| Title | : | Avengers: The Korvac Saga |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0785144706 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780785144700 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 240 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1978 |
Avengers: The Korvac Saga Reviews
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As Avengers hurtled toward the ‘80s, it proved that it still had one big epic in the tank. Avengers members (past and present) and various allies started disappearing mysteriously, popping away in front of their friends. A confrontation with the cosmic “Elder” The Collector brought the Avengers to the brink of discovering the extremely powerful Michael, once a villain from the future known as Korvac. Michael killed the Collector before he could expose him, precipitating a final showdown that left most of the heroes near death.
This was a massive saga with universe-shattering stakes. The fractured core team had to find a way to reunify, just as a massive infusion of former members and allies descended on their doorstep. Michael’s motivations were rather complex and he was presented as far from the typical comic book villain. He would have a profound impact on Moondragon, especially, propelling her down some dark roads in the years to come. Several characters made progress dealing with their respective personal issues. Ms. Marvel made her first appearances in the book (though it would still be some time before she’d join as an official member). This arc also included the introduction of Wasp’s career as a fashion designer and explored some crucial terrain in the complicated Captain America/Iron Man partnership that would echo down the years in stories such as Civil War or Jonathan Hickman’s recent run on the title. On a sartorial note, this arc marked the debut of Wonder Man’s infamous leisure suit look. Readers were also introduced to NSA liaison Peter Henry Gyrich, who revoked the team’s special privileges due to security concerns, making their operations difficult at a crucial moment. Seeing the team commandeer a city bus to transport them to the climactic showdown was a wonderfully bizarre detail.
A small army of writers and artists worked on this saga. That it holds together so well is an accomplishment of strong editing.
Avengers: The Korvac Saga is one of the most famous Avengers arcs and a must read for fans.
A version of this review originally appeared on
www.thunderalleybcp.com -
This volume collects a ten-issue epic from 1977, from issues of Avengers and a Thor Annual.
Korvac was a slave of the alien Badoon until he used their own technology to break free. Gathering power along the way, he travels from the 30th century to our time, intending to remake the world, bringing him into conflict with both the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy.
I never really liked Jim Shooter's writing much, even as a kid, and he handles most of this story arc (and seems to direct the rest, as there isn't a noticeable difference among the other writers who contribute.) There are too many attempts to be funny that just come off as embarrassing, too much petty, annoying bickering amongst the teammates and too many broad, hand-wavy explanations for everything. Korvac's origin is a particularly egregious example; he escapes from Thor and the Guardians and just happens to teleport right to Galactus' world-ship. There he plugs himself in and woohoo instant near-omnipotence. Honestly, I don't expect real, hard science from this but at least make something up that sounds plausible.
There is an odd sequence where the Avengers, needing to get somewhere but having their jet flight privileges revoked, take a bus--despite the fact that about half of them can fly under their own power.
Ultron makes a less-than-stellar showing around the middle of the volume, hiding out in a convent (!) We find that the Avengers have been "immunized" to his primary means of attack. How does that work, exactly? The Scarlet Witch's involvement in this battle was referenced when Ultron returned a couple years later, but this really dumb plot device is never heard from again. Nor is the deus-ex-machina way in which Thor finally defeats the robot.
And what on Earth is Nighthawk doing in here? He shows up at a fashion show, something he admits he wouldn't normally do, for no apparent reason.
I like a lot of 1970s Marvel, but the Avengers wouldn't reach greatness until about a half a year later. -
3.75 stars. Ok, this was pretty cool. Korvac was a half man, half machine who fought with the original Guardians of the Galaxy from the 31st century. He escaped and ended up gaining godlike powers from exploring Galactus’ abandoned ship. With his new power, he shielded himself from the other omnipresent beings to remain unseen to work his plan to take over the universe. This plot ran the entire course of this book. As the Avengers dealt with other issues like fighting Ultron………again, fighting Tyrak, this Korvac plot bubbled in the background. This story did a pretty good job slowly building up as the book went on. I also came to like these original Guardians of the Galaxy. I thought they had some cool characters and now I want to read their books. Lucky for me there is an omnibus that collects them. But yeah, I dug this one. The late great George Perez did awesome on the artwork along with Sal Buscema and Dave Wenzel. Then the ending was one that I didn’t see coming which was a nice finale.
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A complicated epic involving the most complex of characters, Korvac or later, Michael. It starts with Thor teaming with the original Guardians of the Galaxy to take on this mad machine man who is tormented and yearning for power (like they all do) then it moves to an awkward time within the Avengers, fighting and disloyalty is high, some government official basically comes in and shuts them down leaving them with lacklustre means, even Nick Fury abandons them as the Avengers lose all their priority clearance. Stressful times ahead so how do they cope when past and present Avengers keep disappearing and who is Michael.
