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Avengers Re-Read: The 2010s - Part 1 2/24/2015 7:11:05 AM
This post originally appeared on www.thunderalleybcp.com
The Avengers Re-Read comes to the current decade at last.
The 2010s saw the Avengers franchise conquer the world. So to speak. The comic books were already topping the sales charts. But things jumped kicked up after the unprecedented success of the 2012 Avengers movie. That cinematic knockout took Avengers to a whole new level and transformed the franchise into the key mover in Marvel’s publishing line.
As with the 2000s Re-Read, I’ll be focusing on the core titles for the 2010s. That means that while there are several excellent series that have been part of the extended Avengers family over the past few years, many of them won’t be addressed here. But as always, I’ll take a detour when warranted. Or when I feel like it.
Siege: New Avengers (New Avengers #61-65, Annual #3, Dark Reign: The List – New Avengers and New Avengers Finale)
With the Dark Reign umbrella story nearing its end, an irate Clint Barton (Hawkeye/Ronin) was avid that the New Avengers should kill Norman Osborn. After a fierce debate, the rest of the team thought they’d convinced Clint to stand down. But in the middle of the night, Ronin loaded up on weapons and headed for Avengers Tower. He fought his way through several Dark Avengers to reach Osborn, only to fall to Ares. Osborn tortured a captive Clint, while Mockingbird, Ms. Marvel, Spider-Woman and Jessica Jones (donning her old superhero outfit for the first time in years), realizing what Clint had done, staged an assault on Avengers Tower to rescue him. However, Captain America’s brownstone was compromised as part of the deal. The New Avengers regrouped at another safe house, where they were shocked to see Steve Rogers, back from the dead.
Steve, Bucky, Spider-Man and Spider-Woman all ran afoul of members of The Hood’s gang while staking out Osborn’s bases. The Hood had used the Norn Stones to enhanced the villains’ abilities, putting the heroes briefly on the ropes. The heroes regrouped with the rest of the Avengers and Secret Warriors as Osborn and his H.A.M.M.E.R. team conducted their illegal invasion of Asgard, then suspended over a small Oklahoma town. The Avengers joined the brutal fighting in Oklahoma, while also experiencing some personal flashbacks. The Hood and his gang arrived to complicate the fight. The heroes already had the advantage over the villains before Loki re-absorbed the Norn Stone energy from all of them to use against the out-of-control Sentry.
The New Avengers closed out their first series by hunting down The Hood and Madame Masque, who had fled to her father, Count Nefaria, for help. After defeating the trio, the New Avengers returned home to learn that the Registration Act had been rescinded and Steve Rogers had assumed control for international law enforcement as the new head of S.H.I.E.L.D.
The final arc of the original New Avengers series had its interesting points. Clint’s attempt to assassinate Osborn still felt out-of-character, but the return of Steve Rogers was welcome and had a galvanizing effect on the heroes. The actual Siege tie-in issues were disjointed, mixed between the New Avengers’ fight scenes in Oklahoma with character-driven flashbacks. Those stories really made no sense for readers divorced from the event they supported, but unlike past cross-overs, the book’s exposure was limited to only a couple issues. The conclusion of three years of strife among the heroes was a relief and Bendis played some nice character moments with his cast toward the end. A small army of A List artists were involved in this arc: Marko Djurdjevic, Mike Mayhew, Stuart Immonen, Daniel Acuña, Mike McKone and Bryan Hitch all saw duty. Their styles vary quite significantly, so there wasn’t much visual unity, but each artist turned him in some nice work and several other high profile artists provided pages to the “jam” section that ended the Finale issue. This collection doesn’t make much sense to tackle divorced from both Siege and the previous New Avengers volumes, but in context, it’s a fairy interesting run with some nice moments.
Siege: Mighty Avengers (Mighty Avengers #32-36)
The final arc of this iteration of Mighty Avengers tied into Siege, though in somewhat subtle ways. Loki engineered a crisis at Project Pegasus that drew both the Mighty and Dark Avengers. The two teams clashed at first and then co-existed uneasily. The Mighty Avengers were instrumental in saving the day, but Osborn retaliated by using his authority to strip U.S. Agent of his uniform. Next, the Mighty Avengers confirmed that Loki was the Scarlet Witch impersonator and ran afoul of Thor when they confronted the God of Mischief. After the Avengers defeated Loki, Hank Pym alienated his teammates by offering Loki membership. Hank, Jocasta and two Global Response Agents were trapped in Infinite Avengers Mansion when Ultron resurfaced and seized control of it. Facing the destruction of the mansion, Hank revealed he may have found the dimension where Janet Van Dyne, his ex-wife, had “exploded” into at the climax of Secret Invasion. Jocasta felt misused by Hank. Other members of the Mighty Avengers joined the fight in Oklahoma. Hank sacrificed the chance to save Janet to defeat Ultron. Jocasta ultimately agreed to be Ultron’s “bride” if he agreed to head into deep space. That was less a sacrifice than it appeared, since Jocasta was capable of inhabiting several bodies simultaneously. Afterward, Hank headed to Oklahoma where the Mighty Avengers banded together for one last fight against Osborn’s forces.
