One of Rick Remenders' subtle though powerful writing strengths is his ability to build the pressure on his protagonist and leave the reader scratching his head in wonder about how the “iconic” hero will prevail. This skill at building the tension is ever present throughout "Uncanny Avengers #3," which displays the Red Skull at the pinnacle of his malicious prowess.
Premised on teaming up Mutants (mainly X-Men) and The Avengers in an attempted to heal old wounds from the Phoenix Force saga, Uncanny Avengers #3 opens in the shadow of Captain America forming his new team and the Red Skull finally able to engage in his ultimate plan to annihilate all Mutants with the power of their martyr, Charles Xavier. As the master tactician, only rivaled by Cap himself, Red Skull plans to uproot the Mutant threat by whipping up the hatred and fears of humans with Xavier's near godly telepathy -- which he gained from exhuming Xavier’s corpse and stealing his brain. Uncanny Avenger's coalition of Mutants and Avengers, led by Havok, is showcased in this latest issue where the Uncanny Avengers go toe-to-toe with the Red Skull after finding him commanding New Yorkers to kill their fellow Mutant neighbors.
As stated above, Rick Remender, --who is already widely beloved for his storied run on Uncanny X-Force -- centers this issue mainly on Red Skull and his band of S-Men, all of which are just as diabolic as their leader. And as longtime Marvel fan can assume, the Red Skull is just as evil as times passed, with much of the issue diving into his mad world where might makes right and the Reich reigns supreme.
As far as the heroes go, this is an issue about building the pressure and weight of the situation on Captain America and Havok's newly formed team; with New York disintegrating before their very eyes, so readers only get a brief glimpse of team (Thor, Wolverine, Scarlet Witch, and Rogue) in action. Though, when the action heats up and Havok begins barking orders, artists John Cassaday does a fairly decent job at detailing each punch, lighting strike and combative move. And Cassaday should also garnish credit for depicting one of the most sinister looking Red Skull’s applied to paper.
To sum it up, Uncanny Avenger #3 is a well-written book that stands out perfectly in the larger picture of the overall arc; though, as a standalone issue, this book would be moot to any new reader. The premise of an angry, though telepathically controlled, mob is common place in Marvel U, yet Red Skull’s underlying story and motivation was detailed in earlier issues.
Uncanny Avengers #3 would be worth the time to read, even if it is simply to get that queasy feeling like something can happen at any moment.
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