New Avengers, Vol. 3 ebook

At the end of 2013, I went back and read the entire Brian Michael Bendis run on Avengers (which included New Avengers, Mighty Avengers, Dark Avengers, Illuminati, and several cross-over books). I think binge-reading a series of comics is as equally satisfying as binge-watching TV shows (this only applies to the Wire, Deadwood, Rome, Breaking Bad & Game of Thrones). This collection takes place in the middle of the absolute zenith of the Bendis run - the two New Avengers books that are supplements to the Skrull Invasion book contain some of the best Marvel stories ever written.

In 2004, Bendis took an Avengers book that was stale and more than a decade from good story-telling. His first story arc was Avengers: Disassembled. The Scarlet Witch went crazy and killed several members. The eventually subdued the Scarlet Witch, Magneto shows up and takes her away and the the team decides to disband.

A few months later there is a break-out at Rikers Island and dozens of villains escape. Spiderman, Captain America, Wolverine, Daredevil, Jessica Drew and Luke Cage all show up to put things in order. Steve Rogers decides that it was fate and he convinces Tony Stark to reboot the Avengers. Daredevil declines, but everyone else is in. They also happen upon a mysterious man known as The Sentry.

600+ kids die in a tragedy caused by young, untrained heroes in Stamford, CT. The US Government responds by passing the Superhuman Registration Act. Tony Start is for it. Steve Rogers is against it. The heroes split and fight in a Civil War. After its conclusion, Rogers is killed. Luke Cage becomes the leader of the New Avengers, as they try to do good works while avoiding Tony Stark's Mighty Avengers. Luke's Avengers go to Japan to help Echo deal with Elektra and the Hand. During the ensuing battle, Elektra is killed....and it is revealed that she is a skrull. Jessica Drew takes the body, against the wishes of the rest of the team, to Tony Stark. And the Skrull Invasion has begun...

In this trade, there are a few interesting storylines/features:
(1) The story of how the Skrull Captain America was created and why he thinks he is Cap
(2) The final story of how the Skrull scientists kept trying to figure out how to make the Skrulls undetectable on Earth (thus evading Spiderman, Daredevil, Dr. Strange, Richards, Stark, Wolverine & Xavier). It is, in my opinion, the greatest Reed Richard story ever told. It captures his intellect and character incredibly well. But to appreciate this story, you must know the backstory of the Fantastic Four, the New Avengers and the Illuminati trade.
(3)The Skrulls reaction to House of M. This is handled brilliantly. Queen Veranke and Skrull Hank Pym awaken to the world of House of M and they are completely horrified. This makes the invasion so much harder. In discussing why the humans haven't revolted against this false reality, Veranke offers up this gem, "And if this proves anything at all...It's that as long as they are left alone to eat, sleep, watch their tv and fornicate, most of the human race will go along with whatever they are told to do." Biting social commentary.
(4) How Parker Robbins discovers that their is a Skrull Invasion.

Looking back at Bendis's entire Avengers run, a few things become very clear:
(1) He is the definitive writer of a number of heroes:
(a) Daredevil - obviously...his early 2000's run on that book was incredible and built on the seminal work of Frank Miller the way no other writer was able to
(b) Spiderwoman - she was a 3rd rate hero in the 70's and forgotten by the 80's. Bendis brought her back and gave her a great story. His Spiderwoman solo books are also very good.
(c) Luke Cage - Bendis has made him an A-list Avenger and Marvel character
(d) Spiderman - Bendis does a great job with this universe's Spiderman, but his defining character in all of comics may be Ultimate Spiderman
(e) Reed Richards - The leader of the FF (and the smartest man in the Marvel Universe) makes a lot of appearances during the Bendis Avengers run (he is also a star of "An Oral History," but more on that later). Bendis handles Reed better than any other writer I've come across. I'm very much looking forward to the day in 2019 when Marvel announces that Bendis is going to write the FF. The Reed Richards story in New Avengers, Vol. 9 is an all-time great story.

There are other characters that Bendis handles brilliantly, including Captain America, Iron Man, Iron Fist, Hawkeye, Dr. Strange and Wolverine.

Finally, a great companion piece to these Avenger books is Bendis's "An Oral History of the Avengers." He has the Avengers talk about their history (60's through 80's) in a reality tv confessional booth type of format. It's amazing.

I sometimes wonder if Bendis was given the task of writing this book while being told by the higher-ups at Marvel that it had to include certain characters like Wolverine and Spider-Man. That can be a tough task, but Bendis does a great job getting the individual personalities right and giving each character a role to play in the overall story.

Though that is a highlight, the downside here is that there seem to be a few random things going on here (such as an apparent symbiote infestation?) that never really get explained but only show up to further some other purpose in the arc. Maybe they were events from other titles crossing over. I don't know.

The main focus in the second half of this collection is decent, however, as the Hood makes his move with his assembled villains, though the only ones other than Hood who get much face time are the Wrecking Crew and, to a lesser extent, Jigsaw.

This is worth reading if you want the lead-up to Secret Invasion or if you want to complete the collection of this run. Not essential reading to the big picture though.

