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Post by goldenfist on Oct 23, 2008 16:38:25 GMT -5
Ign.com reviews New Avengers #46.
The Avengers SI tie-ins have been scattershot, with your enjoyment of each issue mostly dependent on your emotional connection to the main character, who seemed to be picked at random. This time around, Bendis goes back to his old New Avengers supervillain squad headed by the Hood and checks in on how they're coping with the Skrull invasion.
To be honest, I found myself more attached to this issue than most before. For one, The Hood and his crime syndicate have been positioned as major Avengers foes, so there's more to grasp onto when compared to an issue about, say, Marvel Boy. There's also the interesting dynamic of the Hood & Co. becoming Thunderbolts-esque while all the humans band together against the Skrulls.
But if I'm being fair, there isn't a terrible amount to this issue. The new Masters of Evil (are we even calling them that?) kidnap a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and grill him for knowledge about the Skrulls, and then formulate a plan to combat the invasion. Like a lot of the Avengers books, it's not a lot more than "Where were you when the invasion hit?" but again, given the characters involved and their significantly higher profile, I found myself enjoying it a bit more than the others.
Adding to my affection for the issue was art by Billy Tan. I've been on the fence about him before, but his work here is beautiful and moody, matching the tone of the issue perfectly. The twist last page in particular is rendered incredibly well. Considering the hit-or-miss art stable on the Avengers books for the better part of this year, we've definitely seen worse.
In the interest of full disclosure, if you've been unimpressed with the vast majority of the Avengers tie-ins, you can probably add this one to the bunch. But I found myself interested in the crime syndicate's involvement, and if you're got similar inclinations there's a development or two that makes this issue worth a look.
Review Score: 7.5 Good
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Post by woodside on Oct 23, 2008 23:31:32 GMT -5
I, for one, loved that last page and can't wait to see some serious follow-up!
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Post by freedomfighter on Oct 24, 2008 1:07:08 GMT -5
I was just happy that bendis actually sort of told a story in this one. I mean, he resolved some nagging issues and set up the future stories in a fairly simple good storytelling manner. I don't like it, but I can't say that its bad...
Of course he goes and contradicts himself over several of the big tenets of the skrull invasion (they can't be detected by any magic users? That's why Dr. Strange, one of the two or three most proficient sorcerors in the known universe couldn't tell who's a skrull and who's not, riiight? Well it ain't that hard according to this issue...)
I'm also SUPER confused by the skrulls, and how this programming for deep cover worked. These are such easy things to make clear and this book never does that. It's maddening!
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Post by Doctor Doom on Oct 24, 2008 4:34:27 GMT -5
Of course he goes and contradicts himself over several of the big tenets of the skrull invasion (they can't be detected by any magic users? That's why Dr. Strange, one of the two or three most proficient sorcerors in the known universe couldn't tell who's a skrull and who's not, riiight? Well it ain't that hard according to this issue...)! Actually, there's an explanation for this particular tenet. The reason they were undetectable to Doctor Strange's magic is because the skrulls had captured Doctor Strange and investigated his magic. They've had no contact with demons and therefore no possible way of making themselves immune to that very, very different type of magic. |
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Post by freedomfighter on Oct 25, 2008 12:50:40 GMT -5
Of course he goes and contradicts himself over several of the big tenets of the skrull invasion (they can't be detected by any magic users? That's why Dr. Strange, one of the two or three most proficient sorcerors in the known universe couldn't tell who's a skrull and who's not, riiight? Well it ain't that hard according to this issue...)! Actually, there's an explanation for this particular tenet. The reason they were undetectable to Doctor Strange's magic is because the skrulls had captured Doctor Strange and investigated his magic. They've had no contact with demons and therefore no possible way of making themselves immune to that very, very different type of magic. Ok given what I understand of the nature of magic in the MU, that makes no sense to me. For example when Strange conjures up an illusion, he calls out to Ikonn and when he seeks to bind someone, he invokes Cyttorak. So it's not Strange's magic, he calls upon the power of other entities. the demon appears to be a minion of someone very familiar to Strange (not wanting to give a spoiler) and utilizes the same powers and energies that Strange uses. When they've met they known each others spells and how to counteract them and how to use the same spells so it doesn't make sense to me that they are too dissimilar. in fact, if you read the description of the villain in question on marvel.com, it is said that even doctor strange can use this particular person's energies. thus it would seem their abilities and energies are similar enough that if you could fool one, you could fool the other. Also in the Captain Britain M13 series 4 part opener the Skrulls were trying to capture/destroy the magic of otherworld, Merlin et al and it appeared they succeeded at one point, which would indicate they understood the workings of all kinds of magic as opposed to the abilities of one type of user. the magic skrull appears to channelling some demons in that story as well. read the addition about the latest series here in wikipedia... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Britaineven if you don't agree you must admit that marvel has not made this particularly clear. |
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Post by Ignore Me! on Oct 26, 2008 13:45:13 GMT -5
[quote author=freedomfighter board=newavengers thread=2141 post=27544 time=1224957040Ok given what I understand of the nature of magic in the MU, that makes no sense to me. For example when Strange conjures up an illusion, he calls out to Ikonn and when he seeks to bind someone, he invokes Cyttorak. So it's not Strange's magic, he calls upon the power of other entities. the demon appears to be a minion of someone very familiar to Strange (not wanting to give a spoiler) and utilizes the same powers and energies that Strange uses. When they've met they known each others spells and how to counteract them and how to use the same spells so it doesn't make sense to me that they are too dissimilar. .[/quote] If I remember right, they explained magic pretty much the same way in the old Marvel Super Hero game. Good job! Do they still give out 'no-prizes"? 'Cause they should if they can explain this one away. Another wonderful reason for a BENDIS! bash, but it's just too easy.  P.S. Not to keep knit-picking, but the man does know something about Marvel, doesn't he? Or isn't that a requirement to not only be a Marvel writer, but a top writer who's allowed to do major stories? Boggles the mind. Really. |
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Post by starfoxxx on Oct 26, 2008 18:33:15 GMT -5
OK, I'm not enjoying much about Secret Invasion, but.....
I liked this issue. It actually could be considered an "Avengers" type of issue, but only if it actually had at least ONE scene featuring some Avengers.
The art wasn't horrible, but the proportions were weird, Why is the Wrecker so much bigger than the rest of the Wrecking Crew?
Also, I loved the cover homage to "Bring On the Bad Guys". Man, I loved that book when I was a kid (along with Marvel Team-Up Thrillers).
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Post by overlord on Oct 28, 2008 17:29:29 GMT -5
I'm the only one who thinks this group of villains is still pretty boring? I still think Bendis is having trouble established different voices for the villains in question. They mostly seem to be using Bendis speak again. Just because these characters are C-list doesn't mean they should have their established personalities thrown out.
Wizard should be more snide, scarecrow should be more psychotic and Masque really is slumming by hooking up with hood.
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Post by spiderwasp on Oct 28, 2008 22:14:00 GMT -5
I'm the only one who thinks this group of villains is still pretty boring? quote] I have no doubt that you are right but since I, like several others on this board, have given up on New Avengers, I have no way to back you up. However, everything you said sound just like typical Bendis so... |
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Post by starfoxxx on Oct 29, 2008 18:49:44 GMT -5
One thing about the Hood that is dumb is the fact that he had this grand agenda to ruin the superheroes' lives by hurting their families, starting with Tigra, right?
then there was the big fight where Dr. Strange, working with the Avengers (or the group calling themselves avengers at the time), defeated the Hood and his villains......
So I guess the Hood gave up on his agenda to go after the heroes' families......
because now he is fighting side by side with the heroes against the Skrulls.....
it's just more of Bendis' plotlines overlapping, never playing out, and generally confusing me, or am I missing something here?
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Post by woodside on Oct 29, 2008 22:56:30 GMT -5
Bare in mind that the battle with the Hood took place probably within the same 1-2 week time span as the events of "Secret Invasion." He was probably re-grouping his forces when the Skrulls showed up.
The New Avengers also handed the collective asses of his minions to them.
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Post by overlord on Oct 31, 2008 1:05:43 GMT -5
One thing about the Hood that is dumb is the fact that he had this grand agenda to ruin the superheroes' lives by hurting their families, starting with Tigra, right? then there was the big fight where Dr. Strange, working with the Avengers (or the group calling themselves avengers at the time), defeated the Hood and his villains...... So I guess the Hood gave up on his agenda to go after the heroes' families...... because now he is fighting side by side with the heroes against the Skrulls..... it's just more of Bendis' plotlines overlapping, never playing out, and generally confusing me, or am I missing something here? I also find the fact that the members of the group have shown little of established personalities and are just willing to defer to the hood often is pretty annoying. |
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Post by overlord on Oct 31, 2008 1:06:49 GMT -5
One thing about the Hood that is dumb is the fact that he had this grand agenda to ruin the superheroes' lives by hurting their families, starting with Tigra, right? then there was the big fight where Dr. Strange, working with the Avengers (or the group calling themselves avengers at the time), defeated the Hood and his villains...... So I guess the Hood gave up on his agenda to go after the heroes' families...... because now he is fighting side by side with the heroes against the Skrulls..... it's just more of Bendis' plotlines overlapping, never playing out, and generally confusing me, or am I missing something here? I also find the fact that the members of the group have shown little of established personalities and are just willing to defer to the hood often is pretty annoying. |
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