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[Punchy]

With new of this title’s upcoming cancellation/planned ending with #39, reading this issue was bittersweet. On the one hand, it was another great issue which featured some fantastic character moments and exciting changes. On the other… I don’t want it to end! Waaaaah! Waaaaah! But at least it’s going out with a bang. The story here is basically the Avengers Academy rising up from being punked by Jeremy Briggs last time, and taking the fight to him to stop his ‘clean slate’. Several of our characters got great individual moments, like the revelation of White Tiger being addicted to the amulet, and Striker showing his acting chops to trick Enchantress into giving him the antidote. But the most powerful stuff here was between Mettle and Hazmat. Depowered, they are robbed of their chance to find happiness (and to fuck each other, reading between the lines) by Jeremy’s evil, and so take the antidote to fight him. Interestingly, whilst Hazmat gets her powers back straight away, Mettle is still depowered. I’m guessing he either will now have the ability to switch back and forth a la Colossus, or maybe he’s just stuck in human form. Andrea Di Vito provides the art for this issue, and I’ve been a big fan of his ever since Annihilation, his art is just good, clean, classic superhero stuff, and a great fit for this book. There’s only 4 issues left to go, I hope they all go for it like this one did.

[alaska1125]

I challenge anyone to find as moving a moment as the bittersweet one between Hazmat and Mettle this week. That's as authentic as it gets. I'm sure going to miss this book.

[chap22]

Another in a long line of great issues for the best Avengers book on the market.

As to Mettle, IIRC, his powers first manifested when he got cut/injured and then began peeling skin off, right? Like they manifested from the inside out? Maybe that's how it's gonna work again...