Young Avengers #8 - "The University of Multiple Lives"

[arbre_rieur]

"I used to horrify British writers by noting that my reviews improved for every panel I lost from a page, even from critics who often made a big show of raging against decompression. -- Kieron Gillen







Another alternate universe:





And another:



Miss America whispers to Loki to look at the sky.





And yet another:

Comments

[harpers_child]

i am so tempted to buy this comic.

[not_overjoyed]

Me too. I'm sure I'll give in eventually.

[paradoxrealm]

I'm not so keen on individual issue these days.
TPB version however may be on my list.

[not_overjoyed]

That's what I was thinking too. I do buy the single issues of my favorites, though.

[icon_uk]

For those interested, Demiurge has a rather specific meaning in the MU...

[obsidianwolf]

Which really doesn't mean much since writers are always ignoring established continuity but if it does play a part then it makes you wonder if the Family tree is about to get even more complicated.

Since if Billy was a manifestation of that Demiurge wouldn't that technically make him Gaea's father and thus 616 Thor's grandpa.

[icon_uk]

I was reading it that in THIS world he became a NEW Demiurge rather than that he always had been a part of the old one.

[obsidianwolf]

That's another possibility. Truthfully I haven't cared much for the current Young Avengers series so I have no idea if the book would support leaning one way or the other.

[turtlefu]

I think I would enjoy this book more if it was just "adventures in the multiverse"

[shadowpsykie]

nevermind ijust got what you were saying

[shadowpsykie]

ever issue i read makes me love this book more... and also fills me with a sense of dread....

[dewinged]

I kinda respect Gillen for putting this much effort into trying way too hard.

[filthysize]

I like the term "Tumblr Bait" that's been used to describe this book.

[dewinged]

I can see that. I remember the first issue being titles 'Style > Substance' and thought it was aptly named after I read it.

After issue 2, which could be read in like 5 minutes and not much happened, I just gave up. It was a hollow read full of, as you said, 'Tumblr Bait'

Also, I remember Gillen saying something about following JiM to understand about Kid Loki, but then admitting he wasn't paying attention to the YA books that happened before his.

I've been badgered online to like this comic, but I can't.

[mrstatham]

That's not entirely accurate to say he hasn't been paying attention to the previous YA runs (what little there is), since he has dealt with Teddy's mother (which even Heinberg didn't pay much attention to) and the changes following Children's Crusade, like characters being dead and Eli leaving. I for one particularly appreciated the fact that he didn't spend the usual six issues dicking around putting the team back together, and instead simply put across that Teddy and Kate hadn't listened to Billy at all.

Again, the difference is that there hasn't been that much YA material to follow, and Gillen HAS dealt with some of the major points from both Heinberg series and also referenced things like Kate's presence in Hawkeye, but when it comes to Kid Loki, you DO need to know what has happened in JIM to get a proper handle on what's going on with that character. The others - even Miss America, who is now arguably more Gillen and McKelvie's baby than she is Casey's? Not so much.

I do agree that the earlier issues were a quick read, but I think they've gotten better as they've progressed; I think they're doing a more interesting job of exploring Wiccan's character and his over-attachment to the Scarlet Witch, complete with some seemingly inherited bad tendencies, very well, too.

[silverhammerman]

Yeah, that's about accurate. At times it really feels like a crutch for them to use instead of just telling a good story.

I also feel like, for all the creators talked about the book being about the idea of being 18, the book really hasn't feel like that honest a portrait of being that age.

[leoboiko]

As a linguist, I liked the shift from "something horrible[adjective] inevitably[adverb]" to "inevitable[adjective] horrible[noun]".

[razsolo]

I really love this book but I am kinda reaching my limit on how much longer I can see them fighting Mother. I think he shoulda gone all Cross-Time Capers on us and just had 5 or 6 issues of them getting into hijinks on different Earths......I hear the series is about to end though? So may as well stick it out :)

[pyynk]

The series isn't ending, rather they're doing it in seasons. The first season is going to end and then another season will begin.

