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Avengers: The Initiative (Collected Editions) #1-3
Avengers: The Initiative: The Complete Collection, Vol. 1
After the Civil War, the Initiative is the new face of the Marvel Universe! As pro-registration super teams populate the 50 states, Yellowjacket, War Machine, She-Hulk, Justice and Gauntlet train the heroes of tomorrow for the confl icts of today! But as the recruits fall in, who will graduate, who will fl unk out - and who will die?! Worry not, because for every soldier that doesn't make it, there are plenty more waiting in line! And when a vacancy arises at the Camp Hammond training ground, the new drill instructor will be a real Taskmaster! But as the Skrulls'Secret Invasion is revealed, the fate of the Initiative, the United States, and Planet Earth hang in the balance! COLLECTING: AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE 1-19, ANNUAL 1
496 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2017
7 people are currently reading
70 people want to read
About the author
Dan Slott
1,996 books451 followersDan Slott is an American comic book writer, the current writer on Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man, and is best known for his work on books such as Arkham Asylum: Living Hell, She-Hulk, Silver Surfer, The Superior Spider-Man, and Ren & Stimpy.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 2, 2018
During Civil War, the Superhuman Registration Act required everyone with powers be registered and trained. The Initiative is basically a boot camp for superheroes who are then deployed to a team that protects each of the fifty states. Lots of government underhandedness, cover-ups, and intrigue as these rookies harden into battle trained veterans. Stefano Caselli provides most of the art and it is fantastic with a detailed animation look.
This book covers the first half of the series from Civil War to Secret Invasion.
This book covers the first half of the series from Civil War to Secret Invasion.
April 18, 2017
"Avengers: The Initiative" presents us with a fascistic world for superheroes, where everyone with powers has to register them and become militarized or risk losing their powers and potentially their life.
Told through the perspective of the young super-powered people who become pawns of this new government initiative, the graphic novel explores government conspiracies, cover ups, and the loss of personhood in a militarized setting. Characters change significantly with military training and the imposition of controls on their lives and ways of thinking. These young superheroes undergo trauma and are changed by it as they watch friends die, lose their powers to a government that views its people as threats, and place the young superheroes into military conflicts.
Characters shift from people with foibles and distinct personality differences to weapons to be pointed at those who don't conform and submit. This is a narrative about the militarization and control of those who don't fit into easy social norms.
Told through the perspective of the young super-powered people who become pawns of this new government initiative, the graphic novel explores government conspiracies, cover ups, and the loss of personhood in a militarized setting. Characters change significantly with military training and the imposition of controls on their lives and ways of thinking. These young superheroes undergo trauma and are changed by it as they watch friends die, lose their powers to a government that views its people as threats, and place the young superheroes into military conflicts.
Characters shift from people with foibles and distinct personality differences to weapons to be pointed at those who don't conform and submit. This is a narrative about the militarization and control of those who don't fit into easy social norms.
October 2, 2019
The first year of Dan Slott's Intiative is terrific. Unfortunately, it weakens with the coming of Secret Invasion and then in the next volume, which would feature a new author.
Basic Training (#1-6). Though this first volume of The Initiative is largely made up of one-shots, it tells a larger story, one part soap-opera, one part drama, of what happens to the Marvel Universe after the Civil War. The foundation of that story is a series of strongly defined characters, some of them new, some of them old. Add in some mixed motives and some moral ambiguity. Make sure to repeatedly return to the issue of the New Warriors, something that this comic would rather wonderfully spool out over three years. Finally, add in some mysteries, like the fate of MVP and you have a very strong comic that goes beyond typical fightin' superhero fare. Even the two crossovers issues, focused on World War Hulk, are quite good because they tell their story in an unusual way and introduce yet another mystery (who is Mutant Zero!!??) and yet more moral ambiguity (with the Shadow Initiative). [5/5]
Triple Threat (#7). This is the sort of story that made The Initiative great: Slott takes characters previously in the background (the Scarlet Spiders), makes them into interesting characters, and then delivers a shocking surprise about their identities on the last page. The use of Peter Parker, and the attempt to save him from the effects of his unmasking (ah, in the very brief period when it was remembered) are also quite nice [5/5].
