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Avengers #40 Review: An Old Grudge, Settled

By Nick Tylwalk

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The finish line is in sight for Jonathan Hickman and his run on Avengers and New Avengers. Both books are set to end their current volumes in April (though Avengers will return immediately, by the looks of it), which means it’s time to start wrapping up some plot threads.

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Avengers #40 is all about that. Not only does it deal with the three-sided status quo Hickman has established, it successfully balances a large cast of characters with a very personal story that resonates through flashbacks and actions alike. There are small character moments and surprising twists that could have huge consequences. At least one person appears to end up dead, and it’s possible some more are killed off too.

It is, in short, vintage Hickman in a nutshell. He’s always playing the long game, and sometimes it renders individual issues incomplete as satisfying tales in their own right. But when he’s firing on all cyliners, you get Avengers #40, where both the overall epic and this particular chapter are equally well-served.

Artist Stefano Caselli is in fine form as well, and seems to have settled into a groove on this series. His Namor looks a bit boyish for my tastes and his Thanos looks like he’s been doing extra cardio to slim down, but his bearded Mr. Fantastic, old Steve Rogers and determined Black Panther are all great. Just as much of the emotion in this issue relies on the art as the dialogue, and Caselli makes it work.

The last few pages are powerful and surprising, yet a logical extension of previous events. If the final four issues are anything like this one, we should be in for a treat.

SPOILERS PAST THIS POINT!

A flashback shows us T’Challa’s dad first giving him the king’s blade, which has been handed down throughout the generations. Remember that, as it’s important.

In the present, a summit of sorts is going down in Spain. A grumpy Steve Rogers (and is there any other kind these days?) agrees to give the Illuminati five minutes to explain themselves. Sunpot, Cannonball and some of their team of New Avengers are also on hand as Invisible Woman reveals she’s been helping her husband and the Illuminati all along. Beast announces that they have a plan to deal with the Cabal for good, but Steve wants the Illuminati to answer for their actions.

Surprisingly, Namor concurs, saying that destroying the first world to stave off an Incursion was wrong, and he’s ready to face the music. Mr. Fantastic and Beast agree to turn themselves in, but Black Panther says, “Absolutely not.” Reed Richards staves off any further squabbling by stating that they only have two hours to have their anti-Cabal plan ready to go.

That scheme relies on Namor to have the whole Cabal present on the world of the next Incursion, which proves remarkably easy since Thanos wants the entire group there. We see another flashback with T’Challa giving the king’s blade to Shiri, saying it belongs with the queen.

Both teams of Avengers and the Illuminati go over the details of their plan. Sunspot had A.I.M. working on a field projector intended to keep worlds from colliding during an Incursion. It wasn’t up to the challenge, but it can keep the Cabal on the dead world (a crucial point, since it means they aren’t blowing up innocents) involved in the current Incursion. Since the Cabal is going to use a powerful anti-matter bomb to blow up the alternate world, Namor will simply lead them to the planet, turn on the shield and blow up the dead planet along with bad guys. Not the kind of plan Steve would normally sanction, but desperate times, right?

A final flashback from much more recent times shows Shiri returning the king’s blade to T’Challa and urging him to put it where it belongs.

Hulk sees that the Cabal is in place, and Sunspot tells Beast to launch the field projector. Namor arms the bomb and bugs out, and while Black Swan sees him fleeing, she’s tied up battling some of the Mapmakers’ troops and can’t do anything to stop him. On the main Earth, Invisible Woman suddenly notices Black Panther isn’t there.

He’s up on the shield platform, and he decides to put the king’s blade where it belongs — right in Namor’s heart. The Sub-Mariner scoffs at the idea that the knife could kill him, but the Panther says he was only putting the blade where it was supposed to go. Black Bolt arrives a moment later, wishing Namor farewell with sonically explosive results and knocking him all the way back down to the dead world.

It’s not quite over yet, as T’Challa allows a wounded but still living Namor to come to just before he activates the shield and sets off the bomb. See, he wants Namor to know it was him.

Black Bolt flies Black Panther to safety as we see the planet explode. Steve asks where Namor is, and T’Challa simply replies that he didn’t make it. The final text box reads, “So ends the Cabal.” Guess all the bad guys are dead?

Favorite moment: In an otherwise grim and serious story, there’s still time for Roberto and Bobby to be themselves. After they find out the Beast was double-crossing them, we get this exchange:

It ends with Beast asking if they’re quite done, and Sunspot responding that they both agreed … he looked cooler as a cat.

So, so good.

Final thought: This kind of thing is awesome when you read it, but it sure doesn’t do much to dispell the idea that Marvel is going to do at least a partial reboot after Secret Wars. No way Namor, Thanos and those other villains all stay dead.

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