In spring and summer of 2019, the Marvel Universe got rocked as the War of the Realms broke out. Built up from events in Jason Aaron's run on Thor's book, the story told of the evil dark elf Malekith, having conquered the other realms of Norse mythology, sets his sight on Midgard, aka Earth.
The story itself was told in a main mini-series, but it, in the tradition of many event stories, had included tie-in books and mini-series that chronicled what various characters were doing during this war. One of those minis focused on a team called the Agents of Atlas.
The Agents of Atlas were a team that first appeared in What If #9 (June 1978), and were composed of characters that appeared stories that were published in the 1950s by Atlas Comics, the 1950s successor of Timely Comics, and the predecessor of Marvel Comics. It would eventually be established that this team did actually exist in the Marvel Universe in the 1950s. This version would appear in the 2006 limited series Agents of Atlas by writer Jeff Parker and artist Leonard Kirk.
The War of the Realms would see the birth of a revamped version of the team by Korean-American writer Greg Pak and artist Gang Hyuk Lim. This version would be composed primarily of Asian and Asian-American superheroes. So, how this new team get its start? Let's look at War of the Realms: New Agents of Atlas #1 and find out!
The cover is a Billy Tan piece. It's a bit basic, just showing off the members of this new superhero team leaping into action. It's nothing really special, but it does tell you what you get: A new team of heroes.
"Fire and Ice: Chapter One"
Writer: Greg Pak
Penciler: Gang Hyuk Lim
Inker Gang Hyuk Lim
Colorist: Federico Blee
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Editors: Mark Paniccia, Tom Groneman
Editor-in-Chief: C.B. Cebulski.
The story begins with two heroines arguing about turf over the seas over the North Pacific.
The blue-haired lady in white is Lei Ling, aka Aero. An architect from Shanghai, she has the power to manipulate air and sense chi. The surfer is Pearl Pangan, aka Wave. A Filipina heroine from Cebu City, she has the power to manipulate water. The two spot a whirlpool, which contains a nasty surprise.
“Pop goes the Weasel!" The two heroines are taken down, a fiery figure proclaiming it was too easy. In Mumbai, India, another pair of Asian heroines are training.
Meet Kamala Khan, the newest Ms. Marvel, and Cindy Moon, aka Silk. They're battling a training robot. They take it down with the help of future Marvel Cinematic Universe star Shang-Chi and Amadeus Cho, aka Brawn. Former SHIELD Agent Jimmy Woo claps for them. You see, they're doing a demonstration for the students of the Pan-Asian School for the Unusually Gifted. Basically, it's a special university for people with superpowers. Kind of like Hogwarts or the Xavier Institute.
Woo runs the place, and he invited these heroes to show the power of teamwork. Because as we all know, teamwork makes the dream work.
After the heroes meet up with the students, they commiserate over dinner. Shang-Chi and Woo noticed that there was tension between Amadeus and Kamala. Woo is worried about this, as he's hoping they would one day join the Atlas Foundation. He picks up a fruit from pyrus pyrifolia. It's a variety of pear known a a nashi pear. He asks the group what it is. Shang-Chi, being Chinese, says it's a Chinese pear. Silk and Amadeus, both being Korean-American, say it's a Korean pear. The Pakistani-American Kamala says that she's seen those pears sold at a Japanese grocery store, so she thought it was a Japanese pear.
The point Woo is making is that the pear is just a pear. There's no need to debate about where it's supposedly from. It's a pointless argument. Using the nashi pear for this example is clever on the writer's part as the pear comes from trees that are native throughout East Asia, hence why the pear is often seen as Chinese, Korean, or Japanese. The more you know.
Basically, Woo points out that a lot of time is wasted arguing about things that really aren't worth it. But not all conflict is so pointless. When he leads an Atlas mission, he wants the people he's working with to contribute ideas, not just criticism. This leads to Kamala and Amadeus butting heads, referencing incidents in Champions #2 and Incredible Hulk #714-717 (May-July 2018). Their argument is interrupted by an alert.
