The Good
When this series started, we didn't know exactly how it started. Ultron had unleashed his attack and the world had gone to hell. We slowly discovered that many heroes were dead and the surviving ones had to figure out a way to fight back.
As we are now in the fifth issue, we do have some more answers. We know how Ultron started things and the possible way the heroes could maybe fix the entire Marvel Universe. Of course it won't be easy.
Brian Bendis doesn't just have the heroes rush into what they believe may be their only option. There is some debate over what they should do and what they have to do. This serves to drive the story and show that everyone won't necessarily be on the same page, regardless of the circumstances. Of course in a typical Bendis fashion, he manages to throw in a monkey wrench to ensure some shake up in the coming issues.
As this is an 'event' story, we do get some moments where fans can geek out a little. Some interesting options are being laid out and we can only hope they are used in a cool fashion when the team embarks on their journey.
We may be a little weary of crossovers but you can't deny the charm in seeing our favorite heroes together, even if it's in an extremely dire situation.
The Bad
There is that feeling of slowness in the execution. We've had a slightly slow build in the story. It has been important to see where the heroes are and how they got here but after five issues, they still haven't actually confronted Ultron. It could be that with the fight coming up and with everything at stake, there will only be one true major battle. It just feels like it's taking a while to get there, even if we've had some cool sights along the way.
I'm a fan of Bryan Hitch's art but there were a couple moments when I wasn't sure if we were looking at Spider-Man or Moon Knight since they both had their masks off and were wearing a brown jacket.
Speaking of Spider-Man, there's still the odd sensation of seeing what we know is the SUPERIOR Spider-Man (Doc Ock) talking and behaving like Peter Parker would.
The Verdict
The story is continuing to unfold. It is fun to see the heroes getting together, ready to face the unknown dangers that await them. It would be nice to have the action pick up a bit. We're bound to see it amp up in the coming issues but that doesn't negate the fact that it has been five issues already. With what is being set up here, we should be in for some great action in the next issue. It'll be interesting to see how the next portion of this story plays out and how the repercussions of their decision will affect the overall story.