Avengers Assemble, Vol. 4

Avengers (1998) (Single Issues) #35-40, Annual 2000-2001

by Kurt Busiek, Roy Thomas, Roger Stern

The Avengers embark on international adventure against a nation-sized knight and a city of Hulks. Then, it's off to small-town Centerville to face Salem's Seven and the Sons of the Serpent.

Collects:
Maximum Security: Dangerous Planet
Maximum Security #1-3
Avengers #35-40
Avengers 2000
Avengers: The Ultron Imperative
(backup story from) Avengers 2001

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

416 pages, Hardcover

First published January 31, 2007

About the author

Kurt Busiek is an American comic book writer notable for his work on the Marvels limited series, his own title Astro City, and his four-year run on Avengers.

Busiek did not read comics as a youngster, as his parents disapproved of them. He began to read them regularly around the age of 14, when he picked up a copy of Daredevil #120. This was the first part of a continuity-heavy four-part story arc; Busiek was drawn to the copious history and cross-connections with other series. Throughout high school and college, he and future writer Scott McCloud practiced making comics. During this time, Busiek also had many letters published in comic book letter columns, and originated the theory that the Phoenix was a separate being who had impersonated Jean Grey, and that therefore Grey had not died—a premise which made its way from freelancer to freelancer, and which was eventually used in the comics.

During the last semester of his senior year, Busiek submitted some sample scripts to editor Dick Giordano at DC Comics. None of them sold, but they did get him invitations to pitch other material to DC editors, which led to his first professional work, a back-up story in Green Lantern #162 (Mar. 1983).

Busiek has worked on a number of different titles in his career, including Arrowsmith, The Avengers, Icon, Iron Man, The Liberty Project, Ninjak, The Power Company, Red Tornado, Shockrockets, Superman: Secret Identity, Thunderbolts, Untold Tales of Spider-Man, JLA, and the award-winning Marvels and the Homage Comics title Kurt Busiek's Astro City.

In 1997, Busiek began a stint as writer of Avengers alongside artist George Pérez. Pérez departed from the series in 2000, but Busiek continued as writer for two more years, collaborating with artists Alan Davis, Kieron Dwyer and others. Busiek's tenure culminated with the "Kang Dynasty" storyline. In 2003, Busiek re-teamed with Perez to create the JLA/Avengers limited series.

In 2003, Busiek began a new Conan series for Dark Horse Comics, which he wrote for four years.

In December 2005 Busiek signed a two-year exclusive contract with DC Comics. During DC's Infinite Crisis event, he teamed with Geoff Johns on a "One Year Later" eight-part story arc (called Up, Up and Away) that encompassed both Superman titles. In addition, he began writing the DC title Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis from issues 40-49. Busiek was the writer of Superman for two years, before followed by James Robinson starting from Superman #677. Busiek wrote a 52-issue weekly DC miniseries called Trinity, starring Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. Each issue (except for issue #1) featured a 12-page main story by Busiek, with art by Mark Bagley, and a ten-page backup story co-written by Busiek and Fabian Nicieza, with art from various artists, including Tom Derenick, Mike Norton and Scott McDaniel.

Busiek's work has won him numerous awards in the comics industry, including the Harvey Award for Best Writer in 1998 and the Eisner Award for Best Writer in 1999. In 1994, with Marvels, he won Best Finite Series/Limited Series Eisner Award and the Best Continuing or Limited Series Harvey Award; as well as the Harvey Award for Best Single Issue or Story (for Marvels #4) in 1995. In 1996, with Astro City, Busiek won both the Eisner and Harvey awards for Best New Series. He won the Best Single Issue/Single Story Eisner three years in a row from 1996–1998, as well as in 2004. Busiek won the Best Continuing Series Eisner Award in 1997–1998, as well as the Best Serialized Story award in 1998. In addition, Astro City was awarded the 1996 Best Single Issue or Story Harvey Award, and the 1998 Harvey Award for Best Continuing or Limited Series.

