“Avengers: Twilight throws us into a world that’s lost its heroes and villains of old, where technology runs supreme, social injustice is simply swept under the rug…”
Since its initial tease last year, I’ve been pretty excited to get my hands on Avengers: Twilight - an “what-if” tale based in a world where the hero’s we know are either missing or altered in some way. Captain America has been replaced by a younger version of himself, Luke Cage is essentially confined to a wheelchair, and Matt Murdock is stuck behind his desk. It’s a world that’s very different from what we’re used to, and it’s one I’m still all to eager to explore.
Reading Avengers: Twilight #1 feels much like reading Captain America: Man out of Time. Here we follow an aged Steve Rogers as he adjusts to a world that no longer needs him. New York is now a bustling city bathed within neon lights, and holograms, while totalitarian rules stop anyone from breaking the rules. The differences from our present day are further presented as Steve meets up with Luke Cage and Matt Murdock who are similarly much older and also very obsolete.
The main driving force behind this new narrative is something dubbed ‘H Day’, which we learn a small bit about when Steve jostles with Tony Stark’s wayward son, James, on live television. While writer Chip Zdarsky keeps a lot of what H day is a secret, we’re told that it’s this event that alters how heroes are perceived in this world and why a lot of them are no longer here. It’s a very interesting premise whose events will no doubt become more clearer as the series continues. Zdarsky does give us some small hints as James Stark visit the Raft and we see the fates to some well known villains - even Tony. Zdarsky then starts to lay the seeds to his overall plan as Steve Rogers gets drafted into fighting one more battle. Again, aside from the intrigue that surrounds James Stark, we still don’t know what - or who - this fight is against.
Avengers: Twilight then concludes with a short strip that’s written by Ralph Macchio (with art by Walt Simonson) that follows the familiar Avengers lineup as they tackle Loki. For now it all feels too out of place to not somehow connect with the future narrative. However, could we see it all link together?
Zdarksy packs plenty within his writing to keep us entertained throughout. The “man out of time” element with Steve Rogers is well presented and seeing the aged Captain America cope in a world where he’s no longer needed makes for a great change to the character. The world itself is very well represented and whoever don’t know all the details about “H Day”, its ramifications in the book mirror some of our own troubles in the real world. With themes that surround misinformation and the stopping of people rights, Avengers Twilight could well be set in the current day.
Daniel Acũna is the perfect choice to bring this one to life. It’s an incredible display of art work where everything comes together in perfect synergy. It’s dark and brooding, with a glimmer of light that shows there is still some good left in this dystopian world.
Overall Avengers: Twilight #1 sets the series off to a great start. Typically ’else-world’ stories give its creators room to break some pre existing molds and that’s exactly what Chip Zdarsky is doing here. We’re thrown into a world that’s lost its heroes and villains of old, a world where technology and information runs supreme, and a world where social injustice is simply swept under the rug. Where we go from here is anyone’s guess, but Zdarsky and Acũna won’t be pulling any punches!
Rating 9/10
Rob Lake - For more comic book and video game chat why not follow us on X/Facebook @GeekCultureRev, TikTok/YouTube @Geekculturereviews, and BlueSky @geekculturereviews.bsky.social
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