The front cover of Avengers Academy #21 heralds the issue as the start of a new era for the title. In the ensuing pages, writer Christos Gage does an admirable job of introducing some new cast members and bringing new readers up to speed on the current class.
The story in issue #21 finds the current class of Avengers Academy down a member, as a mainstay defected from the team recently, while a couple of faculty have left the school as well. The Infinite Avengers Mansion, former home of the school, has also been destroyed. So, Hank Pym and company relocate to the former headquarters of the Avengers West Coast, and open the school up to any young hereo looking for guidance. The current class members feel lost in the shuffle of all the changes at the scholl, which leads to a conflict with Hank and visiting Avengers Luke Cage, Captain America and Hawkeye. It’s clear the new school year is getting off to a rocky start.
Overall, Gage does a nice job of juggling the mix of old and new characters, and the art team of Sean Chen, Scott Hanna, Jeromy Cox and Veronica Gandidni really goes to town with all of the different heroes they get to play with throughout the issue. There’s not a ton of action, but it’s going to take a few issues to sort out the new class, as it’s not clear who will be sticking around just yet. Spider-Girl was teased in a few pages but really didn’t factor in. Lightspeed from Power Pack is part of the new group, and it looks like Hawkeye will become a member of the faculty, so there’s a pretty good foundation moving forward.
I’ll pick up the next few issues to see how the roster shaeks out, and I’m hoping Spider-Girl may find a home in the new Avengers Academy.
3.5 out of 5 Class Is In Sessions