By Jim Beard
This June, heroism's no longer just for adults, the kids can play too, as writer Sean McKeever unlocks the door on the newest clubhouse for the teen scene: the Young Allies!
But who makes up the Young Allies? Why, none other than some of Marvel's most popular and unique heroes: Nomad, Araña, Gravity and Firestar, along with newcomer
The writer explains further of the characters and YOUNG ALLIES #1:
"On the outset of the story, Nomad and Araña are the only ones who know each other and work together, as we're currently exploring in the CAPTAIN AMERICA bonus serial. But when the Bastards of Evil launch an attack on Manhattan's financial district, Gravity, Firestar and
"Gravity, as we'll see in AGE OF HEROES #2, has already had some exposure to the Bastards and their chaotic, amoral ways. In the wake of the FIRESTAR one-shot, Firestar's found a new perspective on life that figures into things as well. And
McKeever also notes that the way in which the group works together and their outlook on their historic name will become very apparent sooner than later.
"What we have here are three tiers of character interaction," he explains. "On one level, you've got the three teenagers-Nomad, Araña and
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| The Young Allies |
"Back when I was first putting the NOMAD limited series together, one of the comics I picked up for research on the character was Fabian Nicieza and Mark Bagley's HEROES REBORN: YOUNG ALLIES special. Of course, the history of the name goes back much further, to the days of [World War II] when Marvel-then Timely-had the sidekicks of Captain America and the original
But before readers draw the conclusion that YOUNG ALLIES stands as typical team action, McKeever's got a few words for them.
"As for this third iteration [of the name], I tend not to think of it as a 'team' so much as 'young allies'," the writer notes. "That is to say that they're an assemblage of young heroes who share particular convictions and who find a group of young villains who are diametrically opposed to those convictions."
And, oh, what villains. The Bastards of Evil may just be one of the most unique explosions of badness in the Marvel Universe yet.
"The Bastards are the unwanted offspring of super villains, each of them with a new twist on their parents' powers," McKeever reveals. "They started out committing smaller crimes and atrocities in smaller cities, posting videos of their evil deeds on their offshore website. Again, as we'll see in June's AGE OF HEROES #2, things start to ramp up when one of the Bastards-Warhead, the son of Radioactive Man-goes up against his first super hero, Gravity.
"So when they finally make their big splash in New York City, and the Young Allies intervene and these two groups get a whiff of each other, both sides realize that they're fighting for nothing less than the very soul of a generation. And so while the Young Allies are hunting down the Bastards of Evil after the first issue, you better believe the Bastards are concocting their own plans to bring down the Allies."
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Anyone else bothered by grey colors in places of blue?Nomad and Gravity costumes and Arana's tatoo?
I said a bad word... But I didn't want to... Marvel made me do it momma, I swear!!
:0e4e6caf36="silentprocess"]Yeah, most likely. And I guess bastards of evil makes sense since they are... $#@#@ children.[/quote:0e4e6caf36]Exactly.
:1784e38843="Windblast"]I really doubt the material is going to be "kiddish". If anything it seems like there might be a kind of disfunctional family dynamic. Besides, if it was really going to have "kiddish" material I HIGHLY doubt they'd be going up against a team called "The Bastards of Evil".[/quote:1784e38843]I agree it wouldn't come off kiddish. Following the tone of 'Nomad: Girl ...
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:1784e38843="Windblast"]I really doubt the material is going to be "kiddish". If anything it seems like there might be a kind of disfunctional family dynamic. Besides, if it was really going to have "kiddish" material I HIGHLY doubt they'd be going up against a team called "The Bastards of Evil".[/quote:1784e38843]I agree it wouldn't come off kiddish. Following the tone of 'Nomad: Girl Without a World' seems the best indication of how this book will target an audience, to me. That wasn't too deep and dark, but it was serious in delivery even with some humor and an overall simplicity. Nomad/Arana's back up feature in Cap A kept that tone for the most part, so I don't see why this wouldn't with the expanded cast.I wouldn't stake too much on the name 'Bastards of Evil' determining the non-kiddishness though. That name more screams 'statement' (and could be meant to be witty) than it does anything assuring mature themed content, and it translates as the article mentions. These are unwanted (or at least unacknowledged) children which is what one would call bastards-and they are children of 'evil persons'. Also an allusion to the youthful version of the Masters of Evil, of course. Nowadays, not even the worst of aggressors would actually put the word 'evil' in their description as a way to be taken seriously. Few people, even while committing the most heinous of crimes see themselves as evil (Brotherhood of Evil, in hindsight, for instance, would have more realistically been named just the Brotherhood, especially for a revolutionary like Magneto-even if the 'of Evil' part was a popular nickname the public gave it). That kinda thing could've been overlooked as the outright fantasy, clear bad guy, nature of comics back then, but readership is more sophisticated now. These creators would be clear on that and not be taking the 'Bastards of Evil' thing seriously.
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This feels like it will be a great book. They picked great characters that have been around for a while, but also have a lot of development ahead. I love Gravity, Arana, and Nomad. I would have picked up the book for just one of them.This could end up being Marvel's "Teen Titans", but better of course.