Reign drops keep falling on my head.
THE NEW AVENGERS #55
WRITER: Brian Michael Bendis
PENCILS: Stuart Immonen
INKS: Wade Von Grawbadger
COLORS: Dave Mccaig
PLOT:
Brian Michael Bendis takes a page-and-a-half to recap the thirteen-page fight from issue #50. Afterward, the Hood bickers with his goons while Chemistro examines the busted Stark Tech power drainer the Avengers left behind. Chemistro takes the drainer to Jonas Harrow, who promises to reverse engineer this "nuclear bomb in the war on powers." The Hood, hospitalized by Doctor Voodoo, never shows to the gang’s next payment meeting, causing dissent to roil. Harrow argues that the Hood, with his unexplained intel and resources, must have made a deal with Norman Osborn behind their backs. Though upset like the others, Harrow acknowledges the advantages to having a powerful ally to keep them out of jail. With the new power drainer, they no longer need the Hood to get Osborn’s attention.
It’s not New Avengers without a long dining room chat. Spider-Man wants no one to call him "Peter" out loud, Bucky can’t get a word in edgewise about the mess in his appartment, and Clint Barton announces his intention to kill Norman Osborn. Spidey accuses Clint of cracking because he lost his cushy Avengers Mansion life to become a street level fugitive whose every attempt to set things right backfires. Clint can’t take being Peter Parker.
A Times Square Chemistro rampage cuts short the debate. The Avengers leap into battle in time for Chemistro to engulf them in power-draining vapor. The Avengers lose both their organic abilities and the use of mechanical enhancements like Spidey’s webshooters and Bucky’s arm, and they fall unconscious.
THOUGHTS:
Though he never lived up to Mark Bagley on Ultimate Spider-Man, Stuart Immonen fits New Avengers like a pair of form-fitted spandex briefs. His bold style looks drastically more "cartoony" than those of the artists usually assigned to this title, but it vibrantly conveys the large, colorful cast and keeps the story engergetic throughout Bendis’ pages upon pages of dialogue and the brief action sequence. The spread of Captain America iconically leaping across the rooftops before landing in his trashed apartment with Wolverine snoring on the couch demonstrates Immonen’s ability to match Bendis’s propensity for juxtaposing the extrodinary with the mundane.
As alluded to above, we have here yet another Bendis dialogue fest. By now, anyone purchasing New Avengers knows what to expect. In all fairness, the chatter covers some interesting ground this time. On the villainous side, some of the Hood’s third stringers finally distinguish themselves from the crowd of interchangeable men in tights. It also interests me that, like the mutants in Utopia, yet another subset of the Dark Reign Marvel Universe has slipped from its respective cabal member’s control.
Some readers have labeled Clint’s murderous proposal as utterly out of character since writers generally portray him as staunchly anti-killing. However, his Immonen-drawn scrunched face and pouty nine-year-old crossed arms make this seem more like a temper tantrum than actual premeditation. Even Spider-Man has entertained the thought of killing Osborn once or twice, so surely the hotheaded Hawkeye gets a pass. The use of Spider-Man as the voice of higher morality also works. I like the idea that Spidey’s unique experience helps him cope with situations that would unhinge the establishment Avengers. By no means has Barton led an easy life, but he’s usually had a way to fight back.
The only truly irksome aspect of this issue’s characterization is that it makes the Avengers look stupid. How could a team of experienced crime fighters leave as potant a weapon as the power drainer in enemy hands? With the Hood’s gang thoroughly winded by Spider-Woman and Ms. Marvel’s energy blast, they had the opportunity to snag the device before retreating.
FAVORITE QUOTE:
"I should call you Spider-Man?"
"Could you?"
"Even though I’m an adult and you’re an adult."
RATING:
4 out of 5 webheads. Immonen returns a long-missing sense of fun to New Avengers.
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Thank You, Keep up the Good work 🙂
UCSM is going to have the (in my opinion) ugly anime art of David Lafuente, so even if Bendis is on fire there’ll be that to get over. I think at best I’ll be getting that in trade, but more likely I’ll take a pass alltogether. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts in such detail!
Hey Chris, great review! I’m always looking forward to them. Although I’m really tired of reading these heroes sitting around tables and babbling, this issue sorta works for me. Hawkeye is supposedly the leader now, and yet it’s really clear that he’s not, he doesn’t command respect as well as, believe it or not, Luke Cage. (I realize Bendis prefers Luke for some reason but it’s actually more believable that he leads rather than Clint.) Clint is too quick to anger and (as you point out) pouty as well. Overall this team still seems rather awkward and too loose, but maybe this will change when Bucky Cap is eventually replaced by the real deal. I would like to see more interesting team dynamics on the battle field, that’s one thing I feel is missing in this series.
Immonen backgrounds are very blurred and dull (and occasionally not even there!); and I’m not partial to the cartoony look in comics in general. Some of the facial expressions I like though and the shadowing under the eyebrows is appealing for some reason. Maybe I’ll grow to like him. I might pick up UCSM #1 now due to this issue of NA, although I’m weary of Bendis’ brand of story-telling (it’s way too drawn out for me); but when he does deliver it is hot (like his latest DA issue).
Keep up the great work, man! I’m a really big Andy Diggle fan now due to your Thunderbolts reviewing. I’m really sad that’s he’s leaving that book, an I don’t think I’ll be sticking around after he leaves.
Yeah, Bucky’s entire left arm is metal. It blew off during the plane explosion that supposedly killed him in WWII and he was given the mechanical replacement by the Soviets who brainwashed him and used him as an assassin. The Soviet arm got melted off in a fight after he became himself again and Nick Fury gave him a replacement.
Bucky’s arm is mechanical? (I don’t really follow the character much, sorry if I’m just misreading!)
Yeah, the scene between Peter and Clint was stellar. Spidey was totally in the right, but there was enough truth in what Clint was saying to make his retorts really sting. Fantastic stuff.
Yeah, I flipped through this the other day and thought it was pretty good. Bendis seems to be shifting Spidey away from his annoying “Chandler Bing” funny man to more of a moral compass for the series (although the other Avengers still tend to ignore him.) I liked the bit where Jessica confides to Pete that he’s Luke Cage’s hero, and Clint accusing Spidey of not doing what needed to be done with Norman in the first place. I’d probably add this comic to my subscription list if I wasn’t afraid it’d turn into another “Tales of the Skrull Empire” run or something akin to that. (Call me wierd, but I like to have Avengers in my Avengers title.)
I’m now looking forward to Bendis’s backup tale in the upcoming ASM!
Fantastic review Chris!
and I agree. Immonen is a MUCH better artist on new avengers.
I like him just about as much as I liked Finch during the first arc.
Only Marvel book I can still read
Nice Review Chris, I;m enjoying the series more now as well