A friendly wager between Tony Stark and Bruce Banner takes the heroes on a global race against time to locate and rescue a missing scientist with Captains Marvel and America playing the role of referees. But this competition is no longer fun and games when the Avengers come face to face with a bio- terrorist whose kinda a big deal. Well, at least in HIS mind…
Then the Black Widow's past comes back to haunt her when she is summoned by the widow of one of her hits requests that she find her missing daughter. Widow's search joined by Hawkeye and Spider-Woman will lead them to a mysterious sewer lair where the laws of nature have been horribly perverted.
Quests seem to be the theme of this volume as the final story involves a newly reconstructed Vision who is struggling with his role in a world that passed him by after being disassembled by his ex-wife, the Scarlet Witch. His latest mission is to locate a corporate hero who has recently learned that he's outlived his usefulness to the execs at Roxxon. As the Vision sees how discarded this fellow hero is, it causes the Avenger to reevaluate his own position on a team that he no longer recognizes.
Avengers Assemble starts off with the humor and fun banter that won me over as an Avengers fan. After some pretty heavy plots involving the end of the universe and numerous betrayals, it’s great to finally get some laughs. It just seemed weird to up and forget these horrors that had yet to come to a definite conclusion. It was also a little confusing but I got over it and enjoyed the stories regardless. I figured they'll get back to those crises eventually.
Well…
See this book is actually a series I haven't gotten into yet. Since Marvel has this unfortunate habit of canceling titles and renumbering them all under the Marvel NOW! Imprint, I accidentally skipped volume 1. Plus, now Marvel has started to carry over different series into the trades instead of issuing them as separate works making for even more confusion. (For example, All-New Hawkeye #1-6 were collected as Hawkeye Volume 5 instead of ANH Volume 1.) So just what exactly did I read?
Avengers Assemble is a series from 2012 meant to reflect the cinematic version of the team. To be a starting point for new readers is all well and good, but Spider- Woman, Captain Marvel, and the Vision don't even appear in the first Avengers movie. But these characters do play heavily into the plots of the 2014 Avengers series that I thought this book was a continuation of. Geez… no wonder I was confused.
Still, this wasn't a bad read and I'm more than willing to give volume 1 a go. But come on Marvel- get with it. You're giving my wish list fits with your convoluted numbering!
Worth Consuming.
Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.
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