Avengers Assemble

Avengers Assemble #1

by Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Mark Bagley (Illustrator)

A perfect jumping-on point, featuring the cast of the summer blockbuster - but in Marvel Universe continuity! When the brand-new Zodiac rears its many heads, the Avengers must assemble to combat them. But who is behind the group's return? None other than Thanos, the mad Titan, who has claimed Earth as his own! The Avengers team up with cosmic blockbusters the Guardians of the Galaxy to bring Thanos some cosmically-charged pain ... but can even these two mighty teams stop Thanos from making Earth into the throneworld of his new empire? This explosive battle will change one of the Avengers' lives - forever! Brought to you by Marvel architect Brian Michael Bendis!

Collecting: Avengers Assemble 1-8

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book, Fiction

184 pages, Hardcover

First published January 29, 2013

About the author

A comic book writer and erstwhile artist. He has won critical acclaim (including five Eisner Awards) and is one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics. For over eight years Bendis’s books have consistently sat in the top five best sellers on the nationwide comic and graphic novel sales charts.

Though he started as a writer and artist of independent noir fiction series, he shot to stardom as a writer of Marvel Comics' superhero books, particularly Ultimate Spider-Man.

Bendis first entered the comic world with the "Jinx" line of crime comics in 1995. This line has spawned the graphic novels Goldfish, Fire, Jinx, Torso (with Marc Andreyko), and Total Sell Out. Bendis is writing the film version of Jinx for Universal Pictures with Oscar-winner Charlize Theron attached to star and produce.

Bendis’s other projects include the Harvey, Eisner, and Eagle Award-nominated Powers (with Michael Avon Oeming) originally from Image Comics, now published by Marvel's new creator-owned imprint Icon Comics, and the Hollywood tell-all Fortune and Glory from Oni Press, both of which received an "A" from Entertainment Weekly.

Bendis is one of the premiere architects of Marvel's "Ultimate" line: comics specifically created for the new generation of comic readers. He has written every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man since its best-selling launch, and has also written for Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men, as well as every issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Origin and Ultimate Six.

Brian is currently helming a renaissance for Marvel’s AVENGERS franchise by writing both New Avengers and Mighty Avengers along with the successful ‘event’ projects House Of M, Secret War, and this summer’s Secret Invasion.

He has also previously done work on Daredevil, Alias, and The Pulse.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only read this so I could read the much touted Avengers Assemble: Science Bros, so I wasn't really sure what to expect.
And you know what?
Not bad!
In fact, I think I liked it much better than most of my (beloved!) friends. Most of them gave it a Meh, but I think this volume is Above Meh. And maybe that's because I'm comparing it to the serious (and sometimes tedious) Avengers titles that I've read lately. This was just a straight-up AVENGERS ASSEMBLE! kind of thing, and it felt like sucking in a huge breath of fresh air.



Nobody was evil, they were all working as a team, I didn't feel like that was any PC agenda invading the plot, and there were even a few jokes thrown in... sigh
It was almost like I was reading a comic book!



The plot is pretty basic. The Avengers (recognizable ones!) team up with the Guardians of the Galaxy to defeat a group of d-listers who've suddenly become crazy powerful.



Who's behind it all?!
I'd feel like this was more of a spoiler if the blurb didn't already spill the beans...



Maybe this really isn't original enough to merit 4 stars, but fuck it.
Nostalgia, for the win!

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jarvis the Butler: “Sir, the Raccoon would like to order pizza, but only from Ray’s on 52nd Street. He says and I quote, everything else is ass.”

You don’t have to look too far from this volume for “ass”. This series was probably directed at fans of The Avengers movie and potential movie goers to the Guardians of the Galaxy film. The Avengers lineup in this collection is the one from the movie, including the Hulk. This is a head scratcher – the Red Hulk as cameoed in this volume is already a member of Avengers. Why bother importing the stupid iteration of his son-in-law, the green Hulk. Because the jade one was in the movie. Familiarity. Context.

