On Bendis

As I was writing my reviews of "Avengers" and "New Avengers" #34, I decided that I couldn't let the end of Bendis' run on those series pass without commenting on it.

I've made it pretty obvious over the years that I haven't been a fan of Bendis's run on the Avengers titles.  I actually loved "Siege," the first work of Bendis' that I ever read.  But, his tenure on the Avengers titles focused too much on the grand battles that made "Siege" work and and too little on the character development and team dynamics that make "Avengers" work.  Bendis frequently played fast and loose with continuities, changing characters' histories and personalities to make them match whatever story he was telling at the time.  Partly as such, it seems unlikely that any he told in his run is going to have a lasting impact.  Wonder Man suddenly hated the Avengers, the Scarlet Witch suddenly went crazy (again), Iron Man believed in big government.  All of a sudden it seemed possible that Cap would start praising the virtue of the Nazis or Namor would start waxing poetic about humans.

Of course, the impact of these fluctuations in characterization was at least muted by the fact that Bendis was often juggling at least a dozen characters in each issue, so you didn't have time to linger over your confusion.  "Why is Hawkeye encouraging everyone to file their taxes on tim...wait, is Spider-Man killing someone?"  In fact, Bendis cycled so many characters through "Avengers" and "New Avengers," with so much overlap, that I'm actually hard pressed to tell you the actual roster of each team.  

In his farewell letter, Bendis admits that his goal was to basically tell slug-fest stories.  He tells us that he just wanted to tell the stories that he wanted to read.  Basically, he admits that it was all about him.  He was less concerned about telling a story that developed the characters and more concerned about seeing how many superheroes he could cram onto a page at a time.  I get fun.  I do.  But, I feel bad for Bendis that he thinks the Avengers are just a pale imitation of the Justice League.

One of the Avengers runs that I remember most is Bob Harras' in the mid-300s.  It involved the Black Knight/Crystal/Sersi love triangle and the mysterious Proctor and the Gatherers.  I actually remember feeling frustrated with it at the time, in part because I was an impatient teenager who didn't understand why Harras couldn't just tell us Proctor's identity.  But, after all these years, I remember those comics so vividly because Harras didn't rush those stories.  He let them develop at a natural pace.  He'd go and tell other stories, and other authors would come and tell other stories, and then he'd return to the story to thicken the plot.

It wasn't really an A-list roster.  Sure, you had Cap, but everyone else was pretty B-list:  Black Knight, Black Widow, Crystal, Giant Man, Hercules, Sersi, and Vision.  But, Harras did a great job of playing up the affections and tensions between them.  I remember feeling devastated for Crystal when Dane took Sersi's hand and stepped through that portal.  We had gone through so much by that point that it seemed cruel that they didn't get a chance to have their happy ending.  But, the fact that I felt that way showed how much I cared.  It reminds me now of the great scene at the end of "Avengers" #230 when Hank finally leaves and Captain Marvel and She-Hulk comfort a crying Jan.  The Avengers have never been the Justice League.  They've always been a family.

Bendis never got that.  He never got that I think most of us rarely remember battle sequences from comics. But, I do remember Cap holding up the Cosmic Cube and telling Bucky to remember who he is and I remember Beast making a witty remark while grabbing Jean right before Cyclops obliterated Mr. Sinister.  I remember Jean using her telekinesis to dance with Professor X at her wedding and I remember the pancake breakfast the X-Men had after defeating Onslaught.  I remember a woman giving Spidey a box of macaroons after he stopped a thief from stealing her purse right before Christmas and I remember Spidey crying next to Harry Osborn's body.  I remember Jason Todd dying and I remember Tim Drake reminding Batman why he needs a Robin.  I remember realizing what a man Nova had become and Mary Jane reminding Peter that he'll always find a way to save the day.  I remember those moments because I care about those characters and the authors knew that.

I can't recall a single moment from Bendis' run that rises to that level.  I've read his run on Avengers for three years and nothing comes to mind.  The only moment that comes close is Tony Stark telling Steve Rogers that he's not nearly as good at doing something as he is when he's doing it with Steve from "Avengers Prime" #5.  But, Bendis decided that story couldn't get told in the main series.  He made it pretty clear that character development had no business in "Avengers."

Bendis is writing the X-Men now.  He's writing about a team with even deeper emotional connections to each other.  I hope he remembers that.  I hope he takes the time to really ponder what Scott's fall means for Beast or Iceman or Storm.  I mean, don't get me wrong:  I really would love to see Bobby kick Scott's ass.  But, maybe he could actually reflect on it afterwards.

So, ciao, Bendis.  I wish I had something better to say.  I probably would've avoiding saying anything at all, but I couldn't just let you claim that the Avengers are a pale imitation of the Justice League and not defend them.  At least now I can read the Avengers without feeling bad about myself for paying money to do so.