Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: John Romita Jr.
Cover: Marko Djurdjevic
**Minor Spoilers**
“Next Avengers pt 1”: In the aftermath of the Siege mini-series, Asgard has fallen, Norman Osborn has been imprisoned, and from his Dark Reign we begin our journey into the Heroic Age. So naturally with everyone trying to pick up the pieces after the fallout, some changes have to be made, and former Captain America, Steve Rogers, who is now the “top cop,” will spearhead that change. And it begins with reestablishing one of the Marvel Universe’s greatest teams: The Avengers!
I haven’t been this excited about the Avengers in awhile, and all of the Heroic Age hype has piqued my interest in these books a bit more than usual. But as I read this issue, it immediately died down a little as I was treated to what, in my mind, was just a run of the mill story on the heels of one of the best cross-over events Marvel has put out. A big reason for this was the first couple of pages, as Immortus is on his knees defeated, and then he’s killed by…wait for it…the Next Avengers? Yeah, those little guys. From here we come back to present day, where Steve has assembled many of the heroes who will show up in the various Avengers titles in the months to come.
We meet the core Avengers team, consisting of Thor, Spider-Man, Hawkeye, Captain America, Spider Woman, Iron Man, and Wolverine, who will be led by Maria Hill. At this point, Kang pops up and is quickly expelled from the building by Thor, but when things calm down, Kang explains that he’s there to warn them that their children (the Next Avengers) are on the verge of destroying the universe and that they must travel in time to stop them.
Even though I didn’t find too much that was spectacular about this issue, I’m in no way saying that it was bad. Bendis was able to make sure that parts were enjoyable, and it was several of the character moments that stood out more than anything. The tense meeting between Steve and Wonder Man was one of those unexpected moments, and it ends on such a foreboding tone that you can’t wait to see what Simon meant at the end of their talk. Bendis also plays Spidey and Hawkeye very well off of each other, and there are various parts of this book that reminded me of the New Avengers title when it came to moments like that. In terms of the plot, it’s annoying that several bits are very similar to the Next Avengers movie, and I guess since I wasn’t too impressed with that I’m a little biased right now. But hey, it’s Bendis, so he’ll probably make all of my worries go away in Avengers.
The artwork was handled by John Romita Jr., and for some reason the artwork was better later on in the book when compared to the beginning and during the meeting. One thing I have never liked by any artist (and that Romita does here), is trying to show emotions through Iron Man’s mask. It’s just silly to me. Yeah, I can accept it with Spidey’s mask, but for some reason I just can’t wrap my head around the Iron Man thing…go figure. Other than that, it was what I’ve come to expect from him page after page!
The issue was enjoyable, but not what I expected as the pace was slowed down dramatically and we were treated to a very dialogue heavy issue. But hey, it’s just the beginning. There’s already the seeds of lies and deceit planted by the end of the book, including a surprise from a familiar character that has ties to the Avengers. Plus, I’m really interested to see who the final member of the team will be.
Infinite Speech
infinitespeech@comicattack.net
With Spidey’s mask, it’s just a piece of cloth on his face. So when Peter’s expression changes, the cloth can move with his features. With Iron Man’s mask, it’s…well it’s iron. It shouldn’t move with his features. The exception is the eyes, I guess, which I don’t have a hard time believing are somehow connected to Tony’s emotions. They’re just lights, really; it’s not impossible that they’re programmed that way.
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yeah, that sad look on Tony’s mask when he says he doesn’t have a time machine and he can’t see into the future (hello, futurist) is hilarious.
Yeah, the story was much slower than I would have expected. But not bad.
But I freakin HATE JRjr’s art. I HATE it.
Yeah, I was kinda let down by the whole Next Avengers thing. I didn’t watch that movie because it looked and sounded dumb. But overall, it looks like they are going to just jump into some old school style adventuring! That can’t be a bad thing.
What did you think about the backup story, The Oral History of the Avengers?
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The backup story was pretty cool actually along with the artwork that went along with it. I liked that it was done in an interview style like Forty Five45 instead of just a retelling of history. Reed Richards always comes off as a smug @$$ though lol
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