Avengers Academy, Vol. 3: Second Semester

Avengers Academy (Collected Editions)

by Christos Gage, Sean Chen (Illustrator), Tom Raney (Illustrator)

Collects Avengers Academy #21-28. New students, new teachers and new campus - same threats! It's a bright day for the student body, as Pym invites all young superhumans seeking direction to enroll in the Avengers' training program - including X-23, the new White Tiger and Lightspeed. And they're joined by new instructor Hawkeye! But tragedy strikes when a faculty member is murdered, and the killer hides in their midst! Can the new and old students band together to root out the traitor, or is the Avengers Academy's future doomed before it begins?

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Young Adult, Superheroes, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics

185 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 23, 2012

About the author

Chris N. Gage is a writer for comic books and television.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had no idea who any of these Avenger kids were...with the exception of Reptil.
And the only reason I recognized him was because I watch Superhero Squad with my kids. Color me embarrassed.
Also, I didn't realize this was volume 3 when I grabbed it from the library, so I was obviously missing a lot of backstory right off the bat.
With that in mind, feel free to take my review with a grain of salt.

It was ok, but I wasn't so blown away that I'll try to find more of these to read.
I'd say that the LGB storyline was different, but it wasn't shockingly different from anything that I've read before. I think it's nice to be able to say that there are quite a few openly homosexual superheros in comics now. Unfortunately, having no idea who these kids were, I had a hard time connecting with their angst. Sorry.

It was cool to see the Runaways crossover, but I haven't read that title in years, so I'm missing quite a bit of their recent history as well.

So. I'm not interested in reading anymore about any of these guys, but it wasn't an awful experience.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a ton of teenage angst in this one. The stories are all over the place as are the dialogues and characters. The artwork keeps this at a three star. Barely.

OVERALL GRADE: C plus to B minus.

[Tomás Sendarrubias García · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pues con los chicos de la Academia aún recuperándose de los efectos de Miedo Encarnado y del abandono de Velo para pasarse al bando de Alquimia, van a tener que hacer frente a nuevos cambios, entre ellos la decisión de Hank Pym de trasladarse a la Costa Oeste, al antiguo rancho que ocuparon allí los Vengadores de la Costa Oeste, y abrir las puertas de la Academia Vengadores a cualquier joven que busque entrenamiento para poder controlar sus habilidades. Así, en este tomo, nos vamos a encontrar con mucha gente en las instalaciones de la Academia, algunos solo serán figuras en segundo plano, como Chico Listo, Chico Murciélago, Corredor Cohete o Power Man, y otros van a incorporarse a la alineación fija, en concreto, otras: Rayo Iris, la Julie Power de Power Pack ahora convertida en algo más que una adolescente; y la nueva Tigre Blanco, que aún trata por reemplazar a su hermano, Héctor Ayala, el Tigre Blanco original.

En este tomo, la Academia Vengadores tiene que replantearse su propia función mientras hace frente a una serie de amenazas procedentes del interior: el asesinato de Yocasta, la llegada de un medio fantasma del espacio que intenta acabar con toda la academia, y la presencia de un traidor entre los miembros iniciales del equipo, uno de los que llegó del futuro para derrotar a Kovac y que se ha quedado sustituyendo al original. Y con todo esto, además, comenzarán a relacionarse los chicos de la Academia Vengadores con los jóvenes mutantes que siguen a Cíclope en Utopía, en la cercana San Francisco. Así, Cíclope, Magneto, Emma Frost y por otro lado X-23 se convertirán en invitados en este tomo, con el interés de mostrarnos (creo) el primer encuentro entre Magneto y Mercurio después de los sucesos de Dinastía de M.

Y bueno, pues Gage y los dibujantes que le acompañan vuelven a hacer lo de siempre, un número entretenido que nos permite ahondar más en personajes como Relámpago, Tigre Blanco o Rayo Iris, y que sirve de preludio para el último tomo de la colección, en el que la Academia Vengadores tendrá que verse las caras con los X-Men en su cruce de Vengadores vs Patrulla-X.

