The Avengers are probably
Marvel’s second most popular superhero team right behind the X-Men. Their
roster has changed and evolved over the decades but they’ve always had a fair
share of appeal with comic book readers. Back in the late ‘70s/early ‘80s, writer
David Michelinie was in the midst of a four-year run on the celebrated title
which made him the perfect candidate to write a novel based on the beloved comic
book series. Originally published in 1979, The
Avengers: The Man Who Stole Tomorrow was the superhero team’s very first
novel.
Here’s the book’s official
synopsis: “Iron Man, Thor, Vision, The
Beast, Quicksilver, and The Scarlet Witch band together to save the life of
Captain America, the living legend of World War II! Travel with these six
sensational heroes 2,000 years into the future as they come face-to-face with
the unimaginable villainy of Kang the Conqueror, a descendant of Dr. Doom who
is determined to be rid of Captain America—for good.” The audiobook is
narrated by Qarie Marshall and was released on April 5th, 2022.
This book is right up my alley,
written by one of my favourite comic book writers back in the day, David
Michelinie, who really wrote this as if it were a multi-issue comic book story.
The action leaps from the pages, well, the pages being read by the narrator,
that is. Michelinie really knows his stuff and does perfect characterizations
of the cast of heroes. Fun fact: Michelinie is only second to Stan “The Man”
Lee in terms of the longest run as writer on The Amazing Spider-Man. His run on the Iron Man title back in the ‘70s
and ‘80s hasn’t been matched before or since, in my opinion, akin to Frank
Miller’s run on the Daredevil series. Speaking of heroes, the selection of members
for the Avengers in this novel is really great. I love having Quicksilver and Beast
as part of the group, something quite different to the team’s cinematic
iteration. Having Kang as the villain is also a wise choice, seeing as he was a
popular recurring baddie for the Avengers.
I won’t get into too many details
regarding the plot, except to say that the Avengers find themselves facing a
powerful opponent with mystic powers by the name of Brother Bear who is
directly linked to Captain America’s disappearance. It feels like two stories
wrapped into one with a connecting thread. The back-and-forth between the characters
is always fun, the action scenes are well laid out, the story moves at brisk
pace, and it’s an enjoyable ride throughout in spite of the titular villain only
showing up in the latter part of the book. I love the feel of these vintage
novels and while I’m sure some readers will bemoan the fact that they’ve kept
some politically incorrect terms when referring to a specific group of people—not
the most offensive of terms—I appreciate the fact that they’ve kept it intact,
preserving the novel’s integrity as it was written back in 1979. There’s even a
reference to Mork and Mindy, which
was a highly relevant TV show around the time the book was published—if you’ve
never heard of Mork and Mindy, just Google it! Since this is an audiobook, the
narrator is a key part of the package and Qarie Marshall provides an excellent
reading and voice-acting of the plethora of characters featured in the story.
That being said, The Man Who Stole Tomorrow still remains
a book that is very much a product of its time and similar to my previous
Marvel audiobook review, Fantastic Four: Redemption of the Silver Surfer, it’s quite straight-forward and simple by today’s
standards. For those reasons, a younger, more sophisticated group of readers might
not find this book as appealing as someone who grew up or was a comic book
collector back in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. If you want to experience what the
Avengers were like in the Bronze Age of comic books, or if you’re simply a fan
of vintage comic book stories or of the Avengers in any way, shape or form,
then you’re bound to have a good time with David Michelinie’s excellent prose
book. It’s a terrific adaptation of a great Marvel franchise. Avengers
Assemble!
Rating: Four stars out of five
Get your copy on Audible
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