New Avengers...New Challenges
Issue 1 - We all know the Avengers team broke up in the series "Avengers Disassembled" due to the Scarlet Witch going insane and killing members Hawkeye, Ant-Man and her husband Vision. This series is the reformation of the group now called the New Avengers. The issue starts with someone hiring Electro to breakout the criminal villains locked up inside the Raft. Matt Murdock, Foggy Nelson and Luke Cage arrive at the Raft to meet with Robert Reynolds on behalf of Reed Richards. Not long after they arrive the power in the city goes out and an explosion occurs at the Raft and Electro frees everyone inside. Spider-Man at home with Mary Jane at the time thought his only problem was fighting over watching a Hugh Grant movie, sees the explosion through his window and heads to the Raft. He meets Captain America at the Raft and the issue ends with Murdock, Nelson, Cage and Agent Drew entering Reynolds cell.
Issue 2 - Captain America and Spider-Man jump into battle with many of the villains trying to escape. Carnage goes after Foggy Nelson and Sentry takes him up into the earths upper atmosphere and tears him in half. Spider-Man is beaten severely and Captain America gets thrown into the air and caught by none other than Iron Man who arrives to try and help. Spider-Woman and Luke Cage enter the battle outside and the issue ends with the Purple Man telling Luke Cage to kill his hero friends and then kill himself.
Issue 3 - The next day Steve Rogers and Tony Stark meet and talk about the events from the previous night. Steve Rogers proposes the idea of making a team of New Avengers. Tony was a little skeptical on the idea and says he'll think about it. A flashback of the night before shows Luke Cage beating the Purple Man as his powers no longer had an effect on Luke Cage. Steve Rogers goes and meets Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Daredevil and Spider-Woman separately and asks each of them to join the New Avengers. All agree with the exception of Daredevil. They all meet at Stark Tower which will serve as their new base of operations. The issue ends with Jessica Drew meeting with someone and it appears she is being hired to spy on S.H.I.E.L.D. and now they want her to spy on the New Avengers.
Issue 4 - At Stark Tower the New Avengers talk to Maria Hill who doesn't approve of what their doing. Iron Man got ahold of some security camera footage and Spider-Man was able to identify Electro from it. They find out he's been eating at the same restaurant in Boston so they head to Boston and catch Electro there. Next they stop back at the Raft to try and get a name of who Electro was specifically trying to break out and it turns out that it was Karl Lykos a mutant also known as Sauron. So they head to the Savage Land and upon landing there their Quinjet explodes. Some dinosaurs chase them and they split up. Spider-Woman and Luke Cage hide in some bushes when Luke Cage notices a pair of claws held up to Spider-Woman's neck.
Issue 5 - The claws belong to none other then Wolverine. Spider-Woman grabs his arm and flips him on his back jamming his own claws into his neck. It turns out Wolverine is there looking for the same person as the New Avengers are. A bunch of "mutates" jump out and the New Avengers are captured. They escape and a battle starts and Wolverine stabs Karl Lykos causing him to transform into Sauron. Sauron is then shot down by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
Issue 6 - Yelena Belova orders the other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to shoot at the Avengers but they are reluctant to shoot at Captain America. Belova gets mad and shoots one of the agents then opens fire on the Avengers. Wolverine jumps at Belova and Captain America has to throw his shield at Logan to stop him from killing her. Iron Man creates a polar magnetic field and the agents guns come flying out of their hands. They capture agent Belova and try to get a name out of her. Sauron reappears and shoots fire out of his mouth. The Avengers jump out of the way but Belova is burned badly. The Avengers take down Sauron and try to find a way off the island. Iron Man tells Captain America he wants Wolverine to join the team. Cap doesn't think it's a good idea stating that Logan is a murderer. The issue ends with Yelena Belova in the hospital and someone offering her a way to strike back at the Avengers.
Overall this is a solid start to a series that shows promise. Im glad to see the Avengers reassemble and the way they came back together was great. A lot of action in this volume and the art is nice. A must-read for any Marvel comic fan.
Rating - 4.5/5
