New Avengers (Vol. 1) #4

Background

Electro has set free a whole lot of work for the superheroes from a maximum security prison known as the Raft. Working with an unlikely group of superheroes inspires Captain America to start a new Avengers team.

The team's first mission is to find out who is pulling the strings behind the largest jail break in the...well, in history.

Story Details

The story begins in Stark Tower Est. 2004. It was Est. 2005 in the last issue, but that's not important right now. The core members of the New Avengers are trying to talk to a S.H.I.E.L.D.* agent named Hill. She doesn't approve of the new team, until Captain America pulls rank. She still is resistant and asks to speak with the Cap alone.

Jessica Drew walks down some stairs in full Spider-Woman gear. Tony Stark and Luke Cage compliment her. Luke and Peter Parker talk about how Spider-Man and Spider-Woman are unrelated in every way but the name. Spidey jokes how there's like ten Spider-Women and he's not seeing a dime of royalties.

Cap returns with a file given to him by Agent Hill. It contains data from security cameras at the Raft and listings with pictures of all the inmates who escaped. Spider-Man recognizes the shoulder of Electro, and then feels guilt that it's one of his villians.

Iron Man does some "computer this-blah-that" mumbo jumbo and they find that Electro has transferred a lot of money into a bank account in Boston. They pull up Dillon's (Electro's) rap sheet and find that he's been eating at the same restaurant for three weeks, which coincides with calls he's been making from prison to a lady. Spider-Man is so overwhelmed by all this tech that says he needs to lie down. The new Avengers hop into a new Quinjet and it's off to Boston.

Max Dillon, who looks like a bald Captain America in this book, is talking to his lady friend. He tries to coax her into running away with him when the Avengers show up. Their entrance is particularly cool. Electro tries to attack, but they put him into a mysterious blue bubble force field. Luke Cage intimidates Electro, who passes out like a little wuss.

After a bit of detective work, it's off to the Savage Land to find Carl Lykos a.k.a. Sauron, the person whom Electro broke out of jail. The jet goes down and a T-rex splits up the team. We end, however, on a happy note. If you've been reading Uncanny X-Men, you know that Wolverine has been missing in the Savage Land. Well, we found him...with his claws to Spider-Woman's neck.

*Supreme Headquarters International Espionage Law-enforcement Division Why don't they do that anymore!?

General Comments

This book is pretty good. I'm digging this whole "New Avengers" thing. The art is good, but I wish this Finch guy was creative enough to give people different faces. 80% of the people look the same with their squinty eyed faces. Though 65% of all statistics are bogus.

That whole Stark Tower Est.2004 or 2005 thing is sloppy. It's a little thing but it bugs. Well it doesn't really bug that much, but I'm so proud of myself for noticing it. Sorry, back on track...

I'm really enjoying how the team is coming together. My biggest gripe right now (storywise) is that Spider-Man and Luke Cage seem pretty useless when there's nothing to beat up. I hope a strong team role opens up for them soon or it'll get boring fast. Spider-Man is a scientist, for goodness' sake.

I thought the Electro scene would been more of a fight, but it turned out to be rather humorous. Reminded me of Raiders of the Lost Ark when that guy had that big sword and Indiana Jones just shot him.

The one-page splashes were awesome. I almost want to rip them out of my book and put them up on my wall. I would do it, if it didn't involves ripping those pages out of my book. Finch can make a page gorgeous if he wants to.

Overall Rating

The art is good, but the same face over and over bothers me.

The uselessness of Luke Cage and Spider-Man kinda bothered me also, but the character interactions are what REALLY made this book for me.