Marvel; $3.99

Some of Marvel’s biggest heroes have traveled back to 1777 to save the American Revolution. When Morgan le Fay joins the British Army to quash the revolution, Benjamin Franklin sent his spirit to the future to seek help. Now, Iron Man is with Franklin and the Continental Congress, Hulk has infiltrated the British Army, Captain America and Spider-Man are trying to warn the Continental Army, and Clea is engaging in battle against Morgan le Fay.

Unfortunately, not all of the missions are successful. General Horatio Gates doesn’t believe Cap and Spidey (even when they show him their abilities) and refuses to listen to their warnings. In fact, the only one who will listen is… Benedict Arnold. Hulk’s mission went more smoothly, but now he is tasked with defeating some pretty dangerous opponents, courtesy of Morgan le Fay.

J. Michael Straczynski is doing a great job writing this book. It’s a blend of superheroics and history, in a serious setting but with a hopeful message. The heroes are doing their jobs, though without the usual flair since they are keeping a low profile, which is making the task somewhat harder. In addition to the main story, Straczynski is peppering in historical details for an educational layer and showing the heroes reconciling with how their presence affects the time. They also recognize the need to let things play out as accurately as possible, even when it’s disheartening.

The art is provided by pencilers Sean Damien Hill and Ron Lim, inker Jay Leisten, and colorist Alex Sinclair, who are equally up to the task of supplanting modern heroes into the American Revolution. They’ve recreated the uniforms of the soldiers and the battlefield landscape to set the scene and produce the out-of-time element when seeing Marvel heroes in that context.

-Amanda Sheriff