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Avengers (2010)
Avengers, Vol. 2
Marvel's super-secret brain trust has reunited because someone is trying to put the Infinity Gauntlet back together. Who is it and will the Avengers be able to stop them in time? And what does any of this have to do with the Red Hulk? Plus, is there a little romance brewing? Another blistering blockbuster chapter from Marvel's premiere super hero team Bendis and Romita Jr
Collecting Avengers (2010) 7-12, 12.1
Collecting Avengers (2010) 7-12, 12.1
144 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2011
About the author
Brian Michael Bendis
4,348 books2,468 followersA comic book writer and erstwhile artist. He has won critical acclaim (including five Eisner Awards) and is one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics. For over eight years Bendis’s books have consistently sat in the top five best sellers on the nationwide comic and graphic novel sales charts.
Though he started as a writer and artist of independent noir fiction series, he shot to stardom as a writer of Marvel Comics' superhero books, particularly Ultimate Spider-Man.
Bendis first entered the comic world with the "Jinx" line of crime comics in 1995. This line has spawned the graphic novels Goldfish, Fire, Jinx, Torso (with Marc Andreyko), and Total Sell Out. Bendis is writing the film version of Jinx for Universal Pictures with Oscar-winner Charlize Theron attached to star and produce.
Bendis’s other projects include the Harvey, Eisner, and Eagle Award-nominated Powers (with Michael Avon Oeming) originally from Image Comics, now published by Marvel's new creator-owned imprint Icon Comics, and the Hollywood tell-all Fortune and Glory from Oni Press, both of which received an "A" from Entertainment Weekly.
Bendis is one of the premiere architects of Marvel's "Ultimate" line: comics specifically created for the new generation of comic readers. He has written every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man since its best-selling launch, and has also written for Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men, as well as every issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Origin and Ultimate Six.
Brian is currently helming a renaissance for Marvel’s AVENGERS franchise by writing both New Avengers and Mighty Avengers along with the successful ‘event’ projects House Of M, Secret War, and this summer’s Secret Invasion.
He has also previously done work on Daredevil, Alias, and The Pulse.
Though he started as a writer and artist of independent noir fiction series, he shot to stardom as a writer of Marvel Comics' superhero books, particularly Ultimate Spider-Man.
Bendis first entered the comic world with the "Jinx" line of crime comics in 1995. This line has spawned the graphic novels Goldfish, Fire, Jinx, Torso (with Marc Andreyko), and Total Sell Out. Bendis is writing the film version of Jinx for Universal Pictures with Oscar-winner Charlize Theron attached to star and produce.
Bendis’s other projects include the Harvey, Eisner, and Eagle Award-nominated Powers (with Michael Avon Oeming) originally from Image Comics, now published by Marvel's new creator-owned imprint Icon Comics, and the Hollywood tell-all Fortune and Glory from Oni Press, both of which received an "A" from Entertainment Weekly.
Bendis is one of the premiere architects of Marvel's "Ultimate" line: comics specifically created for the new generation of comic readers. He has written every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man since its best-selling launch, and has also written for Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men, as well as every issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Origin and Ultimate Six.
Brian is currently helming a renaissance for Marvel’s AVENGERS franchise by writing both New Avengers and Mighty Avengers along with the successful ‘event’ projects House Of M, Secret War, and this summer’s Secret Invasion.
He has also previously done work on Daredevil, Alias, and The Pulse.
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November 18, 2011
SHIELD Surveillance Report - Subject: Team code named ‘The Avengers’ - Top Secret - Nick Fury’s Eyes Only - Transcript that follows documents a conversation between Steve Rogers (Former Captain America) and Tony Stark (a/k/a Iron Man).
Steve Rogers: Hey, Tony. How are you doing?
Tony Stark: Not too bad. You wanted to talk about something?
SR: Yeah, I do. Take a seat. I just wanted to let you know that I was initially a little leery of putting you on this team of Avengers.
TS: I understand. After all, we were leading opposite sides of a civil war. And I did have you arrested. Which led to you getting shot and killed. For a while. By the way, now that you've returned are you ever going to take back the Captain America name from Barnes?
SR: Well, Bucky has been doing really well with it, and I’ve got this job keeping tabs on all the super powered people and threats so I’ll just be Steve or now. But I have a feeling I’ll be back in the old red, white and blue before too long.
TS: Funny. I had the same feeling. Anyhow, thanks for letting me on the team. I need to make a lot of things up to a lot of people and this is a good way to do it. It’s great being an Avenger again.
SR: Like I was saying, I was hesitant, but you’ve been doing excellent work so I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate you doing things my way. I know that’s hard for a Type A personality like you to let someone else run the show so…. Are you OK? Got a headache?
TS: I’m getting a psychic message from Professor Xavier.
SR: Charlie’s calling you on the mind phone? Tell him I said hi.
TS: Uh oh… I think we got trouble, Steve.
SR: We’re superheroes. There’s always trouble. What’s up?
TS: Weeeeelllllll… First I need to tell you something, and you’re not going to like it.
SR: *sigh* What have you done now, Tony?
TS: It’s not like that. Nothing new at least.
SR: Tell me.
TS: Remember that alien Kree/Skull war a while back? After that was done, I got to thinking that we couldn’t just wait around to get surprised by stuff like that. So I made a few calls. Got some guys together, and we kind of decided that we would ….handle certain things…try to steer some big events…take charge of situations that…
SR: Is this a government thing? Some secret team I haven’t heard of before?
TS: Uh….no. We just kind of decided that we’d take care of some things on our own.
SR: Who exactly is ’we’, Tony?
TS: There’s me and Professor Xavier. Because I thought the mutants should be represented. Then Reed Richards from the Fantastic Four because that guy is almost as smart as me. And Dr. Strange. I don’t understand all that crazy new age shit he spouts, but I figured we’d need to keep an eye on the magic side of things. Black Bolt from the Inhumans, but he’s dead now. And Namor…
SR: You included Namor? Hell, Tony, he’s tried to destroy New York before!
TS: Yeah, but he rules the oceans and you know how he gets if he isn’t included.
SR: What did you guys do?
TS: It’s no big deal. We would just meet every now and then and trade some info. If one of us saw a big threat rising, we’d let the others know.
SR: If it wasn’t a big deal, why’d you keep it a secret?
TS: You know how it is, Steve. Look at the weird shit we deal with. So every once in a while we would do something….
SR: Like what?
TS: Oh, like each of us took one of the Infinity Gems and hid them in secret and secure locations to keep them safe.
SR: The Infinity Gems that are so powerful that they control all of reality when put together? The ones we all risked our lives to keep from being used for evil? Those Infinity Gems?
TS: Yep.
SR: Tony, where do you get off thinking that you and your little secret club were entitled to do that?
TS: Hey, who else would you trust to do it? The U.S. government? Hell, they can’t protect their own nuclear secrets and Congress can’t pass a bill to handle the budget, and you want us to turn over objects that could destroy the universe to them?
SR: No one gave you the authority to run a secret society that would make decisions that impact every person on earth.
