Review: Avengers #20

 

The talking heads carnival has gone Gardner Fox! And in so doing, it has created one of the more interesting Bendis Avengers tales in awhile.

With a new lineup of both new and classic Avengers (I can already see not-so-good things for the Vision with an Ultron War coming, gag), the excitement was already brewing. But when Norman Osborn (or a hologram of same) calls out the Avengers on national television, mouthing truths that put Captain America & Co. in a corner, look out!

After the molasses-like assemblage of his forces in both this mag and New Avengers, we finally see some use of the genetic material thievery in action, as mini-teams of Avengers (especially interesting is Storm and Red Hulk) are attacked by cloned Hulks, Ant-Men and, well, Iron Man (or his armor). Good stuff!

There has always been a “writing for the trades” feel to Brian Michael Bendis’ scripts, but when he is on all thrusters or doing those Roy Thomas single issue tales, he is perhaps doing his best Avengers work. This one, although somewhat decompressed, is akin to those.

And I am really digging the art of Daniel Acuna. I hope they keep him around even after Bendis is outta here. (“Why, Brian, why?” as we say in wrestling.)

While most of the Avengers product has been a tad disappointing of late (Neal Adams notwithstanding), this one is a book you might wanna pick up. I did.