There was a time in the Marvel Universe when comics stopped being for kids and started being for adults. There didn't seem to be any middle-ground for the oh-so picky teenage crowd. In 2002/2003 Marvel debuted Runaways, a story about 6 teenagers that discover their parents are actually supervillains. The original series ran for 18 issues until 2005, and it left kind of a gap for Marvel. This is where Young Avengers come in. Marvel has a perfect opportunity to launch a new series, a new team, and to pick up a bunch of new readers, cha-ching!Young Avengers follows a group of kids who are rounded up by what seems to be a younger version of Iron Man. Nathaniel Richards, a.k.a Iron Lad. He shows up with futuristic technology and seeks out Eli Bradley (Patriot), Billy Kaplan (Wiccan), and Teddy Altman (Hulkling) and try their best to live up to the "Avengers" title they've been given by the media. As the series continues, the original line-up gets extended after a botched rescue, and some teenage angst. Unfortunately for the kids, they aren't really approved for super heroism, and Captain America and Iron Man, are quick to try and put a stop to them. Once Iron Man and Captain America get involved it sets in motion the events that help turn the kids from wannabes to superheroes.
Throughout the 12 issues and 1 annual, the characters have to deal with a bunch of teenage issues (rebellion, drugs, coping with death, plus two of them are totally gay for each other), and all of the issues are handled really well, even if they do rush through some of them. Writer, Allan Heinberg managed to create some fantastic new characters that hold their own, despite being modelled off existing characters. We get to see the kids learn about their skills, discover new ones, and prove to the rest of the Marvel universe that they aren't just carbon copies of the original Avengers lineup. The first series covers 2 major story arcs. The first is who Iron Lad is and how he came to be, and the second arc focuses a lot on Hulkling and the origins of his powers, and connections to the original Avengers. The second arc seems a little rushed in my opinion, but it does have an awesome finale, and the characters get plenty of loose ends tied up.
Since this initial series the characters have popped up in plenty more Marvel titles including Secret Invasion, Civil War and even a team up with the Runaways. This year they are involved in a storyline to track down The Scarlet Witch in Avengers: The Children's Crusade. This title brings back the series' orginal writer Heinberg, and artist Jim Cheung. It's also the first time that they aren't credited as Young Avengers, cementing themselves now as one of the several teams operating under the "Avengers" title. Overall it's a great series that manages to introduce new characters as well as give enough info about the older characters that new readers can start on some of the connecting titles. Definitely one for younger readers though, because as fun as it is, it's pretty much just fun; you'll get an enjoyable story, with some good dialogue, but it is essentially a Marvel book to get the reader onto other Marvel books.