TS: That’s the point, Steve. There is no traditional authority that’s even close to being able to deal with the stuff we see every day. Think about doomsday weapons, aliens, magic, super villains. Who can handle that crap? The United Nations? Please. It’s gotta be us. We’re the only ones equipped and responsible enough to do it. Honestly, do you feel safer thinking that some government has possession of the Infinity Gems or would you sleep better knowing that Reed has put one in some alternate dimension he created in a lab or that Namor has stashed one on the deepest part of the ocean floor or that I’ve used all my engineering genius to secure the one I have?
SR: Wait a second. You said Black Bolt had one, but he’s dead. What happened to his?
TS: Uh…. We actually didn’t get that one back after he died. That’s why Charles was contacting me. Apparently someone found it and is using it to locate and take the rest of them.
SR: That is just great, Tony. Someone is rounding up the Infinity Gems so now we’re all going to have to…. Hang on. Just got a text. Apparently the Hulk wants to talk. He says he met some guy with some crazy gem who kicked his ass. He has some info.
TS: Uh…Hulk? I probably shouldn’t be around him.
SR: Why not?
TS: Um….Here’s the thing. A while back me and the other guys in the secret group decided that having the Hulk on earth was too big a risk in case he ever goes rage crazy again so we kind of tricked Banner into getting on a space ship and then shot him to another planet.
SR: Would this have anything to do with that thing that happened while I was dead where the Hulk declared war on the entire Earth and showed up with a bunch of aliens and tried to take over?
TS: Yeah, he was kind of pissed.
SR: Just to recap, your argument is that your little secret group is the only one powerful and responsible enough to decide the fate of the world yet your plans have resulted in a pissed off Hulk and someone stealing the Infinity Gems?
TS: When you say it like that, it does sound kind of bad.
SR: We’re going to need to have a long talk about this, Tony. But you’re OK on this Hulk thing. It’s the Red Hulk, not Banner as the Green Hulk who we’re meeting.
TS: Wait. There’s a Red Hulk now? Since when?
SR: I don’t know. I’m supposed to be in charge of this shit, and I can’t keep up with it.
Steve Rogers: Hey, Tony. How are you doing?
Tony Stark: Not too bad. You wanted to talk about something?
SR: Yeah, I do. Take a seat. I just wanted to let you know that I was initially a little leery of putting you on this team of Avengers.
TS: I understand. After all, we were leading opposite sides of a civil war. And I did have you arrested. Which led to you getting shot and killed. For a while. By the way, now that you've returned are you ever going to take back the Captain America name from Barnes?
SR: Well, Bucky has been doing really well with it, and I’ve got this job keeping tabs on all the super powered people and threats so I’ll just be Steve or now. But I have a feeling I’ll be back in the old red, white and blue before too long.
TS: Funny. I had the same feeling. Anyhow, thanks for letting me on the team. I need to make a lot of things up to a lot of people and this is a good way to do it. It’s great being an Avenger again.
SR: Like I was saying, I was hesitant, but you’ve been doing excellent work so I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate you doing things my way. I know that’s hard for a Type A personality like you to let someone else run the show so…. Are you OK? Got a headache?
TS: I’m getting a psychic message from Professor Xavier.
SR: Charlie’s calling you on the mind phone? Tell him I said hi.
TS: Uh oh… I think we got trouble, Steve.
SR: We’re superheroes. There’s always trouble. What’s up?
TS: Weeeeelllllll… First I need to tell you something, and you’re not going to like it.
SR: *sigh* What have you done now, Tony?
TS: It’s not like that. Nothing new at least.
SR: Tell me.
TS: Remember that alien Kree/Skull war a while back? After that was done, I got to thinking that we couldn’t just wait around to get surprised by stuff like that. So I made a few calls. Got some guys together, and we kind of decided that we would ….handle certain things…try to steer some big events…take charge of situations that…
SR: Is this a government thing? Some secret team I haven’t heard of before?
TS: Uh….no. We just kind of decided that we’d take care of some things on our own.
SR: Who exactly is ’we’, Tony?
TS: There’s me and Professor Xavier. Because I thought the mutants should be represented. Then Reed Richards from the Fantastic Four because that guy is almost as smart as me. And Dr. Strange. I don’t understand all that crazy new age shit he spouts, but I figured we’d need to keep an eye on the magic side of things. Black Bolt from the Inhumans, but he’s dead now. And Namor…
SR: You included Namor? Hell, Tony, he’s tried to destroy New York before!
TS: Yeah, but he rules the oceans and you know how he gets if he isn’t included.
SR: What did you guys do?
TS: It’s no big deal. We would just meet every now and then and trade some info. If one of us saw a big threat rising, we’d let the others know.
SR: If it wasn’t a big deal, why’d you keep it a secret?
TS: You know how it is, Steve. Look at the weird shit we deal with. So every once in a while we would do something….
SR: Like what?
TS: Oh, like each of us took one of the Infinity Gems and hid them in secret and secure locations to keep them safe.
SR: The Infinity Gems that are so powerful that they control all of reality when put together? The ones we all risked our lives to keep from being used for evil? Those Infinity Gems?
TS: Yep.
SR: Tony, where do you get off thinking that you and your little secret club were entitled to do that?
TS: Hey, who else would you trust to do it? The U.S. government? Hell, they can’t protect their own nuclear secrets and Congress can’t pass a bill to handle the budget, and you want us to turn over objects that could destroy the universe to them?
SR: No one gave you the authority to run a secret society that would make decisions that impact every person on earth.
TS: That’s the point, Steve. There is no traditional authority that’s even close to being able to deal with the stuff we see every day. Think about doomsday weapons, aliens, magic, super villains. Who can handle that crap? The United Nations? Please. It’s gotta be us. We’re the only ones equipped and responsible enough to do it. Honestly, do you feel safer thinking that some government has possession of the Infinity Gems or would you sleep better knowing that Reed has put one in some alternate dimension he created in a lab or that Namor has stashed one on the deepest part of the ocean floor or that I’ve used all my engineering genius to secure the one I have?
SR: Wait a second. You said Black Bolt had one, but he’s dead. What happened to his?
TS: Uh…. We actually didn’t get that one back after he died. That’s why Charles was contacting me. Apparently someone found it and is using it to locate and take the rest of them.
SR: That is just great, Tony. Someone is rounding up the Infinity Gems so now we’re all going to have to…. Hang on. Just got a text. Apparently the Hulk wants to talk. He says he met some guy with some crazy gem who kicked his ass. He has some info.
TS: Uh…Hulk? I probably shouldn’t be around him.
SR: Why not?
TS: Um….Here’s the thing. A while back me and the other guys in the secret group decided that having the Hulk on earth was too big a risk in case he ever goes rage crazy again so we kind of tricked Banner into getting on a space ship and then shot him to another planet.
SR: Would this have anything to do with that thing that happened while I was dead where the Hulk declared war on the entire Earth and showed up with a bunch of aliens and tried to take over?
TS: Yeah, he was kind of pissed.
SR: Just to recap, your argument is that your little secret group is the only one powerful and responsible enough to decide the fate of the world yet your plans have resulted in a pissed off Hulk and someone stealing the Infinity Gems?
TS: When you say it like that, it does sound kind of bad.
SR: We’re going to need to have a long talk about this, Tony. But you’re OK on this Hulk thing. It’s the Red Hulk, not Banner as the Green Hulk who we’re meeting.
TS: Wait. There’s a Red Hulk now? Since when?
SR: I don’t know. I’m supposed to be in charge of this shit, and I can’t keep up with it.
April 28, 2013
Post-
Siege
(check out my review of the miniseries here) experienced a massive Avengers renaissance highlighted by the return of the original adjective-less Avengers title, as opposed to New, Secret, Academy and Young. The launch of new titles featured the different Avengers branches and an expanded roster. This new era could be rightly called a
Heroic Age
, the end of division (
Civil War
), no more distrust (
Secret Invasion
) and a hero appointed as America’s new top cop, as opposed to Osborn’s
Dark Reign
.
It is unfortunate that the first collection from the new Avengers volume I got contained the second arc. I wish I could have found the first volume, having the read the first chapter for free on iBooks, the prospect of the team facing Kang and their future offspring was tantalizing.
The big bad for the second arc is no pushover though. Despite losing his demonic patron and the norn stones, the Hood is a nasty opponent who ratcheted his threat level to several notches when his quest for an Infinity Gem caused enough panic in the ranks of the Avengers to assemble a unified task force merging all teams of active Avengers and the Illuminati. Rightfully so, although he was this close to collecting all the gems, he was almost too hard to beat with only half of them.
Bendis can sure write a wide-screen blockbuster and shows a deft touch in juggling a massive cast. It is great to see the Avengers tackle universal threats after years of operating outside the law and dealing with mostly street-level super-villainy. This is how an Avenger book should be.
It is unfortunate that the first collection from the new Avengers volume I got contained the second arc. I wish I could have found the first volume, having the read the first chapter for free on iBooks, the prospect of the team facing Kang and their future offspring was tantalizing.
The big bad for the second arc is no pushover though. Despite losing his demonic patron and the norn stones, the Hood is a nasty opponent who ratcheted his threat level to several notches when his quest for an Infinity Gem caused enough panic in the ranks of the Avengers to assemble a unified task force merging all teams of active Avengers and the Illuminati. Rightfully so, although he was this close to collecting all the gems, he was almost too hard to beat with only half of them.
Bendis can sure write a wide-screen blockbuster and shows a deft touch in juggling a massive cast. It is great to see the Avengers tackle universal threats after years of operating outside the law and dealing with mostly street-level super-villainy. This is how an Avenger book should be.
November 3, 2020
Give me a Red Hulk going head to head with "The Hood" with the Infinity Gems in here and you got me a volume I kind of loved?
This is excellent fun over the top Avengers stuff I love. After The Hood escapes from prison he finds the location of one of the Gems in a Inhuman temple that was left. With that he uses it to retrieve the other gem from Reed while using the reality gem to trick him. With the Power Gem he visits Red Hulk and decides to lay the fucking SMACKDOWN on his face. This leaves the Red Hulk running to the Avengers to warn them of what is to come from this lethal beast.
While I wasn't a huge fan of Romita Jr. art in the last volume I enjoyed a lot of it here. Some excellent fight scenes and great emotions displayed. Watching Steve lose his shit over finding out Tony and his illumanti gang having been doing shady shit is wonderful. I also loved the Red Hulk doing, well, some badass shit here. Oh and how great was the ending with Steve? Some great comedy bits too.
The only negative is the last issue, felt super tacked on, and just a prologue for Age of Ultron. Kind of lifeless.
A 4 out of 5.
This is excellent fun over the top Avengers stuff I love. After The Hood escapes from prison he finds the location of one of the Gems in a Inhuman temple that was left. With that he uses it to retrieve the other gem from Reed while using the reality gem to trick him. With the Power Gem he visits Red Hulk and decides to lay the fucking SMACKDOWN on his face. This leaves the Red Hulk running to the Avengers to warn them of what is to come from this lethal beast.
While I wasn't a huge fan of Romita Jr. art in the last volume I enjoyed a lot of it here. Some excellent fight scenes and great emotions displayed. Watching Steve lose his shit over finding out Tony and his illumanti gang having been doing shady shit is wonderful. I also loved the Red Hulk doing, well, some badass shit here. Oh and how great was the ending with Steve? Some great comedy bits too.
The only negative is the last issue, felt super tacked on, and just a prologue for Age of Ultron. Kind of lifeless.
A 4 out of 5.
September 22, 2021
This starts off with Hood going after the Infinity stones and well when Iron man goes to the Illuminati about this, Steve finds out and it seems like civil war all over again but with the threat of the Stones at an all time high, its upto the Avengers to team up and stop the hood from unleashing his crazy plans and also Red Hulk comes in, maybe a cameo by Thanos and its an epic war and a big moment, iconic one for Iron man here!
It was a great volume and has some great twisted moments and character conflicts that Bendis excels at and also hints of the Ultron story to come that Bendis has been teasing and I like the prelude but talking about the main story of the volume its good and exciting and bold and like one of the best character conflict in team comics there is. Give it a read and you will enjoy it though the art can be a bit turn off at first.
It was a great volume and has some great twisted moments and character conflicts that Bendis excels at and also hints of the Ultron story to come that Bendis has been teasing and I like the prelude but talking about the main story of the volume its good and exciting and bold and like one of the best character conflict in team comics there is. Give it a read and you will enjoy it though the art can be a bit turn off at first.
May 19, 2012
I’ve been reading The Avengers on a monthly basis since a little before Bendis pulled the whole Disassembled thing. Looking back on it, that’s a lot of time to invest into a title. Couple that with the fact that I stuck with Bendis’ handling of the team through both the New and Mighty Avengers titles and then the “Heroic Age” relaunch and that’s a lot of time spent reading his take on the franchise. I’ll admit that for me, Bendis is the name I will probably always associate with Avengers. I’ve gone back and read most of the pivotal runs and I think only Kurt Busiek’s run matches it in density and enjoyability. Though there are some classic Silver Age moments that I quite enjoy.
I had to drop both of the Avengers titles shortly after the relaunch because of monetary issues. A lot of really good books got chopped, actually. But with the movie recently in theaters I thought it would be a good idea to re-examine some prominent Avengers stories once again and so here we are.
AVENGERS v. II
Written by Brian Michael Bendis with artwork by John Romita Jr.
This volume collects issues 6-12 of Brian Bendis' 2010 Avengers relaunch. This time around the team is already assembled and they get thrust headfirst into the adventure. This arc, like the first six issues, has a lot of what some people would call "classic" Avengers fare. The crux of the story revolves around a villain attempting to collect all of the Infinity Gems. This time around however, the story contains a lot of the hallmarks of Bendis' favorite tropes and schemes. For example, the villain of this piece isn't an old schooler like Kang but a more recent invention in Parker Robbins, aka the Hood.
While our antagonist is most definitely from the new blood of Marvel, the threat of the Infinity Gems recall Avengers tales of the past. Bendis does revert to his usual shenanigans of playing around with Marvel history, drawing heavily from his Illuminati storyline. This reads almost as a mini-sequel to that event and as a result it doesn't feel quite as new-reader friendly as the first volume. That's not to say that the things this arc references aren't adequately explained because they are and readers willing to go with the flow will be able to easily keep up.
The big shakeup this time around is the addition of the Red Hulk to the team. Parts of the arc seem to work as a redemption of the character who in the early days of his own title was written as so omnipowerful that he became unimaginably boring. With this story, Bendis manages to use the fact that Rulk was written as unimaginably powerful to elevate the threat level of the Hood and his quest for the Infinity Gems. It's quite effective.
