ANAD New Avengers (spoilers)

[Marvel Boy]

Okay, #1 of this new volume, just a reminder of the members of this team: Sunspot (leader), Songbird, White Tiger, Power Man, Squirrel Girl, Hulkling, Wiccan, Hawkeye.

There's a strange plague infecting residents of Paris, the infected's head turn to crystal and they act in a zombie-like fashion. Bobby thinks this is a good job for his A.I.M. (Avengers Ideas Mechanics) and sends the team to investigate. Meanwhile on Avengers Island, Bobby receives a visit from SHIELD agent Dum Dum Dugan, who introduces Bobby to his newest member, Clint Barton. Not mincing words at all, Dum Dum blatantly informs Bobby that, given his new power and influence, Clint is only there to spy on them for SHIELD to which Bobby acquiesces.

Meanwhile, the team investigate Paris as they begin to mold themselves as a functioning team. Power Man, using his chi abilities, discerns that there is more supernatural at work here, that the infected have lost their souls and their actions are forming a conduit to unleash the afterlife into the real world. All part and parcel of the Maker's new plan (the Ultimate Reed Richards). During his visit, Dum Dum observes the situation, telling Bobby that SHIELD has sent in a gene-modified team (super-soldiers?) to gather intel but they lost contact with the team. Then, the Maker decides to really test A.I.M. by unleashing the transformed, infected SHIELD team on them.

In all, a decent start. Good sense of humor throughout, with banter. Characterization is good as the team knows they aren't a team just yet and work to achieve that. LOVE that Songbird is the de facto team leader. I've loved her since Avengers Forever and have been waiting for her to join the team ever since. I know next to nothing about Squirrel Girl, she was tolerable here, obviously meant as the comedic relief. They put in a great diagram of Avengers Island, reminiscent of the old MU Handbook diagrams of Avengers Mansion and the WCA's Compound.

[humanbelly]

Oh man, I don't know, Marv----

First of all, solid job on boiling down all of these fresh-start titles to reasonably comprehensible capsules for us. Judging from the result, that was noooooooooo mean feat. And your open-minded, optimistic outlook is certainly refreshing and engaging.

But I have to honestly say that this ANAD Universe is clearly not for me--- and if I understand what you've told us correctly, it's. . . rather a big ol' sham, isn't it? Of course, I'm not conversant in any of the on-going events or details, so I could be out in left field. But-- this doesn't sound at all like a CRISIS or NEW 52-type of universe reboot in the least, am I right? I'm getting that the MU multiverses have sort of been collapsed into this single one, with a whole lotta refugees landing here as well-- but that's not at all the same as starting over. That's just another giant, messy, impossible-to-stabilize, no-coherent-status-quo event, to me. And there's no "regular" anyone or anything, as far as I can glean. Good lord, how many characters are now running huge corporations or organizations? That immediately jumped out as a very weak go-to crutch for (apparently) several writers. Peter Parker running any kind of big industrial corporation is the antithesis of the entire concept of the Spider-Man character, and doesn't excite me at all (and mind you, I'm the guy who LOVED Pete&MJ getting married, and was always happy to have Spidey be an Avenger). Small, relatable, normal successes (like getting married), yes, that's what we like for Pete. Being a corporate big-wig? Uh, no-- now it's just shallow bigger-is-better wish-fulfillment.

And it's clearly team-crazy. TOO MANY teams. EVERYONE is on some team or in some group. Sadly, it just makes the whole team concept pointless and pedestrian. There's no special distinction or honor involved at all, as far as I can see. It's just. . . it's just pure quick sales-gimmickry, it seems like, without a shred of thought to long-term product sustainability.

Nah-- really, I'm sorry to be joe-negative-rant. . . but the cliche that I can't escape is that this is just another grand re-arranging of the deck chairs on the Titanic. . .

HB (sour. . . disgruntled. . . spraying those blasted kids w/ the hose. . . )

[Doctor Bong Crosby]

I agree, HB. Peter as an idustry captain...? I makes SENSE, logically, given his genius, but takes away the regular guy with everyday problems concept that´s been at the core of the character since his inception. I guess that´s why the Ultimate Spider-Man seems to be the regular, main wallcrawler for this New Marvel Universe now.

[Marvel Boy]

Those are some valid points, especially for Peter. But there are some other points to keep in mind in regards to his current situation. Doc Ock, as Superior Spider-Man, started Parker Industries. So when Peter 'returned', he inherited the company. Now, with the 8 month gap, we don't know yet the impetus that launched PI from being perhaps a local or even national company to being a global entity. Still, Peter retains his same morals and priorities. He's not jet-setting around with Playboy bunnies on his arms like some other bigwigs (*cough* Tony *cough*) Instead, he sees this an opportunity to improve the quality of lives on a global scale. But his goals may not jibe with others, who may see more profitability in exploring (and exploiting) other areas. So Peter's naivety in global management may end up haunting him.

Also, can Spider-Man handle the more exposure? As a more public bodyguard (gotta admit, love that), will public perception change about him? (No sign yet, that I know, of JJ's response to this). What new strains will this place on Peter? In the first issue, we've already seen that Peter has arranged for a Spidey stand-in in some instances (I seem to remember this person, but I can't quite recall his previous identity). It allows for different explorations for his character. Yes, it's a milieu that Peter has little to no familiarity with and no one has counted out the ol' Parker luck from cropping up at some point.

As for the seemingly abundance of teams, I think it's Marvel showing more diversity in their make-up. A wider mixture of genders, races, even mixing up members from the more familiar teams. How long it lasts, who knows? Hopefully, it will be done well, if nothing else.

[Refgemlin]

As New Avengers wraps up before it becomes U.S. Avengers, I have to say that I was really keen on this book. Al Ewing was the solid modern-day Avengers writer that I'd hoped he be, back when he first wrote an Age of Ultron .AU issue and I immediately thought 'Give this guy an Avengers title!'.



For me, it grabbed so much that I wanted in one team: We had Hawkeye and Songbird, giving it a) classic Avengers feel, b) a criminal feel, even though Melissa has reformed and c) FINALLY(!), Mel was an Avenger (of sorts), which is what I've wanted since Avengers Forever, and later Avengers vs. Thunderbolts. We then have Wiccan and Hulking, who I loved as Young Avengers and (outside of Gillen's 2nd Vol. of the series) really enjoy whenever they crop up together. Throw in a handful of Hickman's additions from the Avengers Machine / World, pre-Secret Wars (during Time Runs Out), i.e. Sunspot, Pod - and you've got a nice mix of teams. A bit of comedy with Squirrel Girl (not too different from Deadpool on the Uncanny roster), and White Tiger and Power Man, giving us a feel of the Avengers Academy days, plus a nice touch given that they (or at least their animated counterparts) are featured in the now-ended Ultimate Spider-Man animated series.



Al Ewing wasn't afraid to dig into the post Secret Wars 'new' Lore. Previous existing Universes, explaining ISO-8 outside of the realms of the online games (i.e. Avengers Alliance), and more. He made Ultimate Reed Richards the villain, which is certainly enjoyable, and he dug up some nice points from Original Sin (i.e. Dum Dum Dugan, the LMD) that gave that even a little more historic relevance, as (to me) it achieved very little apart from killing off Fury and screwing over Odinson.



I've found New Avengers to be fun. Ok, it got a bit daft with American Kaiju and the Power-Rangers-esque Robot, but it was probably fun for someone. I like the way that Roberto has been really matured, how his intelligence and leadership has been focused on more than his powers, and how you can be 'Avengers' perhaps without the support of the Government, if you're helping the right people... and who knows, the Government might notice (hence the new series!).



So... yeah. It was a fun volume. Not sure how the next series will go... but we won't know until it hits the shelves!

[Marvel Boy]

Again, due to wallet restraints, I haven't read all that much of this volume, instead waiting for it on Marvel Unlimited. I have heard great things about it, really interested to see how Sunspot has grown and matured over this time as a leader. I think Ewing is a terrific writer, his Avengers work has been great (especially liked the Ultron Forever mini) and his work on the Ultimates has been nothing short of amazing.

So I'm glad he's able to continue this series over into a new volume, even under the unusual banner of USAvengers.

[bobc]

I haven't read this book--but have to say I love the evil version of Reed Richards. The Maker first appeared in Hickman's run, and he was pretty scary.

[Refgemlin]

Yeah, the Maker appeared in the 616 (if you will) through Time Runs Out, as the Ult. universe clashed with ours - but obviously the Maker as a whole goes way back to the Ultimate universe plot threads itself - so he's a well-established nut-job!