As STANDOFF unfolds, the Uncanny Avengers come to the aid of S.H.I.E.L.D. during a manhunt — and make a shocking discovery about an ally. But what does all that have to do with the mystery unfolding in Pleasant Hill? And it was bound to happen with Deadpool in the ranks, but the members of the Unity Squad are about to lose their minds! Will one of them be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to get them out of their latest mess? Then, Ultron returns — but his creator, original Avenger Hank Pym, is now in control! Or is he? Not everyone is happy to see Hank back, but where the former Ant-Man goes, can the Wasp be far behind? Plus: the Ragin' Cajun Gambit (for real) — and a fateful decision for one of Earth's Uncanniest Heroes!
In addition to two interesting Pleasant Hill crossovers (that I rated Three Stars), there's one of my, now favourite Ultron stories ever. Hank Pym returns 'wearing' Ultron! The Uncanny Avengers have to determine what's going on and how to deal with it. A great rip-roaring adventure well worth the read. I recommend this as the starting point for Duggan's run. :) 8 out 12, Four Stars, for the Ultron story. 2019 and 2017
The two-part Standoff crossover that starts this book was your standard substandard event crossover fare, which is a shame as the four part Hank Pym/Ultron story that comprises the rest of this volume is excellent. Heartbreakingly excellent for a huge Pym fan like me. Will you ever have a chance for redemption, Hank? Maybe one day... Probably not... Sigh...
This volume was good, but marred by the editorial decisions with the two distinct stories. The opening (the initial two issues / chapters) features an extended action sequence with the team stopping The Wrecker. ("Uh, you guys aren't going to believe this -- It's The Wrecker. Again." quips a disappointed Deadpool, as said B-list bad guy was briefly dealt with in Volume 1.) All of a sudden it then segues into a mindscrew plot with Rogue realizing they're stuck in an alternate universe (I think) that was actually good, but this thread was abruptly dropped without further explanation.
The latter four issues / chapters feature the next story, the unexpected return of Hank Pym (the artist formerly known as Ant-Man . . . and Giant-Man . . . and Goliath . . . and Yellowjacket -- damn, maybe he was really Sasha Baron Cohen!) who is now reborn as Ultron. The guest appearance of Wasp - a.k.a. Janet Van Dyne, also the ex-Mrs. Pym - in action with the group was a definite asset.
It starts off with Avengers hunting the Wrecker and then finding about Pleasant hill and that ties to the Standoff event which leads to them forgetting their identities and then there is this great convo that happened between Xavier and Rogue and its a great moment where she rescues the team but the main story is the return of Pymtron and well is it Hank or Ultron masquerading as Hank and when the revelations come it will change the Avengers forever. Will they battle this foe or save their friend? And this involves everyone from Cap to Iron Man to Wasp to Vision and its an epic story that I just love!
Its a cool story and deals with the "hero becomes villain" trope and manages to do it well and brings the old flare back and conflicts and poses some questions about Hank Pym like was he ever a hero? And its kinda well done and the fight is just epic but the art of Larraz is just too good and makes for a great read for sure! One of the better Avengers stories!
Enjoyably forgettable...Or was it forgettably enjoyable?
Nice art showcasing some honest-to-God superpowers for a change, though it was obvious from the get-go that things were just sailing for yet another confrontation with Ultron before a return to the status quo.
That was a tough one. The first part of the volume is about the uncanny avengers in pleasant hill and a bunch of maria hills running around with the tesseract shards. It started pretty good but we are left hanging which I can only assume is in another series? super baffled. The second and bigger story is about Ultron and Hank Pym, I wont spoil it but it was pretty good. I can see how some people might be ticked off about this story but I liked it, lots of good action and conflict between the avengers, ultron, and Hank. The art is good for marvel I liked it. I still like this team, I am a sucker for Cable so onward to vol.3
The two Standoff tie-ins were meh. The rest was pretty cool.
This version of the Uncanny Avengers is finally growing on me. I like the interplay, even if it is still bizarre seeing Rogue and Cable on an Avengers team. The Ultron story was cool and intriguing. I’m glad it wasn’t just a Hank Pym resurrection. I look forward to seeing where else it goes.
A fun and action packed title with some well placed laughs. 4/5
The Uncanny Avengers get swept up into crossover hell as part of Standoff to begin with, so I've copied over my review from the Standoff collection rather than repeat myself:
These issues are more of a mini-arc within Standoff itself as the Uncanny and All-New All-Different Avengers are drawn to Pleasant Hill by mysterious twin Maria Hills, and find themselves under Kobik's influence and assimilated into Pleasant Hill itself. This ends a little too quick, as if they're mostly just being forced into Standoff by editorial mandate. Oh, wait. Still, solid if unremarkable, especially for as good a writer as Gerry Duggan.
Filling out the rest of the volume is the four issue 'The Man Who Fell To Earth' story which reintroduces Hank Pym and Ultron after they were ejected into space during the Rage of Ultron graphic novel last year. This has all the potential to be a really good Pym/Ultron/Wasp/Vision story, but instead becomes more of a brawler story with some really predictable twists along the way. Whilst it's nice to get a little more closure on this story, it kind of ends in the same place as it started.