Honestly, I enjoyed this arc much more than the first. Even the artwork seemed better developed this time around. It may be a bit of personal preference, but the title seems to have found its balance with this story and the addition of the Red Hulk to the team. I can't say everyone will have the same reaction, but this volume seems to have the right mix of the classic style with the fresh perspective of Bendis' writing.
I had to drop both of the Avengers titles shortly after the relaunch because of monetary issues. A lot of really good books got chopped, actually. But with the movie recently in theaters I thought it would be a good idea to re-examine some prominent Avengers stories once again and so here we are.
AVENGERS v. II
Written by Brian Michael Bendis with artwork by John Romita Jr.
This volume collects issues 6-12 of Brian Bendis' 2010 Avengers relaunch. This time around the team is already assembled and they get thrust headfirst into the adventure. This arc, like the first six issues, has a lot of what some people would call "classic" Avengers fare. The crux of the story revolves around a villain attempting to collect all of the Infinity Gems. This time around however, the story contains a lot of the hallmarks of Bendis' favorite tropes and schemes. For example, the villain of this piece isn't an old schooler like Kang but a more recent invention in Parker Robbins, aka the Hood.
While our antagonist is most definitely from the new blood of Marvel, the threat of the Infinity Gems recall Avengers tales of the past. Bendis does revert to his usual shenanigans of playing around with Marvel history, drawing heavily from his Illuminati storyline. This reads almost as a mini-sequel to that event and as a result it doesn't feel quite as new-reader friendly as the first volume. That's not to say that the things this arc references aren't adequately explained because they are and readers willing to go with the flow will be able to easily keep up.
The big shakeup this time around is the addition of the Red Hulk to the team. Parts of the arc seem to work as a redemption of the character who in the early days of his own title was written as so omnipowerful that he became unimaginably boring. With this story, Bendis manages to use the fact that Rulk was written as unimaginably powerful to elevate the threat level of the Hood and his quest for the Infinity Gems. It's quite effective.
Honestly, I enjoyed this arc much more than the first. Even the artwork seemed better developed this time around. It may be a bit of personal preference, but the title seems to have found its balance with this story and the addition of the Red Hulk to the team. I can't say everyone will have the same reaction, but this volume seems to have the right mix of the classic style with the fresh perspective of Bendis' writing.
February 22, 2023
I admit to enjoying this read for the plot and J.R.Jr's idiosyncratic artwork, but good lord, Bendis is one of the worst writers in modern comics. There's about 50% too much repetitive or superfluous dialogue (a Bendis trademark), and the text is utterly full of indirect articles, misused punctuation (Bendis has somehow never learned the correct use of question marks nor commas), and awkward ungrammatical syntax. Seriously, the man has never once constructed an elegant sentence in his long and (frustratingly) prolific career. Not even accidentally!
October 25, 2012
SPOILERS
What do you do when you start a series called “New Avengers”? Dredge up old storylines of course! Brian Michael Bendis goes back to Jim Starlin’s “The Infinity Gauntlet” for this new iteration of the Avengers to play out. The Hood (yup, really) has bribed his way out of Ryker’s Island and made it to the secret kingdom of the late Black Bolt to acquire the first of the Infinity Gems – powerful stones that, once all 5 are collected together, form the Infinity Gauntlet, an item of incredible power over time, space and reality.
What made Starlin’s book so brilliant was everything from the premise to the execution. The story is that the mad titan Thanos wants to impress a pouty, Goth-y female Death whom he’s in love with by using the Infinity Gauntlet. Every character in the Marvel Universe heads out to take Thanos down and things get so epic, multiple dimensions and universes fall before Thanos does. It’s a fantastic book I highly recommend picking up over this tedious mess.
Why a tedious mess? Predictability for one thing: you know that typical structure endemic in comics where the bad guy beats the good guys until the very last issue when the good guys improbably beat the impossibly successful bad guy? Happens here. Also, the motivation of the villain: he wants to rule the world. Yawn. If you want the most overused, unimaginative motivation for a villain, you have him rant about ruling the world – exactly what The Hood does here.
Then Bendis makes me realise how much I dislike Captain America. I’m talking about the scene where Tony Stark reveals he and a small group have been hiding the Infinity Gems for safety and Cap flips out because he wasn’t let in on this. The scene plays out over several pages and stops the story dead; Cap looks like a slighted wife telling off her fed-up husband, Stark, in front of the kids (a huge gaggle of superheroes, stupidly standing around doing nothing). Cap is so unlikeable and pathetic standing there telling off Stark for panel after panel I just wished Stark would lift up his open palm to Cap’s face and fire. Seriously, is Cap anyone’s favourite superhero? Isn’t it time this guy got “frozen in ice” again? And throw in that useless Bucky as well (worst name ever).
I should mention there’s a Red Hulk in this book as he’s featured prominently on the cover: there’s a Red Hulk in this book. What does he do? Not much. Hulk throws his weight around as expected. And that’s it.
Bendis crams in far too many superheroes than he knows what to do with. Most don’t have dialogue and seem to hang out on the periphery of the page in perpetuity. It seems pointless having this many costumes hanging around cluttering up the panels for no reason – what’s Spider-Woman or Moon Knight going to do that Thor, Red Hulk, and Iron Man can’t do themselves? There are other Marvel characters who show up but because the story is contained within this one book, they don’t have any purpose but to stand around, mutter some nonsense, and then fade out.
Oh and the ending - “Let’s put the gems back in their hiding places”? So, they didn’t learn anything from this book and it could happen all over again! And this time it was just the lame-o baddie The Hood, what if Doctor Doom wants to try his hand at the Infinity Gauntlet? *Beep* you, Bendis, what a hack move.
What’s that famous quote from Shakespeare, “a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing”? He could’ve written it just for this book. This is such an uninspired, weak story with crap art from John Romita Jr, it made for a truly dull Avengers book. I think Bendis has struck out with this “New Avengers” series, I’m giving up with it and the Avengers in general for a while. I would recommend anyone looking for a good Marvel superheroes storyline to skip this and pick up Starlin’s “Infinity Gauntlet” to see how this kind of storyline is done right.
What do you do when you start a series called “New Avengers”? Dredge up old storylines of course! Brian Michael Bendis goes back to Jim Starlin’s “The Infinity Gauntlet” for this new iteration of the Avengers to play out. The Hood (yup, really) has bribed his way out of Ryker’s Island and made it to the secret kingdom of the late Black Bolt to acquire the first of the Infinity Gems – powerful stones that, once all 5 are collected together, form the Infinity Gauntlet, an item of incredible power over time, space and reality.
What made Starlin’s book so brilliant was everything from the premise to the execution. The story is that the mad titan Thanos wants to impress a pouty, Goth-y female Death whom he’s in love with by using the Infinity Gauntlet. Every character in the Marvel Universe heads out to take Thanos down and things get so epic, multiple dimensions and universes fall before Thanos does. It’s a fantastic book I highly recommend picking up over this tedious mess.
