Age of Ultron #2 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Bendis tells us the story of Ultron's invasion in this issue, revealing it to have been a lightning-fast raid that destroyed the major cities of the world seemingly instantaneously.  We learn that Washington, DC was eliminated ("like it never existed") and Brian Hitch makes it clear that New York and San Francisco are in ruins.  Bendis also shows that the heroes know little more than we do, separated in isolated pockets across the country without a master plan.  But, it's clear that something about Spider-Man's story, about the Owl planning on selling him to Ultron, gives Captain America an idea, so we'll see where we go.

I'm enjoying this story so far, though, if I'm being honest, I'm enjoying it in part because I can still assume that it's not "real."  For example, it seems doubtful that the Black Widow will appear after this event with a scarred face and Bendis doesn't even seem to be trying to pretend that Spider-Man is really Otto Octavius.  (However, Bendis could be hinting at something in that regard, with Peter referring to the fact that he slept through the invasion and mentioning that he experienced a "flash of white" before he suddenly found himself tied to a chair.  But, it seems unlikely that Slott would allow Peter to return in an issue outside "Superior Spider-Man," so Bendis might just be creating plausible deniability, as if Peter returned momentarily before Otto re-asserted control.)  Moreover, Bendis is juggling so many characters here that it's really hard to focus on them individually.  Sure, it might be devastating to hear Iron Man lose hope, but so many people are talking that it's hard to remember even if he said something.  He's a little better with the Black Widow and Moon Knight, but we still leave them just as it's getting interesting.

I'm not really sure where I want Bendis to go from here.  To be honest, I think it would be more fun for it just to be an outside-continuity story.  I worry that it's eventually going to start to drag because Bendis is going to have to explain where the story fits in continuity, something that he generally doesn't do well.  I think that it would wind up better just to read it as almost a "What If...?" story, but I somehow doubt that it's going to go that way, unfortuantely.