Dan Slott navigated the requisite Siege tie-ins fairly effectively without sacrificing much of the arc he’d been working on. There were some hiccups, especially a reversion to other heroes viewing Hank as an unstable loon, but overall the story worked and brought the title to a fitting end. Khoi Pham (with a one-issue assist from Neil Edwards) handled the art with his usual clean, angular style. His work effectively fit the storytelling and helped Slott stick the title’s landing. While a decent volume overall, a reader would need to have already been familiar with the series’ prior volumes to fully appreciate the final plot beats explored here.
Avengers Volume 1 (Avengers vol. 4, #1-6)
A new era with an expanded franchise of titles emerged from Siege, with the flagship book once again simply The Avengers. As the head of S.H.I.E.L.D., Steve Rogers assembled a roster that included Thor, Iron Man, Captain America (Bucky), Wolverine, Spider-Woman, Spider-Man, Hawkeye and Protector (formerly Marvel Boy). Maria Hill was on hand to coordinate the team’s efforts. Avengers villain Kang arrived from the future with a warning about genocidal robot Ultron finally succeeding in taking over the planet and obliterating most life. But then, the children of the Avengers found a way to defeat him and took over his empire. The Avengers were appropriately skeptical. While investigating Kang’s claim, the team dealt with the anger of former member Wonder Man, who insisted that re-forming the Avengers was a mistake, his protest turning violent. Next, a future version of Apocalypse and his horsemen (who resembled various Avengers) popped up to attack the team. They were followed by futuristic hero Killraven, pursued by alien invaders and incursions from other time periods. Iron Man, Captain America, Wolverine and Protector traveled into the future to try to figure out why time was unraveling. They met future versions of Iron Man and Hulk, as well as several Avengers’ descendants. The battle in the present grew more dire while the heroes in the future worked on a plan to save time. Iron Man’s desperate ploy with Ultron restored the integrity of time, but left the team facing an uncertain future.
After years of focusing on the grittier New Avengers, Brian Michael Bendis wanted to demonstrate he could handle a classic, widescreen Avengers epic. He pulled in lots of classic Avengers elements and gave the new team a suitably massive challenge to tackle. The arc struggled with pacing at some points, but overall provided a lot of action. There was so much going on plotwise that characterization often took a backseat and the Wonder Man sub-plot seemed to come out of nowhere. Still, the new line-up was a strong one and Bendis crafted some nice interactions. And after being treated as the villain of the Marvel Universe for a couple years, it was nice seeing Iron Man get a central heroic role. The re-launch came with a superstar art team, penciler John Romita, Jr. and inkers Klaus Janson and Tom Palmer. This wasn’t the subtlest work of Romita’s career and the characters had an exaggerated angularity that didn’t always look quite right. But the artists had a way with big action scenes, creating some impressive splash pages and action sequences. Colorist Dean White was also a key contributor, surrounding the art with bright, bold colors that fit the “go big” ethos of the re-launched book. This volume may not have been a timeless classic, but it was still very entertaining and worth reading for any Avengers fan.
New Avengers Volume 1 (New Avengers vol. 2, #1-6)
Post-Siege, the New Avengers were freed of the “outlaw heroes” concept they’d labored under for the better part of three years. The re-launched New Avengers was more of a club of heroes based in the rebuilt Avengers Mansion, with several full- and part-time members. Led by Luke Cage, other members included Wolverine, Spider-Man, Ms. Marvel, Mockingbird, Iron Fist, Doctor Strange, Jessica Jones and new recruit The Thing (when he wasn’t busy with the Fantastic Four). Steve Rogers riled the team by assigning Victoria Hand, who’d been Norman Osborn’s chief lieutenant, as the team’s S.H.I.E.L.D. liaison, believing her sincerity in wanting to serve.
Doctor Strange and Daimon Hellstrom were possessed by an unknown mystical entity, determined to wrest the Eye of Agamotto from Brother Voodoo, who has succeeded Strange as Sorcerer Supreme. The Eye materialized in Avengers Mansion and possessed Luke, sending him on a rampage that caused a lot of damage. Meanwhile, Wolverine freed Strange and Hellstrom from their possession. Brother Voodoo arrived to help the others subdue Luke. When Iron Fist held the Eye, he disappeared in a flash of light. Meanwhile, a mystic tear in reality opened up in the sky above Central Park. The New Avengers fought a fleet of energy creatures, while Iron Fist encountered what appeared to be the spirit of the Ancient One (Strange’s mentor) in an odd white dimension. The mystics tried to close the rift, while the Avengers continued fighting the energy creatures. The rift closed and Iron Fist fell from the sky with some accusations against Strange. The heroes poured their collective abilities into Wolverine, to fight the entity attempting to capture the Eye. At a climactic moment, Brother Voodoo entered the fight himself, sacrificing his life to save the Earth dimension.
