I'll openly admit it, I haven't been as big a fan of this series as most. For the most part, I found it treading on the dozens of kid superhero books that came before it (Young Avengers, New Mutants, New X-Men, etc.), and imploring completely unoriginal powers on the youngsters on the roster. So what holds my attention? That would be the role that Hank Pym, Tigra and Justice play on the team. I could care less about the kids. This issue was a huge success in my books because I didn't have to stomach the kids much!
Though thinly veiled, the main idea of this story revolves around Pym's internal struggles. Struggling with his own identity as a superhero and struggling over his loss of Janet during the Skrull Invasion to name the two main conflicts.
Pym seems to decide on his superhero identity while transporting the Absorbing Man to a new holding facility. Apparently, the best way to handle Crusher Creel is as Giant Man. Ultimately, this is neither here nor there. Whether it is a shortcoming in the writing over the years or just a clever part of Pym's instability, he has had so many personas that it is inconsequential what uniform he dons. It is the second struggle I mentioned that piqued my interest. This is the struggle over trying to bring his ex-wife, Janet back from the Overspace dimension.
I have always been intrigued by Pym's mental instability, and it is good to see that some things never change. Hank's insistence on retrieving Janet's fractured particles is a clear demonstration of his inability to let things go. And just when it looks as though he is going to make a "healthy" choice, one of his sneaky little wards floats in and looks to unravel his plans.
While I enjoyed this book, I did have a few concerns. The main concern revolving around Hank and Creel growing. Hank forces Creel to grow so large that he leaves "the bounds of reality." Now I know this is just a comic book, but how is that possible without killing everything on Earth? And I don't understand why Christos Gage has Pym explain that the human body has limits to its growth and then he goes and grows to size of our universal abstracts. To me, visiting this plane of existence also calls into question the issue of Mighty Avengers were Pym is anointed Scientist Supreme. At the time, it was presented as a giant lie constructed by Loki. But this issue makes it seem as though maybe it is true. How else would the Living Tribunal and the other abstracts allow Pym to just "drop by"? It is small points like this that cause me to shake my head. Ultimately though, I might just be reading too deeply into the finer points.
I hope to see more awkward moments between Jacosta, Pym, Janet and Tigra. I also think that these young Avengers (oops!) could be used to create some interesting bridges between these current Avengers and some of the skeletons in their closet.