After seeing the atrocities committed by Orchi first-hand, Captain America goes on a recruiting mission to form a new Unity Squad in this week’s UNCANNY AVENGERS #1 by Gerry Duggan and Javier Garrón. I was actually surprised at how much this book complements the work Duggan is doing in the main X-Men title, so much so that we see the two teams meet-up for a strategy session. I can see some interesting cross-over potential between the two books in the future and if it means we somehow get a Psylock, Monet, & Shadowkat trio I would gladly take it! But I digress…

Duggan’s script was a lot stronger in the first half of the issue compared to the second half. There was a lot of exposition early on that gave a succinct and important recap of events, offering new readers a necessary on-ramp if they haven’t been following all the recent X-titles. It all helps to build palpable tension quickly and Duggan also packs a lot of emotion into Psylocke’s current mindset. I wish we got to spend more time with her and Monet as a duo as they are an interesting pairing and are two characters with very passionate fanbases.

However, the story becomes rushed and begins to fall apart at the seams once we get to Captain Krakoa building the New Mutant Liberation Front and their showdown with Captain America’s new Unity Squad. When Captain Krakoa heads back to Krakoa to recruit the Fenris Twins, I was left wondering why Xavier’s island defense system shown in last week’s IMMORTAL X-MEN #14 didn’t activate? Also, how/why did the Fenris twins show up at the Limbo Embassy in this week’s DARK X-MEN #1 if they immediately joined Captain Krakoa’s crew after be broke them out from the Pit? I was willing to let their appearance in DARK X-MEN slide since it was a throw-away, but the continuity bothers me now with them a part of this series’ main villain group. We also arrive at the final battle between the two sides rather abruptly and don’t get to spend too much time with it before Captain Krakoa breaks Captain America’s arm on the last page’s cliffhanger. It all felt sloppier than the very well paced and slow-build of the first half.

I have a feeling the art in this book is going to be divisive. Garrón’s designs are have a very distinct look and I personally thought they worked very well, especially during action sequences. They do lend to some odd facial reactions for a few of the human characters, notably Captain America. There are certain panels were his eyes look off and they took me out of the moment. Morry Hollowell had a major task with colors throughout the book. There is practically a shade of every color under the sun in here given that variety of characters, environments, and settings. Character costumes all look great and keep the reader’s eye focused on them during action panels. Travis Lanham’s lettering work is magnificent as well. There are multiple color boxes employed for different sources of exposition are provided, allowing readers to easily understand when a change in tone or voice has occurred. The sound effects are also done supremely well, including a really effective sequence where Psylocke’s stealth swordsmanship is on full display.

I understand there’s always a lot of table-setting to do in the first issue of any new series, especially when a brand new team is being formed, so I’m willing to give Duggan a break after his strong work in the run-up to Fall of X and the post-Hellfire Gala X-MEN #25.

Rating: 7/10