[Honora Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Might be one of my favorite arcs so far, I have a soft spot for the Runaways and enjoy seeing the teen teams interact plus the beginning of Julie and Karolina's relationship was sweet to see

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

The series takes a significantly bold step in the wrong direction. Moving the school to the old West Coast Avengers compound is a good idea and even opening the doors to more teens with powers make sense but its glossed over here so quickly its ineffectual. Random heroes just show up, leave, and show up again its less a school and more of a hostel. Half of the villains in the first part of the book are soooo stupid. Without spoiling it I hate anytime one of these guys show up. The inclusion of X-23 was decent because she's a great character and always leads to some drama but I still am unsure why Logan or Scott would think it makes sense. Then the Runaways are brought in. I love Runaways. One of my favorite series ever, but many times writers don't know what to do with them. While I'm glad Old Lace is back, Hank's desire to "parent" the kids has been done multiple times before and better. Add that to the murder mystery in this book which the readers are unnecessarily tricked and I think you have a book with too many ideas that editorial should have gone through again. Overall, a disappointment.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fuck of a lot heavier than I expected. I thought it'd just be sort of mindless superhero fluff, but it was actually kind of brutal in parts? Not because it was bad or graphic or anything, but because it was really open and direct about a lot of issues that you don't really see covered in mainstream shit? I mean, hell, when does media talk about depression and suicide without some sort of bullshit stigma? Or childhood sexual abuse and rape?
Even if I don't super love any of the characters (though there are none that I actually dislike), I would still kiss this comic book on the mouth.

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's weird how many Avengers Academy comics always have top reviews by people who don't read Avengers Academy and appear confused that they don't know the characters. To be fair, I almost started here for the Runaways crossover, but I'm glad I didn't. It's also weird that this is labelled volume 3 when it is in fact volume 4. I know the last volume was a tie-in to Fear Itself but it was also the finale of the first arc of the comic, so it should be made clear that it's necessary to read. Anyway, I'll stop complaining.

After the events of Fear Itself, the Avengers Academy students are in disarray. Veil has joined the billionaire who is trying to poach students from them, and Mettle is struggling with ptsd after having taken a life. Speedball and Justice have left, and in their place Hawkeye has joined the faculty. They also moved to the former headquarters of the West Coast Avengers and opened the school up to more students, including Lightspeed (Julie Power), X-23, and White Tiger. Oh, and someone murdered Jocasta.

The volume starts with Hank investigating the murder of Jocasta, and whether he can restore her, until he accidentally admits Hybrid, the child of a mutant and a Dire Wraith, into the school which proves to be a distraction when he starts eating the faculty and students. After defeating him they discover what really happened to Jocasta and we get more of our new villain, Jeremy Briggs. Briggs is a tech billionaire philanthropist with no actual concern for human life. He claims that the age of heroes and villains is over and he wants them to see that the real solutions will come from the private sector.

And then the Runaways show up to find Old Lace. The last two writer on Runaways had weird axes to grind. Terry Moore went out of his way to get rid of Xavin and then never acknowledged her again. Kathryn Immomen immediately killed Old Lace and dumped her body in another dimension. The Runaways' appearance here mostly seems to be to fix things. They think Old Lace has come back to life in the universe they sent her to, and they need Hank's help to get there. Meanwhile Karolina is still grieving Xavin and worried she'll never find love again. By the end, they've got the velociraptor back, Karolina is dating Lightspeed, and Hank has turned out to be the only adult who actually wants to help the Runaways instead of throwing them in foster homes. He's giving them a homeschooling robot and asked them to check in with him monthly. It's a nice little coda to their adventures, and a much better ending than the one they got.

[RubiGiráldez RubiGiráldez · Rating 4 out of 5]

La Academia Vengadores abre totalmente sus puertas. Esto, teniendo en cuenta que la promoción original super contenida de alumnos a cargo de Hank Pym y Tigra han tenido más que problemas en su vida académica, parece anticipar nuevas formas de caos y desafíos. Y desde luego que esto no tardará en pasar (y no precisamente por acoger a alguien como X-23). ¿Un "asesinato" en pleno campus? ¿Una amenaza metamorfa buscando consumir energías de superhéroes? ¿Y qué planean las contrapartes futuras de los alumnos originales de la Academia al trasladar la mente de un Reptil adulto al joven?

