Dimitrios = Ultron The Next Generation
One of the best spin-offs from the so-so Age of Ultron event was the phenomenal #10A.I. One-shot, showing that Hank Pym had a whole new outlook on life after the events of the event. It dug into his history and endeared me strongly to the character. It was a can't-miss awesome one-shot. So I was understandably excited for Avengers A.I. But let's face it, the reason the one-shot was so spectacular is because it was written by Mark Waid, Marvel's current master of character work, but that's all he did, the ongoing series is by somewhat less prolific writer Sam Humphires.
Basically, the one-shot took its time to dig deep into the psyche of Pym, to pull an emotional story out of it while still charging forwards with attitude and direction, despite the lack of a teased plot to latch onto. The first issue of Avengers A.I. throws a plot right at you and then grabs you by the wrist and drags you through the introduction of the cast. The whole thing feels really rushed in execution, and yet the team is barely on its feet by the time the issue ends. I mean, it's not Nocenti bad in terms of pacing, but it really is fairly messy. After introducing the threat, all that really happened was the introduction of the cast, and yet I barely feel like I understand any of them, excluding Doombot. Doombot is brilliant. He's a Doom A.I. forced to obey Hank Pym. It's fun. It also feels like this is an emergency team put together to face a specific A.I. threat, it feels like trying to keep them together as a permanent team after Dimitrios will be a bit flimsily justified.
Oh and speaking of Dimitrios, the big bad set up here, he's basically just a new Ultron since they fully killed Ultron finally, right? Hank Pym accidentally created a superdangerous superevolved A.I. that threatens to destroy mankind. He killed Ultron by creating a more dangerous Ultron. Dimitirios is just the new Ultron. THIS is how this series spins DIRECTLY out of Age of Ultron, not Pym's new attitude, and it's just weak because it feels so directly recycled from the very story its spinning out of.
In Conclusion: 3/5
Andre Lima Araujo's artwork is a major saving grace. Despite the hectic pacing and recycled story, the issue feels like it's smooth and entertaining mostly due to the snazzy and bright artwork of Araujo. Aside from that, so far this only seems like a fairly forced 'yet another' Avengers series with mild potential. It's not exactly bad, but I'm not sure how much chance it has of earning it's place as a full series.
