The first issue of Giant Size Little Marvel: AvX was a pure joy to read. Skottie Young delivered something that was completely different from the rest of the Secret Wars comic books. In doing so Young was able to give us a comic book that works as an alternative to everything else on the stands right now. Hopefully that is something that is continued in Giant Size Little Marvel: AvX #2.
Creative Team
Writer & Artist: Skottie Young
Colorist: Jean Francois Beaulieu
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 10 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: As the citizens of Battleworld continue to deal with their own problems the Little Marvels decide to split into teams for a game of dodgeball. Captain America and Cyclops decide to be the two captains. They each pick members for their teams and in the end the teams are basically the Avengers and X-Men.
Captain America tries to go over the rules but is smacked on the head by a dodgeball that Cyclops throws. Iron Man retaliates by throwing a dodgeball at Cyclops but Cyclops destroys it with an optic blast. Hawkeye comes from the side and hits Cyclops with a dodgeball so hard it breaks his visor. As Hawkeye tries to avoid being hit by Cyclops’ uncontrollable optic blasts Ice Man creates his own dodgeball and blast Hawkeye straight through a wall with it.
Black Widow has enough of the X-Men and tells the Avengers to assemble. The Avengers and X-Men go on to have an epic dodgeball game with each person using their skills in unique ways.
Recess is soon over and Spider-Man asks Daredevil if he saw who won. The Avengers and X-Men go back to their class being taught by Professor Xavier. Professor X introduces the new kids to the class and asks the students for questions. Bruce Banner asks if he can go to the bathroom but is denied until he turns into the Hulk.
The Avengers and X-Men go on to ask he kids various questions about their origins only to find out that they are normal, somewhat emo, kids.
School comes to an end and all the students leave for the day. Captain America and Cyclops catch up to the new kids and they try to get them to join their respective teams. They both end up inviting the new kids to their respective clubhouses.
The kids of Marville make it back home with Ghost Rider, Beast, Namor and The Watcher each spending time with their families and working on their own things.
The next day Cyclops has Storm and Rogue hang a welcome banner below their clubhouse. Iron Man and Black Widow come over and makes fun of the banner because it looks like it was made during a pre-school arts and craft class. Colossus bringing over art supplies only makes things worse for Cyclops.
Iron Man then unveils his high-tech welcome sign. While Beast is wowed by it Cyclops is unimpressed. Cyclops accuses Iron Man of using his dad’s money to buy the sign. Iron Man takes offense to Cyclops talking about his dad.
As the new kids arrive at the clubhouses location they see a giant explosion. The new kids decide to sit by a nearby hill to watch the clash between the Avengers and X-Men. While eating some popcorn the new kids spot Scarlet Witch and Cable going one-on-one and wonder who will win. They soon get their answer as Scarlet Witch completely decimates Cable. End of issue.
The Good: What makes Giant Size Little Marvel AvX #2 such a compelling read is how much fun I had each time I read. Even after reading it multiple times I continued to find myself having a smile on my face. There is a lot to be said with a comic book that takes full advantage of its concept and that is exactly what Skottie Young has done.
Throughout Giant Size Little Marvel AvX #2 there are a lot of things that if you just said out loud would sound silly. But just as he has always done, Young is able to excel in all of the silliness of the concept of the series. And even if the two big battles of this issue ended up turning out the same as before it was how Young presents them that feels special.
A simple game of dodgeball where the teams just end up being another Avengers vs X-Men battle sounds like something that would be eye rolling. But it’s through how Young decided to show us the way the dodgeball teams came about that makes it fun. Even the sarcastic comments by Storm make the team decisions work.
And I loved how this dodgeball game completely turned into just one big super powered battle. Beginning the dodgeball game with Cyclops getting the first shot in was funny as he did not allow Captain America talk about all the rules. The escalation of this battle was a pure joy as specific team members got a chance to get their own shots in.
This intense dodgeball game set the standard as to how things would go down for the rest of the issue. The introduction of the new kids at the school also helped to give us some sense of normalcy in the super powered town of Marville. Seeing all of the Marvel characters trying to find out if there was anything special about the new kids was a fun dig at the various hero and villain origin stories. It was also a good way to have characters like Arcade make darker comments for comedic effect.
The introduction of the new kids also made the latest Avengers and X-Men conflict feel different even if it ended up the same as their previous battles. The fact that the Avengers and X-Men final battle of this issue was over a fight of whose sign was better is another reminder of how these are just kids. Seeing the reaction of Cyclops after his sign was called an arts and crafts project while Iron Man’s sign was called out as something his dad bought was perfect. It was a nice dig at each characters resource and helped to remind you of how silly everything in this comic really is.
While the story was a joy to read the real star of the show was Young’s artwork. Everything about the artwork elevated the enjoyment of the dialogue that in the hands of someone else may have not been as effective. The exaggerated expressions when characters are reacting to various things, such as when getting hit by dodgeballs, was great. Hawkeye getting driven through a wall was a nice reminder that this is a comic you should just enjoy watching the chaotic antics of these characters. My particular favorite part of this issue was the reaction of the new kids when they were answering all of the Little Marvel characters origin questions. There look after Arcades question in particular showed how odd all these questions are.
The Bad: Nothing.
Overall: As soon as I opened Giant Size Little Marvel AvX #2 I had a smile on my face. That smile did not stop even after I finished reading Skottie Young’s comic book. In a sea of comic books that take themselves too seriously at times it is great to have a comic book that is all about fun. And that is honestly the best way I can summarize what Young’s comics have always been: fun. If you are a Marvel fan I highly urge you to go out and buy Giant Size Little Marvel AvX #2.