Why a tedious mess? Predictability for one thing: you know that typical structure endemic in comics where the bad guy beats the good guys until the very last issue when the good guys improbably beat the impossibly successful bad guy? Happens here. Also, the motivation of the villain: he wants to rule the world. Yawn. If you want the most overused, unimaginative motivation for a villain, you have him rant about ruling the world – exactly what The Hood does here.
Then Bendis makes me realise how much I dislike Captain America. I’m talking about the scene where Tony Stark reveals he and a small group have been hiding the Infinity Gems for safety and Cap flips out because he wasn’t let in on this. The scene plays out over several pages and stops the story dead; Cap looks like a slighted wife telling off her fed-up husband, Stark, in front of the kids (a huge gaggle of superheroes, stupidly standing around doing nothing). Cap is so unlikeable and pathetic standing there telling off Stark for panel after panel I just wished Stark would lift up his open palm to Cap’s face and fire. Seriously, is Cap anyone’s favourite superhero? Isn’t it time this guy got “frozen in ice” again? And throw in that useless Bucky as well (worst name ever).
I should mention there’s a Red Hulk in this book as he’s featured prominently on the cover: there’s a Red Hulk in this book. What does he do? Not much. Hulk throws his weight around as expected. And that’s it.
Bendis crams in far too many superheroes than he knows what to do with. Most don’t have dialogue and seem to hang out on the periphery of the page in perpetuity. It seems pointless having this many costumes hanging around cluttering up the panels for no reason – what’s Spider-Woman or Moon Knight going to do that Thor, Red Hulk, and Iron Man can’t do themselves? There are other Marvel characters who show up but because the story is contained within this one book, they don’t have any purpose but to stand around, mutter some nonsense, and then fade out.
Oh and the ending - “Let’s put the gems back in their hiding places”? So, they didn’t learn anything from this book and it could happen all over again! And this time it was just the lame-o baddie The Hood, what if Doctor Doom wants to try his hand at the Infinity Gauntlet? *Beep* you, Bendis, what a hack move.
What’s that famous quote from Shakespeare, “a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing”? He could’ve written it just for this book. This is such an uninspired, weak story with crap art from John Romita Jr, it made for a truly dull Avengers book. I think Bendis has struck out with this “New Avengers” series, I’m giving up with it and the Avengers in general for a while. I would recommend anyone looking for a good Marvel superheroes storyline to skip this and pick up Starlin’s “Infinity Gauntlet” to see how this kind of storyline is done right.
February 1, 2018
The Hood steals the Infinity Gems, everyone finds out about the Illuminati, and Steve and Tony are the mom and dad of the Avengers. They love each other, they just have some stuff to work out. NO KIDDING.
I will admit to a great fondness for the Illuminati. Not really fond of JRJr's art here, but apparently I will forgive a lot for this story.
I will admit to a great fondness for the Illuminati. Not really fond of JRJr's art here, but apparently I will forgive a lot for this story.
November 10, 2019
Personally, I think this is Brian Michael Bendis’s best collection of Avengers issues.
The majority of this epic little tpb is basically The Infinity Gauntlet II. It’s an awesome story about the hood trying to assemble the gems. Red Hulk becomes an Avenger and the battles are epic.
From there, we get something of an ominous Age of Ultron foreshadowing. It’s badass.
The art is dope. JR Jr is at it again.
I really really liked this. It’s popcorn fun for sure... but it’s very well done popcorn fun (rhyme unintentional.)
Even if you only read event trades, I would still recommend this as an important installment in the Avengers canon.
The majority of this epic little tpb is basically The Infinity Gauntlet II. It’s an awesome story about the hood trying to assemble the gems. Red Hulk becomes an Avenger and the battles are epic.
From there, we get something of an ominous Age of Ultron foreshadowing. It’s badass.
The art is dope. JR Jr is at it again.
I really really liked this. It’s popcorn fun for sure... but it’s very well done popcorn fun (rhyme unintentional.)
Even if you only read event trades, I would still recommend this as an important installment in the Avengers canon.
Read
May 11, 2019The ending. Whaaaaat
August 12, 2015
In the ruins of the site of the Inhumans’ former home in the Himalayas, de-powered villain The Hood discovered one of the Infinity Gems, hidden there by missing Inhuman leader Black Bolt. After The Hood stole another Gem from the Fantastic Four’s HQ, he attacked the Red Hulk as a test of the Gems’ power. Iron Man gathered the Illuminati once again, with Medusa responding in place of Black Bolt, and none too impressed with the gathering. The Illuminati went to check out the Himalayan theft and soon found Steve Rogers arrive with all the other Avengers (including the New and Secret teams). As Steve and Iron Man had a furious confrontation, flashbacks showed how The Hood got onto the trail of the Gems. The heroes split into groups to go safeguard the other four Gems, clashing with The Hood along the way. Led by Red Hulk, the Avengers engaged in an epic struggle with The Hood. The heroes eventually wrested the Gems from The Hood and sent him back to prison. Steve inducted Red Hulk as an official Avenger and made peace with Iron Man, taking a place as a Gem guardian among the other Illuminati members.
The bonus issue had Spider-Woman on the trail of an alien incursion on Earth. She ran afoul of a collective of genius villains called the Intelligentsia, who humiliated and interrogated Spider-Woman, before the Avengers tracked them down and freed their teammate. But at what looked like a moment of victory, the shell of the alien space knight the Intelligentsia had found transformed into Ultron, who escaped, leaving the heroes rattled.
The action in this volume kept up a good pace. The return of the Illuminati and the friction it caused among the heroes was handled effectively and provided a new source of conflict for Steve and Iron Man. The Hood, a Brian Michael Bendis favorite, once again was an unexpectedly powerful threat. Red Hulk was a pleasant surprise as a new cast member and provided a thematic link to the team’s founding, albeit with a spiked twist. And while her tenure was brief, it was nice seeing Medusa alongside the heroes. The Ultron issue set up threads that would dangle for a couple years, until the Age of Ultron event series. While the story was good, the choice to have the villains strip Spider-Woman and hold her prisoner while nude caused a lot of fan outrage for its dehumanizing treatment of a strong female character. The outcry was so strong that when Marvel re-printed the issue again a couple years later, as part of the Age of Ultron volume, they re-colored those pages to put Spider-Woman into her costume. John Romita, Jr. and his collaborators continued along the same path as their first arc. The art team continued to excel at the big action sequences. One issue was composed almost entirely of one- and two-page spreads that packed an impressive visual punch. As with the prior arc, this story was entertaining, but didn’t feel entirely crucial. It’s still worth reading for dedicated fans.
A version of this review originally appeared on www.thunderalleybcp.com
The bonus issue had Spider-Woman on the trail of an alien incursion on Earth. She ran afoul of a collective of genius villains called the Intelligentsia, who humiliated and interrogated Spider-Woman, before the Avengers tracked them down and freed their teammate. But at what looked like a moment of victory, the shell of the alien space knight the Intelligentsia had found transformed into Ultron, who escaped, leaving the heroes rattled.
