Hickman's "Avengers"

[runawayboulder]

I pretty much loved this first arc of Avengers. I'm not too sure how I feel about the Avengers letting Ex Nihlo and crew remain to hang on Mars so close to Earth. But I guess A) It's almost like the Inhumans on the Moon for so long and that's worked out and B) the way Hickman structures stories as one massive epic, they'll be back by the time issue 12 rolls around.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I don't see a problem. The threat Ex Nihilo and Abyss posed is gone and Mars isn't being used for anything else, so where's the harm? Presumably the Avengers have some means of monitoring them just in case, but unless they prove themselves to be a threat again, just live and let live.

 

[runawayboulder]

I'm sure it will come back and bite them in the ass at some point. There's a moral to every story.....

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Sometimes the moral is that mercy for your enemies creates good friends, though.

 

[Mad Ones]

I felt like they got off a little too easily, but I won't complain because I'm hoping to see them again. You don't let new characters with such a cool backstory and character design go to waste!

 

[runawayboulder]

Well supposedly they set the wheels in motion for New Universe to return so once that gets established in prob the next arc, the Mars folks will be back.

 

[RockSP]

"MMU"?

Marvel Movie Universe, I'm guessing.

and I'm really hoping Hickman gives us some more information about Captain Universe.

We don't even know her real name yet. So it's a safe bet more info is coming.

 

[runawayboulder]

I thought it was Monica Rambeau/Photon for a minute.

 

[Fives]

I love this Avengers cover from the April solicits:

The cover is by Dusting Weaver, who also is the next artist after Adam Kubert who starts with #4. His covers for this series have been so awesome. I hope he stays on as Hickman's Avengers cover artist.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Weaver also drew Hickman's SHIELD stuff a few years ago, and he did several issues of Dark Horse's Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic before that. He's one of those artists who's gone from good to fantastic in just a few years. Quite impressive.

Nice to see the Hulk in his Indestructible getup there, too. I'm glad the various series are all catching up to each other and standardizing characters' looks. The transition from pre-NOW to NOW has been a bit awkward in that respect.

I hate Thor's half-chainmail arm things, though. Just looks random and stupid.

 

[bored]

I'm torn between not liking how this arc wrapped up, and knowing that Hickman has something bigger in store. Also, Shang-Chi chopping Aleph's leg off. I get that he's a bad-ass kung fu master, but seriously, godlike super-robot that has wiped out entire civilizations for eons, and a guy without actual super-powers takes his leg off with his bare hand. Or maybe we'll find out what weapons Tony Stark had in mind for him.

 

[Thwip!]

So basically the next arc will have it catch up with Superior Spider-Man in so much that SpOck is around. Superior in turn is set prior to All new X-men as illustrated by Cat Beast appearing in Avenging Spider-Man without the original five.... So where do we place Cap and Uncanny Avengers?

 

[JewishHobbit]

Cap doesn't make sense to me. He's on 2 or 3 Avenger teams while also being stuck off world in his own title. I'm assuming this is one of those "just let it all play out and figure out where it fits later" but I swear I can't stand that mentality. Most times it doesn't work when all is said and done.

I'm even more annoyed that his book and one of the Avenger books are written by the same guy. It's like they didn't even care to TRY to make it make sense.

 

[StreetWarrior]

Cap doesn't make sense to me. He's on 2 or 3 Avenger teams while also being stuck off world in his own title. I'm assuming this is one of those "just let it all play out and figure out where it fits later" but I swear I can't stand that mentality. Most times it doesn't work when all is said and done.

I'm even more annoyed that his book and one of the Avenger books are written by the same guy. It's like they didn't even care to TRY to make it make sense.

Says the guy who's a fan of Bendis, a writer with such a disregard for continuity that, not only does his work ignore most of what came before it, but he forgets his own continuity BETWEEN CONSECUTIVE ISSUES OF THE SAME SERIES!!! (New Avengers, Volume 1, issues in the mid-50's, Luke Cage with a bomb in his chest arc). This isn't a personal attack - I just don't think its fair to criticize one author for a minor flaw that another author has a clear reputation for making on a continual basis...

That aside, I do agree with you. I can't stand when Marvel blatantly disregards continuity. How can Captain America be in two dimensions at once? How can Iron Man be on the Avengers and in the Guardians? How can Wolverine be on 47 teams at once while teaching and having his own seperate adventures? If editors are going to rely upon a shared universe for events then there needs to be some consistency across titles. Busiek's Avengers would constantly reference other titles and provide reasonable explanations for any contradictions. Marvel's just wrought with poor/lazy editors now. I was hoping the NOW relaunch would help correct this problem but I guess I'll have to live with continuity frustrations.

 

[JewishHobbit]

What we're talking about and Bendis' Avengers have nothing to do with each other. It's just yet another jab at Bendis for the sake of doing it.

