Avenging, Assembling

Flashback to twenty years ago: That same day my dad bought me a cassette player for my birthday, I also got a copy of Avengers # 300, which would be borrowed by a college classmate years later. There were two that I lent, actually, that issue and the one that preceded it. I’ve long accepted that they’re gone for good, as I haven’t spoken to the guy in over a decade.

Anyway, Avengers # 300 was a tie-in to the massive X-crossover event “Inferno,” and an issue that featured an odd but interesting lineup. I actually liked that two of three new members were from the Fantastic Four. It was unusual to include spouses Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman, and somewhat audacious to have them as members while wearing their FF uniforms. But I thought it was cool to have them as part of Earth’s Mightiest. They were active members for only a few issues.

While my allowance back then could only afford me a few titles a month, I’d buy or read Avengers and its spinoff title West Coast Avengers whenever possible. The Stern, Englehart and Byrne eras of those two books kept me excited, and showed some sides to the Marvel Universe that weren’t being explored in the mutant titles.

Twenty years after issue # 300, there are now three monthly Avengers titles (New, Mighty, Initiative), with a fourth (Dark) on the way. For almost five years now, it’s mostly been the Bendis-verse; the writer has been involved in big events where the Avengers figure in heavily, such as Disassembled, House of M and Secret Invasion. I’m following these titles to see how some of my favorite characters are faring, and how Avengers mythology is evolving.

Bendis’ pacing can be unsatisfying. His early New Avengers stories were often stretched to fit the 6-issue trade paperback format. Other things that I’m not happy with are the untapped potential of his chosen rosters (his two New Avengers lineups could’ve done more), and the occasional discarding of established continuity (e.g. Ares’ son, Scarlet Witch’s prior knowledge of her lost twins, Wasp getting a growth formula before MA, etc.). Also disappointing are baffling stunts such as Alpha Flight’s off-panel demise, and some out-of-character moments.

His two New Avengers Annuals, some Civil War tie-in issues, and the more self-contained stories, however, can be counted among his better works. Right now, I feel that his current stints on Mighty and New are the black sheep of my Avengers collection; I actually like his choice of members, but feel that he rarely utilizes them as solid groups. All those issues devoted to fleshing out Secret Invasion could’ve focused instead on new, modular stories about the teams. I’m still hoping that he focuses less on the big crossover events and does shorter, more focused Avengers stories soon, since it looks like he’ll still be shaping Avengers lore for some time.

Except for Initiative, which has been consistently great, Avengers has been strictly hit and miss, just like the current Justice League title (but that’s another story). I miss the “classic” feel of the old books that was recaptured just a decade back by Kurt Busiek, whose run on the relaunched series was pretty enjoyable. I also liked his Avengers Forever and JLA-Avengers, books that closely tied in and added to the mythology. Slott’s been able to recapture that big team-feel with Initiative, and he’s inventive enough with old school characters, so I’m excited that he’s taking over Mighty in a few months.