New Avengers #1

Breakout! Part 1 (of 5)

January 2005

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciler: David Finch
Inker: Danny Miki
Colorist: Frank D'Armata
Letterer: Richard Starkings & Albert Dechesne
Editor: Tom Brevoort, Nicole Wiley, Molly Lazer, Andy Schmidt
Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada

Previously... During Chaos the Scarlet Witch suffered a total nervous breakdown after losing control of her reality-altering powers. In the chaos created around the breakdown, the beloved Avengers Hawkeye, Ant-Man, and the Vision lost their lives. Many of the other Avengers were hurt, both emotionally and physically. Without funding to keep going, the rest of the team quietly disbanded. That was six months ago...(in the Avengers Disassembled storyarc)

Synopsis: A shadowed man informs Electro that the time is right for him to create a complete distraction, which is "Now!" At The Raft, Ryker’s secret Minimum-Maximum Security Installation, Matt Murdock (aka Daredevil), Luke Cage (aka Hero for Hire) and Foggy Nelson are met by Jessica Drew (aka Spider-Woman) who begins to show them around the S.H.I.E.L.D. installation. Amongst The Raft’s inhabitants are Carnage, Vermin, Purple Man (is this Luke Cage’s nemesis?), and the Wrecking Crew. And then some... fun! As they talk, all four descend in the elevator to the holding cells to make a visit. Suddenly the lights go out in the cells and half the city. Then a huge bolt of electricity strikes The Raft, demolishing a side of it. Over in NYC, Mary Jane and Peter Parker are about to settle down in front of a Hugh Grant movie when (mercifully) the lights go out and they spot the electricity in the sky. Spider-Man then makes his way to the scene by webbing onto a helicopter. After the helicopter is destroyed by the electric bolts, Spider-Man is pulled from the water by Captain America, who is accompanied by several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Inside, Electro pops open the security systems on the cell doors and announced to the escapees (at least twenty-six of them!) that they all owe him big. Underwater, the three heroes and Foggy feel the effects of the blast. Murdock demands to see the prisoner he was sent to see; Robert Reynolds, the most powerful super hero on the planet, The Sentry (Marvel's "Superman"). He is imprisoned because he killed his wife.

Highlight: The double page spread of The Raft under attack. The splash page of Spider-Man swinging. The double page spread of Electro and the escapees. The closing spoiler-filled panel!

Comments: Spider-Man in the Avengers? Fine by me!

Captain America turning up as he should? Yeah! Okay by me too!

Daredevil playing an integral part in the forming of the New Avengers? Perhaps this explains maybe why Bendis is dropped Daredevil from his chores soon after this release, and that title was taken over by Ed Brubaker... maybe.

Luke Cage is Brian Bendis's baby, so he's in.

Spider-Woman is the only female member, but currently also working for S.H.E.I.L.D. ... Ok. Perhaps.

Wolverine is nowhere to be seen!

Iron Man is also not there yet.

The Sentry is where he was, always. This is going to get really interesting!

Now this is a good comic! A very good comic! Bendis has me hooked, and so does Finch! The use of The Raft, the way Electro is continuing to be recognized as a major league player (cheers Millar and Knights #3!), Finch’s beautiful pencils which use all of the page and continually stun once the style has been accepted (which it easily is if you have read his Ultimate X-Men issues over a decade ago), the convergence of the characters was never going to be an easy thing, but the lack of Wolverine and Iron Man helps to balance out the relationships (Jessica and Cage a bit flirty, Cap and Spider-Man working together again) and slow the coincidences is down, and the mystery and power of The Sentry as the anchor for the plot is genius and completely relevant as he is one who is going to need the most explaining and will probably drive the most unique and original aspects of this series.

Where I think things could have been a little bit clearer are simply picky. Why does Foggy look like a midget? Why does Spider-Man see a helicopter that suddenly disappears which he then webs on to? Are those panels "looking" the wrong way or something? And just who the heck are half the guys who escaped? Oh well!

