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The New Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis: The Complete Collection
New Avengers Modern Era Epic Collection, Vol. 2: Civil War
Collects New Avengers (2004) #11-25, New Avengers Guest Starring The Fantastic Four #1, Giant-Size Spider-Woman #1, New Avengers Annual (2006) #1, New Illuminati (2006) #1 And Civil The Confession.
CIVIL WAR splits the New Avengers down the middle! As Brian Michael Bendis' New Avengers roster is completed, who is the masked Ronin - and why has Captain America recruited this mysterious figure? In the wake of the tumultuous events of HOUSE OF M, a new threat emerges that may be impossible to stop. Canada's premier super-team, Alpha Flight, finds that out the hard way. Will the Avengers fare any better? And while Luke Cage and Jessica Jones are joined together in matrimony, the team is torn apart as CIVIL WAR breaks out across the Marvel Universe - with Iron Man and Captain America at loggerheads and everyone else forced to pick a side!
CIVIL WAR splits the New Avengers down the middle! As Brian Michael Bendis' New Avengers roster is completed, who is the masked Ronin - and why has Captain America recruited this mysterious figure? In the wake of the tumultuous events of HOUSE OF M, a new threat emerges that may be impossible to stop. Canada's premier super-team, Alpha Flight, finds that out the hard way. Will the Avengers fare any better? And while Luke Cage and Jessica Jones are joined together in matrimony, the team is torn apart as CIVIL WAR breaks out across the Marvel Universe - with Iron Man and Captain America at loggerheads and everyone else forced to pick a side!
Kindle Edition
First published November 15, 2006
14 people are currently reading
134 people want to read
About the author
Brian Michael Bendis
4,409 books2,574 followersA 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
May 31, 2018
Starts off strong with the introduction of Ronin, fizzles towards the end with the Civil War crossovers.
In addition to the 3 New Avengers trades this collects, there's a lot of additional content.
New Avengers Guest Starring the Fantastic Four This one has never been collected before and I can see why. It doesn't bring a lot to the table. But it is nice to see some fresh content.
The New Avengers, Volume 3: Secrets and Lies
The New Avengers, Volume 4: The Collective
New Avengers Annual #1 I'm not sure why this was never collected in New Avengers before. It's pretty great. Luke Case and Jessica Jones are the focus with some major life events for the two.
Illuminatti It's good to have this in its proper place. This was one of the best concepts Bendis brought to the Avengers and has been used to great effect for the last 10+ years.
The New Avengers, Volume 5: Civil War
Civil War: The Confession This is wordy even for Bendis. A real bore.
In addition to the 3 New Avengers trades this collects, there's a lot of additional content.
New Avengers Guest Starring the Fantastic Four This one has never been collected before and I can see why. It doesn't bring a lot to the table. But it is nice to see some fresh content.
The New Avengers, Volume 3: Secrets and Lies
The New Avengers, Volume 4: The Collective
New Avengers Annual #1 I'm not sure why this was never collected in New Avengers before. It's pretty great. Luke Case and Jessica Jones are the focus with some major life events for the two.
Illuminatti It's good to have this in its proper place. This was one of the best concepts Bendis brought to the Avengers and has been used to great effect for the last 10+ years.
The New Avengers, Volume 5: Civil War
Civil War: The Confession This is wordy even for Bendis. A real bore.
May 24, 2022
This volume races headlong into the secret history of Marvel's Illuminati and then the whole Civil War event, I was already conversant with both so I enjoyed the deeper dive into some of that material a lot but I would definitely recommend reading Civil War: A Marvel Comics Event either prior or in parallel with this one to avoid some confusion.
Iron Man as perhaps you were never expecting to see him.
Onward to Vol. 3, I'm really enjoying Jessica Drew's story here among other things.
Iron Man as perhaps you were never expecting to see him.
Onward to Vol. 3, I'm really enjoying Jessica Drew's story here among other things.
May 23, 2020
Vol 2 of the New Avengers was very good, but the 5th star is for the momentous events that take place which have a huge impact upon the entire marvel universe.
The first part of this volume focuses on the New Avengers fighting villains, as the New Avengers try to figure out a way to go public. There is also a stupid Luke Cage gets married issue, but this silly nonsense is only a small part. Bendis' wry humor and good writing make this a pleasure to read.
But the story really picks up as the New Avengers fight Xorn and the story ties in with the aftermath of the New Warriors catastrophe that leads to civilian casualties. We see the genesis of the ideas that motivate Tony Stark to do two important acts- the first is the creation of the Illuminati (a group of very powerful heroes) and then the events that will lead to the Super Hero Registration Act and the Civil War story line.
No more spoilers. Vol 2 is as good as Vol 1 and I appreciated the look into the motivations for the Illuminati and Civil War story arcs. Good art, good writing and dry humor make an excellent volume. Bendis' New Avengers is good stuff. I look forward to Vol 3.
