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Avengers Academy, Vol. 4: Final Exams (2013)

by Christos Gage(Favorite Author)

3.76 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0785160310 (ISBN13: 9780785160311)

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

Marvel

series

Avengers Academy

review 1: The previous volume of Avengers Academy was great not through its own merits, but through it being a tie-in to Avengers vs. X-Men. That shows in this trade paperback, Final Exams. It's lacking in nearly every possible way. The characters are flat, their progress makes no sense, and their conflicts feel meaningless.While Final Exams introduces a villain and a conflict worthy of becoming an X-Men movie, it is clear from the start that its only purpose is to serve as an exam for the students of the Avengers Academy. It is simply their final test. Their first taste at becoming a hero and choosing between right and wrong. Because of that, the potential is never tapped. It's all about the characters, rather than the story, and with a bunch of flat characters, that simply doesn't... more work.All in all, this is the worst of the tpbs I've been reading lately.
review 2: I'm not sure why this series was ended. I assume the two crossover events that disrupted the series' momentum had something to do with it. Thankfully the series goes out with a bang. The Final Exam story arc does an excellent job of showing how much the kids have grown as people and heroes by bringing back a character from the point 1 issue. It's interesting that a character created for a point 1 issue turned out to have recurring effects on the series throughout the rest of the issues. He provides a great foil to the students, questioning what it means to be a hero and why they're needed. The very end of the Final Exam arc, Gage doesn't quite stick the landing, but you're too busy rooting for all the Avengers Academy kids to care. I cared a lot about these characters over the 30+ issues leading to this volume, and there's definitely payoff for readers who have watched the kids grow up through their various adventures. The final issue does its best to wrap everything up, but since the big payoff came in the Final Exam arc, it serves as a nice happy ending without a lot of oomph. I'm sad to see the series end, and while I'm curious to follow the kids into Avengers Arena, I care too much about them to read a story whose premise is a death match. less

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