I'm struggling to think of anything from Bendis' Avengers that contradicted what was going on in other titles at the time. He made continuity errors at times, yes, but as far as just going against what another book was doing with a character? The worst I can think of was his just sorta not mentioning or making a deal out of OMD, though he did eventually re-reveal Peter's identity to the team.

And that aside... the problem here isn't Bendis, or Remender... it's editorial and their lack of care regarding the shared universe continuity.

 

[StreetWarrior]

What we're talking about and Bendis' Avengers have nothing to do with each other. It's just yet another jab at Bendis for the sake of doing it.

I'm struggling to think of anything from Bendis' Avengers that contradicted what was going on in other titles at the time. He made continuity errors at times, yes, but as far as just going against what another book was doing with a character? The worst I can think of was his just sorta not mentioning or making a deal out of OMD, though he did eventually re-reveal Peter's identity to the team.

And that aside... the problem here isn't Bendis, or Remender... it's editorial and their lack of care regarding the shared universe continuity.

While I strongly disagree with you on Bendis (as I believe there is ample evidence of continuity issues throughout his work), I do agree that it's editorial is ultimately responsible. Ignoring the work of prior authors or what's happening in other titles does fall on the authors and deliberate ignorance indicates a sense of (usually undeserved) arrogance but, ultimately, it's editorials job to make sure these matters are corrected before the issue goes to print. What else are they doing with their time?

 

[Donnie Darko]

I don't mind a solo hero's adventures not matching up with their team book, but having them on multiple team books is too much for me sometimes. For example, I am cool with Spider-Man being in Amazing/Superior, then also being in Avengers. You can even throw Avenging in there, and say "this is the book that happens between the other stories," and I'm cool with it. Wolverine, though, is too much. In the 90s, he had his solo book, and was either in or out of an X-Men squad. Where he is now, being in multiple X-books, a solo series (or two?), and two Avengers teams.. it's a bit much. I guess you just have to decide what you think really matters. I mean, Batman appears in Batman, Detective, Dark Knight, Batman and Robin, Batman Inc, and Justice League, all of which usually tell their own distinct stories (except when the other books have to tie into the big "Batman" event). Continuity just doesn't really exist in comics.

 

[runawayboulder]

Cap doesn't make sense to me. He's on 2 or 3 Avenger teams while also being stuck off world in his own title. I'm assuming this is one of those "just let it all play out and figure out where it fits later" but I swear I can't stand that mentality. Most times it doesn't work when all is said and done.

That aside, I do agree with you. I can't stand when Marvel blatantly disregards continuity. How can Captain America be in two dimensions at once? How can Iron Man be on the Avengers and in the Guardians? How can Wolverine be on 47 teams at once while teaching and having his own seperate adventures?

It seems kinda obvious to me that when Cap escapes Dim Z, it will seem like a few years he's been gone but he'll re-appear in his own time 5-10 min after he "disappeared". That's the perks of having an ageless character. you can do wonky stuff like that to him.

As for Iron Man and Wolverine, Tony hasn't joined GotG yet but it seems like Gillen is going to work it in. With Logan, he's pretty much quit all teams he's been on with the exception of the Uncanny Avengers team. X-Force is gone, so is the Cage New Avenger team. He's in Hickman's Avengers.....but so is every Avenger that ever existed. So really he's only on 1 team and runs a school in another book. Everybody has solo series, there's nothing to argue about that. I get that in the past Marvel has been AWFUL with this stuff but we have new writers across the board, you gotta give them a chance to make it work and just not assume that it will be more of the same. Have a little faith.....or find a new hobby.

 

[Mad Ones]

I just kinda read the books I like and don't even consider what other comics the characters appear in.

 

[RockSP]

I just kinda read the books I like and don't even consider what other comics the characters appear in.

Heh, that's probably the best thing to do.

In general I think it's kinda strange to expect a character's solo book to match up with a character's team book. Why assume the adventures are happening at the same time?

 

[Specter313]

AVENGERS #4
JONATHAN HICKMAN (W) • ADAM KUBERT (A)
Cover by DUSTIN WEAVER
VARIANT Cover BY ESAD RIBIC
“THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF MAJOR TITANS”
• The Secret Origin of Hyperion.
• The Legacy of the Garden unfolds in the Savage Land.
• “We’ll have to field test our theories here. NOW.” --Dr. Deeds
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99

 

[Thwip!]

Loving the covers

 

[Doc Ock]

I just picked the first issue of Avengers today because I've loved the first issues of New Avengers alot so I should be caught up with the next two issues in about a week and be able to stop avoiding spoilage. But Hickman is very awesome.

 

[kane9321]

I love the art

 

[SlamAdams]

I thought it was Monica Rambeau/Photon for a minute.

Are you convinced its not her? I thought it was still up in the air. I'm hoping it is her.


I'm loving Hickman's Avengers. He's got some big out-there ideas Loved his LXG style SHIELD.