Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Ed McGuinness
Cover Price: $5.99
Release Date: May 5, 2021

On paper, this should not be a book or event that I am excited about at all. I haven’t been thrilled with Jason Aaron’s Avengers run, and after Empyre, X of Swords, and King in Black, I have event burnout to the extreme. Yet, I have been looking forward to Heroes Reborn because it seems like a fun, self-contained story. Do I feel the same way after reading the first issue? Let’s find out…

The basic premise of Heroes Reborn is that the Avengers never existed. That doesn’t mean that Tony Stark, Robbie Reyes, Jennifer Waters, etc., blinked out of existence. They just never became Avengers…nobody did. Part of the fun of this issue is seeing what the characters are doing instead of being Earth’s Mightiest Heroes There isn’t anything mind-blowing, but it all makes sense, even if it’s feels like surface-level stuff at the beginning.

So, without the Avengers, who is left to fight the big bads of the MCU? The Squadron Supreme, of course! Jason Aaron has featured the Squadron in his Avengers run, and when you see who is in charge, you can already make some guesses about what’s going on overall. I’m not going to spoil anything, but a certain someone had been hanging out with Phil earlier. However, we will have to see because this issue is more about setting up the world and the mystery of what the hell happened to it.

As I said earlier, this issue is a lot of fun as we get to see mash-up characters with cool origin explanations, but that’s there has to be more, and that’s where our main POV character steps in. I don’t think it’s spoiling too much by telling you it’s Blade because overall, he has no idea what the hell is going on either! He seems to be the only one who remembers the Avengers, and it’s going to be up to him to get them back.

I like Blade a lot, and seeing him conflicted about what’s going on is excellent, but I also love that Jason Aaron is already giving him more depth than he has in the entire Avengers run up until now. Amazingly, Blade can do things that don’t involve vampires, right?!?

With an issue that throws many visual “wow moments” at the reader, the most significant moment is the cliffhanger. It solves why the Avengers don’t exist but sets up more mysteries and hints at a possible team-up to make it right. Without it, I would have still had fun, but I am ready for more now!

Final Thoughts:

Heroes Reborn is off to a good start with excellent art, fun mash-ups, and an intriguing story. If you planned on sitting this one out, you might want to check this out because I was surprised how much I liked it. Let’s hope that feeling continues.

8.0/10