Mighty Avengers #24

Man, this has become my dream comic. Dan Slott is doing so many good things in this, the REAL Avengers book. The issue follows the team as they are shuttled all over the globe dealing with one emergency after another. The two we get in detail are some sort of octopus giant named Titan and a great appearance of the Swarm. In each case, there is a nice combination of team members overcoming the threats. Pym and Stature are turning into a great pair. Since they have the same power sets and have pre-existing family tie, it is pretty neat seeing him take her under his wing and give her hints and guidance on being a size-changing hero. Slott also gives us a fair amount of time with Quicksilver, which was great. He's one of the best jerks in the Marvel U and we see it again here. I think my favorite bit with him is when he claims that he had been replaced by a Skrull. What a jerk thing to do, to brush off the problems he caused in the X-Factor title by saying a Skrull did it. It's a genius idea from Slott, and I'm thrilled to see Quicksilver joining the team. I always like when mutants cross-over out of the X-books.

The lineup is starting to be a really well-rounded group with a lot of great powers. Since I hate Norman Osborn so much, it was fantastic seeing him totally lose it dealing with the Mighty Avengers. He's so annoyed that Pym would dare claim to be the "real" Avengers that he just can't deal with it. I can't wait to see more of this. Not to mention Pym has a good point, he is the only charter member leading a team, so his team must be the official one, right? It was also a nice nod to the Champions series that Hercules recognized Swarm and appreciated him as a crazy foe.

I will confess I don't know who Blackjack is. That's the team that offers the Mighty Avengers to come under a UN charter so that they can operate legally around the world. There are at least two team members, but I didn't recognize either of them. That's fine, I always like new international heroes.

Rafa Sandoval does a good job drawing in Khoi Pham's style, the characters look on-model and consistent. I liked his take on Swarm (who actually goes unnamed, I believe). This is what I want from my Avengers every month. Top notch.

Excellent