Originally Published: May 4, 2011, on Comicvine.com

After their epic throw down with Korvac, the Avengers Academy stress levels are at an all-time high. In order to try and calm things down and provide a sense of normalcy, Hank Pym and Tigra have invited some former members of the Initiative to show the members of the Academy a time they’ll never forget. Time to boogie: Avengers style!

The Good

This issue shows off a lot of characters we haven’t really seen or heard from since the closing of Camp Hammond after Norman Osborn’s takeover of the facility, including one of my favorites, Butterball. It was a good chance to remind us that these characters are still out there, maybe for some team-ups with the Academy kids in the future, and was fun to see them interact with the Avengers Academy members.

Couple this with the odd setting for a lot of character development and loose ends to be tied up in and this was definitely a change of pace compared to the first dozen issues of this high octane series.

The Bad

Unfortunately this change of pace insures really nothing happening action wise in this issue. This is plainly just a chance to reset where a lot of the characters are with their development before they are forced to tackle their next obstacle, which looks to be the Sinister Six.

This leaves most of the comic dragging between the handful of light bulbs that go off in the characters’ heads as they begin to pair off into couples and overcome some of the shortcomings that have been plaguing them in the first 12 issues of this series.

The Verdict

If you haven’t been reading Avengers Academy then this is a great place to jump into the series since it resets all the characters and where they at in their lives as we wait for the next story arc to jump off.

Unfortunately, this issue really doesn’t do much in terms of action and so if you have read the first dozen issues, then this comic will be very boring compared to what you’re used to and even cameos by Gravity, Firestar, and Butterball can’t save this issue as a whole.

If you haven’t been reading Avengers Academy, this issue would be a great time to jump into it, as we get ready for the return of the Sinister Six. If you have been reading it and your comic budget is tight this week, then don’t feel bad if you miss this issue since you’re not really missing anything you haven’t already seen in the first dozen issues and save up for next month’s issue.

2/5 Stars