Avengers: The Initiative #13

Aside from that bit of weirdness the issue is actually pretty good, maybe the best issue yet. The Dialogue is first rate, it’s funny and sharp. The rest of the new team consists of Annex (a former villain), Batwing (former Spider-Man villain), Sunstreak (yet another former villain), and this fat kid named Emery Schaub who has the coolest powers ever, sort of.

Emery Schaub is the focus in this very self contained issue, which is a great way to start the books second year in print. Focusing on this singular characters experience is a great way to get new readers acclimated to the book. Emery has a problem, he was very out of shape when his powers manifested. Why is this a problem? Well his powers make him completely invulnerable, and that’s it. He isn’t strong or fast he’s just invulnerable. The biggest drawback to his power is that he’s stuck in the state he’s in, he can’t lose weight or gain it, and he can’t build muscle to grow stronger making his powers effectively useless, and therein lies the charm of the tale.

Emery is a washout because he has no offensive aspects to his powers, but he has the heart of a hero, he’s the only one of the new recruits to even be excited to be at Camp Hammond. The rest of the group takes longer to gel and a lot of their early issues are that Emery just isn’t cut out for hero work.

The action of the issue centers on the group sneaking off base for a little R&R. The Taskmaster (who gets all the great dialog in this issue) is a marked man since he’s aiding the good guys which put the kids in the Initiative in some danger. Emery inadvertently saves the day when the group and their instructors are attacked by a group of assassins and they use him as a hostage.

 
The book ends on a bit of a sad note, but I don’t want to ruin the silver lining, just do yourself a favor and pick this issue up, like I said, it’s maybe the best issue yet.