Art-wise, Ryan Stegman pencils the Standoff issues with his usual flair, and none of the weird arms and legs that ruined his first few issues of this series, whilst Pepe Larraz fills in on the Ultron storyline. He's a great superhero artist and gets a lot of opportunities to show this off throughout the four issues.
Despite the glut of Avengers titles at the moment, Uncanny Avengers does have a reason to exist, even if that's just to tell the stories the other Avengers books don't seem to have time to tell. It's fun, but not quite as deep as I'd like so far.
Weak. Ugly. Needlessly trashes a Hero. This is not my Avengers.
This is a horrible team of "avengers". In the first half of the book they flail about the Standoff storyline. Then in the second half of the book they fail to rescue Hank Pym from Ultron. And once again Hank Pym is trashed. I'm sick of Marvel treating him like this. I love Hank Pym. He's a founding member! A boyhood hero of mine!
This reads like an amateur Avengers book written and created by amateurs. Please bring back the real Avengers.
Aside from the absurdly inappropriate inclusion of characters like Deadpool and Cable (these two clearly shouldn't be involved with anything to do with the Avengers), this is pretty fun read. I'm a big Human Torch fan and I love the inclusion of Doctor Voodoo. It would be nice see more conflict between the Torch and Quicksilver, but I suppose they've both buried that hatchet and moved on (it's been so long since I've read the first volume, I've forgotten if that was addressed or not).
The law of diminishing return is in full affect here as Ultron makes a reappearance to trouble our heroes again.
It's not that Ultron is a bad villain, its that there really isn't a new way to use him. He is always the guy who has ultra hate for the avengers, and is always trying to kill every organic thing and Vision always has to stop him blah blah blah. The twist here is that he is half ultron, half Hank Pym. So at first, the question of whether this is Hank Pym returned is suspected, but its pretty obvious from the get go that things are not as they seem. What follows is a pretty by the numbers story that you can probably guess how its going to go down. And it does.
This volume also has a couple of tie - ins for the standoff event, but that just makes it worse because it's just a piece of the whole story really.
Not a bad volume, but nothing to really stand out either.
A solid entry in the ongoing run. The first two issues tie-in to the Standoff crossover, and are best read as part of that event. The second arc, a 4-issue tale with a surprise return of a character, is a well-constructed actioner with some good lines and an emotional finish. Pepe Larraz’s art kicks ass, which certainly helps.
La verdad es que no le tenía muchas expectativas, porque el primer volumen me aburrió bastante, pero tengo que admitir que este supera mil veces al primero. Si bien no es el mejor comic que leí, la historia me pareció súper entretenida e interesante.
First half is mixed up with the Standoff series, so doesn't make total sense without reading it. Second half is better. The return of Hank Pym and Ultron.
Uncanny Avengers Cilt 2: Dünyaya Düşen Adam ile hikâyeye kaldığımız yerden devam ediyoruz. Cildin ilk yarısında Pleasant Hill’de geçen olaylara değiniliyor. Açmaz cildinde gördüğümüz Uncanny Avengers ekibinin, oraya varmadan önce neler yaşadığını ve olayların nasıl geliştiğini bu kez daha detaylı bir şekilde görüyoruz.
Ardından eski bir dost ve eski bir düşman, tek bir bedende dünyaya geri dönüyor: Hank Pym ve Ultron. Hank Pym, Ultron’u öldürmek için kendini feda etmişti; fakat bedeninin küçük bir parçası Ultron’la birleşmiş bir hâlde geri dönüyor. Güçlü bir manipülasyonla dostlarını kandırmaya çalışsa da, sonunda Janet gerçeği fark ediyor ve kaçınılmaz olan gerçekleşiyor. Avengers takımları, eski dostlarının yüzüyle bütünleşmiş düşmanına karşı savaşmak zorunda kalıyor.
Vision ile Ultron’un yüzleştiği sahneler bana doğrudan filmdeki o unutulmaz anları hatırlattı ve açıkçası çok hoşuma gitti. Her ne kadar sonuç olumlu gibi görünse de, Ultron’un Hank Pym üzerinden yaptığı manipülasyonlar ekibin psikolojisini altüst etti. Onlar için hem duygusal hem de yıpratıcı bir süreçti. Ultron’u uzaya yolladıklarında bile içlerinde bir burukluk vardı.
Ben özellikle Ultron’la geçen bu hikâyeyi çok beğendim. Yaratıcısını öldürüp, ardından onun bedeniyle eski ekibine saldırması oldukça güçlü bir kurguydu. Keşke Açmaz gibi bir hikâye yerine bu konuya odaklanıp daha kapsamlı bir cilt yapsalardı; eminim çok daha etkileyici olurdu.
Okuması keyifli, çizimleri ise her zamanki gibi harikaydı. Hikâye bittiğinde geriye yalnızca sessizlik kaldı, insanlığın yankısı bir makinenin bedeninde kaybolurken..
