Grimlock ♥ Ultra Magnus

Just a note: I tried using the save as draft and posting when I finished, and I messed up, deleted the original post after trying to post it later.   If another review comes in, so be it, but I don't think the original will so I'm rewriting.   (I also know how I'm going to use the drafts; I'll have at least two open, one for my weekly reading, and one for each book I'm reading and add GIFs when appropriate so I can kinda get an as I go reaction while just posting once!)

Anyway, Young Avengers has always been good about diversity: they proposed that Captain America was black first, but those were the trials and most of them died.   The son of the first Captain America, Eli, has taken on the mantle of Patriot and dates Kate Bishop, a white girl who ends up being named Hawkeye by Steve Rogers (the current Captain America.)   So they've got a check on interracial relationships.   And while there are a lot of issues, most of them seem to stem from Kate's rather traumatic past, and at one point she tells Eli she just needs time.   He says he'll be there.   It's a touching moment, even if he is playing video games while talking to her; it takes the pressure off her, and makes it seem like a natural moment.   (He was playing when she came in to ask him for time.)   It had Wiccan and Hulkling, two boys who were deeply in love and in a committed relationship.   No one blinked an eye, and it seemed like any other relationship.   

This young Avengers takes it to a new level.   It has Hulkling and Wiccan, who are still boyfriends, and who have pretty much the same relationship: even when it's strained, even when they have to work through things, it's clear that they are deeply in love and committed to each other.   Kate isn't dating Eli, although she is dating Noh-Varr, who is Kree.   That would be extraterrestrial.   And also from another dimension.   America Chavez is from a different dimension, that is sort of a utopia, is Latina, and has also been raised by two moms.   So, yeah, I'd love it just for this, especially since everyone - Noh-Varr, Wiccan and Hulking and America - are written as people first.  They're unique, they have weaknesses, and they aren't stereotypes: they're real.   Kate Bishop, the white girl, and Loki, the white child-god, are also written this way.   And while they each have their quirks - Noh-Varr's speech patterns, and the way he doesn't get some Earth customs - it's true of everyone.   Loki is snarky, to the point of being obnoxious, for example.   

The point is, I don't think they're treated differently because they're in different circumstances, or come from different families, or aren't in heterosexual relationships.   They're different, and treated differently, because of their personality.   And it's nice and refreshing to see this happening.  

Also, can I just give child-Loki a shout-out:

He is amazing!   

And if this was all it brought to the table - diversity and snark - that would be awesome.   But it's filled with snappy dialogue, and a heartbreaking story that stems from the original run of this series.   It all comes from Wiccan trying to cheer up his boyfriend.  And it ends in disaster that curses Billy as much as it hurts Hulkling in the end.   It's all about dead parents, and what happens when they come back, and how that can spiral out of control.   The issue of whether or not Loki can adds another problem for the Young Avengers to deal with, and it's interesting to see how this plays out - kinda how you expect, and well, kinda not.   

And I just have to add this: 

And I should accidentally delete my reviews more often.   This one turned out way, way better!