The action in this volume kept up a good pace. The return of the Illuminati and the friction it caused among the heroes was handled effectively and provided a new source of conflict for Steve and Iron Man. The Hood, a Brian Michael Bendis favorite, once again was an unexpectedly powerful threat. Red Hulk was a pleasant surprise as a new cast member and provided a thematic link to the team’s founding, albeit with a spiked twist. And while her tenure was brief, it was nice seeing Medusa alongside the heroes. The Ultron issue set up threads that would dangle for a couple years, until the Age of Ultron event series. While the story was good, the choice to have the villains strip Spider-Woman and hold her prisoner while nude caused a lot of fan outrage for its dehumanizing treatment of a strong female character. The outcry was so strong that when Marvel re-printed the issue again a couple years later, as part of the Age of Ultron volume, they re-colored those pages to put Spider-Woman into her costume. John Romita, Jr. and his collaborators continued along the same path as their first arc. The art team continued to excel at the big action sequences. One issue was composed almost entirely of one- and two-page spreads that packed an impressive visual punch. As with the prior arc, this story was entertaining, but didn’t feel entirely crucial. It’s still worth reading for dedicated fans.
A version of this review originally appeared on www.thunderalleybcp.com
October 22, 2012
God I hope Bendis knows what he's doing because if he keeps writing these earth-shattering stories he's gotta run out of ideas sometime. And what do we read about then - Spidey gets a hangnail?
I continue to enjoy Bendis' writing - even though it's continuing on this path of more serious, more earnest writing. There's lots of thought and backstory put into each storyline and it's clear Bendis takes this job seriously, not phoning it in (at least not on this book).
JRJr is harder to pin down my opinion - he's legendary and all that, but I don't know if I really *enjoy* the flat, blocky pencils (some people's heads just look wrong). It's growing on me - by the end it doesn't really seem to make me notice how distracting his style started out for me. I mean, c'mon comics art has advanced so much since the 70's and 80's that this feels retro by comparison.
My plot spoiler notes:
I continue to enjoy Bendis' writing - even though it's continuing on this path of more serious, more earnest writing. There's lots of thought and backstory put into each storyline and it's clear Bendis takes this job seriously, not phoning it in (at least not on this book).
JRJr is harder to pin down my opinion - he's legendary and all that, but I don't know if I really *enjoy* the flat, blocky pencils (some people's heads just look wrong). It's growing on me - by the end it doesn't really seem to make me notice how distracting his style started out for me. I mean, c'mon comics art has advanced so much since the 70's and 80's that this feels retro by comparison.
My plot spoiler notes:
May 20, 2012
One of the very first crossovers I ever read was the single issue format of The Infinity Gauntlet. I was in total awe of that book. It was so damn big, so monumental, so perfect to me at the time. Seeing all of the heroes and Adam Warlock and Thanos and Epoch and Galactus... it was just so damn cool. Its what started me reading the Infinity Watch, a supremely underrated book if there ever was one. I was ten years old at the time and I had just fallen in love. My first love.
And I think Bendis must have been feeling particularly nostalgic during the first 12 issues of this series. First, Kang and now the Infinity Gems. Even though this makes me feel 10 years old again, it just doesn't feel right. The story is rushed and hurried. It tries to wrap itself up too tightly and too quickly. It just doesn't allow for the same kind of awe as when we first encountered the Gauntlet.
What this book does do is finally bring the Illuminati out in the open and airs some serious dirty laundry. However, I think Bendis is causing undue friction between Tony and Steve far too early on in the series and he's going to paint himself into another Civil War if he's not careful. Nobody wants that. Civil War was terrible.
And I think Bendis must have been feeling particularly nostalgic during the first 12 issues of this series. First, Kang and now the Infinity Gems. Even though this makes me feel 10 years old again, it just doesn't feel right. The story is rushed and hurried. It tries to wrap itself up too tightly and too quickly. It just doesn't allow for the same kind of awe as when we first encountered the Gauntlet.
What this book does do is finally bring the Illuminati out in the open and airs some serious dirty laundry. However, I think Bendis is causing undue friction between Tony and Steve far too early on in the series and he's going to paint himself into another Civil War if he's not careful. Nobody wants that. Civil War was terrible.
August 19, 2013
The Infinity Gauntlet. Remember that storyline. It appears that The Hood (Is he called “The Hood” because he wears a hood or because he’s the pent-ultimate hoodlum?) discovers the existence of the Infinity Gems while in prison and begins to track them down. The Illuminati, the Marvel Universe’s behind the scenes mover and shakers, hid the gems because the person/being who controls them all has absolute power over everything. Everything!
The storyline also brings the Red Hulk into the heroes' fold. He get’s soundly trounced by the Hood and begins to work with the Avengers. Apparently, he’s trying to make up for all the years he was an ass when he was General Ross, his alter ego.
The tension between the Illuminati and the rest of the Marvel universe (who were out of the loop on the Illuminati's existence), as epitomized by the conflict between Captain America and Iron Man is palpable. Bendis' writing is sharp and Romita Jr’s artwork is effective.
The storyline also brings the Red Hulk into the heroes' fold. He get’s soundly trounced by the Hood and begins to work with the Avengers. Apparently, he’s trying to make up for all the years he was an ass when he was General Ross, his alter ego.
The tension between the Illuminati and the rest of the Marvel universe (who were out of the loop on the Illuminati's existence), as epitomized by the conflict between Captain America and Iron Man is palpable. Bendis' writing is sharp and Romita Jr’s artwork is effective.
August 18, 2011
I thoroughly enjoyed this!
(My ONE criticism would be the horror I felt when I read the in the Precap about the Red Hulk. I hate who he supposedly is, and it almost ruined it for me. Amongst ALL the things we comics readers are supposed to allow for in the category of "suspension of disbelief" I had a particular problem with this one.
And it scratches the raw nerve of how the Hulk has never resembled (being a mutated version of) Bruce Banner.
Am I right?
Am I Right???
Anyway...
Once I got over that hurdle, and saw the "usefulness" for a "dark Hulk" type character on the Avengers I enjoyed the book without any further hitches.) :)
(My ONE criticism would be the horror I felt when I read the in the Precap about the Red Hulk. I hate who he supposedly is, and it almost ruined it for me. Amongst ALL the things we comics readers are supposed to allow for in the category of "suspension of disbelief" I had a particular problem with this one.
And it scratches the raw nerve of how the Hulk has never resembled (being a mutated version of) Bruce Banner.
Am I right?
Am I Right???
Anyway...
Once I got over that hurdle, and saw the "usefulness" for a "dark Hulk" type character on the Avengers I enjoyed the book without any further hitches.) :)
May 21, 2012
I really enjoyed this volume, which centers around the Hood attempting to bring together the Infinity Gauntlet. If you're a Steve/Tony shipper, you'll love the many great scenes they have together. And the bit with Spiderman explaining to Noh-varr who Mommy and Daddy are... perfect. So perfect. All in all, a great, action-packed volume for fans of the many variations of Avengers. So many characters make their way into the story that you're bound to find something worth your time.
January 21, 2016
This is a Belgian waffle of a comic book.
Ice Cream, placed on top of a waffle. What a wonderful book! Pretty much every relevant Marvel hero, at the time, getting together to track down the Infinity gems, which have been hidden by the members of Illuminati. This reminded me of the crossovers I read, in the 90s, while I was growing up, reading the comics. It was great seeing this as one of the last stories that Bendis wrote, while in charge of the Avengers.