The art is fantastic and cinematic. The writing is pure Bendis. The pace is good and the story involving, so give me more! Hook-line-and-sinker! Revisiting this issue, I enjoyed it more now (about twelve years later and doing a review) than I originally did when I first read it about a dozen years ago.

Now now Crimebuster. Please feel free to release your anger (as long as you don't turn green and Hulk out!). Holding back is unhealthy, so please feel free to release. I, however, will read this from a new point of view. No venom, or perhaps minimized venom on my part, and will read it as if I have never ready any previous Avengers comic books before, so that I can review it more "positively."

I shared the same sentiments regarding this series as you. And I was inspired by the new "All Star Batman and Robin" review thread created several weeks ago, and the venom it generated in our CCF Forum. It is both entertaining and still carried a lot of very strong feelings from CCF members as it did over a decade ago. So I was thinking... hmmm... is there another series that generated a lot of heat around that time. I was thinking of that editorial sabotage that is Amazing Spider-Man "Sins Past" storyline... but I remembered this particular Brian Michael Bendis series... New Avengers. So let the fun begin. 

These might have Avengers on the cover but everything Bendis did was NOT Avengers in my viewpoint. My mama told me if you don't have anything nice to say then better to not say anything at all. So that will be my motto through your reviews sabongero because these aren't my Avengers. To all the young un's out there who may like it I apologize and I will admit to having looked through issues over the long haul yet I didn't find enough there to have me want to buy or read them. 

Like I told Crimebuster, I agree with you. The Avengers in this series, does not come across or sound, or even kind of act, like The Avengers we are used to. However, I am approaching this series like I was reviewing it with no background history of reading any Avengers comic books, that way, I won't just rant all over the place. I will try to bring a positive review from a rookie comic book reader point of view. It won't serve any purpose if I just spew venom. I am sure our fellow members who most likely read this series when it first came out, can do that for me. 

However, let us not forget, there must be some who have liked this series. Perhaps those that are younger and started reading comic books in the decade of the early to mid 2000's.

This book was a fan favorite and it catapulted the Avengers into a franchise of books ultimately leading to the blockbuster movies we see today. Respect, guys.

The Avengers began as a team of the Marvel Lead heroes as a copy of DC's Justice League: Thor, Iron-Man, Hulk, Giant-Man and Wasp. But over time that morphed after Captain America was added and the team became filled with mostly tertiary/lesser known superhero's like Quicksilver, Hawkeye, Vision, Black Panther and so forth with usually Cap or Shellhead leading and Thor for the occasional walk on. The team became a dysfunctional family bonded together with a sense of "real" connection and friendships rather than a team built for saving the world. Many times they might be outclassed but they would still overcome and win the day. This was the "regular" kind of line-up for most of the Avenger's run until Bendis took over. Then it became a star vehicle again and a lot of heroes were added simply based on sales factor. For those of us who grew up with the team it had never been about the superstar hero or being a copycat of JLA as Bendis now turned them into. Much of what made them a team was suddenly tossed out in favor of star status and/or power dynamics. 

Many of the additions just didn't "feel" like Avengers. Sentry, Dr. Strange, Power-Man, Iron Fist, Shang Chi, Spider-Woman, Spider-Man, wolverine and such were all primarily loner types and if they were going to be part of a team they would come and go and not be there every time you needed them. Suddenly the Avengers comic became more like a Defender's title where these kind of folks would have fit in more readily. 

Worse that the Crossing?     I can't agree with you there... especially since there was a nice build up.   Did it make any sense as far as jiving with history?  Absolutely not.   But the Crossing actually tried to  destroy history... Bendis just ignored it (as he always does..even when he's the one that made it)

I remember when I first read this... it was LONG after it was new (I quit comics after Dissembled for a while)... it's not a bad story, it's just not an Avengers story.   It never had the right feel.  

You can change the characters (that's a tradition even) but somehow the feel was wrong to me...to many loners, maybe?  No clear leader?   Something.



Edit:  I thought Crimebuster was talking about the Ronin reveal, but apparently not (I just looked it up)... I have no recollection of #16... now I can't wait to get to it!