Annual (A#1). This collection of shorts about Initiative members has some nice background on these characters, but the stories are all too brief to be of any particular note [4/5].
KIA (#8-11) This story of an MVP clone gone crazy is great for a lot of reasons. It has the usual stellar characterization of The Initiative, it continues long-running plots concerning MVP and Gauntlet, it has some interesting storytelling, and it has a real sense of danger to it. Unfortunately that sense of danger is somewhat false, as the story uses the annoying trope of seeming to kill or maim lots of people while actually doing more minimal damage. Still, it's a good conclusion to year's worth of MVP mystery [4+/5].
Changing of the Guard (#12). This story both offers a denouement for "KIA" and closes the book on the first chapter of The Initiative by sending off our initial trainees. It's a great book-ender that really proves how much we've learned about these great new characters. Unfortunately, The Initiative will never again rise to the height of its first year [5/5].
Washout (#13). We get a bit of a view of the new class (though they'll never be as important as our original recruits), and a fun story about a "Washout", which is another strong character piece from Slott [4/5].
Secret Invasion (#14-19). Following the graduation of the original Initiative cadets, we've lost our core cast, other than a few guest star appearances that amount to where-are-they-now. That dramatically weakens this volume of The Initiative, which is no longer full of the characterization and subplots that we previously enjoyed. Slott tries to make it up by giving major focuses to two characters previously in the background: 3-D Man and The Crusader. And their stories are interesting, particularly the latter, but it's not enough. The biggest problem with this volume, though, is the constant long-winded fighting against skrulls, which gets old quickly [3+/5].
Basic Training (#1-6). Though this first volume of The Initiative is largely made up of one-shots, it tells a larger story, one part soap-opera, one part drama, of what happens to the Marvel Universe after the Civil War. The foundation of that story is a series of strongly defined characters, some of them new, some of them old. Add in some mixed motives and some moral ambiguity. Make sure to repeatedly return to the issue of the New Warriors, something that this comic would rather wonderfully spool out over three years. Finally, add in some mysteries, like the fate of MVP and you have a very strong comic that goes beyond typical fightin' superhero fare. Even the two crossovers issues, focused on World War Hulk, are quite good because they tell their story in an unusual way and introduce yet another mystery (who is Mutant Zero!!??) and yet more moral ambiguity (with the Shadow Initiative). [5/5]
Triple Threat (#7). This is the sort of story that made The Initiative great: Slott takes characters previously in the background (the Scarlet Spiders), makes them into interesting characters, and then delivers a shocking surprise about their identities on the last page. The use of Peter Parker, and the attempt to save him from the effects of his unmasking (ah, in the very brief period when it was remembered) are also quite nice [5/5].
Annual (A#1). This collection of shorts about Initiative members has some nice background on these characters, but the stories are all too brief to be of any particular note [4/5].
KIA (#8-11) This story of an MVP clone gone crazy is great for a lot of reasons. It has the usual stellar characterization of The Initiative, it continues long-running plots concerning MVP and Gauntlet, it has some interesting storytelling, and it has a real sense of danger to it. Unfortunately that sense of danger is somewhat false, as the story uses the annoying trope of seeming to kill or maim lots of people while actually doing more minimal damage. Still, it's a good conclusion to year's worth of MVP mystery [4+/5].
Changing of the Guard (#12). This story both offers a denouement for "KIA" and closes the book on the first chapter of The Initiative by sending off our initial trainees. It's a great book-ender that really proves how much we've learned about these great new characters. Unfortunately, The Initiative will never again rise to the height of its first year [5/5].
Washout (#13). We get a bit of a view of the new class (though they'll never be as important as our original recruits), and a fun story about a "Washout", which is another strong character piece from Slott [4/5].
Secret Invasion (#14-19). Following the graduation of the original Initiative cadets, we've lost our core cast, other than a few guest star appearances that amount to where-are-they-now. That dramatically weakens this volume of The Initiative, which is no longer full of the characterization and subplots that we previously enjoyed. Slott tries to make it up by giving major focuses to two characters previously in the background: 3-D Man and The Crusader. And their stories are interesting, particularly the latter, but it's not enough. The biggest problem with this volume, though, is the constant long-winded fighting against skrulls, which gets old quickly [3+/5].
