Avengers #31

OK, Bendis. You know I’m not always in sync with your writing. But dang, this issue does a lot of things to correct the course. The book opens with Wonder Man returning to Avengers Tower and trying to talk things out with Cap. There is certainly something going on with Simon Williams, but I love seeing the character try and do the right thing. And Cap’s reaction? Perfect! I half-expected Cap to just attack the guy, but instead, the two have a nice moment just trying to work things out.

And again, perfectly in character, Red Hulk just punches Wonder Man out of the blue. I giggled at that fight, though. Wondy mops the floor with Rulk. I hope this character restoration continues!

And the opening and closing pages? At first, I couldn’t get Hope out of my mind. I was thinking some crazy alternate future situation. But then, about halfway through, I figured it out. And that Avengers ID card confirms it. Bendis is going to fix another mess he made; the Wasp is coming back. Well done sir, I’m impressed!

The art is very solid. Brandon Peterson handles the Wasp chapters in the Innerverse (just make it the Microverse!) Mike Mayhew handles the sections in the regular Marvel U, and he does a great job. Wonder Man looks fantastic, and I absolutely love how he handles the wrestling match between Wonder Man and Rulk. I could see leverage and pressure being applied, a rare thing in comics that prefer super-punches (although this issue had this too!)

Good