The latest futuristic Avengers story heads to its conclusion with the penultimate issue of Avengers: Twilight. The conflict and battles boil over and all the cards are on the table, setting up the thrilling conclusion.
Avengers: Twilight #5 is available at your local comic book store now. Light spoilers below!
WRITER
Chip Zdarsky
PENCILLER
Daniel Acuña
America and democracy are under attack! Can THE AVENGERS of tomorrow save a country from itself, as their greatest enemy dismantles everything CAPTAIN AMERICA holds dear? It’s a battle decades in the making, and no one is safe!
REVIEW – The Penultimate Battles Everywhere
Avengers: Twilight, by the veteran Captain America creative team, has been as strong an apocalyptic future story as we’ve seen in Marvel in a while. With Issue #5, the penultimate book in the mini-series, many of the personal battles come to a head and revelations are plentiful.
Interestingly, the hero primarily at the center of this book is not Steve Rogers, as has been the case most of this series, but Tony Stark. Stark, or what’s left of him, makes his triumphant return to action, battling seemingly everyone.
Of course, the primary emotional tension in this series has been Tony and Janet’s son, James and his failure to live up to his parents’ heroic history. Tony and James finally battle it out in this book. Although the action sequences by Daniel Acuña are consistently excellent throughout the book and in the battle between Tony and James, the dialogue is a bit cliched. It’s the far too commonly tread trope of the regretful father pleading with his resentful child.
Similarly, the Red Skull is unfortunately another aspect of the story that feels well worn. His motivations are as they always are – world domination. There are hints about the ways that he was able to pull an Emperor Palpatine and undermine the Avengers in the eyes of both the public and themselves, but those elements are far too short. Instead, we get big battles and mustache-twirling monologues.
There is a lot to like about this issue, not the least of which are some marquee moments for Thor and Luke Cage. Those scenes reflect the knife’s edge balance between satisfying and disappointing fan service. For Thor and Luke Cage, their moments might have been seen before and might be predictable, but they’re still thoroughly enjoyable in the right context.
The battles in this book all lead up to a culminating moment at the end, which again, is both predictable and yet very exciting. It sets up a thrilling finale that should provide an enjoyable conclusion to the series.
RATING – 3/5 Pocky
Ron is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of POC Culture. He is a big believer in the power and impact of pop culture and the importance of representation in media.
