Avengers Academy

[Anubis]

I don't know, losing the respect of your child is a pretty big price to pay.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

If you're a decent person, yeah. But Pietro's a c**t. He was probably sad for a while and then was all, "Pff, b**** don't know what she's missing. Her loss. I'm awesome."

 

[Anubis]

Ummm, Ixxny on the Pietroty being a c**ty.

 

[Dread]

What I'm saying is maybe the teaching gig is Pietro's penance. He got off easy with the Skrull lie for most things, but Pym knows the truth. Pym, however, also knows how much having severe problems sucks and how they can tear a person apart if they let them. So rather than outing Pietro for a liar and having him carted off to prison or into Inhuman custody or whatever, maybe he uses the teaching job as a means of reaching out to Pietro and helping him work through his problems. Rehabilitation instead of punishment.

I suppose. It still will be interesting Gage's reasoning for Pietro accepting. At this point he is angriest at Pym for lying to him about Loki.

If you're a decent person, yeah. But Pietro's a c**t. He was probably sad for a while and then was all, "Pff, b**** don't know what she's missing. Her loss. I'm awesome."

To be fair, Quicksilver has been disheartened by it in MIGHTY AVENGERS.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Ummm, Ixxny on the Pietroty being a c**ty.

He's a lovable c**t, but a c**t nonetheless.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

I'm buy a Quicksilver/Ant-Man(Eric) book. For once Quicksilver would be the voice of morality; if only for 10 mins, but it'd be great.

 

[NightBeetle]

Avengers Academy" #1

Marvel is proud to present your first look at Avengers Academy #1, from acclaimed creators Christos Gage and Mike McKone! The Heroic Age is here and the Avengers must train a new generation of heroes. But who are they? And what dark secret will turn their world--and potentially the entire Marvel Universe--upside down by the end of the issue? If you think this is just another teen hero book...the last page shocker will prove you wrong!

AVENGERS ACADEMY #1 (APR100550)
AVENGERS ACADEMY #1 MCKONE VARIANT (APR100551)
AVENGERS ACADEMY #1 DJURDJEVIC VARIANT (APR100552)
Written by CHRISTOS GAGE
Pencils & Cover by MIKE MCKONE
Variant Cover by MIKE MCKONE
Variant Cover by MARKO DJURDJEVIC
Rated A …$3.99
FOC—5/13/10, On-Sale—6/3/10

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Looks good. I wonder where they're setting up shop. Camp Hammond again?

 

[runawayboulder]

I think they said a while ago it was gonna take place at Camp Hammond.

 

[Dread]

God, I don't care what he is called; I can see one trainee being called, "Kid Red Skull" until he snaps and turns evil. Poor guy.

It's like when Phil Urich got powers and could have simply tried calling himself something a little different, like "Jade Goblin" or something, but instead went by Green Goblin and wondered why nobody trusted him.

Anyway, looks pretty good. Naturally, this book has been a lock for me for ages now.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Phil switched to the Golden Goblin in Spider-Girl, at least.

 

[NightBeetle]

Avengers Academy #1 Preview

A BRAND NEW ONGOING AVENGERS TITLE BEGINS HERE! Determined to keep the tradition alive, founding Avenger Hank Pym leads a core team of veteran heroes in creating a place where the next generation of Earth's Mightiest can be trained by the greatest of those who preceded them. An institution where everyone who has ever been an Avenger can share their skill, knowledge and experience. The future is in their hands...and in the hands of the six young superhumans chosen to make up the inaugural class. But who are they? And what dark secret will turn their world--and potentially the entire Marvel Universe--upside down by the end of the issue? If you think this is just another teen hero book...the last page shocker will prove you wrong! Writer Christos Gage (AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE) and superstar artist Mike McKone (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN) unite to bring you a bold new era of greatness!

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Mmmm, Hank Pym running tests. What is it about super-scientist geek-out scenes that makes me love them so much? Hank, Beast, Reed, anyone--if they're pontificating about how stuff works, it's automatically awesome to me.

 

[NightBeetle]

CBR: Gage and Parker Get "Scared Straight"

CBR News: "Scared Straight" doesn't kick off until August, so what can you guys tell us about the stories in "Avengers Academy" and "Thunderbolts" that come before it? How big are they in terms of scope and scale?

Christos Gage: For "Avengers Academy," "Scared Straight" is the biggest story so far, in terms of scale. Prior to that, we've been getting to know the characters and seeing how they interact. There's been some pretty intense stuff happening from a character-based sense, but this is their first big excursion into the larger Marvel Universe.


Jeff Parker: And the first time the Thunderbolts and other prisoners in The Raft will become aware of them.


How did "Scared Straight" Come about? Did you guys come up with the idea, or did editorial approach you?

Gage: It actually arose from the last Avengers Retreat, when Ed Brubaker suggested it. I was pitching "Avengers Academy" right after Bill Rosemann had pitched the new take on "Thunderbolts," and Ed said, "You should do a Scared Straight crossover." And he was right!


I imagine one of the appeals of a crossover is the chance to write characters based in a different title. So, Christos, how was it writing the Thunderbolts? What do you find interesting about them? And Jeff, what did you find most compelling about the "Avengers Academy" characters?

Gage: It was fun. I've written some of them before, like Juggernaut and Moonstone, so there was some familiarity. I'm always a sucker for stories like this, about flawed characters seeking redemption but knowing the deck is stacked against them.
Parker: I like that we're meeting these characters who are on that point of potential- they have their whole lives ahead of them (maybe) and can still go in almost any direction. They are on the paths of becoming a part of a modern mythology and we're in their early days. Everything that happens now forms them and influences the future.


