Uncanny Avengers: Counter-Evolutionary

Uncanny Avengers by Rick Remender

by Rick Remender (Contributor), Daniel Acuña

From the ashes of Avengers & X-Men: AXIS an all-new, all different Avengers assemble! The tragedy at the end of AXIS has left the Uncanny Avengers vulnerable, and someone is taking advantage of it. One of the Avengers' oldest foes returns with a terrible secret that will, all hyperbole aside, shatter the lives of two members of the squad. What is Counter-Earth? What terrible secrets does it house?

Collecting: Uncanny Avengers 1-5

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, X Men, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book

112 pages, Paperback

First published September 8, 2015

About the author

Rick Remender is an American comic book writer and artist who resides in Los Angeles, California. He is the writer/co-creator of many independent comic books like Black Science, Deadly Class, LOW, Fear Agent and Seven to Eternity. Previously, he wrote The Punisher, Uncanny X-Force, Captain America and Uncanny Avengers for Marvel Comics.

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

The aftermath of Axis sees a Sabretooth looking for redemption and Wanda and Quicksilver given a huge familial reveal! Rogue pulls together a new unity team of Brother Voodoo, Vision, the black Captain America and... Sabretooth(!). The twins and the team get caught up in the trials and tribulations of Counter Earth. An interesting, and in this modern era, a rare visit to Counter Earth and the machinations of the High Evolutionary. Remender sows the seeds for a number of future stories. 7 out of 12, Three Star read.

2019 read

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved every minute of this final pre-Secret Wars volume of Uncanny Avengers. It was a great team roster and a great creative team really delivered.

For me, this arc was all about the Vision, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. I haven't seen the dynamic between these three characters written so well in a long time. Quicksilver's journey of self-discovery hit home in particular. I can really empathise with his arc.

This volume was really powerful. I'd love to see this creative team do more Avengers stuff post-Secret Wars.

[Blindzider · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ever since reading Uncanny X-Force I've been a fan of Remender. He's able to add an emotional core to his stories and add some extreme action/violence in a mix that I really enjoy.

For Uncanny Avengers (pre-Axis) I liked the concept and as a whole it had its ups and downs, never quite reaching the heights of Uncanny X-Force though. By the time UA got to Axis it had lost me with lackluster stories and while Acuna's art isn't bad, it isn't my cup of tea (although I do like the modern take on the Scarlet Witch's costume).

Having NOT read Axis, I took a chance on this volume, which continues right out of the crossover and unfortunately the summary page didn't do that good of a job getting me up to date. All of the characters were in places that I didn't know how they got there. Through online media, I had already known that one of the major threads of the Axis crossover was that Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch were possibly not really Magneto's children. That thread is continued in this volume where the team goes up against the High Evolutionary (who originally told them about their parentage) searching for the truth about their dad. By the end it still isn't really clear and certainly doesn't feel momentous.

There's some standard good vs. evil action here, and a tad bit of that Remender dialogue but it's very by the numbers and none of it really memorable (and if you look closely at the credits, two of the issues aren't even written by him). I personally believe Axis is what finally put Remender over the edge as far as working for Marvel and sadly his final works with them kind of show it. All of the energy and imagination has pretty much been drained from him, driving him back to independent creator work. While I'll miss his style on the Marvel characters, I'll happily follow him on his own books.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though the cover of this book proclaims that it's the "Uncanny Avengers", it's really not. This is a 5-issue mini-series about an arbitrary group of heroes whose main purpose is to support the heavy-handed editorial decision to make Pietro and Wanda not-mutants. Aside from the fact that I find the decision very suspect (it's too dependent on movie issues, rather than a natural evolution of storytelling), I also find this support story very underwhelming.

Basic Plot: Wanda and Pietro go to Counter-Earth to learn about their real father; they don't. The other so-called Avengers go to Counter-Earth to rescue Wanda; they don't. Five issues of pointless fighting ensue. Suddenly, because it's the last issue, the Avengers are able to defeat the foes they couldn't before. Spooky pronouncements are made about upcoming disaster. Finis.

