Warning: This volume of Uncanny Avengers directly follows on from events in AXIS, Marvel's 2012 Crisis Crossover, and Late Arrival Spoilers for that storyline are unmarked.
Uncanny Avengers (subtitled Counter-Evolutionary for the collected edition) is a 2015 comic book series from Marvel Comics. It's written by Rick Remender, with art by Daniel Acuna.
In the wake of the Avengers vs. X-Men feud (Marvel's 2012 Crisis Crossover), Captain America founded the Uncanny Avengers to help reunite the mutant Uncanny X-Men with The Avengers, with the new superhero team drawn from both sides.
However, that team was shaken by AXIS (another Crisis Crossover) in which many heroes and villains had their morality 'inverted' - and Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch discovered that the mutant extremist Magneto wasn't their biological father.
In the wake of those events, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch have vanished, and a new team of Uncanny Avengers - including a newly heroic Sabretooth - is setting out to find them. Unfortunately, that's going to put all of them on a collision course with the villainous High Evolutionary.
Uncanny Avengers: Counter-Evolutionary contains examples of the following tropes:
- All Your Powers Combined: The High Evolutionary's daughter, Luminous, is a Superior Successor combining Quicksilver's Super-Speed with the Scarlet Witch's chaos magic. She's mockingly dismissive of her "brother and sister", viewing them as Flawed Prototypes.
- The Atoner: The events of AXIS left Sabretooth transformed. Whereas most heroes and villains recovered from its morality 'inversion' effect, Sabretooth's made a lasting Face–Heel Turn. He wants to be a better person, but he's very aware of all the things he's done in the past. And nobody on the team really trusts him.
- Big Bad: The High Evolutionary isn't initially looking for a fight with the Avengers, but as soon as they interfere with his plans he becomes the main villain for the series.
- Counter-Earth: The High Evolutionary is still using Counter-Earth, a world on the far side of the sun, as the basis for his experiments in evolution. It's the main setting for the series - the Avengers teleport there during the first issue and remain there until the end of the final issue.
- Death of a Child: The High Evolutionary gathers his New Men, including civilian families, and then kills the entire city. The crowd that assembles is shown to include young children in strollers, including one child who seemingly has a limb difference. The High Evolutionary's speech explains that his genetic experiment has been unsatisfactory for several reasons - and he specifically mentions the birth of some children with disabilities. So he's going to kill everyone and start again.
- The Dragon: Luminous, the High Evolutionary's daughter, is his main enforcer. She's a Superior Successor to Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, with both sets of powers.
- Evilutionary Biologist: As usual, the High Evolutionary is determined to create a better race of sentients. And, as usual, his experiments somehow fall short and he mercilessly culls each generation of failed experiments.
- Fantastic Racism: The first issue opens with some of the High Evolutionary's evolved animals, the New Men, talking about Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch's presence on their world. Humans are disparaging referred to as "pink sacks".
- Heroic Willpower: Despite being infected and transformed into one of the shambling "Green Ones", Captain America regains his free will just before the final battle, grabbing his shield and fighting alongside the Avengers.
- Killed Offscreen: Simon Williams, aka Wonder Man, is a being of ionic energy who'd somehow been absorbed by Rogue. After she's teleported to Counter-Earth in the first issue, she awakes in one of the High Evolutionary's labs - and is told that Simon has been removed and destroyed.
- Out of Focus: Captain America, Sam Wilson, is infected by touch of the High Evolutionary's "Green Ones" in the first issue, transforming him into a mindless, monstrous laborer. He doesn't recover his mind until the start of the final battle (on the last page of issue #4), so misses most of the plot.
- La Résistance: The "Low Evolutionary" leads a rag-tag resistance movement on Counter-Earth, trying to save those they can from the High Evolutionary's purges. But they're just normal humans and New Men, and lack the power to directly confront his forces.
- Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome: Simon Williams, aka Wonder Man, is a being of ionic energy who'd somehow been absorbed by Rogue. After she's teleported to Counter-Earth in the first issue, Rogue awakes in one of the High Evolutionary's labs - and is informed by the scientist supervising her that Simon has been removed and destroyed. He doesn't reappear during the series, suggesting that it's true.
- Viral Transformation: The "Green Ones" are shambling, monstrous plant-creatures that infect anyone they can hold. They serve as the High Evolutionary's laborers and recycle the remains after he massacres each batch of test subjects. Captain America is infected, but eventually manages to regain his free will. The Vision is able to restore his human form after the High Evolutionary is defeated.