Busiek was given the 1998 and 1999 Comics Buyer's Guide Awards for Favorite Writer, with additional nominations in 1997 and every year from 2000 to 2004. He has also received numerous Squiddy Awards, having been selected as favorite writer four years in a row from 1995 to 1998,

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of this is the Maximum Security event where all of Marvel's alien races are manipulated into turning Earth into a prison planet. This should be a lot of fun with cosmic villains getting shipped to Earth but it's a slog. The half dozen regular Avengers issues in this are really good. Steve Epting does a two part story with the Triune Understanding because Busiek is determined to keep that story going for his entire run. Then a Greek village is turned into Hulks in a story drawn by Alan Davis. It's my favorite story in this. Next is a Hellcat story where she fights the Salem Seven. Finally Ultron returns to tie up the plot threads left over from his last appearance. It is collected out of place as it takes place between issues #45 and #46. It does show some things that haven't happened in the regular Avengers title yet which is a bit frustrating. Marvel screwed up with that here and fixed it in the 2nd edition of this run.

[Chelsea 🏳️‍🌈 · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art is lovely (past that first issue).

There are some great moments between Steve and Tony, Thor and Steve, Jan and Tony and Carol and Vision. Little things here and there where I love the dynamic of the team.

Unfortunately, they’re weighed down by less than stellar plot.

[The_Mad_Swede · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fourth hard cover volume collecting Kurt Busiek's amazing run on The Avengers is also the first one where George Peréz is not on art duties and the lack of a unified artistic vision is felt in the book. One of the reason for this is the fact that it only contains 6 actual issues of The Avengers (# 35–40) with no less than 3 different pencillers and one of those issues (# 35) actually ties in with the Maximum Security miniseries which opens this volume (Maximum Security: Dangerous Planet # 1 and Maximum Security # 1–3). The volume also includes Avengers 2000 and Avengers: The Ultron Imperative as well as a short tale from Avengers 2001. All in all, however, this makes the collection pull in all manner of directions and while none of them are bad, it does leave one a wee bit disappointed compared to the three previous volumes.

That said though, there are some really good stories in here, especially the core Avengers issues (read # 36–40, as # 35 while beautifully illustrated by John Romita Jr is so clearly a part of the Maximum Security mini and has less of on-going Avengers feeling to it). The two issues illustrated by Steve Epting with the team divided into two, one battling Lord Templar and Pagan in New York and one battling Bloodwraith in Slorenia (where the team fought Ultron in one of the previous volumes) are really good both visually and plotwise and really sets the storyline up for Alan Davis' entrance on the scene in # 38. The first three-issue arc of Davis' part of Busiek's run (more to come in Volume 5) is absolutely splendid. The set up; somebody, I will not tell who, has caused an entire Greece village to turn into Hulks. And naturally the Avengers are called in. Great fun.

Of the material from outside the regular Avengers title, my favourite would be Avengers: The Ultron Imperative. While it sports a collection of different artists (each one doing a chapter each) and some different scripters and plotters, the story nicely ties up some loose ends from Busiek's Ultron and Alkhema stories from previous volumes and opens up for some interesting future developments.

So, all in all, not as cohesive as the previous volumes, but Busiek definitely offers some good Avengers yarns nevertheless.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another superb volume. The Hulk 3 parter in the middle is probably the weakest material, but Maximum Security is enjoyable (though could do with a few more of the missing tie-ins), and the Kang Dynasty stuff near the back of the book is brilliant, and ends halfway through, making me want the fifth and final volume even more. Alan Davis is a worthy successor to George Perez on the art-side of things.

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

George Perez left Avengers and I do not miss him! And we get Alan Davis! So great. He's a talented writer and illustrator, and I'm really happy that we don't have to be subjected to any more questionable panels where flying women are seen from behind and up.

Sadly, the story is not so good. Nothing extremely wrong with it, either, just a bit boring. It never seems Busiek is trying to go somewhere with his arcs - just fight after fight against more or less interesting enemies. In this case, the city of Hulks was fun, as it was fun to see Silverclaw having to fend for herself against Diablo and succeeding. But I could as well have stopped reading at any time. The best issue was the Annual, in which Hank Pym's troubles are finally resolved and Busiek finally hints at returning to the Triune arc, two years after it was first established. Really happy to almost be done with Busiek's Avengers!

[Krzysztof Grabowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Album zawiera materiały z: Maximum Security: Dangerous Planet, Maximum Security #13, Avengers #35-40 (1998), Avengers 2000.

Zrobiło się nam tu nagle bardzo dużo eventów. Najpierw zaczynamy od słabego Maximum Security, aby przejść płynnie do Kang Dynasty. Miłośnicy filmowego MCU na dźwięk tej nazwy już mogą zacierać ręce...