The story revolves around Thanos wanting to take over the Earth, because every other planet is “ass”. Cue the Guardians, because they guard the galaxy, and thankfully, Rocket Raccoon, an angry, furry, gun-toting critter with an attitude. His presence alone bumps this thing up a star. The Guardians movie line-up is here with the addition of some talking bug creature. Welcome, bug creature. That talks.

Bendis is slumming here. This is pretty much a paint-by-the-numbers storyline. There’s a few cool moments here, like a brainwashed Hulk, taking Thor, who’s gripping his hammer, and smacking him upside the head with it. The art, especially the part of the story that takes place in space, is indecipherable. Who's that in the space suit? It's a woman, so let's narrow it down further... At least, when I’m forced by Anne to read a space opera like Green Lantern, I can make out what’s happening, whether I want to or not.

[Kemper · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted not to like this book.

See, I’m trying to read up on Guardians of the Galaxy before the movie comes out so I started in on Bendis era, but it felt like I missed something. The last I knew the Guardians had disbanded following The Thanos Imperative, but then they were back together again with no explanation at the beginning of the new title. So after checking around I found that they had appeared in the first storyline of Avengers Assemble which is the book put together to capitalize on that movie’s popularity with the same line-up.

Thankfully I have a Marvel Ultimate subscription so it was fairly easy to jump over to this one. However, it rubbed me the wrong way that I had to go read a whole other title to try and get the full story of how the Guardians got back together. Guess what? It’s not addressed here either. The Guardians just show up to help after Thanos is on Earth causing a ruckus.

Why have them in the story at all in the early phase of launching a new Avengers title? Yeah, I know. The movies. They make billions of dollars, and you can't fault Marvel's marketing of them so far. I love ‘em too, but why does it have to be such a goddamn hassle to figure out which comics you have to find to get the whole story these days? I just want to read about a heavily armed talking space raccoon and his friends. Is that too much to ask?

So I was grumpy starting this and kinda hoping I’d dislike it so I could really rip it on a review. However, I gotta admit that it won me over. I like the line-up they used in the movie so recreating it here makes for a good team that actually seem like Avengers unlike some members these days. *cough* Wolverine *cough*

And I liked the team-up with the Guardians as well as the big cosmic threat that Thanos poses. It’s not the best thing I’ve read by Bendis, but it was fast and pretty fun. And I gotta give credit to any title that features dialogue like this from Jarvis the butler after the Guardians show up:

“How am I supposed to feed such a motley lot on such short notice? The raccoon asked if I would order a pizza from Ray’s Famous Pizza. But only the one on 52nd. He said the other Ray’s Pizza was, and I quote the raccoon, ‘Ass.’”

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was really good. It was a classic avengers tale and reminded me of the older stories featuring Thanos. Pretty straight forward action and excitement with great art from Mark Bagley.

So Thanos has his hands on a new cosmic cube, and he powers up the lower level Zodiac super villain team in an effort to soften Earth up and steal weapons for him before he once again attempts to conquer the Earth. However, the Avengers get some help from the Guardians of the Galaxy and soon it's a free-for-all.

This was my favorite type of Avengers tale. While I enjoy deeper plots with plenty of character development, sometimes I just want to see a straightforward good guys vs. bad guys throwdown, which is what you get here. It's far from mindless, just not overly complex.

If you are a fan of the Thanos stories from 70s, this one is worth checking out.

[Terence · Rating 3 out of 5]

A group called Zodiac is stealing objects of power and giving them to their benefactor, Thanos. It's up to the Avengers to stop them.


So Avengers Assemble showcases the characters that are taking to the big screen in the MCU. The Avengers utilizes the same roster from the films. Thanos also makes an appearance as the main villain in this volume. The story is underwhelming with Thanos once again acquiring an object of power and using it to annihilate anything that stands against him. The Avengers jump in to face Thanos with some help from the Guardians of the Galaxy and some quick work to make a Quinn jet space ready. Everything about it was OK, but forgettable overall.

