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This new edition of Peter David and Ariel Olivetti’s classic, The Last Avengers Story, is a beautifully illustrated vision of a dystopian nightmare.
Throughout Marvel Comics’ history, there have been several spectacular stories. It would be easy for plenty of gems to slip by readers. Luckily, Marvel’s anthology series, Marvel Tales, is rereleasing classic comics for fans. The Last Avengers Story: Marvel Tales #1 presents a story written by Peter David and artwork by Ariel Olivetti that depicts a dystopian version of the Marvel Universe featuring a blind Hawkeye, a menacing Kang, and a slew of iconic characters in an intense adventure.
The Last Avengers Story: Marvel Tales #1 takes place in a version of the future where most of Earth’s mightiest heroes have gone their separate ways. Dr. Hank Pym and the Wasp live together far from the rest of the world, trying to live as normally as possible in an attempt to forget the cataclysmic events that lead to the disbanding of the original Avengers. But when Ultron, Kang, and the Grim Reaper kill a new generation of heroes, Hank and Jan are forced to reach out to their old friends for a final battle with some of their most dreaded enemies.
Peter David does a wonderful job of weaving flashbacks into the central story a little at a time, allowing the audience to understand the history of an ever-expanding universe. As The Last Avengers Story: Marvel Tales #1 progresses, Hank and Jan recruit more familiar heroes to join their team, and readers are given insight into just how hard the years have been on these characters. Hawkeye’s blindness and Hulk’s unfortunate fate are particularly heartbreaking, but the pain they’ve all endured makes their ability to band together all the more impressive. As sinister as Ultron and his evil compatriots are, David humanizes them by giving them histories as rich and complicated as their adversaries. This empathetic approach adds to the high stakes of the final battle and helps the comic live up to its lofty and dramatic name.
Ariel Olivetti’s paintings are absolutely stunning. His art captures the melodramatic nature of the narrative, while successfully illuminating some quiet, emotionally poignant scenes. His character designs communicate just how harsh the years have been on the surviving Avengers, but each character is still immediately recognizable. It is easy to see which of the new generation of heroes are related to classic characters. All of Olivetti’s pages are wonderfully composed, but the lengthy, final fight scene steals the show. He flawlessly balances the large cast of characters to create an easy-to-read action sequence amidst the chaos. Olivetti portrays the fighting figures with a gestural flair that communicates the energy of the battle.
The Last Avengers Story: Marvel Tales #1 is the perfect start to this new iteration of the Marvel Tales anthology series. David and Olivetti’s work is as vibrant and exciting as it was when it was first published. Their perfect pacing really shines in this 92-page edition. Marvel Tales #1 is a wonderfully crafted one-off story that is sure to impress fans of the Avengers.
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