Na początku intergalaktyczna rada złożona z setek obcych istnień zadecydowała o losie Ziemi i przekształciła ja w więzienie o zaostrzonym rygorze, którego zarządzanie powierzono samemu Ronanowi. Bohaterowie ruszają uprzątnąć bałagan, za którym stała zakulisowa siła.

Niedługo potem Avengers będą musieli stawić czoła armii Hulków. Był to chyba najfajniejszy fragment tego tytułu. Za sam pomysł i realizację ogromny plusik. Potem jest nieco gorzej, ale na arenę wpada sam Kang Zdobywca z synem i opowiada ziemskim bohaterom o nadchodzącym zagrożeniu. Po czym się oddala i nadal knuje, jak się okazuje.

Busiek stara się równoważyć akcje pomiędzy rozwój postaci i choć tutaj ten rozdział nie zadziałał za mocno, bo komiks jest przepełniony walkami, to jeszcze znalazło się odpowiednio dużo miejsca dla Dr. Pyma czy Yellowjacketa. Przyznam szczerze, byłem zachwycony takim rozwinięcie.

Kreska. Ówczesna rzemieślnicza robota momentami może się podobać i dzisiaj, ale w kategorii "kiedyś to było". Wiecie, starszym należy się szacunek, za swoje doświadczenie i wkład w rozwój marki.

Jezt sporo rzeczy, które mi się nie podobały. Cała ta chęca z Maximum Security jest zwyczajnie nudna. Potem jest już lepiej, ale lektura potrafi być nużąca.

[Colm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was actually quite good. It shouldn't have taken this long but, after three volumes of mostly crap, this was a really enjoyable volume. I should have given up long ago but I apparently have to get through this set of volumes to understand subsequent worthwhile stuff. The Triunes are mostly sidelined. (Not gutted) Justice and Firestar are nowhere to be seen. (Not gutted) Pagan and Templar who were stupidly overpowerful in previous volumes are weakened a little and then quietly phased out. I won't miss them. Kang appears to fuck shit up; that's always a plus. (Even though he looks rather fishlike in this art...) Thor goes full vengeful God mode and the art makes him look crazy. That's pretty cool. The big thing for me in this is that there's tension. I wanted to know what was going to happen next. I felt like bad things might happen. Problems required genuine solving and you saw the solving. Much better than previous volumes, but again, it shouldn't take three volumes to get to this.

[Mickey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tough to rate because it starts with Maximum Security (which is fairly meh, all told) but then ends with the beginning of Kang Dynasty (which is weirdly not all collected into one trade, but I digress). Kang Dynasty is one of my favorite Avengers stories, it is the absolute apex of Busiek's run on Avengers (which is very good when it wants to be), and you should skip over the Maximum Security stuff to read it (unless you're really into Ronan, for some reason).

[Jdetrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably the weakest of the Busiek run, and still really good. There's a lot going on here and the book loses some focus after George Perez leaves, but I like the ideas that Busiek had for the team. Its a shame that his upcoming Kang plotline derails what was potentially a complete restructuring of the team's status quo.

[Gomezmr · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book were totally entertaining.

[Ekenedilichukwu Ikegwuani · Rating 4 out of 5]

these comics are getting really good here. i feel like a lot more planning is going into these arcs, and i really like that multiple stories are being moved forward simultaneously

[PJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Po lekko już przynudnawym wolumenie trzecim i mocno nierównym evencie Maximum Security mamy prawdziwy powrót do formy!

Pierwsze kilka zeszytów do w sumie powtórka Maximum Security - tytułowa antologia plus zeszyt Avengersów będący częścią crossovera (co ciekawe, kolejność jest zła i Avengersi są umieszczeni już po zakończeniu głównego cyklu). Gdybym nie czytał całego eventu, to ten wybór zeszytów byłby dla mnie zupełnie z czapy i nie zrozumiałbym połowy wątków. Oczywiście je ominąłem, bo już je czytałem.

Potem jest super - mamy naprawdę świetny wstęp do trwającej około 2 lata Dynastii Kanga. Nasi herosi walczą na kilku frontach jednocześnie, przeciwnicy są ciekawi, do tego antologia kończy się świetną historią Hanka Pyma, satysfakcjonująco rozwiązano wątek ciągnący się w tle od kilkunastu zeszytów.

