Review of "Avengers Forever"
© Jeffrey Lyles
Avengers Forever
Writers:Kurt Busiek and Roger Stern
Pencils: Carlos Pacheco
Ink: Jesus Merino
Colors: Steve Oliff
Note: Originally published [as seperate issues] in Avengers Forever #1-12 from December 1998 to December 1999
_______________________________________
I. Recap of prior events:
Longtime Avenger ally Rick Jones has fallen victim to some mysterious disease that has left him comatose. His former comrades find him, but have little clue as to what left Rick in this condition.
_____________________________________
II. Summary:
Going on a hunch from Iron Man, the team takes Rick to the blue area of the moon in hopes that their foe, the Kree Supreme Intelligence can identify this malady and cure Rick.
Immortus, the time traveling arch-foe of the Avengers, enters the fray and sends one of his agents to kill Rick, only to be thwarted by Kang, who is destined to be become Immortus. Confused yet? Before Kang can prevent him from completing his objective, Immortus unleashes an army of the greatest soldiers (literally) of all time
As Kang begins to falter, Libra, who seeks to maintain the universal balance, unleashes the Destiny Force in Rick, a force that could either be mankind's greatest blessing or curse that will make mankind the scourge of the galaxy. Rick had previously tapped into the force to turn the tide in the famed Kree/Skrull War, in which the Avengers found themselves tested as never before, and narrowly save mankind from being wiped out of existence.
Instead of bringing champions he remembered reading about as a child, Rick brings seven Avengers from the past, present and the future to stop Immortus.
The chosen seven are made up of quite the eclectic group of Avengers. From the past, a demoralized Captain America, a borderline schitzo Hank Pym operating as Yellowjacket and Hawkeye still in transition from his size-changing days as Goliath and unerring archer, not far removed from the Kree-Skrull war.
Wasp and Giant Man, still trying to rekindle their relationship, represent the present day team, while two unknown commodities in Songbird, who Wasp remembers as a member of the Masters of Evil and the son of the original Captain Marvel, are from a future where they have joined the team.
After the initial confusion, the team aligns themselves with Kang to prevent Immortus from gaining a hold of the Forever Crystal, which Immortus will use to wipe out any timeline where humanity became a menace to the galaxy. It turns out that Immortus is acting on behalf of the Time-Keepers