Christos Gage sigue en plena forma escribiendo estos personajes juveniles del universo Marvel que solo crecen o acogen otros como los Runaways. A la vez que el hecho de tener a personajes más maduros y desarrollados en décadas de historias como Mercurio o Hank Pym, se complementan en una narración coral de autosuperación y redención al tener que compartir experiencias en la más que complicada labor de ser un héroe y no caer (o morir) en el intento. El Legado también sigue siendo otro tema clave. Para ello, hay personajes como la nueva encarnación del Tigre Blanco que más que sentir la responsabilidad de aprender a manejar su amuleto místico, lo que más le preocupa es seguir manteniendo las expectativas como ejemplo de superación y representación de la comunidad latinoamericana. Otros temas más abiertamente tratados como la identidad sexual y de género tienen cabida a la hora de seguir a estos personajes que deben luchar por labrar un mejor futuro.

Por supuesto, las exigencias conceptuales de dinámicas de "super comic book" deben de atender a las necesidades de promover algún conflicto fácil como ese crossover con los Runaways o encumbrar algún antagonista entre arcos argumentales como ese Híbrido.

Con ya solo un volumen más para completar esta colección. La verdad es que me apena que una cabecera así no se haya mantenido en el canon Marvelita por mucho que se necesitase de otro equipo creativo o algún parón de años entre etapas.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read and enjoyed the beginning of this series way back when it came out, so a sale on Comixology gave me a chance to finish up the series. Gage has a good handle on these kids, and their dialogue and struggles seem legitimate for young adults in their situation. Their idealism and more black-and-white perspective on the world feels accurate to my experience at that age and my experience with others at that age. The only thing I was disappointed in was seeing X-23 in a more prominent role, which she does in the next volume.

[Daniel Ballard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This took me a loooong time to get through. Partly because I kept going to bed sleepy, but partly because I just didn’t care about any of these people. I read this for the two part Runaways issues at the end, but decided to read the whole volume in case I needed to storywise. I absolutely did not. Could have come in and just read those and been fine. In fact those were the only issues really worth reading. I think Gage did a pretty good job of getting their voice, even if things all went a little too smoothly. But hey, Old Lace is back and I live that.

[Jdetrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so impressed by this title, which deftly handles multiple plotlines with ease. Its smart, refusing to go with easy answers, and willing to change its status quo whenever the storyline requires it. Its also graced with some solid artwork. This is the best Avengers book I've read for some time.

[Judith Groen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book quite a lot. I didn't think I would, but it was really very good. There is a lot going on and there are a few new characters that are explained very well so you quickly get a feel for them. I loved the plotline and the underlying lesson it taught us. Oh and the two issues with the Runaways were a treat! Old Lace is back, yay!

[zara]

I feel like there was a shift in tone here, and I was not a fan. I feel like we forgot all about the 'future supervillains' kind of thing, and that was the exciting part for me. However, the new additions are cool as heck!

[Vulco1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty good

[christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was really cute! I like the idea of the Avengers having their own school like the x-men do. The characters were fun and not cheesy like some of the students in Wolverine and the X-Men.

[KT Pettiette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okey.

So, I bought this book as a part of my goal to read through X-23's entire comic history. I mean I guess I've read worse but...

The story is the main problem. There were some cool moments or fights and stuff, but they couldn't really pick a storyline here. The whole future Reptil plot was pretty confusing, and I feel like it still would've been even if I knew these characters before this book. And then it switched to another plot with another set of characters I'd never seen before. Again, there were some nice character interactions and a little bit of cool action, but there just needed to be a better overarching plot. Oh, and of COURSE they had to make someone gay. Because we can't just make good comics with cool stories anymore. Gotta prove a point.

The characters actually seem pretty cool, thus coming from someone who didn't know they existed until this point. Actually, I didn't dislike any of them; they all have interesting personalities and archetypes, and their relationships seemed nice. That only applies to the main group. There were also a lot of other characters who didn't really seem to do anything at all, so my thought is, why are they there? Also, X could've gotten more spotlight, but that's just my bias. Her character was still very... her, and it was still cool to get to see her interact with more characters.

Overall, there's something here, it's just not quite there yet, if that makes any sense. It's confusing and doesn't have a straightforward plot, but these characters and I guess the potential for good stories to come out of them will keep this at 3 stars.

[Sylvester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Avengers Academy reopens for new students, there are some originals: Butterball, Juston, White Tiger while some older ones joined like X-23. The Academy also formed a new relationship with the mutants for mutual development. Even when everything seemed nice, Reptil has a secret that will save the youngster from a terrible disaster. It was part mystery and part coming of age fiction. Butterball was a terrible character but overall the story was interesting and we see all the main characters grew (Hazmat grew bitchier).

