Wednesday, August 16, 2023

Power Pack Team Ups

The next several Power Pack mini-series were Team-Up titles featuring Power Pack with other heavy hitters from the Marvel Universe.



They meet the X-Men, The Avengers and Spider-Man among others.



The team-up books are a lot of fun. In the Avengers book Kang ends up projecting the Power Pack into an alternate future where they meet grown-up versions of themselves. It's really cool.



The books are action packed while still retaining their sense of humor and fun. (I love this exchange between Katie and Spider-Woman!)



And although these are "All Ages Books" that are meant to be family friendly, they don't talk down to their audience. There's some real content here, including genuine suspense and even terror. An example of this mix in storytelling is prevalent in the Spider-Man team-up book. In one arch Spider-Man is reduced in age to a child and becomes an honorary member of Power Pack.



But in the next story, the venom symbiot possesses Katie's Power Pack costume. There is a scene where the symbiot takes control of Katie, consuming her while she is sleeping in the safety of her bed. Honestly, I think this is one of the most terrifying images that I have seen in a comic book.



Maybe it's the generally light nature of the books that makes this image seem so very harsh to me, but it really got me.

These Power Pack books are truly great. They have more to them than you might expect, and they have gotten me interested in exploring other Marvel Age titles.


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