Ice Cream, placed on top of a waffle. What a wonderful book! Pretty much every relevant Marvel hero, at the time, getting together to track down the Infinity gems, which have been hidden by the members of Illuminati. This reminded me of the crossovers I read, in the 90s, while I was growing up, reading the comics. It was great seeing this as one of the last stories that Bendis wrote, while in charge of the Avengers.
September 24, 2011
Dear Brian Michael Bendis: Never change. That bit with Spiderman explaining to Noh-Varr that Steve Rogers and Tony Stark are the mom and dad of the Avengers will never get old. Never.
Also, the story was good and well-executed. Romita Jr.'s art is fantastic (I particularly love the way he draws Steve Rogers and Thor).
Also, the story was good and well-executed. Romita Jr.'s art is fantastic (I particularly love the way he draws Steve Rogers and Thor).
July 23, 2015
Un Romita Jr. muy flojo en un arco interesante. Se pudo haber explotado más a The Hood con las gemas, pero supongo que lo apresuraron todo para coincidir con Fear Itself, al menos así se siente la resolución de la trama.
Este Arco es importante, ya que sus ramificaciones tienen alcances en lo que está sucediendo ahora, con Secret Wars.
Este Arco es importante, ya que sus ramificaciones tienen alcances en lo que está sucediendo ahora, con Secret Wars.
September 14, 2021
Formerly defeated villain the Hood (aka Parker Robbins) has escaped jail and decided to restore his power by collecting all of the Infinity Stones. A secret cabal made up of Iron Man, Reed Richards, Charles Xavier, Prince Namor, Stephen Strange, and Black Bolt thought they had securely hidden the stones on Earth, each member in charge of one stone. Robbins collects two of them and has a run in with the Red Hulk (aka General Thunderbolt Ross), who goes to the Avengers and alerts them of the situation (Stark's stone hasn't been stolen (yet)). The Avengers begin to investigate and Steve Rogers gets mad at Tony Stark for hiding the information about the stones from him. Joining up with the Secret Avengers and the New Avengers, the three groups go after the other stones before Robbins can reach them.
The final story has Spider-Woman investigating a strange occurrence for S.W.O.R.D., the Sentient World Observation and Response Department. They deal with extraterrestrial problems and also have been off Steve Rogers's radar. Spider-Woman disappears during the mission, so a group of Avengers goes to rescue her, only to stumble on a secret cabal of super-intelligent villains who unwittingly bring a new problem back to Earth.
While the main story has an interesting premise, the execution was just mediocre. There were no clever strategies or "wow" moments. The story is so overstuffed with heroes that no one really shines out other than Red Hulk who is clearly looking for some redemption from whatever bad stuff he did before. The Steve Rogers/Tony Stark conflict reads like a re-run of previous conflicts between them.
Mildly recommended--I think I might be done with this run...there's too many other books out there that are more interesting to me.
The final story has Spider-Woman investigating a strange occurrence for S.W.O.R.D., the Sentient World Observation and Response Department. They deal with extraterrestrial problems and also have been off Steve Rogers's radar. Spider-Woman disappears during the mission, so a group of Avengers goes to rescue her, only to stumble on a secret cabal of super-intelligent villains who unwittingly bring a new problem back to Earth.
While the main story has an interesting premise, the execution was just mediocre. There were no clever strategies or "wow" moments. The story is so overstuffed with heroes that no one really shines out other than Red Hulk who is clearly looking for some redemption from whatever bad stuff he did before. The Steve Rogers/Tony Stark conflict reads like a re-run of previous conflicts between them.
Mildly recommended--I think I might be done with this run...there's too many other books out there that are more interesting to me.
December 12, 2023
Brian Michael Bendis' “witty” banter, like that pictured below, is why I loathe the man's writing, at least in terms of dialogue. Crap like that does nothing to serve the story, does nothing in terms of character development, and does nothing in the form of comic relief. It's snark.
There is tons of all-out action here, which is better than the all-out conversations over breakfast that Bendis usually has the Avengers doing. John Romita Jr.'s artwork is not up to his usual greatness here, seeming almost rushed. The blame could lay with Klaus Janson, the inker who seems to be attached to Romita at the hip. Any way you slice it, below average Romita is still worlds better than most artists.
This arc deals with The Hood's quest to acquire the Infinity Gems. By and large it felt more like a Red Hulk book guest-starring The Avengers, since the emphasis is on the Red Hulk. I guess that the Red Hulk is (spoilers!) General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, who by some act of stupidity became the Red Hulk. (Edit- END SPOILERS. Read on, Ferjo.)
Issue 12.1 was the Free Comic Book Day 2011 issue, and I enjoyed it quite a bit, then and now. It's a huge Ultron set up, and since Ultron frickin' rocks, I can't wait to see it. Busiek did the ultimate Ultron battle royale back in the Ultron Unlimited arc (Avengers Nos. 19-22 from 1999). That is the yardstick by which all Ultron epics are measured as far as I'm concerned. So yes, I enjoyed this book to a point, even if Bendis' “witty” banter stabs my brain and rapes my intelligence.
There is tons of all-out action here, which is better than the all-out conversations over breakfast that Bendis usually has the Avengers doing. John Romita Jr.'s artwork is not up to his usual greatness here, seeming almost rushed. The blame could lay with Klaus Janson, the inker who seems to be attached to Romita at the hip. Any way you slice it, below average Romita is still worlds better than most artists.
This arc deals with The Hood's quest to acquire the Infinity Gems. By and large it felt more like a Red Hulk book guest-starring The Avengers, since the emphasis is on the Red Hulk. I guess that the Red Hulk is (spoilers!) General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, who by some act of stupidity became the Red Hulk. (Edit- END SPOILERS. Read on, Ferjo.)
Issue 12.1 was the Free Comic Book Day 2011 issue, and I enjoyed it quite a bit, then and now. It's a huge Ultron set up, and since Ultron frickin' rocks, I can't wait to see it. Busiek did the ultimate Ultron battle royale back in the Ultron Unlimited arc (Avengers Nos. 19-22 from 1999). That is the yardstick by which all Ultron epics are measured as far as I'm concerned. So yes, I enjoyed this book to a point, even if Bendis' “witty” banter stabs my brain and rapes my intelligence.
April 20, 2019
The Avengers (2010) volume 2 is a promising continuation of the first volume. After dealing with Kang and the young Avengers a man with lots of resources starts hunting down the infinity stones, which are in the hands of all the different Illuminati members.
It’s a solid volume drawn well by John Romita Jr. Bendis is doing large scale Avengers stories here. Though they have the inter workings of a character drama which is part of the reason I find it so charming.
A big thing that kept coming up during my page flipping was the big bad jumps around so fast and so easily it robs the stories of stakes. Which is a problem. But like I said it also functions as a character drama playing off the years of civil unrest amongst the Avengers teams. But rejecting instead of playing off into it.
Another problem here is issue 12.1. It starts a series of events that lead to the Age of Ultron event which unlike the movie I have no love for, perhaps if I were to revisit it I’d like it more but I remember little that would incline me to do so. The inclusion here feels out of place.
But the rest of the collection is well worth reading.
If I did half stars this would be a 3.5 but I don’t. So...
3 stars.
It’s a solid volume drawn well by John Romita Jr. Bendis is doing large scale Avengers stories here. Though they have the inter workings of a character drama which is part of the reason I find it so charming.
