Friday 7 February 2014

Young Avengers: Resolution (v2 #14-15)

Writers: Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie and Emma Vieceli, Christian Ward and Annie Wu (#14); Becky Cloonan, Ming Doyle and Joe Quinones (#15)

Cover artist: Jamie McKelvie
From left to right: Rockslide, Miss America, Broo, Gravity, Spider-Girl, Hulkling, Wiccan,
Pixie, Troll, Marvel Boy, Hawkeye, Julie Power, Surge, Prodigy, Lucy in the Sky  

-        In previews and solicitations, this story is also known as The Afterparty.

-        A playlist for Resolution is available on Spotify.

-        Each issue is split into four sections, with a lead or closing story drawn by McKelvie, and three other vignettes per issue by different artists focusing on a particular character or character pairing.

Collected in:
  • Young Avengers: Mic-Drop at the Edge of Time and Space (Marvel Comics, Apr 1 2014)
  •  Young Avengers by Kieron Gillen & Jamie McKelvie Omnibus (Marvel Comics, Dec 16 2014)
  •  #14-15 are available on Comixology.


#14

  1.  Miss America/Kate Bishop
  2.  Wiccan/Teddy
  3.  Miss America
  4.  Kate Bishop/Noh-Varr

Continuity Notes


-        This two issue arc explicitly occurs over New Year's Eve 2013/14, at a party multiple costumed heroes are attending. Teen heroes from throughout the Marvel Universe appear in cameos and as background characters throughout.

-        #14 focuses on New Year's Eve, whilst #15 focuses on New Year's Day itself (although New Year's Eve appears in flashback, taking up the Prodigy section.)

-        The third section gives us a flashback to Miss America a decade prior (2003), around the time superheroes began to appear. As discussed earlier, given that she would be older than 14 then (her age in the Vengeance limited series), she would now be at least 24.

-        Kate relates to Miss America her (terrible) "coming of age" birthday experience. As she mentioned "I'm so close to 21" in #11, this issue then occurs within a few weeks or months of that issue. Kate Bishop is a December baby, placing her birth in December 1992. Noh-Varr also asks "How was your birthday?", which makes it clear her birthday was very recent.

-        The splash page of the group dancing at the party is a visual allusion to the variant cover Bryan Lee O'Malley drew for the first issue.

O'Malley / McKelvie

-        David reconciles with Billy and Teddy, resolving the awkward triangle which has built throughout the series.

-        The artwork again depicts rather barren trees, indicating a Fall/Winter setting.

#15


  1. Noh-Varr
  2. David Alleyne/Loki
  3. David Alleyne/Patriot
  4. Young Avengers


Continuity Notes


-        Speed finally reappears in this issue, having embodied the form of Patriot. By the end of the issue, he rejoins the Young Avengers as they set off on new (possibly interdimensional) adventures. Whatever comes next is left ambiguous; all we know  is that the Young Avengers have reformed, stronger than ever.

-        Loki reappears briefly to speak to Prodigy, which forms the second section of the issue.

-        Kate comes to the realisation that she's the only "straight" member of the team. Wiccan and Hulkling are obviously both gay; Prodigy is bisexual; Miss America is gay, claiming Ultimate Nullifier was a "phase"; Noh-Varr implies that he has experimented with the same-sex; and Miss America jokes to Kate that she gives her glances. However, as Kieron Gillen notes on his Tumblr, sexuality is in flux and not all of this is fully set in stone, or fully 100% serious. Speed's reappearance obviously puts the idea of an "LGBT superhero team" off-balance. (Unless, of course, Gillen has anything to say about that...)

Pop Culture


-        Among the tracks played at the party are Daft Punk's 2013 song Get Lucky, and The Ronettes' Be My Baby, a callback to the first issue.


-        Loki pulls up an Instagram image on his phone, depicting the team from a few issues earlier, labelled: "Young Avengers (2013)", a fitting closure to the series.

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