Without giving too much away the Korvac Saga leads up to what you expect a huge battle but are the Avengers really the bad guys at the end of the day.
I totally felt for Michael but then he wanted to rule the world even if he wanted to save it make it better, the likes of Hitler said similar doings and we know how that ended, so was the Avengers right to not allow him to go ahead as planned. One will never know. -
I have mixed feelings on this one. I read this as a kid and remembered it fondly. Reading it now felt like a lot of work. Comics of that era had a lot of long exposition designed to make every issue clear to new readers. That slows down the narrative a lot when you're reading it in a collected edition.
The art is great. The core story is good, bordering on very good. This is an "important" Avengers run, but maybe not the finest.
It's just a dense read, especially if you read modern comics. You won't breeze through this collection.
It's worth reading, if you're just getting into the Avengers or Guardians of the Galaxy titles. It touches on big events that are referenced in other Marvel titles, particularly Bronze Age books. -
In retrospect this is one of the foundation stones that pointed the way to the future of modern comics. It’s clearly influenced by Claremont’s X-Men storylines, with a lot of soap operatic conflicts going on (a leader filled with self-doubt, Captain America taking a quite out-of-character Wolverine role of undermining him), panels here and there setting up later storylines so nothing ever quite feels tidily resolved, and epic battles stretching from the 31st century to New York’s Forest Hill Gardens neighbourhood.
It’s clearly a primitive form of the ongoing narrative which dominates modern comics – whilst the story builds to the last three issues here, the Korvac storyline itself doesn’t properly kick in until the last three issues or so. What saves it though, and marks it out from the majority of what’s followed is the enormous sense of fun behind it all. In the economically testing 70s the government interference and cuts storylines were very much on the nose (and read so again to a modern British reader like me). It culminates in the splendidly absurd way the Avengers eventually reach Korvac’s lair, a splendidly comic conceit that adds to the absurdity of the climax’s setting. And of course there are the requisite punch-ups, although Jim Shooter has the wit to undermine this in the climactic battle (it’s far better executed here than when he reused it for Secret Wars). This is ridiculous, epic and yet has room to ponder moral questions.
What also raises it above the usual superhero fare is the essentially tragic nature of the villain. Korvac is clearly one of the Avengers’ most powerful foes and even a combination of the world’s mightiest heroes wouldn’t match him. The answer is therefore rooted in character, lending a tragic air to proceedings. We’re not simply admiring the heroes and jeering the bad guys, instead we’re left with characters on both sides as flawed and complex as the medium would allow.
Of course, being forty years old a lot of the attitudes on display are out of date, as happens to all art over time. But this is a reminder of how inventive Marvel of the 70s was and how fortunate I was to be brought up on them. Tremendous fun. -
As a youngster I marveled at the scope of this story, but I was unable to find all the back issues that were translated into Dutch in second hand comic book shops. You can imagine how pleased I am now to own the whole story in one tpb!
The pencils by George Perez are great, the style of the other artists is not my thing. The unfolding mystery of Michael/The Enemy/Korvac still holds up after all these decades, love the story pacing as well. It's nice to see the Thor Annual with the Guardians of the Galaxy included, even though the storytelling style there is totally over the top.
Good fun really (regardless of some obvious flaws) and a great addition to my collection (finally!). -
Cuatro estrellas y media por el conjunto, con algunas entregas individuales algo flojas.
Los cómics datan de 1977. El tomo recoge una de mis sagas preferidas del grupo de superhéroes más poderoso de la Tierra. Especialmente aquí se luce Jim Shooter de guionista, a quien le gustan los argumentos a lo bestia y que nos ofrece lo que para mí es uno de los finales más grandiosos de la era Marvel.
¡Excelsior! -
What it must have been like to read that final fight scene at the time.
There really had never been someone who walked over the Avengers like that before. -
My inner MARVEL nerd is screaming with joy. I loved this so so much and I can't believe I didn't invest myself in the comics earlier, because it turns out I'm not exclusively a movie fan after all. I loved all the cameos and crossovers that weren't incorporated in the movie franchise yet. I wish Nat had more lines in this one, but we Nat stans are sadly used to that by now (and impatiently waiting for the much deserved solo movie). The villain was quite well-crafted and enjoyable as well as the older characters I didn't have a chance to get to know before, like the original Guardians. Last but not least, the illustrations were absolutely amazing. All in all, I had a blast reading this and it definitely made my day.
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It was better than I was expecting from a mainstream 70s comic book, and the bad guy turning out to be just a guy wearing Bermuda shorts, living in the suburb, must have been cheeky and original at the time. He was still downright all powerful and all. He basically loses because of ennui, I guess. Also the good guys having to take public transit to get to the bad guy because their super jet had been grounded must have been edgy and camp, I suppose. Now, I mostly just notice the intense sexism. Wow, is The Korvac Saga ever sexist.
