I'm amazed at the mood swings the New Avengers suffer through.In its latest version, the comic has gone from being one of my favorites to one of the most ho-hum titles around.
The team already suffers a bit in comparison to the Avengers, which is loaded with powerhouses like Thor, Iron Man and the Red Hulk. The New Avengers has the Thing (who only appears on the cover in this issue), Luke Cage and Ms. Marvel. Not bad, but still a step down in raw power, though the characters are all very interesting.
They also have another problem: they keep losing. As this issue opens the team rushes to the aid of Iron Man, who's facing a giant robot. They attack without a plan and ignore the advice Iron Man provides, and generally get their heads handed to them.
Even worse, the story features an all-too-familiar foe and a few familiar faces recycled from Secret Warriors.
One might expect writer Brian Bendis to stumble occasionally, since he writes so many comics, but this makes several issues now where the team has struggled. Perhaps it's fallout from the Fear Itself series that's throwing everything off, but whatever the case, the team just doesn't seem to be up to its usual standards.
Mike Deodato's art is as exciting as ever, and he has some stunning, wildly imaginative pages on display here. But it can't make up for the story.
Hopefully they'll get past this story and back to the usual high standards soon.
Grade: B-
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