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Avengers Assemble #1, #2, #3, #4, and #5

Recommended!

I was really excited when this series came out, on the heels of the Avengers Movie hype and promises of a very full Avengers cast of characters for the 616. Unfortunately, my expectations outweighed reality for the first two issues… my review of these are here:

• Issue #1 Review: Disassembled Expectations
• Issue #2 Review: What’s In The Box?

I can admit now, that I was a bit hasty with my initial reviews of this series. I wasn’t patient enough, because my review score for Issue #3 shot up through the roof, with the VERY UNEXPECTED (and welcome) SURPRISE on the last page… My spoiler free review for Issue #3 is here: Avengers Redeemed!

So, what happened after the great crescendo of Issue #3? Well Issues #4 and #5 of course. :)

The following are my quick reviews for both of these issues… (some spoilers below)

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Avengers Assemble #4

How could they possibly follow-up after the great reveal of Issue #3? Which obviously still has me reeling for some strange reason. After all, it shouldn’t had been that big of a surprise, given the ending of the Avengers Movie…

That said, this issue had a very interesting battle between our now favorite Avenger team and Thanos. We see him continuing to use the poor “zodiac” lackeys to do his bidding - standard Thanos fare. Smug smiles and aloof attitude abound, as Thanos more than handles the Avengers…

So, what are my overall thoughts on this issue? It was good. It wasn’t perfect - I mean the bit with Hulk and Thor’s Hammer - hmm… a bit of creative liberty there. I doubt Thanos has the ability to control someone, make them “worthy” and then use that worth to smash. Nice thought though, and maybe Hulk was just “guiding” it into Thor’s face? ;)

This book ends with the Avengers in a bit of despair, realizing they are no match for a cosmic threat, let alone Thanos! It is true - Thanos manipulated the situation (as he always does), treating everyone “in the game” like pawns. The good news is, their hopelessness is abated by yet another big reveal - something this book is starting to rely on apparently. ;) Nah, it was good, another surprise - this time a set of cosmic visitors intent on helping Earth and its Mightiest Heroes.

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Avengers Assemble #5

This book is on par with the last, though possibly slightly lower - I didn’t like the cover - nothing against the art itself, it was the content I could care less for. I had a difficult time deciding whether this should be a 3.5 or a 4.0. I decided, based on some of the standard humor from Rocket Raccoon and dialog between the Avengers and GotG to keep it in the 4’s.

The back-story and explanation of why Thanos used the “zodiac” like he did was a nice addition to the plot - plus, I am a sucker for cosmic battles (and especially hate the Badoon).

There were some great images of Thanos sprinkled throughout the issue, though he is on the side-lines at this point.

I did like Captain America’s strong-arm tactics to get what he wanted. I also like where this is headed - into… SPACE! :)

I guess my only gripe would have to be the wholly unnecessary cover and portion of the story revolved around Clint and Natasha’s interlude.

So, into SPACE we go, headed to “shut Thanos down once and for all.” - yeah right, even killing him didn’t shut him down! Much to the Avenger’s dismay, it is really all about recovering something that the US Army shouldn’t have created in the first place…

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(Source: thanosrules.com)