There are many kinds of cross-overs. Ones that require one issue after another of unconnected titles to be read in a particular order to maintain narrative, tie-ins with major events, even issues that are barely connected except when they’re all read. What we have with the current run of AVENGERS titles is something that doesn’t require everything to be read to maintain plot coherency, but IF they all are, the experience is much, much richer.
This issue focuses much more on the S.H.I.E.L.D. side of things than the mostly-disbanded Illuminati and Sue Storm’s role within the new organization. We also get a snapshot of an enraged, impatient Steve Rogers, still in uniform but also depowered. Seeing Cap’s slow motion breakdown is not easy to watch, but considering all that’s gone on, it actually doesn’t feel out of character. We get glimpses of Carol Danvers and Clint Barton as well, but the main event is unequivocally Sue and Steve, both of whom have some very, very interesting developments by issue’s end.
The Bad
Sue Storm’s motivations, though now more understood, still aren’t terribly well-defined. Without giving anything away, I didn’t know why, exactly, she was doing what she was in NEW AVENGERS, and now I actually know even LESS after this revelation. Likewise the reason for making S.H.I.E.L.D. an organization that can only operate in the US, despite it being international, isn’t terribly fleshed out.
The Verdict
Things are still muddy and mysterious, but this issue, at least, feels like it’s doing far more with the characters it has in terms of defining them and giving them a context in the greater narrative. The fact that it does more to define that NARRATIVE is also not hurting anything. I still have faith that Hickman will fill out the backstory of exactly what went down and while we’re losing out on some emotional investment, there are enough small hints and details to make it feel like it’s all building to something substantial.
Read the full review on Comic Vine here
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