Comic News And Reviews

Christos Gage (writer), Mike McKone (penciller)

The Story: The revolving spotlight falls on Reptil this issue as Humberto is made Class Leader of the Academy, making a childhood dream of his come true.  But what happens when Reptil realizes that his dreams have been ruined by the secrets and lies that permeate not only the Academy’s mission statement but also the motivations and actions of his classmates?

What’s Good: “Reptil is lame.”  That was my first thought when I was done reading the special Avengers: The Initiative one-shot that introduced the character a couple of years ago.  A kid that can shape shift parts of his body into dinosaur parts kind of sounds interesting on paper maybe, but the execution did nothing for me.  When I saw that he was going to be on the roster of the Academy team, I’m pretty sure I rolled my eyes.  This issue has changed my opinion immensely.  I still think the dinosaur powers thing, even with the upgrade of going “full Dinosaur”, is sort of blah.  However, Gage has managed to make me completely disregard that aspect of the character by centering on Reptil’s inner workings.

You’d think that the characters who are morally questionable would easily be the more intriguing, but positioning Reptil as the good kid trying to hold it all together, despite knowing that the people around him are doing bad things, has proven that assumption wrong.  Gage establishes the character’s motivations smartly, making it his dream since childhood to be an Avenger.  This not only adds an interesting layer to his place here, but it also gives his motivations about keeping the team together an added dimension.  He desperately doesn’t want to lose this good thing.  It’s an easily understood emotion that any reader can understand and makes the character that much more relatable.  Kudos, Gage. You made me like Reptil.  Who’d have thought?

I was also pleased to get a scene focusing on Finesse and Quicksilver’s secret pact.  It’s an element of the title’s plot that has made me happy since it was introduced in issue #2, and I’m eager to see where it goes.  Humberto’s cathartic talk with Jessica Jones was also a nice surprise.  Gage shows that he’s not only bringing characters from the other Avengers titles in just for the gratuitous cameo, but for reasons that are story appropriate.  That makes the unexpected guest appearances that much more enjoyable.

What’s Not So Good: Reptil turns into a dinosaur.  Still think that’s lame, sorry.

Conclusion: Another month, another Avengers Academy issue better than the last one. No surprises here.

Grade: A

-Joe Lopez

Filed under: Marvel Comics Tagged: | Christos Gage, Mike McKone, Weekly Comic Book Review, comic book reviewsw, Avengers Academy #6, Avengers Academy #6 review

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