Uncanny Avengers #24  follows the aftermath of the Avengers Unity Squad’s , time spanning showdown with the classic villain Kang. Issue 24 is labelled with the imprint “March to Axis” and continues  to un-package some of the team’s fall out preceding  Marvel’s next mega event Avengers & X-Men: Axis. We learn in the previous issue that Kang left the mutant concentration camp Director Ahab in the past as a contingency/revenge plan in the event of his failure.  I’ve always loved villains who plan for their own failure. There’s a certain dread  with enemies of this sort who win regardless in a way whether they triumph or not. This is a trope Kieron Gillen used to great effect with Mr Sinister, during his run on Uncanny X-Men. It is nice to see that dynamic here, woven seamlessly into the plot this way.

Since the beginning of the series I always found the choice of Havok as the leader of the team interesting. I questioned the subconscious reasons for Captain America choosing someone who resembles him so closely, (Blond hair, blue eyed, male)  someone “pretty” to borrow Wolverine’s terminology. As the chosen “face” of human mutant unity I found the choice of Havok’s leadership very telling. Havok’s recent disfigurement is explored in this issue as he admits this is new territory for him, dealing to reactions from the general public. I thought this was an interesting place for Havok’s character, given the fact that he’s been one of the fortunate mutants that could pass for human. His place as an outsider is a bit more pronounced now and should lead to some interesting character development in the future

The theme of mutant human unity is further addressed in this issue. Wolverine has a nice moment with the Scarlet Witch and Rogue, lamenting on his past actions, and how many of those lead to the crises the team eventually had to deal with. Given the last story arc, the team now knows the full cost of their mistrust, and unilateral choices. It will be interesting to see how this knowledge will be tested in the next event.

It is interesting that the safety of Katie summers’ (Havok and Wasp’s daughter) in the last arc was a driving factor for the team undoing Kang’s machinations. In this issue a psychic echo of Charles Xavier, informs Rogue that Wonder Man’s abilities (recently absorbed into her) could be a key element in the Red Skull’s downfall. If the benefit and metaphor of unity expressed through Rogue’s containment of Simon’s energies and the child of a mutant and a human  is intentional, then writer Rick Remender is quite the savvy writer.

The the mutant members team seemed to be taken down very easily by the Red Skull’s S-Men, which is the first of my minor gripes with this issue. The reason for this could be Remender’s attempt to convey how much division in the team is a weakness. Each defeat/kidnapping happened when a team member was alone/ Whatever the intent it came off feeling a bit shoe horned for the next event.

I am quite hit or miss when it come to Salvador Larocca‘s art, mainly for the reason that a lot of his female characters seem so cookie cutter. That’s just another minor gripe though.                                                           

   Story: Rick Remender  Art: Salvador Larroca  
Story: 7.0 Art: 6.0 Overall: 7.4 Recommendation: Read