Avengers: The Enemy Within TPB

There are some stories that I just plain don’t like. I’m not sure if I’ve seen them too many times, or if they just seem like they needlessly halt any forward momentum in the narrative. Of the plots that annoy me, giving the main character amnesia is near the top of my pet peeves.

So the fact that this storyline ends with Captain Marvel wiping her mind and being “blank” to all of her old friends and memories? That’s pretty much guaranteed to leave me cold. Perhaps if I was more invested during the main plot, I might have bought in more.

I like Kelly Sue DeConnick’s use of Yon-Rogg as the main villain. He’s a good scumbag with Kree ties, making him a natural for Carol Danvers’ rogues’ gallery. I think part of my apathy comes from using the Kree Sentries as a bulk group. They aren’t pushovers, but when the Avengers are splitting up to fight them all over the world, they just aren’t as neat as when there is only one or two there to dominate the heroes.

You know what is almost as annoying to me as amnesia? The hero loses powers story. So watching Captain Marvel zip around on a huge space-bike doesn’t exactly endear the story to me either. That said, bonus points for using both Wasp and Sersi!

Another nail in the coffin is the consistently weak art that has cursed Captain Marvel since she renamed herself. Perhaps using a more clear-cut super-hero artist might help, but at this point, I have a hard time getting invested in the unclear and overly stylized work in this story. Look at those covers; if the interior art looked like that, I’d be a heck of a lot more interested.

I know people love this book, and I’m clearly in the wrong that it isn’t connecting for me. For me, this is AVERAGE.

I’m going to give the new series a chance, though. I think a more “normal” artist is going to go a long way for me!