title at the very end. It’s probably a good entry point for movie folks or new readers, but it doesn’t have the goofy self-awareness I thought it might based on its concept and title. 6.0/10

REVIEW: Avengers Mech Strike #1

Avengers Mech Strike #1
Writer: Jed MacKay
Artist: Carlos Magno
Colorist: Guru-eFX
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $3.99
EARTH’S MIGHTIEST HEROES! The Avengers are confronted with an unstoppable new menace, one that is seemingly impervious to their every strength! But the Avengers aren’t so easily beaten, and when new threats arise, powerful new tools must be brought to bear! Join the Avengers as they battle a brand-new enemy...and begin a deadly game of chess with a shadowy mastermind!
Buy It Digitally: Avengers Mech Strike #1

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Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as Comics Bookcase.