The New Avengers, vol. 2 #16.1 – Review

Point. Set. Match. Osborn. The man who had recently cast a dark shadow over the Marvel Universe has had enough of sitting in a prison cell. The man behind the Green Goblin mask is ready to break free and the only thing standing between him and his Goblin Cult fanatics are the New Avengers. Marvel’s latest comic in the .1 initiative brings readers up to speed on what trouble the New Avengers have found themselves in. For more information on what Norman has been up to since his fall from grace, make sure to check out butters’ review of the Osborn miniseries here, here, here and here.

The New Avengers, vol. 2 #16.1

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis

Penciler: Neal Adams
Inker: Tom Palmer
Colorist: Paul Mounts
Letters & Production: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover Artists: Neal Adams & Paul Mounts

The New Avengers: Luke Cage, Ms. Marvel, Thing, Iron Fist, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Dr. Strange, Mockingbird, Jessica Jones, Victoria Hand, Squirrel Girl.

Plot: Norman Osborn sits in captivity in his cell in the Raft, a maximum security prison. He mutters to himself then hears a voice that claims Norman owes it to his followers to escape his incarceration. The voice tells Osborn that he is getting restless. When Osborn looks over his shoulder he sees a large, grotesque Goblin.

The New Avengers are enjoying a large banquet in the dining room of Avengers Mansion. Victoria Hand enters the room and tasks the team with their next assignment – transferring Norman Osborn off the Raft. Later that evening the Avengers show up at the prison to escort Osborn from the penitentiary. A mysterious aircraft appears in the sky and uses a tractor beam to separate him from the Avengers guarding him.

Aboard the ship, H.A.M.M.E.R. agents welcome their leader and await further orders. When Norman finds out that the soldiers do not know the next course of action, he performs a spell and reveals himself to be Dr. Strange in disguise. In a tunnel beneath the prison, Wolverine leads Jessica Jones and Iron Fist and the real Norman Osborn in shackles. Wolverine losses his cool when Osborn threatens the safety of Jessica Jones’ baby. Osborn, with a mouthful of adamantium claws, signals the Raft guards. The undercover H.A.M.M.E.R. agents attack the Avengers and help Osborn escape behind a thick rock wall. 

The alarm sounds and the remaining Avengers rushing to their teammates’ side. Norman Osborn leads his soldiers through the prison and opens a cell holding Dr. Wentworth, also known as Superia. The Avengers are left dumbfounded as they find no trace of Norman Osborn or the rest of his H.A.M.M.E.R. agents on the grounds. In a secret hideout, Osborn stands above a large crowd of H.A.M.M.E.R. loyalists along with HYDRA and A.I.M. allies. He raises his arms triumphantly, celebrating his freedom and the start of his new reign.

*

On Point: Marvel’s .1 initiative over the last few months has been an attempt to help new readers familiarize themselves with current characters and stories. This is the first .1 issue I’ve read, but from what I’ve heard, the majority of the other .1 issues have not really succeeded in this venture. However, the New Avengers .1 issue is a good example of how the initiative can succeed. They use a good story as the jumping off point, dealing with Norman Osborn and his incarceration after his Dark Reign that swept the Marvel Universe not too long ago.

I’m a big fan of Norman as a big time Marvel villain, propelled into the spotlight. It’s nice to see him as an antagonist of the New Avengers since he seems to fit the street level heroes better than the more powerful members of the Avengers squad. He has a history with several of the characters on the New Avengers, so the story has the potential to get really personal for some of the characters. I also enjoyed the way his craziness and mental disorders were portrayed at the beginning of the comic. I liked the beads of sweat and the paranoid look on his face when he pictured the massive Goblin in the room with him.

Norman is an evil dude and you really love to hate the guy, especially when he threatens the safety of Jessica Jones’ baby. His escape from the Raft was handled really well. I thought Dr. Strange serving as a decoy was a great idea, but despite the New Avengers’ best effort to stop the attempted prison break, Norman was one step ahead of them. It’s also nice that they followed up the Superia storyline that was started in the previous New Avengers comics by having Norman free her from her cell. The ending with Norman victoriously standing over his followers and among his HYDRA and A.I.M. generals was a great way to close this issue, successfully setting up the upcoming New Avengers stories.

This .1 issue did a good job of recapping the events that have transpired over the past year with the New Avengers, such as the conflict between Spider-Man and Victoria Hand. Bendis also commented on the escalating conflicts with H.A.M.M.E.R. as well as the unfortunate shooting of Mockingbird. I found it humorous that the New Avengers were shown in their most common state when not out fighting crime. They were gathered around a large dining room table, feasting on pizza, bananas and other delicacies in order to combat their heroic appetites.

*

Poignantly Pointless: Famous comic book artist Neal Adams steps in to take over the art duties for this issue and I was not too impressed with his work. The characters looked a little too cartoony and most don’t even look like they normally do. Even though Wolverine is a primitive barbaric character, he looks a bit too much like a caveman, and many of the females look very generic like they could have all been sisters. If it wasn’t for the character’s costumes, I would have had a hard time determining who the heroes were. As far as the costumes, it was nice that Adams put Spider-Man in the classic red and blue, but then he has Thing don the classic Fanstastic Four speedo with the iconic four logo. Someone must not have told him that outfit has been put on ice since the Human Torch died.

After getting the drop on the H.A.M.M.E.R. agents, the rest of the story involves the New Avengers getting shown up and bungling the simple task of transferring one prisoner. It doesn’t look good for the team as they are made to look like a bunch of chumps by a handful of guards. Wolverine, for one, took the brunt of the egg on his face, as well as gunfire. You’d think a professional like Wolverine wouldn’t be so easy to get the drop on, but I shouldn’t be surprised since most squads led by Wolverine are prone to fail because of his cut-first-question-later attitude.

Bendis’ penchant for sophomoric dialogue is on display in this issue once more. Spider-Man’s joke about poopy diaper smell did not seem like appropriate dining room table discussion. I liked the punch line of the joke comparing the smell to a wet Hank McCoy, but the joke as a whole was juvenile and unnecessary. I am also not a fan of Bendis using repetitive dialogue as he does in the end by having Ms. Marvel and Spider-Man repeat the line “tell me this isn’t happening!”

*

Most Valuable Avenger: Dr. Strange. I’ve been a big fan of Dr. Strange’s addition to the New Avengers and his expertise is used in a very crafty manner in this issue. Disguising himself as Norman Osborn to thwart the first attempt at the prison breakout was really clever and a creative use of the sorcerer.

Least Valuable Avenger: Jessica Jones. If I was Jessica Jones, or any other mother with super powers, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t tolerate a psychopath threatening my child. Not only does she just stand there, jaw agape, not defending herself or daughter, she lets Wolverine fight her battle and is then tossed aside like a ragdoll by the very same guy when he attempts to escape her custody.

*

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Moment: When Victoria Hand doles out the team’s mission to escort Norman Osborn off the Raft.

Victoria Hand: “The touchy subject is Norman Osborn.”

Spider-Man: “Are you guys finally tying the knot?”

*

Rating: Good, story. Meh, art and characterization. Poor, action and writing. 3/5 Avengers Assembled

“Remember that one time during the fight when it looked like you might actually win? No? Me neither.” – Marvel vs. Capcom 3
“Did I mention I beat up Firelord once? No, seriously. Firelord.” – Ultimate Alliance 2