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
...And wishing that this title had been left out of the chronology that I used because it really is far more of an Avengers title than an x-title. But that isn't why I am giving this such a low rating.
For the first half of this book, we get something like a third of a big crossover with other books. And not really clued into the rest of the story. Not a great way to collect the story.
For the second half, there's a weird merging of Hank Pym and Ultron. I suppose if you are long term Avengers readers this storyline is important. But for someone without that weight of history, the story just comes off as silly/stupid. It's pretty clear from early on what is going to happen and there is just a lot of melodrama (to be fair, it is probably the same kind of melodrama I would like in an x-book so I most likely am being a little unfair because I don't know the characters) that leads nowhere.
The stories in this one just feel like dead ends. And why Deadpool is in this title is beyond me. They aren't handling his trademark humor well and also aren't really getting the softer side of his character either. He feels a bit like a cardboard cutout of the "edgy" Deadpool they wanted...
This collection was kind of weird since it included the Standoff crossover issues, but explained nothing after it. They're just home and Cap is young (and Hydra, but we don't know that yet).
The Ultron story was pretty cool though, and had a good emotional resonance, especially when the Vision enters and confronts him. And poor Janet! Ultron makes her believe, for a moment, that her husband returned. And then she has to help kill him, while he has half of Hank's face and his voice.
I'm not the biggest Ultron fan, but I want to see where they go next with him.
Stand-off was fine, and this book had an okay time navigating it - but holy wads of fuck and shit does it get better when releasing the Event Shackles!
Hank Pym comes back, fused with Ultron, and shit does sideways with lot of punching and energy and big screen action. I could almost feel the subwoofer rumble in some scenes.
I’m gonna give it to Duggan, Larraz and Curiel - this is a book that took full advantage of the infinite canvas and created a super-fun story. Duggan, you’re forgiven for volume 1...for now. Make sure volume 3 is just as bonkers will ya?
This volume was another mixed bag, but at least it finished strong. The “Avengers: Standoff” tie-ins really didn’t need to be included here, since they were so disconnected from the ongoing story and there isn’t a recap page to catch you up. You can skip them without missing anything.
The actual main story of the Unity Squad versus Pymtron was great! It served as a good follow-up to “Rage of Ultron,” and it makes me wish Marvel did more with the concept of Hank being a major villain.
Overall, an improvement from volume 1. Let’s hope this series keeps trending upward!
This volume feature a much better story then the first volume. I ignore the fact that the first two issues are setting up a story not to be resolved in this book, but I will say it has peaked my interest in reading that story so it is on my list of "To Reads". The last 4 issues feel grand in scope and is a great read. The artwork is much better than the previous volume. Stegman tones down his style in this book making it much more of a joy to look at.
Got a bit confused in this one - as the story seemed to take a sharp right turn. It went from a prison without walls to the return of Hank Pym and Ultron. It took a little while for me to get my head around Pym being the creator of both Ultron and Vision (as I was so used to their origin in the movies), but it made sense to me in the end.
Deadpool disappeared from the story completely - Rogue seemed to be running things. But the artwork was beautiful.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Wow! Now, this is what I would expect from this Uncanny Avengers lineup! Volume 1 was okay, but it was lacking a certain je ne sais quoi. But this one! Never would I have thought that I would actually actively enjoy a Hank Pym storyline! All in all, I think the team really came together in a great way in this one. Plus the Rogue storyline and our glimpses of the old Cable & Deadpool team really helped to pull this one off.
The art is fantastic. It's been awhile since I encountered superhero art this consistently good.
First, a couple crossover issues from Standoff which do not stand alone.
Then, Hank Pym returns to Earth. (Was he gone? I didn't notice.) Apparently he's merged bodies with Ultron. So is the resulting cyborg more Hank or more Ultron?
The plot is fine. There's more talking than there needs to be, though some of the comments are spot on. But the art is the standout here.
Carrying on the momentum from the first volume, 'The Man Who Fell To Earth' pits the Uncanny Avengers against one of the Avengers' greatest foes. The resolution of this story arc calls upon cameo appearances from some heavy hitters and features an ending which leaves scope from some pretty fascinating future developments. Recommended.
Another Pleasant Hill reprint, but at least it was a good one. And the Ultron/Hank Pym storyline actually worked for me. Usually the random teams don't work - and put Cable and Rogue and Deadpool in a book... and Gambit? normally I don't expect much. But this one was readable and interesting. The art was good enough. The writing was good enough.
I don't usually rank comics this high, but this one truly blew me away. Some amazing twists, some fantastic action sequences, and appearances by some Marvel heavy hitters (literally). I actually had to go back a couple times and reread because I couldn't believe what I had just read. I only wish the entire series was at this level. Literally, Could. Not. Stop.
The first two issues are an annoying crossover with an event that had somehow escaped my attention. The last four were a solid Ultron's back, what do we do now storyline that was the type of thing I am looking for from the Avengers.
I don't know. The beginning was a mess, jumping all over the place... It felt like the middle of several stories. The Bank Pym/Ultron thing was decent, but rushed. I feel like this whole series will be ultimately forgettable but it was entertaining enough while reading it.