REVIEW: 'Savage Avengers' #10 by David Pepose, Carlos Magno, and Espen Grundetjern

 

SAVAGE AVENGERS #10 

Writer: David Pepose

Artist: Carlos Magno, Espen Grundetjern

Letters: VC's Travis Lanham

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Release Date: February 22, 2023

Cover Price: $3.99

THE ENDGAME IS NOW!

Stranded in the unforgiving future, the Savage Avengers have survived every trial and tribulation that 2099 has to offer. But with Ultron now in possession of a time-traveling Doom gauntlet, can our heroes hope to stop the Machine Empire from conquering the timestream itself? Prepare for an epic showdown of blood and steel, as Marvel's most dangerous heroes unite to save the world - or die trying!

Rated T+

Score:

★★★★☆ (4/5)

'Savage Avengers' #10 by David Pepose, Carlos Magno, and Espen Grundetjern marks the end of the latest arc with this creative team. Pepose and company go out as they have the last nine issues, balls out and foot to the floor. An epic conclusion worthy of the ever-growing stakes as this ragtag team of Avengers takes it to Ultron one last time. 

This has been one of the most exhilarating comic series going back to 2022. Each issue just built onto the next with non-stop action and mind-blowing surprises. Bringing an unlikely team of underused Marvel characters like Conan the Barbarian, Anti-Venom, Daredevil, Black Knight, Weapon H, Deathlok, and Cloak &Dagger together and putting them in a time-traveling quandary galvanized them as a team and showed their worth. Ushering the death of Conan, the rebirth of Mile Morales as Deathlock, and appearances by Jake Gallows' Punisher and Doom in 2099 is a Marvel Comics fans' dream series. It's all led to this finale and it's just as chockful of action, drama, and virtue. Issue ten neatly wraps up the fortunes of these embattled and exhausted warriors. 

The narration that Pepose provided throughout his run has been eloquent and thoughtful, giving additional context to the heroes' actions. In issue ten, the narration seems more melancholy, as much as a tribute to these characters as it is a eulogy of sorts. It's much more contemplative and reverential as the final battle closes out the arc. It's safe to say that the ending is never in doubt and it's an ending the worn, beaten, and exhausted Avengers deserved. As fun and electrifying as the series could be it did run into being too much of a good thing in this last arc. The constant barrage of battles issue after issue would overshadow any character development leaving the Avengers as far too one-dimensional especially when the focus would shift to the newest surprise addition to the storyline. 

With so much going on, the visuals took a toll too. Carlos Magno had done a spectacular job choreographing huge set pieces with dozens of fighters going at it creating a symphony of chaos that jumped off the page. But as the brawls became more frequent with many more adversaries, as in the Deathlok army, for example, all that spacing and clarity of confrontation devolved into a muddled scrum sometimes indiscernible chaos instead. Magno's once impactful rumbles became a messy blur of bodies and weapons in a jumbled heap. And with this deterioration of quality, so was the loss of any emotional impact. 

With all that said, 'Savage Avengers' was still a marvelous thrill ride. Whatever was lost in the end, it could not dim the overall experience of shocks and awe along the way. Pepose was given the keys to Marvel's candy store and he delivered a sugar rush so potent that 'Savage Avengers' became the best Marvel title month after month. It should be experienced in its totality so the collected volumes should be hot sellers and make one hell of a gift to the comic fan in your life.