After reading this highly anticipated (for me, anyway) issue....
I can only say it stunk..... The story was weak and the art was worse.
in the end, Slott's Mighty proved to be.....Mighty Weak.
I'm afraid I have to agree with you. I just bought it today. It was pretty much a complete and utter mess. I'm going to summarize what I got out of it
(Spoiler alert)
All the Jocastas are an intregal part of Jan who became a big cosmic looking something so Hank was really using Jocasta and she got mad but then got over quickly because Hank is the Scientist Supreme. Ultron (Now Ultron Pym) had something somehow to do with this and attacked using all the Jocastas except the one that was with Hank against them. Jan spoke (or was it Jocasta through Jan?) about Ultron being back. I totally missed the significance of that. Eventually, Jocasta agreed to be the bride of Ultron so he backed down but then backed out on his agreement so... a bunch of ants showed up with image projectors making him think all the Avengers were there so he chickened out (That's so like Ultron) and left with Jocasta who's still there with Hank because she can be in two places at one time. This left Jan...okay, I'm clueless on this one. Is she still that weird entity or is she now more dead than she was? After all this, Hank joined the battle already in progress in which Loki was battling the Void which, if I remember correctly from the days I tried to read NA was actually some part of the Sentry. Quicksilver showed up to serve no function other than to get a chance to say "Once an Avenger..." and everyone noted that Hank was somehow right because Loki was battling the enemy, presumably on the Avengers behalf. I assume all of this part would have made more sense if I had read the other Siege books. In the end, the Avengers assembled once more and headed off to...fight the good fight and do the impossible. I'm still unclear if they were running to or from a battle at this point.
Joined: Nov 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 2,788 Location: England / Italy Karma: 100
Re: Mighty Avengers #36 « Reply #2 on May 18, 2010, 6:50pm »
I read it a couple of weeks ago when it came out, and it was indeed a little confusing, especially the Jan part. It's not clear at all what has become of her after this story, and with Mighty gone I wonder when we will get an answer
The group scenes are a bit easier to explain, because most of it happens in Thunderbolts, which more or less had a crossover with MA. In short, the MA (minus Herc, who just died in his own book, and obviously Hank) have battled Osborn's Thunderbolts (Nuke, Mister X, Ghost, Grizzly, Paladin and Ant-Man) for possession of the Spear of Odin. USAgent has been badly injured (his whole arm was severed off), but in the end Paladin and Ant-Man switched sides and helped them win. Incidentally, being a fan of Paladin from his old Avengers' guest appearances from way back, I've enjoyed his role in Thunderbolts. He follows Norman for money, but when push comes to shove is willing to risk his life to do what is right.
Anyway, MA picks up immediately after this, with the Avengers joining the big battle in Siege 4, although they are never actually seen in that book.
"Cease to resist me, and you may live to see another day!" --SuperSkrull
Joined: May 2009 Posts: 1,337 Location: DC Metropolitan area Karma: 55
Re: Mighty Avengers #36 « Reply #3 on May 18, 2010, 8:59pm »
. . . and yet, it was still better than New Avengers #64 (which I just received today! Boy, the Finale issue could be a long time coming. . . ). Although rushed, contrived, forced, and more than a trifle disjointed, it was far and away a better piece of storytelling than the NA book. And I don't mean that as a mindless, join-the-gang rant. MA had a weak-ish, but definitely coherent, storyline. A plot. It had a sequence of related events. NA 64 did not. It was little more than an extended movie trailer, where you have to kind of guess at what the pictured events are without having any idea of their context. This is UNBELIEVABLY poor writing and storytelling (I'm sorry, Woodside ol' pal-- but this is truly my considered opinion. I will not, however, resort to "Bendis sucks canal water"-type pronouncements. Kind of insulting, that. And unfairly & incorrectly disparages Bendis' loyal followers.). Also missing are. . . The New Avengers themselves. Again. From their own book. ALSO--(and this is driving me crazy) Bendis makes many, many grammatical and syntax mistakes in his writing-- and not ones that are covered by the "using a character's voice" umbrella. The Harold Pinter tricks mask a lot of this a lot of the time, but guys like Norman Osborn put their sentences together incorrectly? Get their tenses & their singular/plural correlations mixed up? Really?
And. . . oops. Gotta go. Son of HB's hounding after the computer. Hate to critique & run, but. . .
starfoxxx Avengers Founding Member member is offline
starfoxxx
Joined: Dec 2007 Gender: Male Posts: 727 Karma: 29
Re: Mighty Avengers #36 « Reply #4 on May 19, 2010, 4:53pm »
<Spoiler alert>
Yeah, the whole USAgent getting his arm cut off was REALLY confusing and glossed over (pretty much like the whole story here). And Pham's background artwork is sooooo confusing and kind of lazy. I did like the spacey backgrounds- but that can't be that difficult to depict. But the rest of his backgrounds jusyt don't serve the story well at all.
