You get a mech suit, and you get a mech suit; everyone gets a mech suit in the new limited series Avengers Mech Strike by Jed MacKay and Carlos Magno. Reserve Avengers Peter Parker, Bruce Banner and Natasha Romanoff head to Avengers Mountain to join up with the current starting squad and receive an oversize battle suit in this 51-point issue. The one shot story Legend of Shang-Chi by Alyssa Wong and Andie Tong delivers strong review numbers for the titular character and antagonist Lady Deathstrike, but both just miss out on earning the top spots for the week. The comic does offer a good opportunity to discuss the “Thief” power. Previously, “Thief” was locked to characters who actually engage in the profession of thievery, such as Gambit and Black Cat. But with the new way of classifying “Thief” for the Fantasy Comic League review system, anyone can earn “Thief” if they are stealing, but only a select few thieves would get a bonus “Business” power for stealing multiple times in one issue. Therefor, Hulk and Shang-Chi both receive a “Thief” credit for their feats of burglary this week. Incidentally, they both score 15 Points in two Appearances, but Thor manages to ‘steal’ the top honors of the week by appearing in twice as many books. New characters added to the database this week include Deadgirl and Feral.
(Update: March 7, 2021 – After a Twitter consultation with series writer Jed Mackay, Avengers Mech Strike has been confirmed as non-canon and removed from the relevant characters’ statistics.)
Confirmation that #Avengers Mech Strike is not our main stream 616 heroes when it comes to tallying scores for the #FantasyComicLeague review system. #marvel #comics https://t.co/ncCFBDVC4q
— Fantasy Comic League (@FantasyComicLG) March 7, 2021
Book the Week – Avengers #42 (Review score: 73 points). The fiery free-for-all in Avengers continues with the stake of the Phoenix hanging in the balance. Namor’s lust for power grants him a victory over Echo in their battle, while Captain America plots to throw his battle against Shang-Chi. Other battles to feature in this issue include Hulk versus Valkyrie, American Eagle versus Shanna, and Wolverine versus Black Panther. Outside of the White Hot Room, the rest of the Avengers team with the Agents of Wakanda and Moon Girl on how to contain the Phoenix and Thor learns a potentially life-altering secret about his parentage from the Phoenix.
Hero of the Week – Shang-Chi (Review score: 15 points). Shang-Chi spends two appearances stopping thieves—Deathstrike stealing an artifact, and various characters stealing the power of the Phoenix—but he ends up being a thief himself. Thor previously claimed the title, but after the updated scoring and removing Mech Strike, Thor drops to eight points. Shang-Chi’s strong performance earns his first Hero of the Week and highlights a strong start to the year.
Antagonist of the Week – Knull (Review score: 14 points). Knull appears in four titles and steals the top antagonist prize away from Lady Deathstrike, an often overlooked character who manages to notch 10 points in her second appearance of the year. The King in Black makes his presence felt in Black Knight, Gwenom vs. Carnage and Return of the Valkyries by reaching out and speaking through other characters. He takes a more hands-on approach in Venom by deceiving Eddie Brock and wrapping his claws around his throat once more.
***
Support your favorite characters by purchasing Marvel comics through the Marvel Comics App or Comixology. Pick up the physical copies at your local comic shop or using online sites such as Discount Comic Book Service, the preferred comic provider of the Fantasy Comic League.
For those keeping track of their own review teams, full statistics can be found in the below character reviews. Please use these results to determine your score and let us know how you performed. To become a Sanctioned Review Agent you can support us via the Fantasy Comic League’s Patreon page. Make sure to tweet any questions or comments to @FantasyComicLG on Twitter while using the #FantasyComicLeague tag!
Key: TU – Team-Up; LT – Lead Team; SC – Save Civilian; CD – Character Development; DA – Defeat Antagonist.
