Written by: Rick Remender
Art by: Daniel Acuña
Publisher: Marvel
One more week till Axis.
Uncanny Avengers #25 remains the last solicited issue in the series for the time being, so it makes sense to have Rick Remender teamed up with artist Daniel Acuña, who has been the most consistent penciler on the series. This book acts as the last to fall under the March to Axis moniker, serving as a prologue for the event book that Rick Remender and co. have been hyping for a long time. While this book can certainly stand on it’s own, it helps to have read issues #9 and #10 of Cullen Bunn’s Magneto series as they tie in to this issue quite compactly. We follow Magneto (who seems to be our main protagonist approaching Axis) and the remaining members of the Avengers Unity Squad inside The Red Skull’s death camps. This issue plays on the greatest attribute and flaw of Magneto as a character: his desire for swift, cruel, justice at any cost. Scarlet Witch’s description of her complex feelings of her father (Magneto) remain to be a highlight of Remender’s writing in this issue as she simultaneously seeks his adoration and is in constant fear of his power and rage.
These feelings come into fruition as Magneto and Red Skull have their pseudo-final battle, or at least the one that March to Axis has been seeking to culminate in. One of the best moments in this issue is when Magneto coldly states that his adversaries are “facing the devil, himself”, playing on his dual-sided nature, derived from his constant shifting between good and evil alignment. If anything, this issue shows Remender’s clear understanding of the character’s he chooses to write in the Marvel universe and had me clamoring for him to continue to write Magneto as I feel he understands his voice and the cathartic nature of his character completely (okay, and I want him to write a Thor title, too). Acuña’s pencils are always a treat and I, for one, am glad that he finished out the run on this series in this final issue as the plot itself doesn’t feel like a complete wrap-up of what has been building over the past 25 issues, his art brings a sense of completion to both creators work on the title. His interpretation of Red Onslaught in the final page is worth the $3.99 cover price alone. He depicts the fight between Magneto, Red Skull, and The S-Men in a brilliantly realized, brutal fashion, distinctly characterizing what it means to fight the Master of Magentism, not just a regular superhero. Magneto fights with everything in his person to dispatch his opponents and Acuña realizes this perfectly.
While this book serves as a great piece to the larger puzzle of Axis, I’d still wish that we had a proper closing to this book on it’s own, if only for those who are going to read this in omnibus or trade format. I hope this isn’t the last time we see the Avengers Unity Squad, as these past 25 issues have been a complete treat and the only complaint I can have is that I constantly clamor for more.
Thanks Rick, Thanks Daniel. Hoping to see you guys on this title post Axis.
