Billy Kaplan and his friends have a lot to prove. As Young Avengers, these teens are trying to be taken seriously by older counterparts like Captain America and Iron Man. They have to hold their own fighting evil villains while not getting in trouble with their parents. And, as if that wasn’t enough, writer Allen Heinberg has decided that they are going to have their own miniseries, in which they are going to encounter their biggest challenges to date.
As Wiccan, Billy Kaplan has magical abilities that he is just learning to control. He also has to deal with being a gay young man and having a boyfriend (Hulkling, a half Skull /half Kree). If all that wasn’t enough, Billy believes that he and another Young Avenger, Speed, might be the long lost twins of former Avenger, Scarlet Witch. This doesn’t make him very popular with the other superheroes, since the Scarlet Witch was proven to be too powerful to control in the past, resulting in the deaths of some teammates. Avengers – The Children’s Crusade follows Wiccan and the Young Avengers search for the Scarlet Witch.
The book certainly handles mature teenager themes with humor without being condescending to an evolved comic audience. In one instance, Wiccan and Hulking discover that Captain America has put them into a two bed room. Wiccan uses his magic to merge the beds into one. Then, just as they are about to have their ‘very private moment’, Speed breaks into the room to interrupt as only a brother can. Speed even chastises them by saying, “We go to the trouble to rescue you and you two are in here making out?”
Wiccan and Hulkling
The team also has other members who will certainly be bringing the drama and excitement to the story. Cassie Lang (aka Stature, because she can change her size) lost her father, AntMan, to the Scarlet Witch’s attacks. Patriot and the teenage girl Hawkeye keep having an on-again/off-again relationship. Plus, Vision is embedded with the mind of former Avenger villain Kang, which is sure to lead to some issues.
If you’ve enjoyed the original Young Avengers series, you’ll definitely enjoy this one as well. New readers might have a bit of trouble at first, but this initial issue does a great job of catching everyone up to current events. The series is wonderfully written by Allan Heinberg (complete with a surprise first issue twist!), and the art by Jim Cheung is both dynamic and powerful. You’ll definitely want to pick up this bimonthly series, especially if you’re looking for a positive depiction of a young gay couple in comics!
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