Remember when background art was amazing?-- you could recognize landmarks and the NYC buildings/skyline. Most new artists don't have a grasp of how important these details are in sequential art.
oh, and i have no qualms about voicing my opinion that BMB sucks....anyone who considers it insulting has NO idea how insulted by BMB I feel when he craps all over the AVENGERS (a comic with a great history/legacy) and laughs about it.
oh, and i have no qualms about voicing my opinion that BMB sucks....anyone who considers it insulting has NO idea how insulted by BMB I feel when he craps all over the AVENGERS (a comic with a great history/legacy) and laughs about it.
starfoxxx Avengers Founding Member member is offline
starfoxxx
Joined: Dec 2007 Gender: Male Posts: 727 Karma: 29
Re: Mighty Avengers #36 « Reply #7 on May 21, 2010, 6:50pm »
In all fairness to Dan Slott, a large chunk of his tenure writing MA was overshadowed by "Dark Reign" , and it seemed that too many pages were devoted to the backdrop of Marvel's "big event", perhaps a more light-hearted setting would have benefited him, like his nice work on She-Hulk and Thing.
"Cease to resist me, and you may live to see another day!" --SuperSkrull
Joined: May 2009 Posts: 1,337 Location: DC Metropolitan area Karma: 55
Re: Mighty Avengers #36 « Reply #8 on May 21, 2010, 7:37pm »
Oh yeah, on the whole the Pym-led M.Avengers was an enjoyable title for me. Not great-- but good enough that I looked forward to reading it, and wanted each issue to be longer, if possible. But that last issue in particular was pretty weak, which could only be expected under the circumstances. Wrap-ups are rarely storytelling at its finest. Say, G-Fist-- is it Mighty Av or New Av that you've liked? I've crossed the references up so much that I realized I'm not sure which title you are in turn refering to. (Completely my bad, for birthing tangents w/out any thought of consequences)
Well I enjoyed the series and sorry to hear that no one else enjoyed it.
You can expect every writer to write like the writers of the silver age.
Uhmm, like HB said, I think it's been clear all along that many of us who have been talking about this particular issue did indeed enjoy the series. We (At least speaking for myself) just thought the quality on this particular issue was very low.
I find it very insulting when every time someone doesn't like something, someone has to throw out comments like "You can't (I assume you meant can't) expect every writer to write like the writers of the silver age." I don't like words being put in my mouth. As one of the main critcs of this particular issue, I never said that I expected it to be like the silver age. I do however expect it to be coherent and well-written. I'm tired of the implications that just because some of want quality, we are living in the past. Sometimes, it's just as simple as not liking something.
My objections to this issue had nothing to do with wanting a return to previous writing styles (Though I'll admit, that would be nice). The objections were simple. The first part of the story was so convoluted that I couldn't follow it. The second part was such a huge tie in to Siege that, unless you read that title, there was no way to know what was going on. I don't really blame Slott either. The numerous crossovers and tie-ins have tied his hands with his writing and he was forced to wrap everything up way too quickly. Still, whatever the reasons, the issue was (IMO) not good but I am still a fan of his work on the series.
Joined: Mar 2008 Gender: Male Posts: 407 Karma: 20
Re: Mighty Avengers #36 « Reply #10 on May 22, 2010, 9:53pm »
I liked a lot of this issue. I think it's unfair to ask Slott to wrap up all his plotlines and make room for various events that I'm sure had their timelines scuttled about for several months. I don't think he wants to wrap up the Janet Van Dyne storyline either, it seems like a possible vehicle for resurrection and that seems a bit too soon to occur at this point. I doubt the powers that be would allow the Wasp to come back so quickly after her apparent demise. I also think Ultron, when faced with the thought of every Avenger at once, and cut off in a strange environment, would choose discretion. Despite his bravado, Ultron is often afraid to face the team, using proxies like a hypnotized Hank Pym, the Vision, Grim Reaper, Alkhema and various old Ultron bodies. He has had any number of quirks about facing a team of a half dozen Avengers (sometimes Ultron is completely fearless- other times plotting out any number of strategies to avoid fighting the Avengers alone). I think with varous revisions Ultron has less confidence at times and more at others, so the idea of forty or fifty or so Avengers pouncing on him at once might give him pause.
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