June 3, 2025
like i said, that period in Marvel comics was just SOLID and this series is a proof
the most satisfying thing about the books from that CW to DR era is that a lot of series like this one, instead only throwing at us new characters, actually deepened the whole event and its consequences, so reading on you'd really could feel all the impact it had, especially in character motivations (I love how Stark just cannot grab a handle of anything - and like a perfect pitch from Slott, Fraction masterfully resolves it in his series later on)
highly enjoyable and pays off, if you stayed a fan of those comics
the most satisfying thing about the books from that CW to DR era is that a lot of series like this one, instead only throwing at us new characters, actually deepened the whole event and its consequences, so reading on you'd really could feel all the impact it had, especially in character motivations (I love how Stark just cannot grab a handle of anything - and like a perfect pitch from Slott, Fraction masterfully resolves it in his series later on)
highly enjoyable and pays off, if you stayed a fan of those comics
August 20, 2019
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this. After reading the Civil War event, I didn't really want anything to do with the Initiative and I just needed a break. So coming back to this in prep for the Secret Invasion event was excellent. This collection holds issues #1-19, with #14-19 being Secret Invasion comics, so I read most of this and then paused to read the others that were recommended reading beforehand.
I really loved all the characters we get to see in this volume and there are a lot of them. Some weren't as exciting as others, but overall we see them go from new cadets to graduates on a team which was fun. This collection also didn't pull any punches--characters die, there is betrayal, and it can get pretty dark. Wonderful.
That being said, not all characters/plots are new and the stories aren't as clearly translated here. I could see it being frustrating for some readers who want to be able to jump in. Overall, this wasn't too much of an issue since the writers did give notes and I could look things up. I think the sections for Secret Invasion were the ones that tended to rely a lot on knowing previous lore, but it flowed okay. I'm interested to see where the Initiative will go now that the true intentions were revealed.
For: fans of superheroes/comics; readers wanting a comic with a focus on characters and plot; readers looking for a bridge from Civil War to Secret Invasion.
Possible red flags: characters in peril; violence; blood; death; imprisonment; prejudice; language; implied sex and sexual situations; dismemberment; bullying; racism; manipulation; conspiracies; distrust and paranoia; invasion/colonialism; religious extremism; impersonation; gore.
I really loved all the characters we get to see in this volume and there are a lot of them. Some weren't as exciting as others, but overall we see them go from new cadets to graduates on a team which was fun. This collection also didn't pull any punches--characters die, there is betrayal, and it can get pretty dark. Wonderful.
That being said, not all characters/plots are new and the stories aren't as clearly translated here. I could see it being frustrating for some readers who want to be able to jump in. Overall, this wasn't too much of an issue since the writers did give notes and I could look things up. I think the sections for Secret Invasion were the ones that tended to rely a lot on knowing previous lore, but it flowed okay. I'm interested to see where the Initiative will go now that the true intentions were revealed.
For: fans of superheroes/comics; readers wanting a comic with a focus on characters and plot; readers looking for a bridge from Civil War to Secret Invasion.
Possible red flags: characters in peril; violence; blood; death; imprisonment; prejudice; language; implied sex and sexual situations; dismemberment; bullying; racism; manipulation; conspiracies; distrust and paranoia; invasion/colonialism; religious extremism; impersonation; gore.
Read
February 17, 2022I'm thinking about the rating for this one. I had a feeling that Henry Peter Gyrich would be a villain here, since I've seen him as a villain elsewhere in the Marvel Universe. I'd read Civil War and several of the main tie-in books associated with that big event. This initiative was born out of fallout from that, so I knew where that had come from. And I'd read the main Secret Invasion book and other tie-ins to that, so I could follow along with the Secret Invasion section, too. I didn't know most of the young heroes-in-training, and I guess it's good that I didn't have time to get too attached to many of them, because well before the Secret Invasion really kicks into gear, a number of them have been brutally killed off. Then more of them get killed off through that.
