Review by Ian Keogh

The first question to be asked here is why only writer Ed Brubaker gets cover credit when artist Mike Deodato draws three-quarters of the collection astoundingly well? It’s insulting.

This collection combines previous paperbacks Mission to Mars and Eyes of the Dragon, in each case the longer title story being accompanied by back-ups. Be warned before purchase, though, that Brubaker doesn’t tie up all his plots.

It’s the opening four chapters that really captivate. We see Captain America without mask gathering together assorted superheroes for covert missions, most at that point not previously associated with the Avengers. There’s the novelty of seeing the Eric O’Grady version of Ant-Man, Moon-Knight, Nova and Valkyrie associating with Cap, Black Widow and War Machine, while it’s been decades since the Beast was an Avenger. Matters escalate from a raid on a shady corporation to the very existence of the universe. It builds well and unpredictably and Deodato’s art is a stunningly drawn storytelling textbook, also seeming to offer homages to past Marvel artistic greats.

Unfortunately, having gathered together a viable cast, Brubaker sidelines or minimises almost all of them for the remainder as the mystery of Nick Fury (WWII hero white guy version) takes over. He’s seemingly associated with a terrorist group also involving John Steele, a superhero predating the 1940s, and with an agenda of reviving a threat only ever referred to as Shang-Chi’s father. This, of course, necessitates the Master of Kung-Fu’s involvement, then still a few years away from joining the Avengers, so again a novelty.

Unfortunately his presence is in a repetitious story suffering from a reduced cast, and Brubaker seemingly more interested in the bad guys than the Avengers. Deodato, though, is again great.

The first of the two shorter stories spotlights Nick Fury with pages illustrated by David Aja, Stefano Gaudino and Michael Lark over a history covering a considerable time span. It makes sense of the first story’s mystery and sets up an interesting supporting character who never quite lives up to the potential, and, as noted, their story isn’t completed here.

Steele and Captain America occupy the final two chapters, switching between a World War II mission and the present day. Brubaker introduces some clever ideas about false memories, but the supposed rivalry between the two characters never convinces, and although Will Conrad is a decent artist, he’s not Deodato.

This is a mouth-watering collection in principle, but it only occasionally delivers on the anticipation.