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Se hace pesado de leer como cualquier comic de superhéroes de la época, además de ver lo que pasa te lo va contando el narrador.
Pero está interesante y se desarrollan los personajes de verdad. En realidad son como muchas mini historias que ocurren mientras está Korvac de fondo maquinando sus cosas. Y el final es muy bueno.
El dibujo ha sido un poco meh -
The writing and art invokes a sense of nostalgia.
More importantly, it signifies the things to come! As in the mega crossovers to plague Marvel year after year. With great ambiguities and artistic conveniences carelessly woven into the Marvel universe. -
Honestamente, Marvel tiene mucho mejores historias y villanos más creativos.
Fueron los inicios y aún faltaba para que evolucionara este universo, pero la calidad que puedo resaltar no se encuentra en la narración y mucho menos en los diálogos sino en las ilustraciones y diseños.
Una historia que recomendaría para niños o jóvenes que empiezan a leer el mundo de Marvel. -
One of my favorite stories from when I first started reading comic books in the late '70s. It has not aged very well.
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The Korvac Saga!
An epic Marvel tale, told when epic tales didn't need to be a miniseries crossing over 42 on-going titles to get the whole story, which doesn't make any sense. No way!
It begins in a Thor annual, guest starring the Original Guardians of the Galaxy, and gains momentum as it sails through the regular issues of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, The Avengers! (Guest starring the Original Captain Marvel and the Original Ms. Marvel!
Now, I ask you, "What more could you possibly ask for?"
Just don't sit there! Go and read it! Enjoy! -
The dialogue is cringe-worthily chauvinistic when it comes to women, and treats every non-superhero as merely cardboard comedy relief, or caricatures. The one exception might be Moondragon. The only thing that kept me reading was "Michael's" humorous casual wear, shorts and all. Maybe he was showing off his quads once he got a new body? Who knows.
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Por fin me animé a leer una de las sagas más clásicas e icónicas de los vengadores, actualmente y aún llevando más de 30 años de su creación se considera uno de los mejores clásicos de Jim Shooter, la saga se desarrolla en las historias de los vengadores a lo que me refiero es que el villano principal Michael Korvac aparece mientras se estaba desarrollando otra misión diferente; como toda historia clásica hay que verla desde su contexto en el tiempo de publicación, obviamente para una persona que ha leído tramas modernas esta le parecerá aburrida, pero si lo vemos en el propósito de ese tiempo fue innovadora y profunda, Por qué? porque rompe el cliché que se seguía realizando en esa época de publicaciones el villano debe ser un ser supremo que desea la destrucción o el control y nuestros superhéroes están para detenerlo y quedar ellos como la salvación, en esta serie sin entrar a spoilers , las intenciones del villano son diferentes que al final genera cargas éticas terribles sobre lo ocurrido que el lector logra apreciar, lo que más me gustó fue la aparición de todos los que se habían alguna vez asumido el cargo de Avenger hasta ese momento y también la aparición de Ultron y el coleccionista, cuando terminas de leer la saga y analizas el propósito del guionista te das cuenta del porque es una saga icónica que seria muy interesante ser tomada en el UCM actualmente, pero desafortunadamente lo que baja de calidad la historia es los estilos del dibujo algunos se nota el detalle de George Pérez y otros se nota baja calidad que quita el clímax de las batallas hasta en la batalla final se pierde ese clímax por lo mal dibujado por eso bajo de clasificación al cómic.
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Better than most of the Avengers stories that came before it, but still not quite good. The Korvac Saga shows signs of interpersonal intrigue, but lacks a real fleshing out of its characters. The most sympathetic personalities in the book are likely the villain and his lover, and neither is prominent enough to raise up what is otherwise too bland a text to easily recommend.
Flashes of Iron Man butting heads with Captain America and Woman Man's awkward attempts at romance aren't enough to make up for overly broad dialogue and characterizations. This problem is compounded as more and more characters are crammed into the book, eventually moving so many current and former Avengers into the spotlight that it's difficult for any of them to shine.
There were a couple of moments that I did really enjoy. The final confrontation is appropriately harrowing, though it just made me wish we'd gotten more of a focus on Michael Korvac in the prior issues. Scarlet Witch was a great, if brief, scene.