I feel like I was tricked into buying a non-story that exists solely to shore up an unpopular retcon.

[Tomás Sendarrubias García · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pues nada, último arco de los Imposibles Vengadores de Rick Remender, y la verdad es que no ha mejorado en nada el mal sabor de boca que me dejó Axis. Resumo un poco la situación que lleva a este arco: durante Axis, los Vengadores y la Patrulla-X se enfrentan a Onslaught Rojo en Genosha y para detenerlo la Bruja Escarlata y el Doctor Muerte lanzan un hechizo que vuelve a los buenos malos y a los malos buenos, y durante los conflictos devenidos de esto, la Bruja Escarlata y Mercurio descubren que no son los hijos de Magneto, y que de hecho no son ni mutantes. Así que este arco, Remender pone a los mellizos a buscar sus orígenes, mientras un nuevo equipo Unidad va tras ellos: el nuevo Capitán América (Sam Wilson), el Doctor Vudú, Pícara, la Visión y Dientes de Sable (que continúa invertido tras los eventos de Axis, igual que Kaos y Iron Man). Durante la búsqueda, Wanda y Pietro se encontrarán con el rastro del Alto Evolucionador y viajan a la Contratierra (que ni se molestan en justificar cuándo ha vuelto la Contratierra a estar ahí, llevaba desaparecida desde los tiempos de Marvel Returns). Y al seguirlos, el resto del equipo son atacados en el Monte Wundagore por los Nuevos Hombres del Alto Evolucionador, así que en lugar de llegar juntos, se dispersan por la Contratierra... un argumento que no es exáctamente nuevo en los cómics y que ya habíamos visto en otras ocasiones, en sendas sagas de Factor-X o de X-Men, por ejemplo. Pícara queda en manos de un científico loco, la Visión se encuentra con una especie de syntezoide femenina llamada Eva, el Doctor Vudú se da de frente con los espíritus de los muertos en la guerra contra el Alto Evolucionador, el Capitán América se convierte en un árbol y Dientes de Sable se convierte en el esclavo de los Nuevos Hombres, mientras Pietro y Wanda se ponen del lado del bando que lucha contra el Alto Evolucionador, y dirigido por ... bueno, por el Bajo Evolucionador. Otra trama que por cierto, tampoco es demasiado original y que se había dado ya en las sagas anteriormente mencionadas, pero también por ejemplo en los temas relacionados con Mundo mojo. Total, que se descubre que Pietro y Wanda han sido siempre experimentos fallidos del Alto Evolucionador y que tienen una especie de hermana (Luminosa) que tiene los poderes de ambos. En fin, que es una excusa para que ambos personajes dejaran de ser mutantes. La saga no va a tener muchas más consecuencias, ni siquiera a nivel de alineación, después de Contra-Evolucionador vendría Secret Wars, y después de Secret Wars, Imposibles Vengadores sería una de las colecciones que cambiaría de equipo creativo, pasando a manos de Gerry Duggan... y ahí me bajé, así que no sé muy bien como siguió la historia.

En este caso, me quedo con una estrella, y es que ni siquiera el dibujo de Daniel Acuña, que normalmente me convence bastante, está acertado en este arco, y me parece demasiado apresurado, incluso descuidado en ocasiones, así que nada bueno que resaltar en todo el arco.

[Judah Radd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this.

Daniel Acuña’s art is amazing. The story was thrilling. The High Evolutionary is such a badass and underutilized villain. Also cool to meet the evil Luminous as well as Eve.

Did this story ever continue somewhere else? I’m dying to know where it goes. There were so many seeds of plot laid, and I need to see what happens. Is there an Evolutionary War II event?

Def worth reading, and many times better than Axis.