The New Avengers can't catch a break. As if the Civil War wasn't enough. Or the fact that they're wanted criminals, and with their former teammates hunting them down. As if it's not enough that they've just faced off against Electra and her deadly group of ninja assassins, the Hand. Now the fit really hits the shan. In the last issue (see New Avengers Vol. 6: Revolution) it's revealed that Electra is actually a shape-shifting Skrull. This causes a big, big problem as these outlaw Avengers now suspect that a secret invasion is in the works. But how long have the Skrulls been skulking around? And how big the conspiracy, how deep the infiltration? Could the Skrulls have been somehow responsible for the Civil War? So, these renegade heroes now don't even know if they can trust each other ("Do you feel Skrully?" asks one Avenger to another). Paranoia sows its seed and quickly threatens to shatter the group. In fact, one member promptly skedaddles.

On top of it all, a demon-ridden villain calling himself the Hood ('cause, y'know, he has a hood) is scheming to take over New York's criminal underworld. And he's making quick headway. The Hood is a thinking criminal, and he espouses organization and cooperation amongst New York's criminal element. It also strikes him that, with the Superhuman Registration Act lending ready access to the identities of many in the superhero community, one way to build up instant credibility is to make an example of a superhero. To quote the Hood: "One by one. We get them where they live. All of them. No one is safe. Not the icons, not the up-and-comers." His actions put him and his superpowered crime syndicate on a collision course with Luke Cage and his crumbling outlaw band. So far Dr. Strange's mystical dwelling had provided a foolproof sanctuary for these fugitive Avengers. But not anymore.

Oh, and there's also some nonsense about all of New York City being transformed into symbiotes (like Venom). This might've been interesting except that amongst the infected are the New Avengers, so that's no fun. Plus, it was told in broad-stroked flashback by Luke Cage, one of the two who didn't get infected (him because of his invulnerable skin, Wolverine because of his healing factor). Apparently, this symbiote storyline is told in full in an issue of Mighty Avengers. But since I don't follow that series much ("bleccch!" to the Mighty Avengers), I guess I won't get the full lowdown on what happened.

This is THE NEW AVENGERS Vol. 7: THE TRUST and it collects issues #32-37 and The New Avengers Annual #2. I figure, as long as Brian Michael Bendis keeps churning out New Avengers stuff, I'll keep reading 'em. To be honest, though, I was getting pretty tired of the Hand story arc, so I'm glad Bendis has (for now) moved on. This new arc paves the way for the next big Marvel Comics event, Secret Invasion, which is an 8-issue limited series. In an IGN interview, Bendis let out that he'd been planning this thing for years and that there's been a hint of the Skrull invasion even as far back as New Avengers #1. Color me intrigued.

Although the suspicions and hostility stemming from the Electra Skrull debacle continue to nag our team, the Hood proves to be a hell of a distraction. Yup, I've read Brian K. Vaughan's gritty limited series The Hood (New Avengers). I liked Parker Robbins as a fractured, small-time thug who kind of had the best intentions; I never thought he had it in him to become a formidable crime boss. Obviously the demon in the cloak is influencing the crap out of him. How tough is the Hood? Well, he busted Wolverine up pretty good. In fact, what he did to old Wolvie made me cringe a lot.

I can't say much for the Hood's super-powered yoyos. They're mostly lower-tiered villains (Madame Masque, the Wizard, Chemistro, etc.), and I'm pretty sure even Howard the Duck could wipe the floor with them. The only respectable bunch in the Hood's group is the Wrecking Crew. Let's face it, it's pretty much the Hood's intelligence and planning (and a bit of that brimstone mojo) which make him a force to be reckoned with.

In a personal way, the splitting of the Avengers into two very different teams is a good thing. The Mighty Avengers took away the characters I didn't really care for (Iron Man, the Sentry), while the New Avengers stuck with the cool set (Luke Cage, Wolverine & Spidey). The New Avengers have recently welcomed Dr. Strange, Iron Fist, and a resurrected Clint Barton into their ranks, and two of 'em are still around by the end of this collection. It's disappointing, though, that Fist and Luke haven't interacted more in these pages. On the other hand, I'm definitely digging Luke's marital relationship with Jessica Jones. Luke and Jessica just feel like a real couple. Currently, their relationship is bordering on rocky, what with the fugitive status and that Skrull thingie. Come to think of it, the way the final issue here ends, it's guaranteed to tick the hell out of Luke Cage.

There's really nothing more to say about Brian Michael Bendis, except that the dude is gold. Leinil Yu provides the brunt of the artwork, which tends to come rough and rugged. Nevertheless, it definitely has its own energy and raw appeal. Meanwhile, Carlo Pagulayan's more polished looking stuff is showcased in The New Avengers Annual #2, the site of the no-holds-barred rumble between the New Avengers and the Hood & his supervillain crew. This collection guest-stars Tigra, the Night Nurse, Deathlok (kind of), and the government-sponsored Mighty Avengers (who might actually boast a conscience after all, underneath all that self-righteous bluster).

Oh, and in issue #37, Spidey makes Wolverine laugh.

The fifth volume of the otherwise great New Avengers series is just average. Essentially a collection of one shots, the volume touches base with most of the major New Avenger characters to get a feel for how they are reacting to the overall Civil War plotline. We get glimpses of characters like Luke Cage and Captain America dealing with the fallout and fracturing of the team. If you love Civil War or the New Avengers this is worth picking up to see the personal touches the main event has on the characters, but there isn't a New Avengers-specific storyline that connects each issue.