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

Its such a good story and seeing its publication time its clear its for MCU fans but reading Bendis Avengers its such a great story. Its pretty much Avengers vs Thanos who now has the power of the cosmic cube and what he does with it, so its upto them to stop the mad titan and in the process fight Badoon and the Zodiac and also team up with GOTG! And also new status quo for Tony and Guardians!

Its a great story for beginners and also reads pretty well thanks to Bagley's art which is one of the reasons I love the book. Also the part where he battles the elders is so cool and I love how Bendis writes him as the dark force of nature and all, plus the final battle with the heroes teaming up and defeating him was awesome! A must read for sure!

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obviously, the idea here was to try and pull in new fans. People who saw and loved the Avengers movie, but who haven't read the comics. Or people like me, who only read a very little a long time ago. That explains the cast, the exact Avengers who feature in the movie. That also explains the nature of the galactic level threat (it has to be big, and it has to be something that an audience with little background can understand). And it also explains the major team up in the book: Avengers meet Guardians of the Galaxy. For a lot of readers, including me, this will be the first time they get to see that space raccoon that Marvel is going to put in a movie and turn into a plush toy that will sell by the truckload.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with any of this. Maybe a long-time Avengers fan would disagree, but I am not one of those people. I appreciate a chance to get to see the characters that I liked in the movie in action again, and to possibly ease me into reading more Marvel. Unfortunately, the end result this time is not a shining moment for Bendis. There's nothing wrong with this book, don't get me wrong, and it is mostly a fun read. But it's almost entirely non-stop action, with no time to get to know the characters. And there's little room for dialog, which is a shame. But this had to be a non-stop action blockbuster, apparently, so that's exactly what it is. This would probably make a fun movie. Marvel Phase 4? But to hook a casual, movies-only fan on the comics? Unlikely. This is exactly what people who don't read comics tend to think all comics are like: nothing but action, with no real human interest or attempt to do anything but blow stuff up good.

And I'm not saying that mindless action comics are a bad thing, necessarily. I'm a huge fan of Mythbusters, I love watching things get blown up good. I don't think I'd even hoped that this would be anything but an action movie. It absolutely does not break one centimeter of new ground, and I'm actually ok with that. I'm just saying mind your expectations. Don't expect to get to know and understand these characters better, because you won't. Expect only that you will see a bunch of action, on a huge scale, and that you'll meet a space raccoon, and you'll probably be happy enough. I was.

[CS · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bullet Review:

Huh. Well...huh.

I'm a newbie to comics and Marvel, but still, this just isn't that good. Art - eh? Characters - too many to keep track of (I still couldn't name any of the Guardians), too little personality. Plot - eh? It's your basic story (seems to be what the future Avengers movie may be moving towards), but it get SO silly.

And then how it shatters my willing suspension of disbelief when Captain America get shot out into the vacuum of space without a suit and survives. Nope, not happening, brain has rejected.

I have volume 2, but I am seriously regretting it.

[Chelsea 🏳️‍🌈 · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was so incredibly average.

I see where it was meant to be an easy access point to new readers coming out of Avengers (2012). The roster is the same, there's no real knowledge of the past necessary and the arc is about the cosmic cube. It's not complex or complicated and it's all entirely new.

This has a bland version of the MCU characterization, too. Right down to Tony mentioning that he's a billionaire a lot. You know, I've only ever read him saying things like that in Whedon and Bendis' writing. Could that be because he canonically doesn't mention that every 5 seconds? Could it be it's just these two writers that are focusing super hard on the fact that Tony's rich? I think so.

Anyway, that makes for yet another semi recent Avengers book that feels super shallow. There weren't any real character moments. Natasha doesn't get to do much and her great saves are offset by an unnecessary make out scene with Clint and ass shots of her floating through space. Just once, I would like to read a comic that switches all of this so every single one of Captain America and Thor's great saves are drawn from the perspective of their hind quarters. Would men object to having to watch Cap defeat Hydra when every shot made them come face to face with his ass?

Anyway, the Guardians' dialogue is okay. As a plot, this was just okay. There wasn't anything particularly special about this book. I'm not mad, I'm just... eh.

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've always agreed that Bendis does good dialogue - his signature move in fact - but he seemed to stumble hard here. Relying too heavily on narrative monologue for pages at a time, giving characters like Thor excrebly condescending dialogue, and generally just stumbling around from scene to scene with no art or editing in sight.

Thanos' entrance scene is legendarily bad - throwback to Starlin 80's writing, with a heaping tablespoon of crap to ash it down.

Tedious, boring, poorly staged and/or written space battles are the worst. It's like "I can write anything, so I can just be crazy and it won't matter at all if any of it makes sense or even strings together".

Bagley's art is nothing to write Mom about either. Looks too cartooney to take seriously, and too unfinished to consider professional.

This whole obsession Marvel and/or Bendis/Alonso has with all the "cosmic" shit from the sad old days borders on self-destructive. I haven't seen any signs of it making any sense or being any fun, and it's getting in the way of good storytelling. If this is what I can expect from Marvel "cosmic", they can bite my ass.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel pretty mixed on this. I think the idea is good, Bendis using an Avengers title to bridge over to his Guardians of the Galaxy stuff, but some of the execution is shocking. Mainly, the dialogue. Characters saying out loud who they are repeatedly to other characters who KNOW who they are. Which makes me think it' more for the benefit of the reader, since this is supposed to appeal to people who have seen the movies and don't know the characters as well as long time comic book readers. But if that is the case, they will know Thor. Bagley makes some of these moments bearable though. It's not his strongest art, but it has this craziness to it that he didn't always get to do in Ultimate Spider-man. He's good with cosmic stuff, which is probably why he got put on Fantastic Four for Marvel NOW.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the single best volume I've found (so far) as an introduction to the Avengers. It works even better having seen the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy films, both of which teams feature prominently. True, there's a fairly standard cosmic-level plot, but it's easy to follow and gets epic fast, wraps up more or less completely by the end of the collection, it has some good superhero banter, and there's a manageably small group of heroes that I'm familiar with from the movies and my intermediate level of knowledge of the Marvel Universe. I found this much more fun and accessible than Hickman's latest reboot of the main Avengers title.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Popcorn.

Maybe not the best way to describe Avengers Assemble, but it's what popped (groan) into my head when composing this review. The book seems geared for 'middle of the road' appeal to fans of the recent movie series (with the dialogue, team line-up, and character traits) and/or those familiar with the long-running comic book. Sure, the plot is a standard 'save the world from a galactic threat' boilerplate but the tempo is fast, with A LOT of wham! / ka-boom! action, and the humor - thanks in part to the co-starring Guardians of the Galaxy - usually hits the mark. While it may not be essential reading, it was like having a good time at a summer blockbuster matinee.

[Sage · Rating 2 out of 5]

Silly space opera with weird pacing and 8 to 10 spare characters sitting around in the background holding up walls on any given page -- and Bendis is usually better than that. But I liked that Natasha had a fair bit to do and did it well. Unfortunately, only she, Tony, Clint, and Rocket had any spark of life, but that's what happens when you do a mega team-up book and don't have enough pages to give everyone a line, much less an opinion.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS IS SO GOOD!! The banter between all the characters is hilarious. The plot is good, the characterization is good, the art is good. I couldn’t have asked for a more likable comic. Tony and Steve were basically married and Clintasha is real!!!

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

See, this is what happens when you read comics. Reading one inevitably leads to you reading another, and then another, and then oh you have to read this other one to understand that one, and oh then that one because it introduces these characters, and then oh that one because it was the start of the run, and blah blah blah, somehow you end up ordering seven new trade paperbacks in one afternoon, and then your library won't let you order anymore. This is how I went from reading Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal to Captain Marvel to this, and to all the others I will be reading shortly. Dammit.

Having never read an Avengers comic before, this was pretty easy to follow. It also wasn't very good (it wasn't bad either). The art was meh (and sexist in parts--I really hate how some of these artists draw women, which is not a new complaint, I'm aware--sidenote: the art in Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel is NOT sexist, so this was extra glaring for me). It also wasn't as easy to follow as it could be. The panels tended to blend together after a while. Not enough differentiation or something. I don't know. I'm not an artist.

Anyway, this is the first of the second Avengers Assemble run, which Kelly Sue DeConnick took over from Brian Michael Bendis (thank God) after this volume. A bunch of assholes calling themselves Zodiac start stealing mysterious, high-power objects and laying serious beatdowns on the Avengers. Only it turns out they're just puppets of a bigger enemy out to claim (i.e. lay waste to) the Earth for his own. The Guardians of the Galaxy get involved, also. The best parts of the book involved either the Hulk, or the Guardians interacting with the Avengers, but mostly this book was all spectacle, and very light on common sense. Needed to read it, though, because I'm a completionist, and Vols. 2-4 should be arriving at my library any day now. Bring on the DeConnick!

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a particularly good graphic novel. But in spite of all the cheesy suckiness, I still kinda enjoyed it. The price you pay for being a comic book geek.

[Jesse A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, not great. Just meh.

[Emily Kutsko · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 - story was meh but art was fantastic

[Sonic · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have probably already stated my opinion that Mark Bagely's art was decent for the over-wrought teenage melodrama that is(was) Bendis's Ultimate Spider-Man, but that in other (more serious?) books like The Avengers, his style seems cartoonish and goofy. Well I am essentially saying the same thing again here. :)

The inker, or whoever did the "finishes" did an excellent job at trying to make this NOT look like Bagely's usual stuff, and for that they deserve much credit, however, maybe they coulda/shoulda just started out with another illustrator.

But this was/is fun enough, though the conclusion seemed too quick, too tidy, and too easy, but like I said, I could only take this story "so seriously" what with Bagely's art and all.

[Matti Karjalainen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eläinradaksi nimitetty rikollisjoukko on ottanut tehtäväkseen vohkia toinen toistaan tuhovoimaisempia aseita. Niinpä Kostajat on kutsuttava kokoon. Thor, Rautamies ja kumppanit saavat kuitenkin pian huomata, että taustalla häärii joku vieläkin vaarallisempi voima, jolla on haaveissa hallita ja tuhota kokonaisia maailmoja. Ja koska ongelma on intergalaktinen, saadaan apua myös Galaksin vartijoilta.

Brian Michael Bendisin ja Mark Bagleyn "Avengers - Kostajat kokoon" (Egmont, 2015) -tarinassa on lajityypissään ihan kelvollinen seikkailu, jossa on mukana runsaasti toimintaa, hirvittävästi henkilöhahmoja ja melko vähän järkeä. En osaa sanoa, nauttisinko tästä enemmän jos tuntisin paremmin Kostajien (jo vuodesta 1963!) historiaa tai Marvelin elokuvaversumia (sillä siitähän näissä taitaa lopulta olla kyse, sarjakuvat ovat kai enemmän oheistuotteita).

Luettu seiskaluokkalaisten sarjakuvavinkkausta varten, ja taitaapa tämä osaksi semmoista päätyä.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book made for people who want to read a comic but not want to get into comics.

Basically first 4 issues is the avengers team from the first avengers in 2012 teaming up. Then we bring in the Guardians of the galaxy to spice it up and also cause the movie was coming as well as Bendis taking over writing duties for Guardians.

It's a okay action comic, goes quick, some funny dialogue, but nothing special. Feels almost too simple even though that's what it's going for.

A 2.5 out of 5. I'll bump it to a 3 cause it's a harmless comic book good for non-comic readers.

[Ellen Schoener · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was alright, in a popcorn blockbuster kind of way.
There was not a lot to the story and not a lot of characterization.
Too many characters crammed into there to do an epic battle with the crazy Titan.
Well, it was colourful and lots of explosions, but I think if anyone asked me about the story tomorrow, I would only ask- what story?

[Dawn-Lorraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining, full of battles, jam packed with characters including not only Avengers but also Guardians of the Galaxy. It's a good save-the-world story.

[Beckiezra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I debated between 3 and 4 stars since I didn't really dislike anything about this book even if it didn't wow me. I went lower because the art felt dated somehow and the book was all action without a chance to really get to know the characters. The book seemed like it was just a movie tie in to introduce people to Avenger comic books. The only character moments/dialogue that sticks out in my mind were Clint and Natasha's interactions (I could believe they were best friends as they said) but that kiss seemed really sudden and out of place in the story. The art wasn't bad, it just felt very basic comic book, not very dynamic or exciting. I haven't read much Marvel lately so maybe Batbooks' style is a bit different or maybe I just like more detailed backgrounds rather than blocks of bright colors. I don't know, I just wasn't wowed, it was all utilitarian/style-less to me. I think it feels dated to me because it reminds me a bit of the lower quality art Marvel liked to use for the comics related to the 90s X-Men cartoon or the retelling of original X-Men stories for people getting into comics when collecting them became a big thing in the 90s. I really didn't appreciate them going to the effort to update the style of comics from the basic strip feel of the 60s or whenever to something more dynamic/modern, but not bothering to use actual good artists to really make the updates worth reading. Maybe I'm a comic art snob. I'm sure the artists in those books did their best, but I like my pictures pretty or at least interesting and this is a touch blah.

I appreciated that the book focused on the movie characters and I excused the introduction of the Guardians of the Galaxy even though it felt a bit like a pointless team up for the sake of the upcoming movie. I never heard of them before the movie news and nothing about this book made me want to see more of them in comics though it wasn't bad in a way that made me against the movie. I felt like I might be annoyed by this story if I was a true Avenger fan and felt like the "real" team was being neglected, but since I only like them from the movie I enjoy having the option to follow mostly movie characters (though they kept trying to throw more Avengers in the story with pages of dozens of characters standing around).

My experience with Avengers in comics has been limited to one or two issues and they were bad. It seems like there are a million of them (as Aquarius noted), like anyone who is popular in other comics is a reserve member, and I think they are a bad imitation of the Justice League. It would not be unfair to say I actively dislike the non-movie Avengers and before I saw the movie I was displeased with the idea that people would get the wrong impression that the Avengers were cool because of a good movie when they are terrible terrible comic books. :) I don't know that this book changed my overall feelings on the Avengers, but I would continue reading the series and found it an easy way to get into the comics from the movie.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

I decided to go back and read this after getting into Bendis's Guardians of the Galaxy run, as this serves as kind of a transition between his Avengers and Guardians work. Unfortunately, while I was thrilled to see the inception of his take on the Guardians, cosmic Marvel, and their relationship to the earth, the story itself feels a little rushed, with too many characters involved for any one of them to have ample narrative time.

This also suffers a little bit from a typical pitfall of under-plotted comics, which is a brand new, mysterious villain who seems to be painstakingly set up, only to be revealed to be the useless, idiot puppet of a pre-existing Marvel villain. Bendis goes to great lengths to set up The Zodiac, a superteam of evil that seems more than a match for the Avengers, only to ultimately reveal that they've been controlled by Thanos the entire time. I'd also say that the battle that follows this reveal is borderline unfollowable, as everything ends up devolving into unexplained sci-fi tech and plot twists that spring up out of nowhere. It kind of felt like Bendis ran out of time to wrap up the story and just kind of rushed through it in the last few issues.

