Avengers (Vol. 4) #18

Background

Yay! The Fear Itself event is over, which means the Avengers can finally move on from tie issues! Of course, during the event some heroes died (it's turns out not really, but that's another story), including Avengers, Thor and Bucky. So the Avengers need to regroup and fill out that roster!

Story 'Shattered Heroes'

There are two separate stories that run through this issue. They cut back and forth a little, but at the this point are pretty separate.

One follows SHILED agent Dr. Carolina Washington. She seems to have the equivalent job at SHIELD as a superhero crime-scene investigator. Her story is that, since the Superhero Civil War, she has been secretly gathering superhero genetic material. She seems dissatisfied with superheros and what they stand for. Her dissatisfaction led her to A.I.M. which, has then led her to the recently escaped Norman Osborn and H.A.M.M.E.R. She offers Norman what she has collected, the genetic secrets of the entire human population!

The other part of this issue is a gathering of Avengers and other heroes at the Avenger's Mansion. There are a few small character moments, Thing feeling bad, Wong telling Jarvis to get out of the kitchen and Spider-Woman getting the 'stink eye' from Mockingbird. Spidey even gets a couple of lines. The scene finishes with Cap getting everyone's attention and telling them he gathered them together to decide upon who would be in the new line-up of Avengers.

General Comments

This issue is basically a clearing the stage and setup for the next act sort of issue. Fear Itself seems to be moved aside and a new menace is brewing with Norman Osborn kicking some new plans into action. The art is great and the little interactions with characters are okay. It's also the lead up to the choosing of a new Avengers line-up.

The element of this issue that works best is the Dr. Washington story line. The art portrays her emotions excellently and she is portrayed as someone that has a reasonable, sane reason for being anti-superhero and isn't just a maniacal villain.

I am a bit disappointed that things aren't going back to the Ultron threat. In fact the next Marvel 'event' has already been named and it isn't Ultron related, which is doubly disappointing. I do like Norman Osborn as a bad guy though and look forward to see how this will turn out. I don't really care too much about who is on the team, but if Spidey leaves, I will be disappointed. He has done little except hang in the background and toss out random quips since joining the Avengers. There hasn't been any real story reason to have him on the team at all!

Overall Rating

Ok issue. Strong art and good build up for future stories, just not much of a story in and of itself.