Blood In The Water
Members of The Hood's army get their hands on a device that can cause the loss of power to all super-powered beings. After using it against the New Avengers, Luke Cage becomes fatally injured and in need of dire medical attention. After having no other choice, he surrenders to Norman Osborn so he can receive medical attention.
My Thoughts:I really enjoyed what Brian Michael Bendis did in this installment of the New Avengers series. The way he broke the team down, especially Luke Cage was really well done. The way they were at a complete "power loss" and had to overcome adversity is exactly the type of story you want to read when reading the superhero genre. I thought it was even more clever that he chose Luke Cage out of all the Avengers to break down further. With his unbreakable skin it would seem that it would be impossible for him to get the surgery needed to save his life. Of course some brilliant mind would be able to figure out how to heal Luke Cage but the urgency and intensity was really felt in the story. I liked the way the rest of the team rushed together to find a way to help their fallen comrade.
The side story about The Hood and Loki was interesting. I'm curious as to what reason Loki would help The Hood regain his powers. Clearly Loki has a plan and I'm eager to watch it unfold. Great side writing by Bendis to get readers excited for the following issues.
The art is by Stuart Immonen who does a pretty good job. There were a few moments when I felt like the art lacked quality and felt a little rushed. Some panels seemed like they lacked detail especially in the backgrounds. I think the colorist didn't do Immonen's pencils justice either. There were too many solid color backgrounds when there shouldn't have been and the coloring at times felt dull. I imagined the coloring being a little brighter for this story myself.
This was definitely another great story arc for this series that has some great build-up for Siege. Great characterization all around from Bendis as he advances the story extremely well capturing readers attention right from the very beginning.
Rating: 4.5/5