The first part of this volume focuses on the New Avengers fighting villains, as the New Avengers try to figure out a way to go public. There is also a stupid Luke Cage gets married issue, but this silly nonsense is only a small part. Bendis' wry humor and good writing make this a pleasure to read.
But the story really picks up as the New Avengers fight Xorn and the story ties in with the aftermath of the New Warriors catastrophe that leads to civilian casualties. We see the genesis of the ideas that motivate Tony Stark to do two important acts- the first is the creation of the Illuminati (a group of very powerful heroes) and then the events that will lead to the Super Hero Registration Act and the Civil War story line.
No more spoilers. Vol 2 is as good as Vol 1 and I appreciated the look into the motivations for the Illuminati and Civil War story arcs. Good art, good writing and dry humor make an excellent volume. Bendis' New Avengers is good stuff. I look forward to Vol 3.
September 30, 2017
In this second volume of New Avengers, the group finally comes together as a whole ... before it hits the brick wall of Civil War. There are some good arcs and some mediocre arcs, but nothing as great as the lead story for the comic.
New Avengers Guest starring the Fantastic Four. Gosh! This volume starts off with a previously uncollected Bendis Avengers story! Granted, there's almost nothing to it, but it's still thrilling to have this as a nice bonus [5/10].
Silver Samurai (11-13). A nice follow-up to the initial arc's prison escape, a nice continuation of the SHIELD conspiracy arc, and best of all an interesting introduction to a conflicted Jessica Drew ... but the fight against the Hand is very dull [5+/10].
Spider-Woman & The Unveiling (G-S SW, 14-15). Fortunately, the next arc's much stronger. The story of Spider-Woman's return is great because it's both a personal character story, and the sort of spy story that she does great in. Meanwhile, the unveiling of the New Avengers is touching, particularly for how it impacts Peter. Though I find it notable that it took 15 issues to get here, really demonstrating how decompressed the New Avengers is [7+/10].
The Collective (16-20). This has always been my least favorite story in the original New Avengers run. I mean the idea of having a followup to House of M is good, and the idea of all the energy fields going somewhere, I guess that's interesting, if pseudo-sciency. But it's a painfully long five-issue fight; it's totally disrespectful to Alpha Flight, who are "killed off" in a few panels to show how tough the mutant powers are; and it has no repercussions and was never again of relevance to the Decimation, as far as I know. [5/10]
New Avengers Annual #1. It's about time this story made it into the New Avengers collections. It has crucial ties to the initial story arc, nicely advancing and reframing them, and for some reason it was only ever collected in The Pulse. Anywho, the main story is a punch'em up, but it's actually interesting because of the teamwork and character dynamics. Meanwhile, we get a nice coda to Jessica's story in Alias and The Pulse [7/10].
Illuminati. Nice to have this story in its proper place too. This is a very slow, talky story, mainly intended as a setup for Civil War, but it creates a very intriguing group, and of course much more would be made of them. So, kudos for the imagination [7/10].
Civil War (21-25). When I first read this in 2009 I found it phenomenal. An event crossover that focused on the characters was absolutely unheard of. In 2017 it became standard-operating practice for Marvel crossovers, and so this looks less amazing. They're still nice character studies of the type you don't usually see in group books, and they're well written, but it's more obvious now that they're interruption of the bad-Shield-and-Hydra narrative that Bendis had going on [7/10].
Civil War: The Confession. This dull book, that's talky even for Bendis, only serves to justify the character assassination of Iron Man, who became Iron Fascist during the Civil War. It's a boring read whose only saving grace is that it nicely bookends the Illuminati book at the start of the Civil War.
New Avengers Guest starring the Fantastic Four. Gosh! This volume starts off with a previously uncollected Bendis Avengers story! Granted, there's almost nothing to it, but it's still thrilling to have this as a nice bonus [5/10].
Silver Samurai (11-13). A nice follow-up to the initial arc's prison escape, a nice continuation of the SHIELD conspiracy arc, and best of all an interesting introduction to a conflicted Jessica Drew ... but the fight against the Hand is very dull [5+/10].
Spider-Woman & The Unveiling (G-S SW, 14-15). Fortunately, the next arc's much stronger. The story of Spider-Woman's return is great because it's both a personal character story, and the sort of spy story that she does great in. Meanwhile, the unveiling of the New Avengers is touching, particularly for how it impacts Peter. Though I find it notable that it took 15 issues to get here, really demonstrating how decompressed the New Avengers is [7+/10].
