Avengers Academy #9

The Taskmaster has always been an entertaining bad guy - he has a photographic memory (of sorts) for combat moves and can imitate any style.

Which means he has the same abilities as the most interesting member of the Avengers Academy, Finesse - which leads her to wonder if he might be her real father.

With the help of Quicksilver she tracks down Taskmaster - and what follows is a heck of a knock-down, drag-out fight.

She's the most interesting member of the team for several reasons: she's the most intelligent (smart characters always drive the story); she's very skillful; and she seems to teeter back and forth between being a "good guy" and a villain.

The other storyline is less interesting - Tigra is angry at three of the students for their attempt at revenge on The Hood, so she tells them they're expelled.

The debate that follows leans a little too close to "After School Special" territory - a constant threat in a book about teens.

The art by Mike McKone and Rebecca Buchman is quite good, especially the fight sequence - it's a shame this is McKone's last issue as the regular penciler.

I'd still like to see the students get some "down time" - doing whatever kids do these days (see a movie, play softball, etc.) - that would go a long way to making them "real people," and not just superhero cutouts.

Still, aside from a few minor stumbles along the way, this continues to be an entertaining comic, and one well worth following.

Grade: A-

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