Rhodey is nominally in charge at the Initiative's training camp, Camp Hammond, but he's being kept out of the loop for the most part. It's a loop of evilness, but he's caught quite unprepared. Some of the young superheroes really have learned lessons, despite their first drill sergeant of an instructor, the Gauntlet, being brutal and verbally abusive with them. Their next instructor is the Taskmaster. This is really not an improvement. Assorted villains have joined up with the Initiative. Some are still villainous, but not on the scale of the evil powers-that-be that are really running the camp. Some of the villains are more along the lines of former villains who are trying to reform.
It's an interesting read, and explains a lot of what was going on in the preparations and implementation of the "fifty state" initiative. Just don't get attached to the characters.
Rhodey is nominally in charge at the Initiative's training camp, Camp Hammond, but he's being kept out of the loop for the most part. It's a loop of evilness, but he's caught quite unprepared. Some of the young superheroes really have learned lessons, despite their first drill sergeant of an instructor, the Gauntlet, being brutal and verbally abusive with them. Their next instructor is the Taskmaster. This is really not an improvement. Assorted villains have joined up with the Initiative. Some are still villainous, but not on the scale of the evil powers-that-be that are really running the camp. Some of the villains are more along the lines of former villains who are trying to reform.
It's an interesting read, and explains a lot of what was going on in the preparations and implementation of the "fifty state" initiative. Just don't get attached to the characters.
January 28, 2020
Surprisingly good. Quite the page-turner. I was expecting something "nice" for lack of a better word, like Young Avengers or Avengers Academy... but this had a bunch more darkness than I expected. It was both very of its time, but also timeless. The plots kept me interested, and the characters endeared themselves to me. The best parts were the small stories, delving into specific characters' backstories. The final storyline, the Secret Invasion tie-in, was really entertaining as well, although it did end on a weird note, with a possible cliffhanger? I don't know if its something that would be tied up more in other Secret Invasion books or just the next trade of this title. I hope to get that eventually.
August 12, 2019
So, the first few issues (with KIA) is pure shit
With the second wave of recruits, it starts to pick up... but then Secret Invasion starts and it devolves into a jumbled mess of boring, meaningless blurry action.
The one cool thing about this book is that all the Initiative teams are composed of very obscure heroes that have appeared in various comics. It’s kind of cool to see them. Every single one comes from somewhere else in Marvel. I dug that.
Overall, this sucks. Even the art is kind of boring.
I’m mad at myself for buying both volumes. Now I HAVE to read the second one. Hopefully it’s better.
With the second wave of recruits, it starts to pick up... but then Secret Invasion starts and it devolves into a jumbled mess of boring, meaningless blurry action.
The one cool thing about this book is that all the Initiative teams are composed of very obscure heroes that have appeared in various comics. It’s kind of cool to see them. Every single one comes from somewhere else in Marvel. I dug that.
Overall, this sucks. Even the art is kind of boring.
I’m mad at myself for buying both volumes. Now I HAVE to read the second one. Hopefully it’s better.
July 9, 2022
Re-reading this and still enjoying it.
This collects the stories about the start of The Initiative, KIA and The Skrull Invasion.
Don't expect all the heroes to make it out and get ready to meet some new ones as The Avengers try to undo the damage caused by The New Warriors and fill slots in teams in all 50 states, which works out at about 250 trained heroes.
Not an easy thing to do, especially when these trainees are young and impetuous and some of the instructors don't get along and as with everything, their is a shady Government department running things. Oh yeah and the world has been infiltrated by Skrulls.
This collects the stories about the start of The Initiative, KIA and The Skrull Invasion.
Don't expect all the heroes to make it out and get ready to meet some new ones as The Avengers try to undo the damage caused by The New Warriors and fill slots in teams in all 50 states, which works out at about 250 trained heroes.
Not an easy thing to do, especially when these trainees are young and impetuous and some of the instructors don't get along and as with everything, their is a shady Government department running things. Oh yeah and the world has been infiltrated by Skrulls.
August 29, 2018
3.5? Some of these were just a little...off
September 30, 2019
love the plot twist
February 8, 2021
Starts strong and ends strong with a little lull in the middle.
Want to read
February 10, 2025Volume 1- 5 stars, 2016
Volume 2- Currently reading
Volume 2- Currently reading
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews