Riddle me this: When is a comic that is clearly labeled as a Siege tie-in not in fact a Siege tie-in? The answer is quite simple really: when that comic book is written by Brian Bendis and has the word “Avengers” in the title. Today I will be taking a look at two Siege “tie-in” books, namely Dark Avengers #13 and New Avengers #61, that really aren’t tie-ins while Ironmuskrat has the pleasure of reviewing Avengers vs. Agents of Atlas #1. That really doesn’t seem fair does it?
Title: Dark Avengers #13
By: Brian Bendis and Mike Deodato
One of the main things that drove me crazy about Secret Invasion was the fact that certain titles that were advertised as being tie-ins to the mini series really weren’t. Two examples: New Avengers and Mighty Avengers. Instead of these two titles being used to help along the slow, plodding, getting nowhere fast story of the Secret Invasion mini they were used to tell flashback stories. You would get no new information about what was going on in the current Secret Invasion mini and in some instances would have entire issues of New Avengers and Mighty Avengers which starred neither the New Avengers or the Mighty Avengers. Well, I guess that storytelling technique really worked out well enough that Marvel is using yet again with their Siege tie-ins but with two slight differences:
1. Instead of New Avengers and Mighty Avengers being used to tell flashback stories it is now New Avengers and Dark Avengers. It should be noted that all three of these books were/are written by Brian Bendis who was/is also writing Secret Invasion and The Siege.
2. These flashback stories (so far) actually do star a few members of the New/Dark Avengers but not all members of the teams. That is a slight step up from buying a Secret Invasion Mighty Avengers comic with none of the Mighty Avengers to be found within it’s pages.
***Spoilers Ahead***
There are really two flashback stories talking place in Dark Avengers #13. The first is a follow up to a scene that took place way back in Dark Avengers #3. Now the thing that kinda rubs me the wrong about this first flash back is that it is a continuation to a scene from a comic that came out ten months ago. Take a look at this page (click to enlarge):
This is a page from DA #13. The first four panels though are taken straight out of Dark Avengers #3 with a few of the dialogue balloons rewritten. The final two panels on this page with Norman Osborn are new. This was a scene readers weren’t supposed to see until now. Why? Because in the pages that follow it is revealed that The Sentry/The Void is actually Osborn’s “secret weapon”. You know, the mysterious secret weapon that had everyone guessing as to who it was in The Cabal one-shots. I can see where some people may think that the way the reveal was handled may have been a little clever but this is what I think: It is a cheap and lazy reveal not to mention that having the Void as Norman’s “secret weapon” is kinda lame. So, his secret weapon was someone who was on his team the entire time but yet it wasn’t because it’s the Void? I’m sorry but that is some weaksauce right there. This type of storytelling is straight out of Quentin Tarantino’s playbook and we all know how much Bendis loves to steal from pay homage to QT. The “going back to a previous point in the story to expand on a plot point” really only works in films and novels. You know why? Because the viewer/reader gets to see/read that reveal within a few hours. They don’t normally have to wait TEN MONTHS for the reveal after they have most likely forgotten about those scenes in which the content is presented in. But you did get a four panel, rewritten refresher so maybe I’m wrong on that point.
Another example of this weak reveal shit is the second flashback in this issue. It picks up right where Dark Avengers #9 left off with the Sentry’s wife shooting him in the face with an alien tech gun and killing him. When Dark Avengers #10 came out the Sentry was flying around like nothing happened to him. Nothing was explained. Some of you may remember me complaining about this exact same thing in our Dark Avengers reviews on CCW*TV.
It is this second flashback where some people may have felt ripped off in more ways than one. Here it is revealed that Sentry’s origin was all a ruse. You think that he was the happy go lucky guy who drank a secret formula in order to become a superhero to help people? Nope. It turns out that Robbie Reynolds was actually a meth addict looking to score his next fix and drank this secret formula because he thought it was some kind of drug. Sure who wouldn’t think that, right? In essence everything you have ever thought about the Sentry in Marvel current continuity has been a lie. Oh, did I mention that we found out that The Sentry/Void is a god? Yeah, that happened in this issue too. I’m sure Paul Jenkins had all of this in mind when he helped create the character.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that there were 3 pages devoted to the Void psychologically/verbally abusing Lindy (Sentry’s wife) in what could only be described as “Classic Bendis.” You know the Void is a really bad guy by the was he treats Lindy…because we didn’t already know this.
So, ya, nowhere in this issue is the Siege referenced but yet half of the cover has he Siege logo on it. I guess were all suckers for thinking that this issue would have anything to do with the Siege. Maybe this could be considered a tie-in when it is revealed in the Siege mini that the Sentry is in fact a god as he is kicking the Asgardians god-like asses…but that’s really kinda stretching it don’t you think?
J.
Title: Avengers vs. Agents of Atlas #1
By: Jeff Parker and Gabriel Hardman
I don’t know what kind of deal Jeff Parker had to make with the devil Marvel to keep the Agents of Atlas around after their series was put on hiatus, but I am not complaining. The fact Parker gets to write a mini-series with not only the Agents of Atlas but also the Avengers made me giggle like a school girl. One of the things that stood out in the Agents of Atlas first trade was how well Parker wrote the New Avengers as a team, writing witty banter between teammates and having them work together as a team. Jose and Elliott nailed it when they said Jeff Parker is writing the smartest team books in Marvel right now.
The first issue of this series starts with the Agents of Atlas and the New Avengers dealing with some time/space anomalies on opposite sides of the country. Villains from the Avengers past are popping up at random around the country causing mayhem. The anomaly itself appears as a creepy looking dark cloud of tormented faces, who may or may not be sentient. It doesn’t take long for the Agents of Atlas and the New Avengers to meet up in New york to defeat the Growing Man and start to piece together what is going on. Unfortunately, before they can formulate a plan of action the anomaly makes another appearance and attacks the Avengers, causing a rather dramatic change in the makeup of the team.
The issue moves along at a break neck pace. Parker doesn’t mess around, getting the ball rolling and having our two superhero teams hook up and figuring things out. There is a funny bit of dialog between the two teams that clears up the fact they were fighting each other the last time they met in the Agents of Atlas trade. I guess my only complaint about this issue is more of a pet peeve. I know Wolverine’s claws are really sharp, but they are only about a foot long, right? Every time I see Logan use his claws to chop up some super-sized bad guy I have to roll my eyes a little.
The art is pretty solid, Gabriel Hardman does a fine job drawing both teams. I really like the way Hardman draws the Growing Man in a very Jack Kirby like fashion. Takeshi Miyazawa does art in the backup feature. I liked the artwork, but it does have strong anime qualities to it and the character of Namora looks like she is about 15 in the story.
Oh yeah, the second feature story is Namora having it out with Japanese whalers. Its a nice little story that has a anti-whaling message to it. I couldn’t help but think about the South Park episode dealing with the same subject matter though. I kept adding my own dialog to the beginning of the story. “Fuck you, Whale!” “Fuck you, Dolphin!”
If you like the Agents of Atlas or the Avengers, this is the book for you. I know I will be getting the next issue to see what happens next.
IM
Title: New Avengers #61
By: Brian Bendis, Stuart Immonen and Daniel Acuna
The art was utterly fantastic, the story not so much and, again, it had nothing to do with the Siege.
The End
J.
The CCW*TV Companion Blog 
Jose,
The reveal of Sentry actually being a drug addict was reiterating the revelation of the 2nd Paul Jenkins written Sentry mini series. Redundant? Yes, but Bendis didn’t really retcon that in or anything. I personally thought it was too much flashback and not enough explanations but that’s just me. Hopefully the next 2 issues will be more forthcoming.
New Avengers is more tangentially related to Siege but due to Cap simply being there and the New Avengers holding off Hood’s troops (which yes it’s a really old hat at this point) I can sort of see why they would label it as such. But it’s certainly still misleading for the most part.
I’m personally hoping that these tie ins become more related to Siege as they move forward but I thought New Avengers was pretty damn fun even if for just the Bucky/Steve stuff and the Spider-Woman/Spider-Man conversation. And yes, Immonen’s art rocks.
You’re right Will. Jenkins did through in the drug addiction plot himself. I do vaguely remember that. The problem I have is then why change it in “The Age of the Sentry” miniseries (or was that never considered to be in continuity?) only to go and change it back a few months later? And I really don’t think the Sentry being some sort of god was what Jenkins had in mind for the character was all I was saying on that matter.
Ya, that New Avengers is tangentially related, as you said, but the the story does take place before the Siege mini and really has not effect on it. At least we agree that it is misleading to label it as a tie in. As much as I didn’t care for the writing in NA the art coupled with seeing Steve and Bucky fighting together does make it worth reading.
Also, thank you for the civility of your comment. I really do enjoy someone not agreeing with my opinions while being able to express their own opinion in a thoughtful manner without resorting to name calling. Doesn’t happen a lot on the internet.
J.
Civility on the internet? Where’s the fun in that? 🙂
LOL at your New Avengers review. Seems like you had too much Bendis for one night and decided to call it a day. Pace yourself, dude.
Well I enjoyed the Age of the Sentry mini series myself but I always got the impression that it was supposed to be this sort of tongue and cheek type of origin that wasn’t neccessarily representative of Sentry’s true origin. Most of what was explained at the end of Age of the Sentry was basically hypothesized by Reed to Franklin as were the “bedtime stories” but as smart as Reed is he was kind of just pulling it out of his ass.
The only real conflicting origin that I can think of is Bendis’s New Avengers Sentry arc where Mastermind and the crazed General set him up vs Paul’s second mini series. Some of that continuity seemed to clash but when it comes to the Sentry it seems like almost everything seems to be put into question. Personally speaking, I actually liked Bendis’s Sentry up to a certain point (Secret Invasion to be specific), it’s just after SI his Sentry had become really one note and the constant freak outs/vague sub-plots gets really old after a while. Brian never really further explored Robert’s psychological depth which was seen in Paul Jenkins books and even the early New Avengers stuff but some of that peaked out at the end of Dark Avengers #13.
But unfortunately it’s to the point where I no longer care for the character and that sucks because he’s a fascinating character. I don’t quite know what Bendis is up to by introducing this religious angle because if there’s a metaphor there then I’m kind of missing it. I suppose he wants to show that Robert wasn’t worthy of such “godly” power the way Marvel Universe Jesus and Moses were but he has to be able to connect the themes better as the story moves forward. If anything it looks like Bendis is setting up the Void’s return on a more full scale basis by the end of this so that his threat level in Siege proper is more fully realized but we’ll see.
And Jose, thanks for the compliment! I’m actually a big fan of CCW since both yourself and Elliot tend to be forthcoming in such a no holds barred manner that even if I don’t neccessarily agree with the opinion, I can understand the passion behind it.
Anyway, keep up the good show my good sir.
Are Bendis(Sentry) and Loeb(Red Hulk) having a private competition to see who can jerk their readers around the longest without giving them any real info on their characters?
While I was never that big a Sentry fan after his first mini-series by Jenkins(wasn’t a hero that an entire universe forgot already done by DC in the Triumph mini-series?), it wasn’t awful either. I could say the same thing about Brian K. Vaughan’s The Hood. Now that Bendis has had his way with both of them, I want both characters to be given the Dip treatment ala Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Who is actually enjoying his work? Are his big sales just based on empty hype and Zombies who are blind by their naive loyalty to a company that obviously doesn’t respect them? If I were JoeyQ(no matter how rich he is, I thank God I’m not), I’d see how far I could push Zombie loyalty. I’d put out a 22 page, $6.99 Wolverine 1-shot(written by Bendis and drawn by whoever is popular at Marvel these days) where our “hero” spends the entire issue in the men’s room. If that sold well, why even continue putting as little effort into their line of comics as they already are?
I truly believe that most (not all) of the people who enjoy Bendis’ Avengers comics are newer fans who’s only Avengers exposure has been through Bendis’ run and have never really read a good Avengers comic. They unfortunately don’t know any better. Now, there is no excuse for their ignorance but that is the only excuse I can think of.
Also, Bendis and Loeb have both been using great artists on their books in the last few years. I believe this helps hide the fact they their writing has gotten so terrible… in the sales figures at least.
J.
I’m really starting to think that there are still young people(ie. younger than 20) reading comics and most of them are exclusive to Marvel. After the Heroic Age picture was released a few days ago, I couldn’t believe how many forum posters mistook Hawkeye’s arm armor for Bucky’s robotic arm. Since Coipel used that same design just before Bendis’ Avengers Disassembled, I’m assuming that a lot of the current Avengers fans came on board with Bendis. It really seems that for as many people that have fled Marvel in the past 7 years, they were just replaced with a lot of new, younger fans. One of them even told me on CBR’s forum yesterday that “I had bad tastes” and “was an idiot” just because I politely stated that I wasn’t a fan of Captain America’s scale mail armor or the new looks for Thor & Beast.
Wow. And that’s exactly why the CCW boards are the only boards I post on. I would also like to think that these boards are a safe haven for people with good taste and who can articulate their opinions in a somewhat intelligent manner.
J.
Jose (and Elliot), I wouldn’t take SMARTASS8’s comments on the CBR board as representative of everyone on there. Depending on how the offender worded it if that person really said something that crass to SMARTASS8 then that person would be banned or given a warning, otherwise I’d be surprised if they kept posting there with such an attitude.
I post there all the time and I’ve always enjoyed going into active discussion with people there. The moderation is usually pretty good but the board is not uninviting.
There will be some dumb comments from someone every once and a while but that’s like anyplace else on the internet. I’d recommend giving the boards a chance first and if you don’t find it to your liking then cool, I can respect that.
I didn’t recognize the screen name of the “offender”, but I also don’t post there all that much. His post, which I quoted verbatim, was later deleted by a mod. Considering I usually only look at the DC side of CBR’s forums and still run into Zombies trashing DC, I don’t find the place as inviting as you do. It used to be a better place but it seems like the worst behaved posters fled Newsarama 2.0 and came to CBR.
Sorry, but that’s not been my experience. Try posting on the X-boards sometime and you’ll see what I mean.
Nope. I’ve never been an X-Man fan. Also, why would I wan’t to post on a board that you, someone who feels CBR is all hunky-dory even though I find it inhospitable to anyone who isn’t a JoeyQ Marvel fan, find even worse? Sorry, that doesn’t sound like a good idea.
I think Morlock was responding to Will, wasn’t he? If he was responding to you there would be an indent in his comment. Since the indent comes after Will’s comment I am thinking he was responding to Will and agreeing with you Smartass.
J.
If that was the case, ignore my comment that now has me looking like an ass. LOL! I’m still getting used to the the way the comments work on this site since I’m used to standard message boards.
No worries.
J.
Right you are sir. I am in agreement Smartass. The moderator on the X-boards is very slow to step in when someone makes a remark that is….I’ll use the word inappropriate. Not that I can’t handle some troll, of course, but it’s the principle of the thing. They have rules posted about language and not insulting posters and nobody listens to them. They’re a little friendlier on the DC boards, until someone posts a thread about why Wonder Woman sucks ass. I prefer posting on this blog.
Sorry for the misunderstanding. I can handle Zombies if I’m looking at the Marvel side, but I was running into a lot of them on the DC side(even if they weren’t Zombies, they hated DC as much as Zombies tend to). I first found out about this site from a poster on Bleeding Cool. It has replaced most of my time previously spent on CBR’s forums.
RE SMARTASS8: Not a problem. And most of my internet time is spent here too. CCW is an island of sanity amid a sea of idiotic snark on the web.
I’ve posted on the CBR X-boards before and I know what you’re talking about but I don’t frequent them as often as I used to and I even actively tried to avoid them at times.
It’s a little too zany for my tastes but then again X-Forums tend to usually be comprised of a clusterfuck of X-Men fanatics.
I entered that thread with you. I think you are completely right about the current Marvel fan. (at least online) What I saw in that thread were young readers defending their version of the characters. I don’t think they could be objective about the look of the characters.
Oh the Comics Journal boards are just as full of wankers as Newsarama or CBR except they’re far more smug and wear turtleneck sweaters.
I think you lot have a point there, a nephew of mine got into comics a couple of years ago and they’re not comics to him but “Marvel comics”. Now on the good side he likes Invincible Iron Man but on the bad side he loves New Avengers and Dark Avengers…
For christmas I gave him the Sinestro Corps War trades, fingers crossed…
I’ve been reading Avengers since Busiek came aboard during Heroes Return although I’ve read a select smattering of West Coast under Byrne.
But I’m pretty well versed on Avengers, I’ve read most of Stern’s run, some Shooter, some Roy Thomas, some Byrne, all of Busiek’s, Johns, and Austen’s (ugh I know) etc. and have been able to enjoy Bendis’ Avengers run. Granted it has its high points and low points and Bendis is far from perfect with continuity and team dynamics but I’ve found his work to be enjoyable and pretty accessible for newer readers which is probably among the reasons why his books are as successful as they are.
Admittedly, sometimes I think you guys rail a little TOO hard on Bendis and I wished that you guys would stop talking down to the people who do enjoy it but I do empathize and even agree with some of the complaints you guys have with some of his books.
i like the idea of the sentry being a drug addict but everything else sounds ridiculous. omg i wish immonen would do something else besides new avengers!!
I find it interested in a surface way, he’s a mega powered meth head, but it’s Bendis and he will abuse this idea
Ya’ Immonen could do better than this
The Void? Really? Well it’s not the worst character they could have picked…and hey you guys were worried it was Marvelman so at least that didn’t happen.
Well, Osborn did call the Void his “secret weapon” in the comic but whether that turns out to be true is still up in the air. This is Bendis we are talking about. There were no direct flashbacks to the Void helping Osborn out with the Cabal.
It is one step closer to it not being Marvelman though. You are right about that.
J.
Great reviews J & Musky
So Sentry is a god?
WTF? and a meth head?
Is Sentry a god(or at least powered by God ala the Spectre) or was that just speculation by his wife? I only read the issue once and that’s only because I wanted to see if it was as sacreligious as some claimed it was. Also, was The Void’s reference to Galactus just a play on a phrase originally said by Galactus or is Bendis screwing around with another powerful character’s origin like he did with The Beyonder and The High Evolutionary in his Spider-Woman mini-series?
The Sentry’s wife did speculate that he was either a god or the god that she believes in. The story is bookended by by two pages which which hint at the Sentry being either or. The first book end takes place in 1600 B.C. while the second bookend takes place “now” which would lead one to believe that this “entity” which is the Sentry/Void is at least over 3600 years old.
The reason I didn’t bring up the Galactus comment in my review is because I truly do not know what to make of it because this is Bendis we are dealing with. Bendis could easily be fucking with yet again another classic Marvel character’s origin which to me is bullshit. Like you mentioned, he has already fucked up the Beyonder and The High Evolutionary but to now do this to yet another Kirby creation is almost inexcusable. Either that or the Galactus comment could be a complete red herring which will lead to nothing just like Luke Cage’s Skrull baby.
What do you think it will end up being?
J.
I hope to hell it was just a throw away comment. At least The Sentry, The Void, and The Hood are, imo, disposable characters. It’s bad enough Bendis has turned Hawkeye into a cold blooded ninja, Mockingbird into Sidney Bristow, and the rest of the “Avengers” into Chandler Bing clones, but to tie Galactus into a junkie “hero’s” evil half would be 10x worse than what DC has recently done to Kirby’s New Gods.
I took the Galactus comment as a throwaway one.
As I’ve mentioned on the CBR boards, hypothetically speaking would Sentry’s power be dipping into some sort of divine wellspring that Marvel Universe Jesus, Moses, and Galactus get their powers from? Who knows, but like I said I’ll be interested in seeing what the ultimate goal of some of this stuff is.
I could be cool, and write a indepth response about why the end of fourth world and the new gods was good, but I’d much rather be a jerk and just say that I don’t think anyone accept the most diehard or old fans actually gave a shit about Orion, Lightray, etc.
ill admit, im a somewhat newer comic fan, ive only started reading a couple of years ago, just after civil war.
i didnt know any better, and i enjoyed new avengers. but as time went on i reaized i wasnt enjoying it. i expanded my horizons and found out what good writing looked like. the only redeeming factor currently is stuart immonen. that cat is still a stud, i think we can all agree on that. acuna i can take or leave, in this particular issue though i leaning towards leave.
i liked the sentry, i liked the original paul jenkins miniseries, didnt like the second one, can barely even reread it due to romita jr art which im no fan of. i HATE what bendis has done/is doing with him, hes given him zero redeeming qualities. i didnt think id ever hate the sentry, but im pretty close to it now.
I am just curious Jose but, do you not like Quentin Tarantino’s movies. Also I will agree with the fact that a Bendis tie-in means flaskbacks of pointlessness. I mean most of the NA Secret Invasion issues I could not get into and bored me to tears(sadly I bought them before reading any of Bendis’s work and thought that I was getting quality Avengers books).
No, I love QT’s films. I am just not impressed when people rip him off.
J.
When people like Roy Thomas, David Michilie or Steve Englehart laid seeds for future plots they actually meant something and developed naturally. Bendis is just so hamfisted at doing this, he tried to do his version of the Kree-Skrull war with Secret Invasion and completely fucked it up.
Damn, I’m glad that I don’t read this shit. I’m obviously not missing out. Although that AoA vs Avengers looks good.
It is good.
J.
As good as it looks and as much as I like Parker and Hardman’s art, I don’t think it’s enough to get me to break my trade waiting policy for Marvel mini’s.
Bendis and JRJR named new creative team on Avengers.
Why? Why is JRJR wasting his talent on Bendis and Millar books? It seems like the worst writers get the best artists at Marvel. It’s not fair. It’s like the pretty, down to earth, nice girls who go for the total douchebag asshole guys. You can’t help but think to yourself, “why are you wasting your potential on this dick!”
I can totally relate to that pretty, down to earth, nice girl analogy! 🙂 I personally don’t understand it…
I wish I could buy Frank Cho, Art Adams, Joe Madureira, Ed McGuinness (just to name a few) books but I can’t because they are paired up with horrible writers. It sucks 😦
ok re-reading my earlier statement it read kinda awkward. What I meant to say was that I agree and am sick of douchebag guys talking to/dating/etc pretty, nice girls (the kind I like). It happens to me all the time… sigh
I wish Joe Madureira would come back to drawing comics. His art is a treat to look at.
My no Marvel policy is going to be put to the test, I see.
Even though I like JRJr, if Marvel really wanted to tempt me into buying their books again, they’d put JRSr on a book. His art looks just as good today as it did when he was drawing Amazing Spidey.
Do you know what JRSr has done recently? I assumed he retired, because I haven’t noticed his work on the shelves. He’s one of my favorites too. I wish some of these guys would switch over to DC. I posted awhile back that DC artists were better than Marvel, but that might not have been the most accurate statement.
I’d occasionally see JRSr do a pin-up or a back-up in a Marvel one-shot/special, but since I don’t really read Marvel anymore, I can’t think of anything recently.
Marvel has some good artists(Jim Cheung, Steve Epting, Olivier Coipel, and my guilty pleasure Ed McGuinness), but they also have a lot of popular ones who I personally don’t like(Steve McNiven, Leinil Yu, John Cassaday, and recent work by Bryan Hitch). I also really hate the trend of some of their artists to either re-design some of the superhero costumes to look “edgier” & “realistic” and to draw the characters to look like celebrities.
DC does have a lot of crummy or bland artists, but as long as they keep embracing classic superhero costumes and retain people like Gary Frank, Nicola Scott, George Perez, Amanda Conner, Cliff Chiang, Mark Bagley, Frank Quitely, and Dan Jurgens, I’ll be satisfied.
Everytime I see the artist selected for a Loeb book I have to sigh…
Now that Ultimate X #1 is out, we see that Art Adams is totally being wasted on this title. Loeb gave him nothing interesting to draw.
[…] wasn’t enough that Lindy was verbally and psychologically abused by the Void in issue #13 but now she gets verbally abused by Bullseye…right before he chokes the life from her. And […]