Avengers Fairy Tales 1-4
Publish Date/Year
2008
Creative Team
See individual Listings
Publisher
Marvel
Story
This review is on the Avengers Fairy Tales. Although it is a 4-issue mini-series, they are basically 4 stand-alone 1-shot issues all written by CB CEBULSKI but showcasing different artists.
Avengers Fairy Tales #1 (based on Peter Pan)
Art: JOAO M.P. LEMOS
Wanda (Scarlet Witch as Wendy) and her brother, Pietro (Quicksilver)
are swept away to Neverland by the boy who never grows up,
Captain (Captain America) & Tinkerbell (Wasp). They meet the Lost Boys (extremely cute & loveable versions of Hakweye, Thor, Black Panther & Iron Man) when they arrive in Neverland. The good guys are soon confronted by Captain Hook (KLAW) and his crew for the final showdown.
Avengers Fairy Tales #2 (based on Pinocchio)Art: NUNO PLATI
Guilt-ridden inventor Hank Pym (who plays Geppetto) creates a boy - his Vision (Pinocchio), after the apparent tragic death of his wife (Wasp) in an accident while working on one of his earlier inventions. Having gone thru such a tragedy, he imparts this to his son via harsh lessons to prepare him for the unpleasant reality of life. Unbeknownst to Hank Pym, his wife is still alive,
only shrunk down to the size of a Wasp (Plays Jiminy Cricket's role as Pinocchio's confidante).
They soon learn the truth and the Bad Guy of the story is Ultron, Hank Pym's earlier creation - his 1st son. The Scarlet Fairy is obviously the Blue Fairy played by Scarlet Witch.
Avengers Fairy Tales #3 (based on Alice in Wonderland)Art: TAKESHI MIYAZAWA
This issue features the Young AVENGERS instead of the regular Avengers.
Cassie Lang (Stature) is constantly bullied by her peers and one day, she daydreams herself into Wonderland where she meets twisted versions of the Young Avengers as Wonderland characters - White Rabbit (Speed), Caterpillar (Ant-Man), Mad Hatter (Hulkling), the smitten Dormouse (Iron Lad), March Hare (Wiccan), Cheshire Cat (Tigra), King (Patriot) & Queen of Hearts Hawkeye) with Jocasta, Ultron & Vision as the playing cards.
Avengers Fairy Tales #4 (based on Wizard of Oz)
Art: Ricardo Tercio
This issue has She-Hulk in a battle with Whirlwind inside the Avengers Mansion. When she gets the wind knocked out of her, she is swept away to the mysterious land of Oz (playing Dorothy's role) and inadvertently kills the Wicked Witch of the East - Pietra (Pietro, but as a woman. No kidding!) freeing the Munchkins who were under the Wicked Witch of the East's captivity in the process.
The Wicked Witch of the West (Scarlet Witch) vows vengeance for
her sister's death. Here, there is a homage scene to the House of M event where The Wicked Witch of the West utters "No more Munchkins" instead of "No more Mutants". Hence she sought the all-powerful Wizard of Oz (Magneto) for his help in returning her to her world.
Along the way, she encounters her 3 flawed but faithful companions,
a gaunt and weak Scarecrow (Thor), a rusty Tin Man (Iron Man) in need of an oil-change & a heart, and finally, a weary Lion (Captain America/Beast?) who simply needs to find his courage.
Finally, we learn that the Wizard also needed our intrepid heroine's help as well because the Wicked Witch of the West happens to be his only daughter alive and wanted reconciliation.
Art
The artistic re-designs of the characters alone was a great enough reason for me to pick this up. On top of that, Marvel really pulled out all the stops to get the BEST artists for this series. Totally delightful!
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I have put in as many images of their work as I can find here. Enjoy!
Additional Comments
Marvel's FAIRY TALES franchise uses the superhero characters we all know and love in familiar classic fairy tale contexts. This concept has spawned a few successful series, namely X-Men Fairy Tales & Spider-Man Fairy Tales. The Fantastic Four (upcoming project) will be the next title to receive the FAIRY TALES treatment. This idea also re-affirms Disney's purchase of Marvel recently.
Although all the stories here are understandably predictable, it’s really refreshing to see who among the Avengers would play the roles of the fairy tale characters, making it a very enjoyable read. Go get it!
Order your copy here at 22% OFF: Marvel Fairy Tales
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