Two more or less positive Avengers reviews in one posting! It must be a record!
New Avengers #24: Some of the best moments of this series -- actually, scratch that -- the BEST moments of this series involve relationship talks between Luke Cage and Jessica Jones. They are possibly the most realistic super-couple in comics, way more so than Reed and Sue or Jean and Scott ever were. Whereas these couples seem to just always agree that you throw yourself into the line of fire, even if it means possibly leaving your children parentless or, worse yet, leaving your children as targets for enemies, Luke and Jessica always seem to be, well, better parents than that. They have real conversations about their priorities and their conflicts. They are as real of a couple as they can be given the fact that they're, you know, comic-book characters. In fact, I often forget that I'm reading a comic and not watching a real couple talk. At the end of the day, after all my frustrations with Bendis over the way that he's handled this title, his depiction of their relationship has been the only thing that prevented me from calling him a total hack. They are, to my mind, his shining achievement. I can think of no better example of it than their conversation in this issue, and it's difficult to say, because it's so incredibly sad. I actually thought Luke was going to leave the New Avengers, and I was stunned when he didn't, even though, in my heart of hearts, I knew that he wouldn't. The fact that I knew that he wouldn't is actually even more of a testament to the work that Bendis has done with him. I actually find myself eagerly awaiting next issue, if only because I want to see what happens next with the two of them. Happily, the rest of this issue is equally compelling. I thought that Bendis did a marvelous job in filling in the gaps in "Avengers vs. X-Men" #1, from showing Storm almost wordlessly leaving the Mansion to Ms. Marvel predicting that Cyclops was not going to let Cap leave with Hope. Moreover, Bendis actually manages to shoehorn in some character development for other characters. I like how he shows Rulk take on a leadership role. It makes perfect sense to make Rulk the Avengers' field commander, and I like how Bendis has the other Avengers allow him to do so without question. It shows how he's proved himself to them, probably in no small part because of his battle with the possessed Thing in "Avengers" #14 during "Fear Itself." Bendis even manages some slightly more light-hearted character development with Iron Fist, the "filthy rich billionaire," deciding that he can quiet the protesters gathered on the Avengers' lawn. All in all, I think this issue is Bendis' strongest issue of the entire series and actually gives me hope that I might not hate "Avengers vs. X-Men" as much as I've feared that I will.
Secret Avengers #25: OK, so, for the fact that I'm still not entirely sure what happened in this arc, Remender delivers a pretty good issue. We finally get some back story about this "Father" and the "descendants." Remender informs us that Father and his cohorts were behind the creation of the adaptoids, deathloks, and descendants, though it's unclear to me whether we're also supposed to believe that he was behind the creation of other members of the robot council (or whatever it was), such as the Doombots, the Reavers, and the Sentinels. I feel like this arc could've been amazing if Remender had spent a little more attention to these sorts of details. At any rate, it seems that Eric O'Grady is dead and that he's been replaced by a robot (though Remender doesn't specify which type), something that should inject some tension into the next few issues. I'm also unclear why Father allowed Yalda's son to escape, though I assume that Remender will return to this story soon, given the Ant-Man spy situation. All in all, it was a better issue than most of the issues in this arc and managed to make me actually interested in where Remender eventually goes with the story.
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