[Dimitra · Rating 1 out of 5]

So this... did not get better in time, for me.
(Apart from this) i love Rick Remender's writing, even though e-v-e-r-y single book of his i've read so far has the main characters traveling/stranded on a parallel dimension/universe for the main adventure -which isn't particularly bad but it is awfully predictable.
Now, as a reader i don't have to concern myself with Fox/Marvel contracts, deals and such…and yet…
This volume was part of the attempt to change the Maximoffs’ origin and not even a good one at that. A disappointing mess that somehow makes even less sense than their previous origin. Which is why most of us have chosen to ignore it.

[Kyle Pennekamp · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was better.

[Abdullah Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personally, I don't get why so many crap all over this book. Sure the story sticks out as a pointless chapter in the overall narrative of the Marvel universe, but as a 5 issues standalone Rick Remender story, it's quite entertaining and nothing short of great.
If you're a fan of Remender, especially his non-marvel work, this book stays true to that. As a story told in the Marvel universe, it seems to be pointless and serve no purpose other than to retcon the Maximoff twins as mutants, only to be changed again a few years down the line. If you ignore that though, it's a typical dark, sick, twisted, gruesome and tragic fast-paced Remender story that puts a few significant Marvel characters in very harsh, unforgiving and uncomfortable situations you'd end up thinking "how the hell are they getting out of this one?" But they do. Which goes to show you how creative of a writer Remender is, and this book illustrates that very well. Be prepared to be very uncomfortable with some of the decisions made in this story though. If you're used to a little twisted horror based sci fi and enjoy it, you'll be good.
The art is absolutely fantastic in my opinion, Acuna is a master when it comes to drawing sci-fi giving it a Blade Runner flavour. It might feel messy at times, but I think I works perfectly with the story. A relentless sci-fi rollercoaster ride.
One thing I will say is if you've never been exposed to the High Evolutionary as a character in the Marvel universe, this is a great place to start, especially if you're someone who can't get into the classic comics with their dated style of storytelling.

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not bad, haven't read the first volume of Uncanny Avengers which are meant to be better, this just seemed full of angst and was pretty mediocre and portrayal of the x-men characters is a bit downbeat and diluted , i loved Remender's X-force and the art was great along with the mentioning of previous events and continuity. The bad being the focus on the "movie" avengers wanda, pietro and vision which was no doubt done because of the movie and in my opinion is what is ruining marvel comics also not a fan of the movie look Vision looks like a skier. If it ain't broke don't fix it Disney leave the comics alone.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Remender but I'm not very pleased with what he's done with the Avengers so far. He's seriously distresses beloved characters. Guess I'll have to wait and see what happens in the end but I can not honestly say I'm all that happy with the ride so far. Looks nice though. Nice to have Acuna onboard for visuals.

[Krzysztof Grabowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Świat tej "innej" grupy Avengers po wydarzeniach z Axis, który doprowadził do rozpadu jednostki.

Havoc opuścił grupę, aby dołączyć do brata. Steve Rogers wskutek utraty serum superżołnierza, zestarzał się i może zaoferować już tylko eksperckie wsparcie logistyczne. Wanda i Pietro po usłyszeniu pewnych rewelacji, zniknęli z radaru grupy. Jasnym jest, że chcą znaleźć informację na temat swojego pochodzenia, skoro to nie Magneto okazał się ich ojcem. Kto nim jest?

Nowy Kapitan Ameryka, Sam Wilson, zbiera ekipę w skład, której wchodzi Rogue, "nawrócony" Sabretooth, Voodoo czy Vision wyruszają na tzw. "Przeciw-Ziemię", gdzie swoje okrutne rządy sprawuje znany serii Najwyższy Ewolucjonista. Szaleniec czy wizjoner? Granica jest bardzo cienka, bo widzimy, iż samozwańczy stwórca bardzo łatwo pozbywa się swoich tworów, jednocześnie mając za nic co się stanie z nimi po śmierci. A niespokojnych dusz przybywa.

Jednocześnie akcja poszukiwawcza przechodzi płynnie w akcję ratunkową, kiedy okazuje się, że bliźniacy wylądowali w łapach szaleńczego stwórcy. Starcie z nim będzie chyba trudniejsze niż starcie z wzmocnionym Red Skullem. Mamy tu sporo walk, bo do głosu dochodzi tutejsze podziemie, które pragnie obalić tyrana i ocalić niewinnych. Mamy tu sporo odpowiedzi na pytania nurtujące Wandę czy Pietro, ale prowadzą one tylko do kolejnych znaków zapytania, a informację jakie przedstawia nam Remender są... niesatysfakcjonujące.

Naprawdę w takiej sytuacji wręcz dziwię się po co autor wyskakiwał z takim pomysłem, skoro jego rozwinięcie jest tak słabe. Kolejnym minusem jest mały chaos, jaki się tu wkrada. Akcja miejscami jest wprawdzie wyborna, ale także chaotyczna. Sabretooth nagle odzyskuje świadomość w pewnej sytuacji i rani istotę, której nie potrafili zranić potężniejsi od niego? Troszeczkę to za leniwe rozwiązanie. Cały wątek Kapitana Ameryki był tu praktycznie zbędny. Dziwne rozwiązanie, które pozostawiło postać prawie bezużyteczną. Tak samo jak z Visionem. Ten sobie zmajstrował całą masę potomków, z osóbką, która znajduje się w obozie wroga, a potem... olewa temat, zostawiając "nawróconą" kobietę. Swoją drogą nie ma to jak "zamoczyć" kabel w potencjalnym przeciwniku od razu na wejściu. Make love and peace. ^^

A wszystko to w naprawdę dobrej szacie graficznej, jaką zawdzięczamy Danielowi Acuña. Prace Hiszpana z początku mało mi podchodziły, ale wraz z upływem czasu widzę kunszt autora i chcę więcej. Podejrzewam, że bez jego wkładu ocena całości byłaby niższa, ale... Nie mogę Remenderowi odebrać sprawności w prowadzeniu akcji, nawet gdy jest ona czasami głupia. Niemniej takie coś też trzeba potrafić sprzedać. A ten Pan umie takie rzeczy.

[Adrian J. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Despite what the book's listing on Goodreads would have you think, this isn't "Uncanny Avengers: Counter-Evolutionary #1-5". It is Uncanny Avengers Vol.1, aka. Uncanny Avengers Vol.2 #1-5. If it actually was presented as some sort of standalone limited series, you might expect something far more like what you get, but it wasn't, so... meh.

Marvel's incessant returns to #1 are aggravating. I bought this because it was titled "Uncanny Avengers Vol.1" and the back cover assured me it contained "Uncanny Avengers #1-5". Of course, it is "Vol.1" of Vol.2. But it doesn't say that anywhere - at least some other Marvel books put the year the series commenced after the title so you can work out for yourself which volume it really is.

The big problem is that this isn't "Vol.1" by any measure - it is clearly "Vol.6" of the ongoing series. Despite having a brand-new all-new all-different all-amazing #1 on the cover, there's nothing new about it. It is a straight, uninterrupted continuation of the previous volume.

The colouring is horrendous - everything looks like brown/reddish mud.

The story has problems. Why does Quicksilver never mention, at any point, his involvement with the High Evolutionary and the New Men/Knights of Wundagore? The whole arc acts as though the Maximoff twins' only involvement with the HE was during childhood.

Where is Franklin Richards' Counter-Earth? This new one seems to be in its place.

If Brother Voodoo can resurrect millions of dead people with a single spell... uh... who really cares who lives or dies?

Most importantly: if Marvel wanted to un-mutantify the Maximoffs for licensing reasons... and do a whole story arc "explaining" it... maybe actually explain it, rather than just have one very untrustworthy character make a random claim?

[Tesutamento · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uncanny Avengers serisi AXIS ile son bulmuştu. Quicksilver ve Scarlet Witch Magneto’nun çocuğu olmadıklarını öğrenmişlerdi. Bu ikinci seri Uncanny Avengers hikayesi özünde bu iki kardeşin kim olduklarını bulma macerası denebilir. Yanlarında Captain America(Sam), Rogue, Vision, Sabretooth ve Doctor Vodoo da bulunuyor fakat bu saydığım karakterler sırf kitaba Uncanny Avengers dendiği için zoraki bir biçimde hikayede yer alıyor. Yer aldıkları sahneler çoğunlukla mecburiyetten yazılmış, hikayeyi ve karakteri bir adım öteye götüremeyen sahneler. Yani kısaca Scarlet Witch ve Quicksilver dışındakiler gereksiz. Vision hariç tutulabilir gerçi. Özellikle bu hikayeden sonra Tom King tarafından yazılan Vision serisi büyük ilgi ve beğeni toplamıştı. Karakterin süreci bu kitapta başlıyor denebilir.

Scarlet Witch ve Quicksilver kendilerinin yaratılmış mı yoksa doğurulmuş olduğu gerçeğini öğrenmeye çalışırken kendilerini Counter-Earth’de bir iç savaşın içerisinde buluyor. Bu iki kardeşin daha da geliştirilip tek vücut bulmuş hali de karşılarına çıkıyor. Kardeşler geçmişleri hakkında günün sonunda pek de bir şey öğrenemiyor. Sürekli olarak gerçekleri kaldıramayacakları söyleniyor. Günün sonunda Scarlet Witch akıl sağlığını bir kez daha koruyamıyor. Çok şaşırtıcı değil mi?

Bu seri diğer tüm serileri gibi 2015’in en büyük hadisesi Secret Wars ile kesiliyor. Secret Wars sonrası Marvel evreni altı ay kadar bir zaman atlaması yaparak devam ediyor. Uncanny Avengers üçüncü bir seri başlatıyor. Scarlet Witch de kendi serisine kavuşup ülke ülke gezmeye başlıyor. Geçmişini bu kitapta anlatılandan çok daha fazlaca öğreniyor kendi serisinde.

[Adam Stone · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's extremely disappointing that Remender was given a book about how mutants and The Avengers would work together to fight bigotry, and, once he was done with the first storyline, every single story idea he has is "chuck everyone in an alternate dimension and write a dull soap opera."

I though, maybe, after Avengers & X-Men: AXIS, which was bad as a premise and also executed horribly, he might relaunch this book to get it back on message.

Nope, he sends the team to the most boring possible alternative multiverse, the one Roy Thomas and Gil Kane invented in the 1970s: an Earth on the opposite side of the sun! (This is a perfectly cromulent idea for a 1970s book, and I mean no disrespect to Thomas and Kane...but by 2014, we had moved well-past the idea of a spooky world that's different from ours because it's on "the other side of the sun", which our Earth will be on every six months.)

This entire series is such a squandered opportunity. I know it picks up with a new creative team after Secret Wars. I hope they do a better job. I guess I'd recommend this to people really into late Silvery-agey nostalgiaand people who liked Avengers & X-Men: AXIS.

[Michael Church · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book spins directly out of Axis, which spun directly out Uncanny Avengers (the first run), which spun directly out of Uncanny X-Force (also the first run), which was fantastic. After all this time, though, the book has sort of fizzled out finally. There’s a whole new team that comes together, pretty much on the fly, for this book. The characters sort of showed up during Axis, and the reason they team up is a little loose.

I can’t tell if the pacing issues were yet another side effect of the impending Secret Wars, or if this was meant to be a single arc before wrapping up. The introductions are abbreviated, the motivations are almost nonexistent, and the revelations are breakneck. A ton of information is thrown at you in 5 issues. I wasn’t really familiar with the High Evolutionary before this. I’m not sure if I am now, but I’ve definitely learned more than I expected. I think the last time I read about him was when Beast was trying to jump start the mutant population back in Messiah Complex.

I really like Remender and Acuña, and I like the style of this book, I just find myself caring less and less. My favorite characters have mostly been removed from the series so far. It looks like some may be coming back in the next volume after Secret Wars, and Duggan did some great work on Deadpool, but I just don’t know if I care enough to keep up with it. Maybe I should just be happy with Uncanny X-Force and the Apocalypse Twins.

[Rob McMonigal · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a weird little book to read out of context. Rogue is "leading" a team that can barely hold together, racing all the way to Counter-Earth (which I guess is back at this point?) to learn secrets that just make the Scarlet Witch's history worse.

Remender gleefully tortures these characters, even turning Sam into a tree-creature at one point while blasting the hell out of just about everyone else. The Evolutionary is a total monster this time around, murdering untold millions in the name of genetic purity and there's a wierd-ass Vision tangent where he makes little Visionites?

I have no idea. Apparently all this got stopped dead at some point, which was probably for the best. I have no idea what, if any of this remains, or if this is just a weird side-story in the myth of Marvel's heroes.

Daniel Acuna draws this just fine, especially the battle scenes, but yikes, just not a very good book all around. I'll sample one of the earlier volumes, but this might be something just not for me.

[Scarred Wizard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't understand the hate for this book. Such a low rating for a title this good. While it's not the best storyline and plot (changing the Marvel famous twin origin), it is an action packed comic. You can watch every single one of the character in this team fighting out of their life. Daniel Acuna is not my favourite artist, but i admit his artwork is one of the best drawing in Marvel's comic. I don't mind reading a comic with him drawing it, but i don't get excited to find all of the comics drawn by him. You know what i mean.

Quicksilver & Scarlet Witch are definitely the outshine characters in this. I recommend you to read this if you love to see them in action! They are so good! Minus 1 star for the plot and this took place on another earth (a f***ed up multiverse shit. Man! I hate it when they do that, it's so confusing). But if you're just wanna have some fun read and in need of some marvel fight action comic, this is for you!

[Joey Amorim · Rating 2 out of 5]

This volume requires a ton of context from Axis that isn’t properly elaborated on at all, and that may be its biggest flaw. Just picking this up from the last volume of Uncanny Avengers, I had no idea why anything was happening, nor did I get more invested as it went on. The High Evolutionary is serviceable as a villain here, it helps that his plot is very reminiscent of Guardians of the Galaxy 3. The team aspect of the book is nonexistent, everyone just does their own thing before sorta coming together in the final issue to defeat the bad guys. And then there’s the whole hook of who Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch’s real father is, a can which is just kicked down the road to be taken care of after Secret Wars, I guess, leaving this whole volume to feel mostly pointless. I liked Remender’s run on Uncanny Avengers a lot, especially as it went on, but you can tell that he was out of gas creatively at this point.

[Lindsay Heller · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was not a fan of this volume. There are a lot of far fetched things that happen in comics, believe me, I know, but this whole thing was both implausible and... I'm gonna say it... kinda boring. I don't really understand why they are retconning Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver's origin but I can only imagine it has something to do with their appearance in the MCU. A lot of this book dealt with them having some sort of crisis of identity, but it was not really ever resolved and, like, who cares? And this is coming from someone who only read this because of Scarlet Witch's involvement. And a counter earth on the other side of the sun? Populated by animal-humans created by a dude with very little motivation except to make a perfect being? I don't know, but... why?

I hate giving things two stars, but this edition just wasn't good.

[Charlotte (Buried in Books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got a little bit lost, I'll admit it. I think this suffered because I haven't read the stories earlier in the series (but this is listed as the first in it's own arc), so when I was browsing the shelves I didn't know that was the case.

So, I have some gaps to fill before this makes complete sense to me.

Was I freaked out by Vision having weird electric sex with a woman who wasn't Wanda? YES. Thankfully he came to his senses though.

Was I confused by Sabretooth being a "good guy"? YES. I'm assuming I've missed Logan's demise somewhere along the way.

I wasn't a fan of the artwork, the colours where washed out and it was all so dark and dreary. I will need to-read I think when I've filled in some of the gaps in the preceding stories.

[Kevin Cazarez Lopez · Rating 2 out of 5]

🌟 2.5/5

Mmm idk I was lowkey disappointed. I got excited by the lineup including Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, and Dr. Voodoo as well as the High Evolutionary as the antagonist. I also really enjoyed the artwork and found Rogue very enjoyable.

However, I just absolutely cannot get behind the retconning of the twin’s family tree. The Maximoff family is such a cornerstone of the Marvel Comics and I can’t get behind this new direction for their family history. I also feel that Sam Wilson, Captain America was pretty underutilized.

I got this volume to determine whether or not I’d like to read the complete run, but I think I’ll hold off for now. Maybe I’ll give it another chance in the future.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess it was a sold "eh". I mean I loved Victor's inner dialogue, Rogue continued to be perfection, and Pietro added a layer of sass that was desperately required. On the other hand, this arc was filled with Deus Ex Machina (Dei Ex Machina?) to the point I had a really hard time enjoying the story. Sam's plotline especially. I won't go into detail for the sake of spoilers, but I was left going "Wait, what?" and not in a good way. Also can we all just take a moment and acknowledge that Pietro and Wanda are definitely still mutants and definitely still Magneto's kids, regardless of stupid ass recons?

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was part of Marvel's attempt to de-mutant-ify characters to allow them to try to get movie rights.

Not sure why they didn't just start with Wolverine like in Earth X (which you still have to read, by the way.)

Also, I literally can't believe the contract was written in such a way that Marvel could just retcon legal rights. That would be insane.

It doesn't make sense and we don't get resolution.

Some of the stuff with the perspectives was interesting and the writer seemed to have done a good job picking characters. Very disappointing to see Sam Wilson turned into a Groot, though. Seemed problematic.

Also, why was there a volume 1 right before Secret Wars? Weird, right?

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

I avoided this because I didn't love the last volume of Uncanny Avengers and this didn't look like the same team...but I really enjoyed this. Remender writes an Avengers comic I can enjoy, which doesn't happen that often. And, while I tend no not enjoy seeing the High Evoluionary show up due to his goofy design and limited (due to comic continuity) success. I have zero interested in Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch figuring out their parentage after their recent retcon, but it's inoffensive enough here.

[Villain E · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this. I thought I wasn't going to like this, the retcon of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. And there isn't really an explanation beyond Magneto lied for some reason, but they were really experiments of the High Evolutionary. But this manages to be fun. The Avengers travel to Counter Earth, the Vision finds a lady, the High Evolutionary wants to use Sabretooth for his experiments, Captain America becomes a tree. Remender and Irving's styles really compliment each other.

[Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

art and colours are stellar. love acuna in this period (not as much in avengers twilight era)
the story is fine, I'm not into the retcon of the maximoffs, but the writing is well done. good characterisations, distinctive voices. bad villains. complicated heroes.

I want the vision and eve babies to come back with a vengeance for their father abandoning them.

remender writing rogue is quite good. I am just a sucker for her though

[Brian Poole · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uncanny Avengers tried to sell the new status quo for Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch in the Counter-Evolutionary arc. Unfortunately, the story doesn’t really accomplish what it intends.

As Counter-Evolutionary opens, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver have traveled to Counter-Earth (a duplicate planet on the other side of the sun) to track down the High Evolutionary. The twins believe the twisted scientist can confirm the suggestion that arose in the AXIS event, that Magneto isn’t their actual father. A concerned Rogue assembles a new Unity Squad, including Vision, Captain America (Sam Wilson), Brother Voodoo and Sabretooth to follow the twins.

The heroes wind up scattered to different parts of Counter-Earth, mixing with both the minions of the High Evolutionary and the rebels opposing his program of genocidal eugenics. Along the way, the twins learn the truth about their origins and the heroes fight off the High Evolutionary. New characters introduced include the Low Evolutionary (the rebellious son of the High) and Luminous, a character with the powers of both Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch whose origin ties into the twins’ new status quo. In the final pages, the High Evolutionary threatens a coming “Evolutionary War,” Vision is keeping an additional secret about the twins’ past from them and the fate of Wonder Man (whose energy and consciousness are extracted from Rogue’s body during the story) is unclear.

After writer Rick Remender did such a strong job with the first volume of Uncanny Avengers, Counter-Evolutionary feels like a significant letdown. He created an interesting scenario for the High Evolutionary and wrote the villain rather well. If that had been the focus of the arc instead of the retcon of the twins’ origin, it would have been on firmer ground. Remender also did some nice things with Sabretooth, repentant and conscience-stricken after AXIS.

But too much of the rest of Counter-Evolutionary feels off. Remender had done some memorable things with the Scarlet Witch in the first series, but she comes across as curiously blank in this arc. Quicksilver’s characterization also is off; he seems more like Speed of the Young Avengers than his usual sour self. The usually sharp relationship between the twins doesn’t seem to translate, either. It was nice that the hard-won Rogue/Scarlet Witch bond from the first volume survives to this story, but Rogue, in spite of being the spur for the new squad, doesn’t have a lot to do.

Vision spends much of the arc in a left-field A.I. romantic plot that might have been interesting in another context but feels misplaced in Counter-Evolutionary. Brother Voodoo comes across as nothing more than a mystical deus ex machina. And Captain America is so sparsely used that his panels could be cut with no impact on the story.

More than that, the selection of the new Unity Squad was heavily weighted toward the Avengers. After most of the original cast was rendered unavailable by recent plot turns, some new blood was needed. But Rogue winds up the only X-Man on the team, along with newly rehabilitated X-villain Sabretooth. With so many colorful X-Men out there, that this series features only one X-representative, makes it hard not to wonder if the various “Marvel is trying to kneecap the X-Men” conspiracy theories aren’t quite so far-fetched after all.

But the biggest problem with Counter-Evolutionary is the new origin of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. In short, it’s just not interesting. Nowhere near as compelling as their being the children of Magneto. Those family ties have been a crucial link between the X-Men and Avengers franchises for years. Losing it diminishes a potent source of drama in the Marvel Universe. All so that the comic book origin of the twins lines up with the one newly introduced for their movie counterparts. Is flipping a middle finger at FOX and their death grip on the movie rights to all of Marvel’s mutant properties really worth jettisoning one of the most interesting family dynamics in Marvel’s line? Because based on this story, it really isn’t. It plays as an editorial mandate that Remender sort of tries to make happen, even though the writer demonstrates no enthusiasm for the concept.

The usually dependable Daniel Acuña isn’t at the top of his game on art. His moody, soft-focus approach works for some parts of the story, especially the grittier, shadowy moments. But it’s not the best fit for the sci-fi aspects, which would have benefited from a sleek, shiny presentation. And Acuña’s characters can come off stiff and posed during some of the big action sequences. This seemed like not the best match of artist and material. Counter-Earth should really pop off the page, so Acuña’s native restraint worked against the storytelling and his muted, shadowy palette isn’t what the story needs.

It’s hard to recommend Counter-Evolutionary. Fans who followed the first Uncanny Avengers series and plan to follow the next iteration in the All-New All-Different launch will probably want to read it to keep up. Those curious about the new Quicksilver/Scarlet Witch status quo might also be interested. Otherwise, it’s not essential.

A version of this review originally appeared on www.thunderalleybcp.com

[Silas · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the previous Uncanny Avengers series, even though it did get kind of ridiculous. It was just interesting to see X-Characters interact with Avengers characters, and I guess get Avengers status. This volume comes after the previous one, though a lot has changed without any particular explanation (how Sabretooth and Brother Voodoo came to be with the team... Sam Wilson sort of makes sense replacing Steve on the team, but it would have been nice to mention it in the book). While this sort of carries on from the story in the previous volume, it doesn't have most of the team, and has lots of new members, which muddied the waters a bit and made the story rather less enjoyable.

[roberto ortiz · Rating 3 out of 5]

El Alto Evolucionador y como cambiaron el origen de Scarlet Witch y Quicksilver, que ya no serían mutantes ni hijos de Magneto, hasta que vuelva a cambiar.
Buena historia de caer en un planeta distante con cada integrante del grupo pasándola mal por su lado. Uno se acostumbra al dibujo de Daniel Acuña.