This was an appealing change of direction for New Avengers. Bendis crafted an intriguing plot that made good use of his cast. He’d established some strong bonds among many of these characters in the prior series, which served the book well. The ever-popular Thing was an outstanding addition to the cast who meshed well with the other heroes. The re-launched New Avengers was a canny refinement of the book’s concept, with a cast that allowed Bendis to tackle different kinds of stories and also serve as a vehicle for his trademark witty banter. Stuart Immonen, Wade Von Grawbadger and Laura Martin were a “can’t-miss” art team. They produced beautiful, bold images that popped off the page and infused the storytelling with a lot of dynamism and energy. The colors, especially, were fairly astonishing, demonstrating why Martin is the rare colorist who’s become a superstar in her own right. With a simpatico creative team and a vital new direction, this volume showed New Avengers at its best and is recommended for any Avengers fans.
Avengers Volume 2 (Avengers vol. 4, #6-12 and #12.1)
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 broke into the Fantastic Four’s HQ and stole another Gem, he attacked the Red Hulk as a test of the Gems’ power. Red Hulk alerted the Avengers. In turn, 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 before The Hood could locate them, clashing with him 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 Avengers 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. The villains 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 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. Romita 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.
New Avengers Volume 2 (New Avengers vol. 2, #7-13)
The New Avengers convinced Doctor Strange to stick around, dealt with repairs to the Mansion and found a nanny for Luke and Jessica’s baby in Squirrel Girl. They also dealt with a lingering lack of trust for Victoria Hand. Spider-Man was especially hard on her. Luke and Jessica’s rare night out fell victim to a fight between Ms. Marvel and one of Doctor Doom’s robots landing outside their restaurant. Jessica struggled with her path, but ultimately embraced her role on the team.
In a complex dual narrative, in 1959 Nick Fury gathered a team of adventurers to go on a special mission against some lingering Nazi operatives. In the present, the New Avengers followed info supplied by Victoria Hand to Rhode Island, where unexpectedly powerful villainess Superia was consolidating the remnants of Osborn’s H.A.M.M.E.R. forces as her power base. The New Avengers clashed with H.A.M.M.E.R. and in a horrifying turn of events, Mockingbird sustained a near-fatal injury. The team barely escaped an attack from Superia to rush Mockingbird to a hospital. Spider-Man insisted that Victoria had set the team up for an ambush. In 1959, Fury’s crew invaded a Swedish stronghold to seize an invention from the Red Skull and had to fight a Captain America clone. Back in the present, Victoria retained Steve Rogers’s confidence, even as her own team accused her of betrayal. Superia attacked Victoria in her own apartment and Victoria insisted she was on the side of H.A.M.M.E.R. The New Avengers, with Hawkeye joining them, pursued and captured Superia. The 1959 acquisition turned out to be the Infinity Formula, the means by which Nick Fury had long extended his life and vitality. With Mockingbird at death’s door, Hawkeye insisted they administer it to her, saving her life and increasing her strength. By the end, it was still unclear where Victoria’s loyalties were.
The first two issues were the sort of character-driven “slice of life” stories at which Bendis excels. There wasn’t much plot development, but the character interactions were well done and some of the interpersonal positioning necessary for the story architecture moved forward. Immonen did decent work in his final issue on the title, and then Daniel Acuña brought his soft-focus style to Luke and Jessica’s date night, proving to be a good match for that material.
The complex two-era narrative of the rest of the collection was a tricky balancing act that Bendis didn’t always pull off. The stylish throwback adventure of what came to be known as “The 1959 Avengers” was certainly enjoyable and benefited from the ever-distinctive work of artist Howard Chaykin. But the story as a whole felt like it more appropriately belonged in a separate special and even though the MacGuffin of the caper turned out to be important to the resolution of the Mockingbird shooting plot, it felt like a lot of space devoted to something that shouldn’t have been that difficult for the heroes to acquire in their time. The present day sequences were more effective. The transformation of the H.A.M.M.E.R. remnants into some kind of outlaw paramilitary force was an effective use of things Bendis had created in previous stories and Superia was a good antagonist. The jeopardy in which Mockingbird found herself was well-handled and Bendis did a nice job making readers wonder what Victoria Hand was up to. Avengers vet Mike Deodato handled art on the present day sequences and produced his usual dynamic work, with enough grit and shadow to match the darker tone of the arc. With the creators and characters clicking, this was another strong outing and a volume New Avengers fans will want to read.
