HEROES REBORN #1 (OF 7)
MARVEL COMICS
STORY: Jason Aaron
PENCILS: Ed McGuiness
INKS: Mark Morales
COLORS: Matthew Wilson
LETTERS: VC's Cory Petit
EDITOR: Tom Brevoort
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Akira Yoshida a.k.a. C.B. Cebulski
COVER: Leinil Francis Yu with Sunny Gho
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Carlos Pacheco and Rafael Ponteriz with Nolan Woodard; Ed McGuiness with Matthew Wilson; George Perez and Al Vey with Morry Hollowell; Iban Coello with Espen Grundetjern; Jeffrey Veregge; John Tyler Christopher; Joshua Cassara with Dean White; Mark Bagley and John Dell with Romulo Fajardo, Jr.; Stanley “Artgerm” Lau
48pp, Color, $5.99 U.S. (July 2021)
Rated “T+”
“Whatever Happened to Earth's Mightiest Heroes?”
Heroes Reborn was a Marvel Comics summer event series and crossover publishing initiative. It was comprised of the seven-issue comic book miniseries, Heroes Reborn, and eleven tie-in comic books. The entire thing was scheduled to be published over seven weeks, from May 5, 2021 to June 23, 2021.
Heroes Reborn is set on an Earth in which the Avengers – Earth's Mightiest Heroes – were never formed, and Blade the Vampire Hunter seems to be the only person who remembers that the world should be different – that it has been “reborn.” The Heroes Reborn miniseries was written by Jason Aaron; drawn by Ed McGuiness (pencils) and Mark Morales (inks); colored by Matthew Wilson; and lettered by Matthew Wilson.
Heroes Reborn #1 (“Whatever Happened to Earth's Mightiest Heroes?”) opens in East Los Angeles. That is where Blade is looking for answers. Two weeks earlier, he woke up covered in blood in a flophouse of London's East End. The first thing he did was try to contact Avengers Mountain, but it was not there.
Blade discovers that he has awakened in a world that is both familiar and wildly different. In this world the Avengers never existed. The Squadron Supreme of America has always been “Earth's mightiest heroes.” They are Hyperion, Nighthawk, Power Princess, Doctor Spectrum, and Blur.
Phil Coulson is currently the President of the United States. Blade reaches out to the Avengers teammates that he can find, but to no avail. And the Squadron's Nighthawk does not like the “truth” with which Blade has confronted him. Now, Blade must travel to the arctic and find the one man – the one legendary hero – who can fix this wrong Earth.
THE LOWDOWN: First, I must be honest with you, dear readers. With but a few exceptions, I hate big Marvel and DC Comics crossover events. They are generally a mess – the closest thing to a cacophony of actual sound and fury signifying nothing that comic books can get.
Heroes Reborn #1 is one of the exceptions. It is actually a really good first issue; the rest of the miniseries and all the tie-in issues are a mixed bag. Only the first issue is entirely the work of Aaron and McGuiness, who is essentially the back-up artist on issues #2 to #7. Jason Aaron is the writer on the lead stories in those issues, each of which focuses on a member of the Squadron Supreme and/or their activities.
I assume that many readers already know that the Squadron Supreme is Marvel's pastiche version of DC Comics Justice League of America. I don't think that the team has ever been known as the “Squadron Supreme of America,” so it is funny that this is the group's name in Heroes Reborn.
The Heroes Reborn miniseries and its tie-ins are basically an overview of a world in which the Squadron and not the Avengers protects Earth. Some of the changes are quite intriguing, such as the fact that the Squadron is more like DC Comics/Wildstorm Production's The Authority than the Avengers. Some changes are not as good, but could be upon further development. By the end of the one-shot that wraps up this event, Heroes Return #1, I did want to see more of the Heroes Reborn world, even with my reservations.
The series was published a year ago, so I don't believe I should worry about spoilers. The Squadron replaced the Avengers in a plot hatched by Marvel's satanic villain, Mephisto, using the “Pandemonium Cube” (Cosmic Cube), with Phil Coulson as his wickedly evil and ambitious lackey and front man.
All that said: I really liked Heroes Reborn #1. Jason Aaron offers an especially intriguing first issue script with flourishes on conspiracy and mystery. Ed McGuiness' manages to be both stylish and excellent in his storytelling; Mark Morales' sharp inks bring out McGuiness' sparkling design. Matthew Wilson's color, as always, are gorgeous. Letterer Cory Petit is also one of those “of course his work is good” guys, and he is indeed good here.
In general, I like Heroes Reborn, and I feel comfortable recommending it to fans of Marvel event series and to fans of the Squadron Supreme. I didn't get as much Blade in this series as I would have liked, but sometimes, I have to take what I can get.
I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Fans of Marvel event series will want to try Heroes Reborn.
B+
★★★½ out of 4 stars
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
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