The Collective (16-20). This has always been my least favorite story in the original New Avengers run. I mean the idea of having a followup to House of M is good, and the idea of all the energy fields going somewhere, I guess that's interesting, if pseudo-sciency. But it's a painfully long five-issue fight; it's totally disrespectful to Alpha Flight, who are "killed off" in a few panels to show how tough the mutant powers are; and it has no repercussions and was never again of relevance to the Decimation, as far as I know. [5/10]
New Avengers Annual #1. It's about time this story made it into the New Avengers collections. It has crucial ties to the initial story arc, nicely advancing and reframing them, and for some reason it was only ever collected in The Pulse. Anywho, the main story is a punch'em up, but it's actually interesting because of the teamwork and character dynamics. Meanwhile, we get a nice coda to Jessica's story in Alias and The Pulse [7/10].
Illuminati. Nice to have this story in its proper place too. This is a very slow, talky story, mainly intended as a setup for Civil War, but it creates a very intriguing group, and of course much more would be made of them. So, kudos for the imagination [7/10].
Civil War (21-25). When I first read this in 2009 I found it phenomenal. An event crossover that focused on the characters was absolutely unheard of. In 2017 it became standard-operating practice for Marvel crossovers, and so this looks less amazing. They're still nice character studies of the type you don't usually see in group books, and they're well written, but it's more obvious now that they're interruption of the bad-Shield-and-Hydra narrative that Bendis had going on [7/10].
Civil War: The Confession. This dull book, that's talky even for Bendis, only serves to justify the character assassination of Iron Man, who became Iron Fascist during the Civil War. It's a boring read whose only saving grace is that it nicely bookends the Illuminati book at the start of the Civil War.
September 21, 2019
8.4 good. Good writing form BMB for the start of the new avengers. Hasagood introduction to Robin and a mystery about who is under the mask. After all that it goes to the new avengers civil war and the end of covil war which was great too. Overall it's a good 4 stars from me.
December 31, 2020
I didn't enjoy this one as much as the first volume. That's not entirely Bendis' fault because it deals a lot with the events of Civil War, an event I dislike and think was badly written. There's not much Bendis can do about it, and I think the tie-ins were fine, considering the situation.
I did enjoy the public reveal of this new line-up, which didn't go as planned because the new members weren't entering the scene with good reputations, or with a completely clean slate. The Annual was also really fun, focusing on Luke Cage and Jessica Jones' wedding, and The New Avengers Illuminati one-shot was also fascinating to me. It covers a group of superheroes (Tony Stark, Namor, Reed Richards, Charles Xavier, Black Bolt, and Dr. Strange) who decide to meet in secret to discuss various problems in the superhero world and make decisions together. I know people are divided about the Illuminati as a group, and I may grow to hate the concept. But for now I think it was so interesting; sad, dark, and funny all at the same time to see them go in with (mostly) noble intentions, but gradually break apart because of disagreements over ethics.
I did enjoy the public reveal of this new line-up, which didn't go as planned because the new members weren't entering the scene with good reputations, or with a completely clean slate. The Annual was also really fun, focusing on Luke Cage and Jessica Jones' wedding, and The New Avengers Illuminati one-shot was also fascinating to me. It covers a group of superheroes (Tony Stark, Namor, Reed Richards, Charles Xavier, Black Bolt, and Dr. Strange) who decide to meet in secret to discuss various problems in the superhero world and make decisions together. I know people are divided about the Illuminati as a group, and I may grow to hate the concept. But for now I think it was so interesting; sad, dark, and funny all at the same time to see them go in with (mostly) noble intentions, but gradually break apart because of disagreements over ethics.
July 28, 2025
Ko bi rekao da je prošlo gotovo 20 (i slovima: dvadeset!!!) godina od kada sam prvi put čitao ove brojeve. I dalje obožavam.
February 19, 2025
The world of Marvel gets a lot more complicated.
In this volume we see the origins of "The Illuminati" a collection of the world's "greatest minds" who have decided that they un-elected and behind closed doors should make decisions on behalf of the world. This of course will not end well. The Illuminati and the ramifications of their actions reverberates far into the future of Marvel (see Jonathan Hickman's Avengers run).
This story also begins the address the ramifications of House of M, and the team splits over Superhero registration. I actually found the Civil War tie-in issues to be more compelling than the actual event. Luke Cage and his wife Jessica Jones refuse to sign and are made fugitives with a young baby in tow. Captain America and Iron Man debate the issue in a more interesting manner than seen in the main event.
Spoilers! Spoilers!
The death of Captain America in the wake of Civil War is well-handled in an issue where Tony Stark, now head of Shield, tries to explain one last time why he did what he did. A touching and even emotional story that worked really well.
In this volume we see the origins of "The Illuminati" a collection of the world's "greatest minds" who have decided that they un-elected and behind closed doors should make decisions on behalf of the world. This of course will not end well. The Illuminati and the ramifications of their actions reverberates far into the future of Marvel (see Jonathan Hickman's Avengers run).