What can you tell us about the plot and themes of "Scared Straight?" Is this a crossover in the traditional sense of the word, or can you read each title involved separately?

Gage: You can read each book individually with no problem, but if you read both you get a larger view of what's going on and how it affects the cast of both books.
Parker: When the visit to the Raft happens, the Thunderbolts have just returned from a particularly harrowing mission. So where they may have been dismissive if the visit came a week earlier, they suddenly have opinions to impart to the kids.

Part of the dramatic tension in "Scared Straight" comes from the fact that a potential jailbreak erupts on The Raft while the Avengers Academy students are visiting. Jeff, In "Thunderbolts" you've established that the security on The Raft is incredibly heavy. So how much danger are the characters in because of the potential jailbreak that erupts? Does this jailbreak have a mastermind, or is it something that happens spontaniously as various events converge?

Gage: Someone's definitely behind it, but how carefully planned it is remains to be seen. I'll leave the rest to Jeff...
Parker: It forces the Thunderbolts to have to deal with a situation in The Raft instead of outside, [which is] not at all what they were expecting. They had essentially just gotten done with their job, were settling in for the day and now chaos hits.

The Raft's most notorious inmate has got to be Norman Osborn himself. From the solicits, it sounds like Norman is one of the main supporting characters in this story. How is jail affecting his personality? Is he less or more dangerous now that he's behind bars?

Gage: Norman is always dangerous. Cornered, he may be even more so.

Parker: He's pretty resentful, of course. He's kept away from most human contact, and when he does get to go anywhere, the guards march him in front of everybody to reinforce the idea that "The biggest of you is just a common prisoner now."

Who are some of the other major supporting players in this story line? Do any of the original Thunderbolts who work at the prison or the Academy instructors play a role?

Gage: On the "Avengers Academy" side, we're pretty full already!


Parker: Mach V, Fixer and Songbird work closely with the prison, so yes.

How would you describe the tone of this crossover? It sounds like a pretty intense action thriller, or is there also some psychological conflict going on as well?

Gage: Both. There's certainly action and physical jeopardy, but the real stakes may be on the psychological level.

A potential jailbreak on the refurbished Raft sounds like it could be a story that shakes up not just "Thunderbolts" and "Avengers Academy," but much of the Marvel U. How much impact does this story have on your books moving forward?

Gage:It's definitely something that will have repercussions for the future of "Avengers Academy."


Parker: Yeah, things that happen here matter even more later.

Do either of you have any final thoughts you'd like to share about the "Scared Straight" crossover between "Avengers Academy" and "Thunderbolts?"

Gage: Both our artists are really hitting home runs. Mike McKone is bringing the cast of "Avengers Academy" to life in a way that makes me feel like I have a cast of brilliant actors at my disposal. I can't rave enough about his work!

Parker: Kev Walker and Frank Martin have been impressing everyone, and it just gets better. Kev comes up with great stuff to flesh out the world of "Thunderbolts" beyond what I write, so the setting is truly a character. We've really entered a new era.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Looking forward to that crossover a lot. I love the "Scared Straight" idea.

 

[Havok83]

The characters in this book look downright awful. I hope Pietro is enough to keep my interest past the initial arc

 

[Dread]

As I mentioned in another topic, while I expect ACADEMY to be good, and I imagine the T-Bolts crossover will work out fine, it is hard to accept all these new young metahumans if none of them are supposed to be mutants.

The Veil, for instance, has an origin that seeks to completely fit for a mutant. But she can't be a mutant, because M-Day is the Plot Point That Won't Die (and, like any Hollywood monster, seeks to take everyone with them if it seems like the end). There is absolutely zero way her origin works if she isn't a mutant. If she can't connect her powers to coming in contact with some artifact/accident/radiation etc, she's pretty flipping stupid. She could assume she is a mutant and be wrong, but still.

We also never found out the sources of Cloud 9 or Melee's or Butterball's powers. But they can't be mutants. M-Day is Word Of God.

Fortress is SO "Young Red Skull" that if no one teases him about it, the academy students deserve to be Avengers just for having such high moral caliber.

Looking forward to this, pre-debut issue nit picks aside. It's more Gage/Initiative type action. It'll be great, probably!

 

[TheCorpulent1]

The characters in this book look downright awful. I hope Pietro is enough to keep my interest past the initial arc

How do they look awful? We know virtually nothing about any of them except Reptil and the teachers.

 

[Alastor]

Based on design maybe? I actually think the characters look promising, and wish I could pick up the book. I actually like "Red Skull Jr." He could have potential, as both a hero and a future villain.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Wow, that's like the ultimate judging of a book by its cover. I wonder how long Wolverine would've lasted if people judged him solely on the quality of his costumes...

 

[Optikal]

Well, this first issue didn't do very much for me. It was all kinds of 'meh'.

Nowhere near as solid as Secret Avengers or Thunderbolts. Was still better than Avengers though.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I loved it. Gage set up a great cast of characters with a lot of different personalities. I'm looking forward to how they clash and deal with each other.

 

[BrianWilly]

It was a very well-written issue. That said, I find the new characters a little stereotypical.

Not only are they all basically mutants, they're also all basically X-Men characters in every sense of the term.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

They're definitely stereotypical, but I think Gage was going for that. They're new characters, so I think he introduced them with some familiar high school stereotype qualities as touchstones for people to get into them a bit easier. The very nature of their baggage hints at more depth, though, and I'm sure Gage will bring that out over time. I mean, even Willow and Xander started out as the stereotypical science geek and goofy loser at first.

 

[robsoko422]

I dont like the design of Mettle's head, i would have been happy with a big red metal guy who cant feel but had a normal looking head.

I do like the jerk version Quicksilver (like there is other versions anyway)