Like I commented on Red Robin this week, this title catches the elusive balance of action, humor, suspense and character you want from a well-balanced superhero title. McCann makes Hawkeye and Mockingbird feel like a real couple while keeping the larger-than-life personalities you remember. I was impressed with how he was able to seamlessly integrate their romantic drama into the larger plot of Crossifre and this new Phantom Rider's schemes, as well as an intriguing thematic exploration of the hard give-and-take that superheroes' families experience relating to their secret identity. Stand-out scenes both related to Bobbi's mother - - there's the heartbreaking opening and the truly gasp-inducing cliffhanger (I don't want to spoil it, but let's just say it'll hit you from out of nowhere.) I'd be remiss not to mention the work of Lopez and Lopez (brothers?) here - - their lines are tremendously clean and they've got serious storytelling chops to match the flash.
The Bad
I want to grant the script some poetic license because the opening with a SHIELD officer presenting Mockingbird's Mom with the flag is so powerful. Sure, it's more visual to have Bobbi in viewing distance... but it also makes her out to be inhumanly cold when she's just standing there, watching cooly, while her mother breaks down crying. And I don't think that's what they wanted to convey about her.
The Verdict - 4/5
Out of all the books launching out of Heroic Age, this is the one the best captures this new era's stated intentions. I always thought that Mockingbird's death was one of the most unnecessary in Marvel's history. It quashed a lot of unrealized story potential that's now finally getting explored after it's, thankfully, been reneged. You know, the cover pulls a quote calling this "the superhero equivalent of Mr. & Mrs. Smith" but I think that does it a disservice. There are a lot more interesting things going on here than there were in that movie.