Zeszyty w antologii (plus MS event):
Avengers (Vol. 3) #36
Avengers (Vol. 3) #37
Avengers (Vol. 3) #38
Avengers (Vol. 3) #39
Avengers (Vol. 3) #40
Avengers (Vol. 3) #41
Avengers (Vol. 3) #42
Avengers (Vol. 3) #43
Avengers (Vol. 3) #44
Avengers Annual #2001

[***Dave Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Busiek continues his solid run on the Avengers (including the "Maximum Security" event/mini-series, Avengers #35-44, and Annual 2001). We get plenty of action with the now-enemies now-friends Truine Undederstanding, a world-conquering plot by Kang, a resolution of Hank Pym's emotional problems (for the nonce), and a variety of other threats.

The collection is marred a bit by the MS cross-over, which was kind of a mess, and the mish-mosh of art talents. Busiek does try to set up a new framework for the Avengers as being more proactive and world-spanning, but the Kang story-line almost immediately gets in the way of that.

Busiek still has time for some good character bits -- Carol Danvers flashing back on her whirlwind "relationship" with Immortus, Firebird considering her apparent immortality, the Vision starting to date, Wanda and Simon figuring out if they do (or don't) have a relationship -- and, as mentioned, some good Hank / Janet interaction.

A fun read, and good add to the bookshelf.

[Randy Lander · Rating 3 out of 5]

After Perez left, it seemed like the heart would go out of Busiek's Avengers, but Alan Davis came on just in time for Busiek to try another old-favorite, the expanded "everyone's an Avenger" team with a global mandate. As with the Wonder Man/Scarlet Witch relationship, this was sort of a "that trick never works!" throwback to story ideas done (badly) by John Byrne in West Coast Avengers, but as with much of what Busiek tried, at least it was ambitious and still felt like the Avengers at its core, even if it wasn't the Avengers some fans (me) might have preferred.

Still, the multiple Hulk army story was fun, the "Maximum Security" crossover a more interesting alien invasion story than Secret Invasion (even if the revamps of the Kree, U.S. Agent, Quasar and others didn't really gain any traction and were either undone or quietly ignored later) and the one-shot pitting the Avengers against Ultron's robo-bride Alkhema entertaining.

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't realize how INVOLVED some of these Busiek Avengers stories where. You get similar players coming in and out like Ultron and all his "family" of creations or the time-traveling Kang, but the actual stories end up being very different and jarring in their own way.

The Avengers continue to go through a LOT in this book and for things to build up to a big Kang story that still isn't finished in this volume says a lot. I mean come one, the big about Ultron-style Avengers getting involved in things was just a bit of a distraction versus everything else that is about to come. That and the weird Hank Pym story also comes to a close after running in the background of many issues at this point.

[Devero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuando col periodo d'oro di Busiek, queste storie eterogenee ma sempre ben disegnate segnalano il ritorno di Steve Epting per due storie, e poi l'arrivo di Alan Davis. Inoltre la saga Infinity di Stern e Chen, decisamente un'idea intrigante.
Sottolineo poi come gli annual 2000 di Avengers e Thunderbolts, col ritorno di Patsy Walker dall'inferno siano inediti, ma meritino di essere letti. C'è anche Ultron Imperative, col fato finale di Alkhema-War Toys, e la creazione di una specie robotica del tutto nuova.

[Bruno Poço · Rating 3 out of 5]

-faz crossover com maximum security onde os impérios galácticos liderados pelos shiar são manipulados de forma a fazer da terra uma prisão universal , óbvio os heróis da terra lutam contra isso
- fase esquisita do prof x que era tutor de um grupo de skrull s mutantes
- novo round contra Templar e pagan , assim como uma nova ameaça , uma entidade da espada ébano do cavaleiro negro
- uma trama sem interesse envolvendo Henry Pym e um arco que envolve vingadores contra um exército de hulks , péssimo
- e fica o melhor para o fim com o início de um arco envolvendo Kang e seu filho contra o mundo

[Blake Bagnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall enjoyed the comic book Very much a stop and go trip through this one. I enjoyed how they created a team to oversee all threats with Wasp as leader. And really liked how they used Hank/Yellowjacket to show their problem with themselves splitting up. Really enjoyed the annual in this one. And the fight with Presence who was new to me which was neat in how they took over. And Kang was big in this one too which I didn’t mind. And the end with the Triune Understanding and Triathlon and Hank was neat. Overall probably a 3-4 star rating depending on story.

[Mark CC · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one got real weird when the Avengers decided to be neo-conservatives for a hot minute in the middle of it. But A+ for more Photon. Always more Photon.

[Bruce Bean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed all of the storylines involving Kang in this series!