This story also begins the address the ramifications of House of M, and the team splits over Superhero registration. I actually found the Civil War tie-in issues to be more compelling than the actual event. Luke Cage and his wife Jessica Jones refuse to sign and are made fugitives with a young baby in tow. Captain America and Iron Man debate the issue in a more interesting manner than seen in the main event.
Spoilers! Spoilers!
The death of Captain America in the wake of Civil War is well-handled in an issue where Tony Stark, now head of Shield, tries to explain one last time why he did what he did. A touching and even emotional story that worked really well.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 17, 2022
Still going strong, I like the addition of Ronin and the mystery regarding their identity. Also really liking Spider-Woman’s double agent status and how that impacts the team. This collection also marks the start of all the event tie-ins. From here you can kinda bookend each collection with an event, be it Civil War, Secret Invasion, Siege, etc. on one hand it makes this era really cohesive, especially if you’re reading this while also reading the corresponding event. On the other hand if you don’t like those events, these issues can seem really boring and needless. So far I’m enjoying it though.
April 19, 2022
Got to love Bendis.
so Ronan is here and it is the deaf woman from HAWKEYE TV show. Surprise! I didn't know that and I was happy to see her working with Captain America.
Ms Marvel (Carol Danvers pre Captain Marvel) gets added to the group. Daisy Johnson (Tremors) is brought in, but not made an Avenger, the government wants Director Hill to blow up the Avengers, Wanda's "No more mutants" backfires and all the mutant energy comes back to earth nearly destroying the Avengers.
Magneto is back and the Illuminati start their hidden agendas. Iron Man becomes the puppet of the government and Civil War breaks out.
A lot happens within these pages . . .
Worth a read.
so Ronan is here and it is the deaf woman from HAWKEYE TV show. Surprise! I didn't know that and I was happy to see her working with Captain America.
Ms Marvel (Carol Danvers pre Captain Marvel) gets added to the group. Daisy Johnson (Tremors) is brought in, but not made an Avenger, the government wants Director Hill to blow up the Avengers, Wanda's "No more mutants" backfires and all the mutant energy comes back to earth nearly destroying the Avengers.
Magneto is back and the Illuminati start their hidden agendas. Iron Man becomes the puppet of the government and Civil War breaks out.
A lot happens within these pages . . .
Worth a read.
August 17, 2025
This is really good, up until the point that Civil War derails the whole thing.
The first couple arcs collected here are fun, high-flying ensemble superhero stories with killer art. The Illuminati issue remains a fun read, even though I’ve seen it in a million different books. Everything after that is completely off-kilter as to what one might expect from this series, or even Avengers stories generally. It’s such a stark and unfortunate change that it negatively affects the quality of the collection as a whole.
The first couple arcs collected here are fun, high-flying ensemble superhero stories with killer art. The Illuminati issue remains a fun read, even though I’ve seen it in a million different books. Everything after that is completely off-kilter as to what one might expect from this series, or even Avengers stories generally. It’s such a stark and unfortunate change that it negatively affects the quality of the collection as a whole.
April 26, 2024
This set of arcs is a noticeable improvement from the first couple. With all the setup out of the way and the team fully assembled, it allows for the focus to strictly be on the team's missions and their chemistry with each other. It just sucks that "Civil War" had to go and muck everything up and split the team right as they were starting to hit their stride. At the very least, I am interested to see how the dynamic of the series is going to shift moving forward.
February 11, 2021
It's pretty shit. I love Bendis on Daredevil and Alias, but this is fucking awful. All the characters seem way off because they have to fall in their roles for Civil War. The artwork is some of the worst I've seen in awhile. The story telling was so bad, at times I didn't even know what was going on. The one good issue in the collection is the Illuminati issue. The rest of it? Really bad.
July 12, 2020
Damn all the civil war tie ins were powerful.
July 20, 2022
Lots of broken stories from Civil War.
July 18, 2025
enjoyable read all around, although the civil war tie in issues were a bit of a weird read for me. I know the overall story, but I have never read the civil war storyline and having a bunch of tie in issues without the overall arc felt like a weird read under the circumstances. I haven't had this issue with this sort of thing in the past with other stories, but it weighed the book down a little here.
September 14, 2023
(Read in 2013, review from 2023)
The New Avengers series by Brian Michael Bendis ebbed and flowed throughout the run but it was overall a fantastic take on the Avengers. This collection was fine, dealt with the aftermath of House of M and then give a frontline view of the team splitting during Marvel's Civil War event. Pretty interesting perspectives on the event in this.
The New Avengers series by Brian Michael Bendis ebbed and flowed throughout the run but it was overall a fantastic take on the Avengers. This collection was fine, dealt with the aftermath of House of M and then give a frontline view of the team splitting during Marvel's Civil War event. Pretty interesting perspectives on the event in this.
January 31, 2025
When I realised this was almost 20 years old - wow. Stands the test of time!
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews