Secret Avengers #12.1

Someones leaked the name of every confidential informant the government has in every criminal Organization in the Marvel U
 
The Good
Scott Eaton turns in some really solid artwork here and I can definitely see it growing on me in the future. He's not in Deodato's class yet, but given time, I'm sure he'll win us all over. I think he'd have a stronger showing had he been given more dynamic sequences. He definitely makes the most of the one's he gets though. Valkyrie doesn't get any dialog but she does get to lay the smacketh down on some A.I.M. drones. And Eaton ensures she says all she needs to know here. 

The pages with the Negative Man dealing with his snitch at the beginning of the issue was perfectly paced and hit all the right beats. It sucked me in an got me invested into the rest of the issue. I really wish this kind of pacing had persisted throughout the remainder of the issue. 

There's a few pages of Widow doing what she does best. Here Spencer displays that he definitely gets Natasha and how she works. I'm glad that a writer who understands her will be handling her. Natasha's my favorite female character of all time and I hate the way she's often relegated to the femme/eye candy. It looks like Spencer's going to write her with the respect and capability that the "world's deadliest woman" deserves.  

I like Ant-Man, he serves pretty much the purpose the Flash did on JL/JLU. Whenever he and Rhodey share screen time it's sure to be amusing. Spencer understand's their dynamic as well as what makes their individual personalities. Rhodey didn't get much use during Brubaker's run, but since Spencer's writing him in Iron Man 2.0 I trust he'll do a lot more with him here. I also really like Eaton's take on Rhodey's new threads. 

Cap and co's reaction to failing to save the informant was very well handled. I like that there was no dialog and Spencer simply let Eaton's artwork say what needed to be said. 

I think it was highly appropriate that the man behind the leaks Adopts the U.S. Agent persona. It's a nice nod to the origin of the character and fits perfectly with his speech towards the end of the issue. The best villains have a point, that's what makes men like Magneto so compelling. You may hate their methodology but you can't invalidate their ideology. U.S. Agent definitely has a valid point here. 

Cap has a little speech of his own, and does a great job of rebutting what U.S. Agent had to say. I like that Cap owns the grey nature of his new position and you see it changing him. I like that his character's realistically evolving and that's he learning to think and operate within the bigger picture. I've never been a fan of Steve "running the show" but if he continues to grow into this role like he does this issue I can get used to it.

All in all, I think Spencer does a fine job of infusing the Marvel U with a little bit of the real world. And after all the conspicuous activities of the Secret Avengers lately I'm glad to seem them operating like the stealth/espionage unit they were intended to be.    

The Bad
This is a very, very slow paced issue. It's also short on action and very dialog heavy. If Spencer had kicked it up a notch and toned down the talking I'd have given this issue a four. 

I know it's his first issue, but for a while it's bothered me how little dialog/screen time Moonknight gets. Beast and Sharon (especially) could've not been in this issue and I'd be none the wiser. Overall Spencer could've done a much better job of including the whole team, especially considering this is a .1 issue. 

Some people may be put off by the ripped from the headlines nature of this issue, but I for one really liked that.   

The Verdict
Check this one out. If you're like me you weren't a fan of Brubaker's run. I found it to be boring, to Cap centric, and counterintuitive. Spencer does a good job of reintegrating the SECRET aspect of these Avengers. While this issue isn't without it's bumps but I'm sure that when it's all said and done Spencer's time on the title will be well worth investing in. He's in his natural element on this kind of title and I'm very interested in seeing where he take these characters.