| Avengers #42 (73) |
| American Eagle – Blade Black Knight – CD (Bonds with the Phoenix Force) Black Panther Blade – TU (Moon Girl) Broo – Tech, TU (Moon Girl) Captain America – Shield, Shield Defensive, Shield Offensive, LT, DA (Shang-Chi) Captain Marvel – Energy Offensive, Flight, TU (Agents of Wakanda) Echo – Blunt, Durability, Flight, Melee, Weapon Ghost Rider (RR) – Ensnare, TU (Agents of Wakanda) Gorilla-Man – TU (Moon Girl) Hulk (JW) – Melee, CD (Bonds with the Phoenix Force) Iron Fist – TU (Avengers) Iron Man – Energy, Flight, TU (Agents of Wakanda) Luke Cage – TU (Avengers) Moon Girl – Computer, Intellect, TU (Agents of Wakanda) Namor – Cosmic, Creature, Flight, Melee, Strength, Water, DA (Echo) Okoye – TU (Avengers) Shang-Chi – Cosmic, Flames, Melee, Strength Shanna the She-Devil – Creature, Flight Thor – Flight, CD (Learns he is the son of the Phoenix) Valkyrie (JF) – Shield Defensive Wolverine – CD (Bonds with the Phoenix Force) Antagonist(s) Orka Tiger Shark |
| Hellions #9 (30) |
| Havok – Energy Psylocke – Blade Sage – Computer Antagonist(s) Arcade – TU (Mastermind) Empath – Influence Greycrow – Gun, Melee Mastermind – Deception, Influence, Telepathy Offensive, Toxin, TU (Arcade), DA (Mr. Sinister) Mr. Sinister Nanny – Tech Orphan-Maker – Melee, Strength, CD (Reborn different) Wild Child – Claws Offensive, Melee |
| Immortal Hulk #43 (29) |
| Doc Samson – TU (Shaman) Hulk (BB) – Deception, Morph, Personality, Thief, Weapon, SC Puck – TU (Shaman) Rick Jones – Melee Shaman – TU (Doc Samson) Antagonist(s) Ironclad – Melee, Morph, Strength Vapor – Morph, Toxin Vector – Energy, Energy Offensive, Flight X-Ray – Energy Offensive, Precision |
| King in Black: Black Knight #1 (30) |
| Aero – Creature, Flight, Wind, Wind Defensive, Wind Offensive, TU (Black Knight), LT, SC Black Knight – Artifact, Blade, Creature, Projectile, Sense, Suit, Weapon, TU (Aero), SC, DA (Symbiote dragon) Black Knight (SPoS) Sword Master – Artifact, Blade, Weapon, TU (Black Knight), SC Antagonist(s) Knull – Creature, Sense |
| King in Black: Gwenom vs. Carnage #2 (13) |
| Ghost-Spider – Agility, Crawl, Durability, Ensnare, Melee, Strength, Suit, Webs Antagonist(s) Knull – Appendage, Melee, Reality |
| King in Black: Marauders #1 (41) |
| Beast – Computer, LT Bishop – Gun, Intellect, Weapon, LT, SC, DA (Symbiote dragon) Callisto – SC Emma Frost – Telepathy, SC Iceman – Ensnare, Ice, Ice Defensive, Ice Offensive, SC, DA (Symbiote dragon) Kate Pryde – Blade, Creature, Melee, Vehicle, LT, SC, DA (Symbiote dragon) Magneto – Flight, SC Sage – Computer Antagonist(s) Pyro – Flames, Flames Offensive, Vehicle, SC, DA (Symbiote dragon) |
| King in Black: Return of the Valkyries #2 (28) |
| Hildegarde – Blade Lady Sif – Sense Mirage – Blade, Projectile, Sense, Telepathy, Telepathy Offensive, Weapon, SC, DA (Symbiote) Valkyrie (Brunnhilde) – TU (Valkyrie), LT Valkyrie (JF) – Creature, TU (Valkyrie) Valkyrie (TT) – Blade, Creature, Weapon, TU (Valkyrie), DA (Rock trolls) Antagonist(s) Knull – Creature, Sense |
| Legend of Shang-Chi #1 (25) |
| Leiko Wu – Espionage, Tech, TU (Shang-Chi), LT Shang-Chi – Agility, Melee, Speed, Suit, Thief, Will Power, TU (Leiko Wu), SC, DA (Lady Deathstrike) Antagonist(s) Lady Deathstrike – Agility, Artifact, Blade, Claws, Claws Offensive, Speed, Thief, Weapon, DA (Museum guards) |
| Runaways #33 (19) |
| Chase Stein – Tech Gert Yorkes Gib – Melee, Strength Karolina Dean Molly Hayes – Melee, Strength Nico Minoru – Elements, Magic Defensive Pixie – Flight Victor Mancha Wolverine – Claws, Melee |
| Strange Academy #8 (15) |
| Agatha Harkness – Business, CD (Joins the Strange Academy staff) Dead Girl – Business, CD (Joins the Strange Academy staff) Doctor Strange – Teleport Groot – Stretch, TU (Kanna) Rocket Raccoon – Gun, TU (Kanna) Thor |
| Venom #33 (45) |
| Agent Venom – Creature, Durability, Explosive, Gun, Influence, Weapon, TU (Venom), DA (Symbiote hive mind) Blade – Blade, Gun, Weapon, TU (Vampire Nation), DA (Symbiotes) Captain America Cyclops Doctor Strange Invisible Woman – TU (Spider-Man) Mr. Fantastic – TU (Spider-Man) Spider-Man (PP) – Webs, TU (Mr. Fantastic), SC Storm – Flight Thing Thor – Flight, Lightning, TU (Mr. Fantastic) Venom – Sense, TU (Agent Venom), LT Wolverine – Claws Offensive, Melee, TU (Mr. Fantastic) Antagonist(s) Knull – Deception, Melee, Morph |
| X-Factor #7 (43) |
| Aurora – Flight, Sleuth, Speed, CD (Joins X-Factor) Banshee Dazzler Elixir Eye-Boy – Intellect, Sense, Sleuth Feral Havok Multiple Man Northstar – Sleuth, Speed, LT, CD (Dies) Polaris – Deception, CD (Dies) Prestige – Telepathy, CD (Dies) Prodigy – Sleuth Siryn – Flight, Melee, Sonics, Weapon, DA (Daken) Speed – Speed Antagonist(s) Daken – Durability, Heal, Sense, Sleuth, Thief, CD (Begins a relationship with Aurora) |
Categories: Reviews
Fantasy Comic League 
Leave a Reply