The last two issues were crossover with The Runaways, it was pretty fun even if not much actions were there. Reptil, Victor and White Tiger bonded over their Hispanic status; The dudes Mettle and Chase hung out; Nico and Hazmats were both nagging hags; Striker, Lightspeed and Karolina discussed their sexuality; Tigra and Klara shared their burden; Hank and Molly shared their joy. Everyone played an important role and there was also a flashback of the painful memories that made them become heroes.

This is the redeeming volume of the series.

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. A lot of this book is a mess. It opens with a time-travel plot in which future Reptil replaces his past self so that he can make sure upcoming events turn out the same as they did in his past—but I never understood why there was a risk of them happening differently? And Hybrid is a D-lister villain who brings nothing to the table. Still, the characters and their interactions seem to grow logically out of the previous volumes, and they kept holding my attention. I loved the Runaways guest appearance and Hank Pym's argument why the Avengers are still necessary (though I don't buy his argument that he'd have been just as much a psychological mess if he'd never joined). Despite its flaws, thumbs up for me.

[Filip Różanek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hybrid plotline seems to have been cut short and rushed too early. Many new students didn't got too good characterisation and were only famous backgroudn characters. However, I enjoyed both apperances of X-Men (with a lot of tension on Magneto-Quicksilver-Finesse line and some good humor) and two-issues Runaways apperance - it was extremely fun to see two groups interact and befriend each other and find out in the end that they are much more alike than they would want to admit (also, Moon-Boy stole the last issue with just one line).
It was okay book - main plotline was meh, but the guest issues are really good.

[Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume is possibly a bit bigger than it needs to be because it's one full story and then a second story that only lasts a few issues (Yay Runaways!).

The first story is a good look at why this book works. There are tons of stories going on, tons of new characters but I don't feel cheated on any of them. Reptil from the future is a great little twist on the normal future plot lines, although I'm sure we will probably never see it again so I'm not sure how happy I am about that.

The Runaways show up for a crossover which is my favorite because I love these characters. I do need to read volume 3 because I don't have much of an idea of what is going on with these kids here.

[Mely · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was really disappointing -- partly because a bunch of new characters were dumped in all at once, without much to distinguish them, and partly because the new artist is terribly clunky and does the usual superhero melodrama fetish porn. The emotions suddenly seem much more broadly sketched and much less affecting.

Some of the plot twists regarding known characters and ideological conflicts are still really good.

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too many characters, I think. And too much going on.

I love the Runaways. But when the parallelism between the Runaways and the newer group of Avengers Academy is made clear, it just makes both sides seem so stale and formulaic.

Also, the big "reveal" on the last page was disappointing. Part of the theory behind a bildungsroman, I think, is that at the end you become your own parent. Otherwise, the roman doesn't really build. Is that right? Am I saying that right?

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Increasing the student body in this volume is nothing short of brilliant. I definitely enjoyed the first 20 issues of this comic, but the increase in scope here makes them seem like nothing. On top of this look at many teen characters who haven’t gotten the spotlight for years we get superb characterization of everyone involved. Oh, and there’s some fun adventure along the way.

[M.i. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Avengers in training seem to have a lot of growing up to do, as they try to figure themselves out and also their place in the world. Interestingly enough, the Runaways, who would know a thing or two about what the 'Avengers to be' are going through make an appearance in the second half of the book.

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are and old fan of Avengers comics this series is just a must read.
The dire wraith hybrid storyline deserved to be developed in a full Marvel summer crossover, it could had been far and far better than "Fear itself".

[Matt Sabonis · Rating 4 out of 5]

More good stuff. The first arc, while a bit overly long, is good, with some very interesting character moments. The second arc, the one with the Runaways, is a lot of fun, and there's some great dimension added to the relationship between the Runaways and the Academy kids.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story with Hybrid felt like re-treading the same ground. Quite a few of the new characters did nothing to stand out, and then left almost right away. There must be some other book to track down, but I can't say I really care about them anyway.

[William Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best Avengers book Marvel has going, hands down. It's all heart and humanity and leaves all the overblown garbage to Bendis.

[Katy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished the whole run. What a great book! I loved how it came full circle with Veil opening and closing the story and reflecting on what's changed.

[Spidey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una colección que sí empiezas a leer ya no puedes parar y te engancharás con sus personajes. Sin duda de lo mejorcito que están publicando de Avengers