A big thing that kept coming up during my page flipping was the big bad jumps around so fast and so easily it robs the stories of stakes. Which is a problem. But like I said it also functions as a character drama playing off the years of civil unrest amongst the Avengers teams. But rejecting instead of playing off into it.
Another problem here is issue 12.1. It starts a series of events that lead to the Age of Ultron event which unlike the movie I have no love for, perhaps if I were to revisit it I’d like it more but I remember little that would incline me to do so. The inclusion here feels out of place.
But the rest of the collection is well worth reading.
If I did half stars this would be a 3.5 but I don’t. So...
3 stars.
October 15, 2017
You see? This. This is what I was talking about.
When Strange is the focus of attention, the books feel flimsy and lightweight, they lack depth and passion.
And yet give the Avengers an equally kooky, off-the-wall, kinda tale, and it feels tight, solid, action-packed. As if Bendis knows what he's dealing with.
And that's when the Marvel universe rocks.
Here we have Cap n Tony falling out because Cap didn't know that Tony and a select group of chums had gone and hidden the Infinity Gems in various safe places to make sure they didn't get into the wrong paws.
How does Cap find out?
They get into the wrong paws.
Obvs.
The Hood's on this occasion.
And so we have both sets of Avengers, plus Red Hulk, fighting to retrieve them from a madman who suddenly has a lot more power than they do.
And it's fantastic.
It's gripping, engaging, tense, thrilling, and builds to a closing scene that will leave you breathless.
And then shit gets really real.
Hidden at the end of the main tale is a small adventure featuring Spider-Woman, who's gone AWOL while on a mission Cap n Tony didn't know about.
And what that reveals will have you squealing with delight.
When Strange is the focus of attention, the books feel flimsy and lightweight, they lack depth and passion.
And yet give the Avengers an equally kooky, off-the-wall, kinda tale, and it feels tight, solid, action-packed. As if Bendis knows what he's dealing with.
And that's when the Marvel universe rocks.
Here we have Cap n Tony falling out because Cap didn't know that Tony and a select group of chums had gone and hidden the Infinity Gems in various safe places to make sure they didn't get into the wrong paws.
How does Cap find out?
They get into the wrong paws.
Obvs.
The Hood's on this occasion.
And so we have both sets of Avengers, plus Red Hulk, fighting to retrieve them from a madman who suddenly has a lot more power than they do.
And it's fantastic.
It's gripping, engaging, tense, thrilling, and builds to a closing scene that will leave you breathless.
And then shit gets really real.
Hidden at the end of the main tale is a small adventure featuring Spider-Woman, who's gone AWOL while on a mission Cap n Tony didn't know about.
And what that reveals will have you squealing with delight.
May 11, 2020
The Infinity Gauntlet, The Red Hulk and secret societies hidden within the Avengers. This book certainly covers a lot of ground. It's all held together by good writing and excellent artwork that make all of these improbabilities seem probable. Also this is one of the rare Avengers stories were they seem to be in charge of the situation - or at least as much as they can be - as opposed to waiting around for a super-villain to come and challenge them. The interaction between the heroes is laced with discoveries and humor that all hit and the back story of a lame villain playing out of his league is well conceived. It all works in this book and even manages to leave a decent cliffhanger at the end. This is a good book and one the Avengers have needed for a while. Even the endless cameos of heroes and villains in scenes were they have no effect on the story and vanish as quick as they appeared didn't tick me off. The story flows so smoothly that nothing seem out of place. That, again, is because of the quality of the writing. If there was more Avengers books like this than I would be a regular follower of this group and probably be quite happy doing so.
July 11, 2019
Comic entretenido, otra historia que ligan a los Vengadores, 4 fantásticos, X-Men e inhumanos a la gema del infinito. Aquí el villano no es Thanos es un ser humano que al parecer puede obtener las gemas del infinito a diferencia de otros cómics y de las películas que los humanos no pueden poseer las gemas porque mueren. En está historia nos muestran el equipo que posee escondidas las gemas del infinito que son los illuminatis confirmado por iron man, reed Richard de los 4 fantásticos y otros son los responsables de guardar y esconder las gemas pero este nuevo villano logra encontrarlas una a una, sólo peleando juntos y coordinadamente los duperheroes podrán vencerlo y por último los illuminatis tendrán que romper su código de silencio para así lograr la victoria. La historia me pareció muy lineal pero el manejo de los personajes de parte de los autores es muy buena al igual que las ilustraciones.
May 1, 2022
Bendis + Avengers = Good Comics. He’s so reliable at turning out interesting, well-paced stories with big action, character depth, and more than a few quips to enjoy. This arc may not go down as a classic, but it’s a fun read with some awesome character and story progression. Big fan.
As for JRJR’s art, I know it’s not for everyone, and I didn’t love it, but he did a solid job at keeping things dynamic and getting the emotion right. Bryan Hitch draws the last issue, in stark contrast to JRJR’s style, which was jarring, but weirdly welcome—I wanted a different art style by the end.
A fun read for Bendis fans and Avengers fans.
As for JRJR’s art, I know it’s not for everyone, and I didn’t love it, but he did a solid job at keeping things dynamic and getting the emotion right. Bryan Hitch draws the last issue, in stark contrast to JRJR’s style, which was jarring, but weirdly welcome—I wanted a different art style by the end.
A fun read for Bendis fans and Avengers fans.
October 11, 2023
Grading it for what it is, a hasty wrap up of the last 2-ish years of Marvel stuff (further back than that if you think about it in terms of this being the end of the Disassembled inspired 2000s). It's a light retread of a major Avengers/Marvel (because it's really a Marvel Cosmic storyline) to get new MCU inspired readers into the comics. That being the case, this thing could be a lot worse. It lacks the charm and doesn't nail the personalities in the way that the best "catch up" books do (X-Men First Class, etc.), but it's also unique from most of them in that it's set in the center of contemporary continuity. What results is something that is fine, but pretty forgettable.
January 28, 2019
I remember I read that years ago and I thought it was just okay.
Today it seems just great! It's nice, funny and quite enjoyable. The whole book takes about 50 minutes, so it's quite readable. The art is perfect. It's not too intelligent, but it's not too dumb either. And it sets up Hickman's amazing New Avengers run in a wonderful way :)
Today it seems just great! It's nice, funny and quite enjoyable. The whole book takes about 50 minutes, so it's quite readable. The art is perfect. It's not too intelligent, but it's not too dumb either. And it sets up Hickman's amazing New Avengers run in a wonderful way :)
March 26, 2021
This comic perfectly shows why I REALLY can't stand Steve Rogers at times, ughhh it's hard, but I reaaally loved this comic wow, I want to buy it sooo bad.
This reminded me the stones colors are different in the comics but I got used to it fast again thank God, i'm looking forward to continue this serie
I loved every part of it and the endinggg ♥♥
This reminded me the stones colors are different in the comics but I got used to it fast again thank God, i'm looking forward to continue this serie
I loved every part of it and the endinggg ♥♥
September 6, 2019
Liked seeing a different side to the Infinity Stone story line. And cool to see Red Hulk come around to being a hero. This also seems to be the start of the permanent rift between Cap and Tony. Even though things work out, that strain is still there.
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