Remember, this miniseries is a tie-in to War of the Realms, and our heroes just witnessed Malekith's attack on New York City in the first issue of that event mini. Woo and Amadeus pick up another interdimensional breach, this one near Seoul, South Korea. Woo has nobody there, so he deputizes the heroes he's gathered to be his Agents of Atlas for this mission...except for Ms. Marvel. That's because she's heading back to New York to join the other Champions in facing Malekith.
In Seoul, a structure appears, spewing lava. However, the city is not defenseless.
Meet Ami Han, aka White Fox. She's a secret agent who is also the last of the kumiho. Kumiho are Korean fox spirits that are said to be able to assume the form of beautiful human women so they can seduce men...the goal being to eat their hearts or livers. Yeah. White Fox also, in the tradition of characters like Firestar, X-23, and Phil Coulson, actually first appeared in a 2014 South Korean webtoon called Avengers: Electric Rain. She would join the Marvel Universe proper in Contest of Champions #1 (October 2015). The lava also comes with an army.
The Sons of Muspell have come to conquer Korea. But Korea is a country with a long history of dealing with colonizers and conquerors. And the country also has a couple of other heroes to defend it.
Meet Dan Bi, aka Crescent. She's a young Tae Kwon Do prodigy who wears a magical mask which she can use to summon a big magic bear named Io. And she has some backup.
Meet Seol Hee, aka Luna Snow. She's a K-pop singer with cryokinetic powers. Crescent, Io, and Luna Snow are making their Marvel comic debuts here. All three of these characters originally came from the mobile game Marvel Future Fight. Some of the gathered heroes fly over and watch them fight, while Silk fangirls over Luna. Amadeus wants to jump in and help fight, but Woo points out that they have things under control. A fire demon's spear hits the jet causing it to crash. Woo ends up out of it, and Amadeus ends up the one in charge...much to his chagrin.
You see, Incredible Hulk #714-717 was the "World War Hulk II" storyline, in which Amadeus Cho, then operating as the Totally Awesome Hulk, went on a rampage as a result of losing control of his Hulk powers. It's something that has haunted the teenage hero, and it's made him rather reluctant at the idea of taking charge of anything.
White Fox sees Amadeus as he tries to get help and, in the new heroes meeting up tradition, assumes he's there to rampage. It results in a brawl. Amadeus spots Luna Snow fighting the fire demons of Muspelheim. Trying to help her, Amadeus ends up accidentally blasting her with a fire hose and freezing her.
The Eighth-Smartest Man in the World, everybody! Although to be fair, it is kind of odd that the woman with cryokinetic powers isn't immune to being frozen.
It's here that the mind behind the invasion is revealed: Queen Sindr, daughter of the Asgardian fire demon called Surtur. And she intends to make Asia into her new realm: New Muspelheim. In the North Pacific, Aero and Wave wake up and realized they've been played. A pair of fire demons taunt them. They're now far away from their respective homes of Shanghai and Cebu City. Too far to help them. But the demons get ambushed.
Yes, it seems our heroines here got some divine help in the form of the Hawaiian goddess Pele. Pele is the goddess of fire, volcanoes, dance...and violence. Yup, we got a war goddess in the house.
I liked this issue! It's a fun story that shows our team and brings most of them together. We also get to see Luna Snow as well as the Crescent/Io combo kick a little butt in their debut, showing just why they're worthy of being on this team. Amadeus Cho is clearly the character with the central arc in this miniseries as Pak is using the events of War of the Realms to show his growth. I do like the art of Gang Hyuk Lim in this book.
This miniseries is highly recommended. If you're looking to read it for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2019 trade paperback War of the Realms: New Agents of Atlas. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves, and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get vaccinated! Join me next time as we rejoin the Avengers in the battle of space and time...
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