Beyond these problems, though, the book foreshadows the sense of adventure and team interplay that Bendis incorporates so beautifully in his later Guardians stuff, as well as the relationship between Tony Stark and the Guardians, and the threat of the Badoon. I'd say, if you plan on reading his Guardians stuff (which you should), you might as well read this first to see where everything stems from. If not, though, this is pretty skippable.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

You liked the Avengers movie? Now you're ready to try a comic book for the first time as an adult or a youth?

They did it. Marvel actually made a terrific comic book series for fans of the big summer movie.

For longtime fans... Couldn't really tell if this is in the real Marvel continuity or in it's own corner of the Marvel multiverse. Not that it matters much. It's a good read and wonderful to see the Guardians of the Galaxy make an appearance (another good introduction of those characters to new readers).

Great jumping on place for new readers. Marvel really needs to make more books like this one.

Did have a few weird instances like the Hulk using Thor's Hammer to clobber Thor. I thought Thor was the only person who could life his Hammer. Or the Vision not knowing what the Cosmic Cube is. There's a lot of those that might upset more knowledgeable readers.

[Alex Sarll]

Marvel's clumsiest effort to capitalise on the success of the Avengers film - a book assembling the movie roster, then crossing them over with upcoming movie stars the Guardians of the Galaxy. Never mind that, whatever Bendis' strengths, team books are not among them. Never mind that he was already writing two other Avengers books at the time (both of them demonstrating that whole issue with team books), never mind that a lot of these characters were in at least one of them. But above all, the problem with this interminable sequence of grandstanding and punching is that it lacks all the charm, wit and flair which made the film so successful. Had anyone come off seeing the film and checked this out, they'd have headed away again in a hurry, and I don't blame them. It's not just that it's not a great comic, it's not even a good Avengers comic.

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would probably rate this 2 stars because of the "fact" that Thanos is the "main villain" except I loved most of Bagley's art, so I'm bumping it up to 3 stars. It features the "cast"/characters from the Avengers movie even though the "active team" of Avengers at that time consisted of thirteen members. It moved at a fast pace, I guess. it held my interest (despite a lot of exposition). I really "hated" the villain partly because I have felt for quite some time he has been over-used to the point of being a pathetic, pointless villain, considering the number of times he has "lost" and partly because I feel he is overpowered, anyway, and I "hate" that he constantly dies and is brought back to life. I suppose it makes sense he would be used because of the movie, but I wish he would "just die" and stay dead for a good solid decade or two before somebody else thinks it's a bright idea to bring him back, somehow.. I guess it was an interesting story, although it really reminded me of the JLA/Avengers crossover that was done back in 2003-2004 (and which was done better, I felt), only this story was focused on the "Marvel items of power" that were half the focus in the crossover event (I wish they'd do another one!).

It's kind-of a funny story, because there is a picture that shows the "new team" of Avengers that consists of 13 members (including Red Hulk). Then you have this, which has five of those team members and (Green) Hulk. So why not use more members of the team that was introduced as the "next new iteration of the Avengers"? I do know the answer to that question was to draw readers from the cinematic universe into reading comics; I almost wish they had created this comic series as an "alternate universe story" or something, to be honest, because that is what it felt like while I was reading it. It felt like an "alternate universe story" because the team is talking at times about space and come across as having never been in outer space before. Never mind the fact that they have regularly traveled in space and "interfered" with other interstellar powers in order to save Earth. There was the Kree-Skrull Space War from the 70s, the Skrull Civil War in the 80s (where they teamed up with the Fantastic Four in their annuals for that year), the various times they fought Thanos in space in the 70s and 80s, the Kree-Shi'ar War which all come immediately to mind. So it was really annoying how the team members were portrayed in this story, as if they were some country bumpkins that had never been to space before and were experiencing something brand new. There were some other moments, too, that bugged me about how the Avengers were portrayed in the story, but I am writing this review a few days after having actually read the story, so they are escaping my mind). I actually like it more if I think of it as an "alternate universe" storyline as opposed to being a part of the "normal, regular continuity" for the time it was written.

I also felt that Bendis was trying to be "too cute" and "too clever" with the story and the dialogue. At the same time, I do not remember the Avengers ever facing off against the Badoon, so that was pretty cool to read. It was also interesting to "see"/read their "team-up" with that time's iteration of the Guardians of the Galaxy. I had been following them for a few years, up until the idiotic "Fall of Kings" storyline and how it led into the "Cancerverse" and the return of Thanos at that time.

One thing that is hilarious to me is the various times it is revealed that Thor had relationships with other characters. In this "book"/story, it is revealed that Thor and Gamora know each other and know each other rather well. Both Thor and Gamora are given a hard time for giving each other "the 'LOOK'" by their team members, but neither will speak of what transpired. A similar moment occurred in a Avengers Prime (also written by Bendis, oddly enough) in which Thor admits to Cap and Tony Stark that he and Tigra had a "fling" as well, which was a bit of a surprise and/or shock. I know I have come across it in other stories, but these two times specifically stand out to me.

One other thing that I actually "enjoyed" was Tony's "child-like wonder" of being out in space and the learning opportunities available to him, the potential exposures to alien technology which could increase his knowledge and help him both make a buck back on Earth as well as help improve the living conditions of those on Earth. That "wonder" was never ever shown in earlier stories; he was definitely more focused on "the business-at-hand" as opposed to exploring and learning and increasing his knowledge and abilities. That was well-done, I have to admit.

I also thought the idea that this "new Cosmic Cube" created by the U.S. Army was . . . I don't know. Part of me thought it was clever and interesting, and part of me hated it. It also bugged me that Cap got away with threatening a U.S. Army general like he did, and we never really found out why the attack on the Army convoy was never reported as taking place. I did like how the Cube was "damaged" (so to speak) and did not function properly, which allowed Groot to have "his moment" and helped bring about the downfall of Thanos. Seriously, I really wish they would just kill that character off and leave him dead for a long, long, long time. Like, until I die, after which time they could bring him back. I used to hate Ultron as a villain because of the number of times he was supposedly "killed off" and "erased" and "burnt out of every bit of technology possible" to prevent his return, yet he kept coming back. I would say that Ultron's continual returning to battle the Avengers is probably more believable than Thanos's returning to life like he does at this point. Ah, well.

I did like this new version of the Zodiac. The Zodiac has been used plenty of other times before as villains opposing the Avengers, but they had turned into a bit of D-listers, to be honest. This story did a great job of making the new members of the Zodiac "A-listers." Granted, it is also written in such a way that it makes it sound like this is the first appearance of the Zodiac, period, as opposed to the first appearance of this particular team and each members' powers.

Actually, as I am finishing up this review and having gone back to thumb through the book while pondering it, I admit I did find myself enjoying it more than it sounds like in this review. There are plenty of other "good moments" in the story for example - I had bought the first few issues when they first came out, but enough time had elapsed that I had forgotten the banter between Hawkeye and Black Widow in the beginning; it was reminiscent of the first and second Avengers movies, but it was also reminiscent of how their relationship has changed and grown over the course of the comics, too. Were it not for the "main villain" and that it felt like a partial rehash of the JLA/Avengers crossover, I might have given it 4 stars. As it is, I would probably rate it 3.2 - 3.4 stars, rounded down to 3 stars. In any case, I am glad I finally got to finish this story arc and will probably look for the next three volumes so I can finish the series out (so it couldn't have been all that bad, right?).

[Anna Erishkigal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the beautiful artwork, introduction to Guardians of the Galaxy (and am totally 'shipping' Lady Gamora and Thor), and the tongue-in-cheek references to 'General Whedon' which made me laugh out loud. But for the storyline itself ... it was just okay. I'm no comic book purist, but there was a little too much 'action' in my action heroes.