New Avengers # 4 Review: The Gay King of Space!

One of the best things about All-New, All-Different Marvel’s ‘New Avengers’ is the continued focus on the gay couple Wiccan and Hulkling. While Young Avengers is sadly no more, it is good to see Marvel putting the spotlight on a fan-favorite queer pairing.

I was surprised when the Terrigen Mist causing the mutants to go extinct wasn’t mentioned in the previous issues. It felt weird because New Avengers has two mutants, Billy and Roberto, in the current roster. However, that changed this week when it was revealed Roberto, an X-Men by the name of Sunspot, was being slowly poisoned by the mist.

His condition didn’t look good and, being the leader of A.I.M, I think he already has a team of scientists trying to find a solution to the mist. It is safe to assume that whatever his solution may be, it’ll be better than what Mister Sinister has thought of.

With Roberto’s condition revealed to the readers, we’re now left with Billy. Is Wiccan also being poisoned by the mist? His powers did feel a bit off during the debut issue. I’m looking forward to seeing how the mist affects magical beings like Wiccan and if his reality manipulation powers give him some sort of resistance to it.

The focus on Hulkling was due to the Knights of the Infinite. They kidnapped him because they believed him to be their king, and they were right. Teddy, being a Kree-Skrull hybrid like the knights, was the only one able to summon the sacred sword. However, he didn’t want to be king of space because he had a lot going on down on Earth. His decision seemed logical, and it was good writer Al Ewing decided to end the arc but not without future consequences to look forward to.

It was Moridun, Master Magus of the Fifth Cosmos, who had manipulated everything down to Hulkling finding the sword. I liked that both Wiccan and Hulkling were clever enough to realize they had been played. The final panel clearly showed that we hadn’t seen the last of Moridun.

Issue 4 of New Avengers more or less sowed seeds of the future conflicts the team will surely face as the series continues.

Issue Highlights:

• Clint aka Hawkeye trying hard to act cool in a team of young heroes.
• Hulkling being the destined King of Space. Good thing space isn’t worried about its king being gay. Earth needs to follow suit!
• Wiccan contemplating taking up the name Demiurge, and a future storyline involving him and Moridun.
• Squirrel Girl being chill about everything. There’s a reason her solo series is titled The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl.
• The Terrigen Mist affecting the New Avengers.
• Pod’s inevitable turn to the dark side.

What did you think of New Avengers Issue 4? Are you glad the King of Space is queer? Are you worried about Wiccan’s fate? Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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