There's a lot of potential here, but ultimately I didn't find much of it to have been realized in this volume. -
The Judas Contract: Avengers edition. The Avengers fight an endless horde of unrelated villains until the abysmal last issue, where they end fighting the boring titular character. Overlong, contrived, mysoginist and sexist to the very bone (all the women are awfully mistreated and powerless), ridden of Marvel-type moments trying to hamfistedly show you that Th3Se Ar3 N0RmAl P3Opl3, N0t PoWeRFuL anD InVinCiBle SupErHerO3$11!!111!!! like the constant bitching of the invulnerable and all-powerful Wonder Man about him "not being enough manly to be an Avenger" (?) and the Bus scene, it's a chore to read. I'll give one half star more for the interesting Iron Man inner dialogue and the funny borderline Homoerotic relation between him and Captain America, but other than that it's awful. Nights of Wundagore followed this, and it was 2000% better in every possible way. Hell, even the "for historical purposes only" first 4-issues West Coast Avengers solo series was better than this!
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Ho recuperato questa saga perché contiene una delle prime comparse dell'originale squadra dei Guardiani della Galassia, gruppo intrigante di cui venne interrotta la pubblicazione in Italia negli anni '90, lasciando inedita metà della collana americana dedicata.
Nel volume sono contenute una decina di storie del 1977 degli albi dei Vendicatori. La trama impiega del tempo a decollare effettivamente, mostrando per lo più solo scorci del nemico principale, ossia Korvac, avversario anonimo, stereotipato e pressoché sconosciuto, rivisitato in modo inaspettato per questa serie. La parte determinante dello svolgimento avviene negli ultimi tre capitoli, breve ma intensa. Si intravede il tentativo di trattare tematiche non banali e quell'accenno di filosofia credo rimanga il punto più interessante di tutto il racconto. Qualche "Deus ex machina" di troppo ma nel complesso una lettura piacevole. -
Despite it's historical importance, I just did not like the Korvac Saga. Korvac feels like a less weird (and therefore less interesting) version of the Beyonder. At least the Beyonder didn't know how to poop; Korvac just sits in his suburban home zapping people with his god brain. It's also a very odd arc. Korvac is mostly just a b-plot through most of it. And then in the last two issues the Avengers actually find and fight him. The a-plots for most of these issues are just dull generic super-hero stuff. The Avengers battle Ultron or a random Atlantean or chase Jocasta around.
The issue I liked the most was 174. It was written by Bill Mantlo rather than Jim Shooter, which is probably why I liked it. It's a fun Hawkeye centric issue and has a really great battle with the Collector. I also love the part in issue 176 where the Avengers have to take a bus to the NYC suburbs. That was great.
I did enjoy Thor Annual 6, which is really a prequel to the Korvac Saga. It's pretty basic super-hero stuff but it's fun. Grott the Man-Slayer is a great and funny villain; he should have been the breakout character not the dull Korvac. -
I had forgotten how much I enjoyed this storyline. I first read it decades ago, as a young teen, and it made an impression then. Reading it now, it still stands up as a fine epic, with as many guest stars and villains across the 10 issues as you could wish for. The many intertwining plot threads and juggling of characters is superbly done.
The only thing that has dated a little is the dialogue and characterisation, which is very heavy handed at times and lacking modern subtlety.
The one thing I came away with most is just how much more content you got back in those days. 10 issues here would fill 50 now, story wise and the amount of art panels crammed onto each page.
This would make a fine Avengers movie, suitably updated of course.
Highly recommended. -
I do like this arc in general.
It could use:
Better scripting and dialog.
More consistency among the art teams.
Fewer interruptions to the main plot.
The sheer scale of this arc is awesome and the use of the guest characters is good, but there might be too large a cast of characters for many readers.
Michael Korvac is a good cosmic heavyweight, but needs more consistency in the presentation and use of his powers.
In all, a strong start but a mediocre finish. -
Una saga mítica de los vengadores que hay que leer sí o sí. A lo largo de los once números de este tomo asistimos a algunas batallas inolvidables, sobre todo el enfrentamiento entre halcón estelar y Michael o la batalla final con todos los vengadores donde encuentro el único fallo de toda la historia, un final muy abrupto, demasiado abierto y que el epílogo añadido a posteriori no mejora demasiado.
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Decent early Avengers with a more philosophical villain, though also a deadly one. This saga features some corny 70's stuff, but also great character dynamics, Captain America & Iron Man's power struggle is really fleshed out, Ant Man and Wonder Man go through personal development and realize they're not cut out for the team, plus plenty of character deaths.
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A classic story, one of my favorites as a kid and I can't say it has aged that well but still key old Marvel. A big hard to look at the old style of coloring and the cramped art. Bonus points for the progressive and somewhat unexpected end.
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A story within many storylines. First Thor faces Korvac in the future with the help of Guardians of the galaxy 3000. Then on earth the Avangers and Guardians faces different threats like Ultron, the Collector and Korvac is biding his time. A explosive ending
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If you love the Avengers, this is amazing. If you just like comics and want to check out something new or different, this is just OK.