[razsolo]

Oh cool! Well that's good to know, thanks! :)

I do quite like the team, I just wish they'd get a new antagonist now and then (and I get this book is really more about characterisation than fighting bad guys, but they still need the variety IMO)

[arbre_rieur]

I'd say we already have a second villain, the Patriot impersonator. I think some fans think he's working for Mother, but that's not my reading of the situation at all. He has these strange agendas, like getting Prodigy to put on Patriot's costume or getting the team to meet evil versions of themselves from other realities, don't have any apparent overlap with the single-minded Mother's aims. And Mother and her minions manifest as shapeshifting goo, and he's nothing like that.

Granted, the two are awfully similar, both being unfathomable horrors from beyond reality, but they seem to be two separate bad guys.

[halloweenjack]

I like it, even with the joke stolen from Galaxy Quest.

[werehawk]

Is it just me, or does the part of the cover starting with the left/bottom part of the A look like it is Earth New 52?

[arbre_rieur]

That was my first thought, too. And it was confirmed as such by Gillen in his commentary for the issue.

[silverhammerman]

Say, I've been wondering about a certain element of YA for a while now, so I wonder if I might bring it up here:

Basically, is anyone else bothered by America Chavez's treatment of Loki? Like, the threats and the occasional physical violence. It just irks me, because even if they're both superpowered, she's still much bigger and stronger than Loki is. We might know that Loki is actually Adult!Loki, but does America know that? Because otherwise as far as the character knows she's just going after a little kid for being mouthy, and that is immensely uncomfortable to me.

[terrykun]

Personally, I think she's just an a**hole. Which is a perfectly legitimate, if not fine, thing to be.

She's one of those characters that I keep feeling like I am expected to like them, and cannot for the life of me figure out why I should.

[icon_uk]

Agreed, I don't think there's been nearly enough development of her as a character. I have no idea who she was, or where she appeared, before this title, and so far, after eight whole issues, I still know nothing about her beyond her being raised by two mothers... that's pretty much it, I'm not even entirely sure what her powers are beyond being able to shatter star shaped portals between dimensions.

[mrstatham]

She knows that Loki's up to something fishy. He basically screwed her over during Vengeance, and she's been on his tail since; The Point One story between the two of them served as setup for YA and actively had him asking her to kill Billy because of what he was going to do in trying to bring Teddy's mother back.

So she knows he isn't just some innocent little kid who occasionally comes out with something quirky. The rest of the YA *also* know he's basically the actual Norse god with tendencies toward dickery and backstabbing, if not the full details of him being Kid-Loki.

So no, it doesn't bother me. They all know he's up to something, America especially.

[terrykun]

I think it's still up for debate if he really wanted her to kill Wiccan or not, considering his aside about getting the Avengers together being a Loki classic. (:

[mrstatham]

I think he did. He knew what would happen the second Billy had the bright idea to bring Teddy's mother back, knew that it would bring 'Mother' out. So.. Yeah. It's really rather devious, and he had vaguely decent intentions, but he still meant it, to me.

[silicondream]

The first time they met, this happened. Loki's good at acting the wounded innocent, because he's Loki, but he's hurt her worse than she's hurt him.

And when America's hesitated to knock him out in past fights, he's immediately exploited it. By now, she knows he's just as tough and canny an opponent as any adult.

[silverhammerman]

That definitely should have been mentioned in YA, it provides much needed context for America's attitude. Without that it's hard for her not to come across as a bully.

It'd still probably be a little uncomfortable to see a 12 year old get intimidated by a much older and stronger person, even if that 12 year old is actually an ancient scumbag, but at least it would be justified.

[glprime]

At first I was like "oh wow, that neon hair is cool" and then the mouths and OHDEARGODNO-

[lieut_kettch]

One of the passport stamps is for Earth-199999, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with the entry one saying, "Enjoy the show," and the exit one saying, "Exit in rear of theater."

Ohmahgawd. I demand a scene in which Kid!Loki meets Tom Hidddleston!Loki.

[yvonmukluk]

That or a YA cameo in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

[salinea]

Dude, how many pages is that??

[arbre_rieur]

Each issue of YA has your typical 20 story pages, plus three supplementary pages - 1 recap page, 1 credits page, and 1 letters page.

I posted 6 and 2/3 story pages and the credits page, for a total of 7 and 2/3.

[featheredserpent]

Dear Gods, someone remembers the Fury from Captain Britain.
That thing was nightmare-inducing.